Tag Archive for: Climate Change

Regeneration International and Open Team Announce Micro-Grant Competition in Conjunction with Launch of Online Platform to Connect Regeneration Movement Stakeholders

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Regeneration International Will Award Five Micro-Grants to Innovative Regeneration Projects

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2016

Contact:
U.S.: Katherine Paul, katherine@organicconsumers.org, 207-653-3090
Mexico, Latin America: Ercilia Sahores, ercilia@regenerationinternational.org, (55) 6257 7901

MARRAKESH–Regeneration International (RI) and Open Team, in partnership with 17 organizations, today launched The Regeneration Hub (RHub) at the COP22 Climate Summit. RHub is an interactive online platform that connects project holders, individuals, funders and communities focused on regenerative agriculture and land-use projects and other related concepts that address multiple global challenges, including climate change and food security.

In conjunction with the RHub launch, RI and Open Team announced a competition for five micro-grants of US$1000 each to be awarded to five innovative regeneration projects. RI, a project of the US-based Organic Consumers Association, will fund the micro-grants.  The RI Steering Committee will evaluate the projects and announce the winners in January 2017.

“There are regenerative solutions all around us,” said Ronnie Cummins, OCA’s international director and member of the RI steering committee. “But people are working in silos. We need to map out and connect the global regeneration movement in order to accelerate the exchange of best practices and the sharing of knowledge and resources on a global scale.”

The RHub aims to accelerate adoption and development of scalable and replicable regenerative projects across the globe by inspiring and facilitating collaboration between project holders, individuals, funders and communities from the regenerative movement.

“This platform will scale the adoption of local regenerative solutions worldwide by facilitating the work of farmers and environmental entrepreneurs, in collaboration with experts, scientists, businesses, activists, educators, journalists, impact investors, policymakers and consumers, while inspiring an increasing number of individuals to join the global regenerative movement!” said Joanne Schante, co-founder of Open Team.

The RHub was conceived at the Paris Climate Summit in December 2015, where RI brought together 60 foodies, farmers, entrepreneurs, scientists and NGOs from around the world working on regeneration.

Watch this video to learn more:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyIIDYoA0jo

Sign up today: www.regenerationhub.co

Regeneration International, a project of the Organic Consumers Association, is building a global network of farmers, scientists, businesses, activists, educators, journalists, governments and consumers who will promote and put into practice regenerative agriculture and land-use practices that: provide abundant, nutritious food; revive local economies; rebuild soil fertility and biodiversity; and restore climate stability by returning carbon to the soil, through the natural process of photosynthesis.

OpenTeam manages O, a global platform that catalyzes concrete collaboration on a world scale, engaging change makers with all levels of expertise and projects to mutualize their efforts and experiences in order to develop local projects (global initiatives implemented by local stakeholders). This ScaleCamp is the first pilot of a series of forthcoming other such events which aim to continuously fuel global collaboration using O’s open source platform and ultimately shift the climate change paradigm through borderless collaboration.

Regenerate, Like Boudhira

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Author: Elena Day | Published: November 4, 2016

On October 29, The New York Times published an article titled “Doubts About the Bounty of Genetically Engineered Crops” by Danny Hakim. It compared yields of genetically engineered (GE) corn, rapeseed, and soy in the United States and Canada with yields of these crops (non-GE) in Western Europe. Twenty or so years ago, Europe rejected the “brave new world” of genetically engineered seeds in spite of the promise of higher yields.

According to the article, which used United Nations data, the U.S. and Canada have not reaped an advantage in yields when compared to modernized Western European agricultural producers like France and Germany.

Western Europe led Canada over rapeseed production, before and after Canadian rapeseed became GE. Rapeseed is used to produce canola oil. The cost of a 50,000 seed bag of conventional rapeseed is $85. A 50,000 seed bag of GE is $153.

No difference in corn yields was noted between U.S. and Western Europe. Higher yields for non-GE sugar beets (source of “granulated” as opposed to cane sugar) continue in Western Europe. GE sugar beets have supplanted conventional sugar beets in the U.S. within the last ten years.

A study in 2013 comparing trans–Atlantic yields by Jack Heineman, professor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, found that Europe hasn’t been penalized in any way by not making genetic engineering one of its biotechnology choices.

The article also points out that in the U.S. the use of toxins that kill insects and fungi has fallen by one-third, while in France it has fallen by 65 percent. Herbicide use in France has fallen 36 percent while in the U.S. it has risen 21 percent. Monsanto, which is in negotiations to merge with Bayer, has more powerful herbicides coming on line as U.S. and Canadian farm weeds develop resistance to Roundup. By 2025 U.S. corn is projected to have 14 GE traits and it will survive spraying by five different herbicides. Monsanto is already building a factory in Louisiana to manufacture Dicamba, even though GE Dicamba-resistant corn has yet to be approved by the EPA.

Note that the agrochemical giants sell farmers both seeds and herbicide sprays. Expensive “designer” seeds need ever more costly and environmentally questionable herbicide(s). The AgChem companies claim that only by their methods can we hope to feed the projected 10 billion humans who might reside on the planet by 2050.

KEEP READING ON THE CROZET GAZETTE 

Indigenous Land Rights: A Cheap and Effective Climate Change Solution, Just in Time

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Author: David Kaimowitz | Published: November 4, 2016

At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris last year, the world’s governments agreed to work to keep global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius. The agreement sought to address a clear, urgent problem: Over the past 150 years, concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere have increased by 40 percent. Twice as much CO2 was added to the atmosphere in the past 50 years as in the previous 100—putting our planet at grave risk.

The Paris Agreement formally goes into effect today. Now comes the hard part: putting it into action. Real action will mean burning far fewer fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas. But changing our energy systems to reduce carbon pollution is, quite simply, not enough. To meet the Paris targets on time, we also need to protect and restore our forests so they can suck much more CO2 out of the atmosphere. If we don’t, it will be practically impossible to cut our fossil fuel use quickly enough to keep our climate stable.

It’s easy to foresee a situation where we reach a tipping point, and the shifts in the climate build on each other and spiral out of control. Indeed, if we keep increasing CO2 levels at roughly the current rate, we will reach the 2-degree threshold in just 20-25 years. We can’t let that happen. We need to buy time while we change the policies, do the research, and make the investments that can stop and ultimately reverse rising temperatures.

KEEP READING ON FORD FOUNDATION

Why We Could See Progress on Agriculture at the Marrakesh Climate Talks

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Author: Dana Miller and Jade Lu | Published: November 8, 2016

The interactions between the agricultural sector and climate change have undeniable implications for both global food security and our environment. Despite this global significance, and perhaps due to the complexity of the subject, there has been little progress to date on agriculture in the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process. However, this could be about to change.

The impetus of Paris Climate Agreement and leadership by the Moroccan presidency could unlock the opportunity to advance agricultural issues at the climate talks, known as COP22, taking place this week in Marrakesh. Furthermore, country actions and targets as inscribed in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) both show commitment to the agricultural sector and help highlight key common practices that could form a basis for international collaboration.

While much of COP22 will be focused on laying groundwork for the Paris Agreement, agriculture could be an area of significant progress in Marrakesh, potentially resulting in a COP decision or work program on agriculture.

There is a strong need to address agriculture in COP22

Agriculture at once contributes significantly to climate change and faces some of the greatest risks posed by climate change. Agriculture is estimated to contribute one-third of all emissions. Conversely, climate change is projected to have negative impacts on agriculture, especially in developing countries. With 800 million people currently undernourished worldwide, the majority of whom depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and a projected population increase of more than 2 billion people by 2050, it is no wonder that “Zero Hunger” is identified as the 2nd Sustainable Development Goal by the UN and that adequate nourishment is interwoven with almost every goal listed.  However, agriculture has yet to be codified within the UNFCCC framework.

KEEP READING ON ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND

Sustainable Agriculture Deserves Center Stage in Marrakech

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Author: José Graziano da Silva | Published: November 8, 2016

Agriculture, including forestry and fisheries, is the sector most threatened by climate change. At the same time, the agricultural sectors produce a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The transformation of the agricultural sectors to address climate change for adaptation and mitigation is essential to tackling hunger and poverty, and offers considerable benefits and opportunities for preserving natural resources.

At the COP21 summit in Paris, countries made unprecedented commitments to adapt to and mitigate climate change. The agreement recognizes “the “fundamental priority of safeguarding food security and ending hunger, and the particular vulnerabilities of food production systems to the adverse impacts of climate change”. This is echoed in country commitments where the agricultural sectors stand out as a priority.

Now, at COP22 in Morocco, we have the opportunity to make significant progress, by making agriculture a major part of the solution.

KEEP READING ON FOOD TANK

COP22 Host Morocco Launches Action Plan to Fight Devastating Climate Change

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Author: Celeste Hicks | Published: November 7, 2016

Last December we had temperatures of 25C. Normally it is 1 or 2C at that time of year,” says Mohammed Ibrahimi, a farmer with one hectare of apple trees in Boumia, a village near Midelt in Morocco.

“These trees need at least 1,200 hours of near-freezing temperatures in the winter to help them to regenerate. This year they flowered very late; the harvest was a month late and I harvested just 20 tonnes when I’d expected 40 tonnes.”

“When we were kids the mountains had snow on them until at least June, sometimes even all year. We had ample underground water sources. We used to have to dig about 4m down to find water – now it can be [many times deeper]. How can we irrigate our crops with that?” says Ibrahimi.

Like most African countries, Morocco – where 40% of the population still works the land – is already feeling the impacts of climate change on its agricultural production. Last year, during the exceptional season Ibrahimi describes – caused in large part by the regular El Niño weather pattern – Morocco went without rain for more than two months. Overall it received 42.7% less rain during its main planting season than in an average year. The impact on the harvest was catastrophic, particularly on the “zone bour” (dry zone) areas where crops such as wheat, barley and maize are planted. Ministry of Agriculture estimates predicted total output falling 70% on the 2015 season.

KEEP READING ON THE GUARDIAN 

Agriculture Takes Center Stage As COP22 Begins in Morocco

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Author: Judith Schwartz | Published: November 7, 2016

COP21, the global climate conference in Paris last year, resulted in an agreement on cutting atmospheric carbon. Now, COP22, which starts today in Marrakech, Morocco, will focus on how the world will adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects, especially in developing countries. The meeting is expected to have a greater focus on agriculture, and specifically on Africa.

In Paris, agricultural solutions—notably soil’s role as a carbon sink—entered global climate discussions. The chief vehicle was the French-led 4-per-1,000 Initiative, a pledge to increase carbon stocks in agricultural soils by 0.4 percent a year, a rate that proponents said would stem the rise of atmospheric carbon. The objective, says the French Ministry of Agriculture, “is to show that agriculture is part of the solution. It aims to increase organic carbon storage in soils, with a goal of improving food security and mitigating and adapting to climate change.”

Four-per-1,000 has more than 170 signatories, including 32 countries. The U.S. has not publicly supported it, instead aligning with the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture, which is more oriented toward industry and includes biotechnology as one approach.

A new initiative, Adaption of African Agriculture (AAA), would place agriculture at the heart of climate talks. At a September meeting, a coalition of 27 African nations adopted the “Marrakesh Declaration,” which calls attention to the continent’s vulnerability to climate irregularities—such as the drought that has left 30 million southern Africans food insecure—and the risks borne by smallholder farmers.

KEEP READING ON FERN’S AG INSIDER

Soil Could Become a Significant Source of Carbon Dioxide

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Author:  University of Exeter | Published:November 3, 2016

Experts have forecast that a quarter of the carbon found in soil in France could be lost to the atmosphere during the next 100 years. This could lead to soil becoming a net source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. At present soil is considered to absorb carbon dioxide and this partially counters the impact of human-made climate change.

The pace and nature of predicted changes in climate over the next century will make the soil less able to store carbon, while business-as-usual land use change has limited capacity to counteract this trend, experts from the University of Exeter, INRA and CERFACS in France and University of Leuven in Belgium say in the journal Scientific Reports.

If, as predicted, soils lose a significant amount of their carbon this will endanger their ability to produce food and store water and this could lead to increased soil erosion and flood damage.

KEEP READING ON SCIENCE DAILY

Conference on Mitigating Climate Change in the Arid Southwest

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Author: Logan Hawkes| Published: November 2, 2016

Skeptic or not, according to a consensus of climate scientists and New Mexico agricultural officials, early indications of climate change are already apparent through variations in climate patterns that are challenging the region’s agricultural producers and may be a prelude to more substantial and widespread changes in the near future.

New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service agronomist John Idowu says the best way farmers and ranchers can mitigate or even survive challenges created by these changes is to better understand them and plan more efficient ways to deal with agricultural production in a more hostile environment.

“Farmers and other agricultural stakeholders need to develop agricultural systems resilient to expected changes, some of which have already begun,” Idowu said.

Climatologists and other agricultural planners agree that the cycle of droughts in the southwestern United States has increased over the past decades, supported by yet another and more recent study indicating the Southwest may have already transitioned to a drier climate that could plague producers for years to come.

KEEP READING ON SOUTHWEST FARM PRESS

Greening the Chihuahuan Desert

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Author: Alejandro Carrillo | Published: 2016

The footage of this video was taken last month at the end of the rainy season in the Chihuahuan Desert, the largest desert of North America. This video depicts a “greener” area in the middle of the desert – that is how is used to be decades ago with lush grasslands and plenty of wildlife. This “greener” area is a ranch managed under Holistic planned grazing. No need for machinery, no need for seeding, no need for fertilizers, no need to deforest. Just keep cattle moving, as the bison and antelope did before. On the other side, the eroded, bare grounds shown on the video are neighboring areas using continuous grazing.

We are restoring the former grasslands that existed before while making this land productive using our cattle, thus giving hope to the people living there, to the wildlife, to the native grasses and plants, to the microorganisms. It is a win-win approach to clean the air, cover the soil, prevent erosion, sequester carbon, recharge the aquifers, protect and promote the biodiversity, and produce nutritional-dense food on a regenerative way.