SciDev.Net

Jamaica and four other Caribbean countries have been granted US$1.7 million to reduce the biodiversity threat of invasive alien species.

South African researchers have lodged an appeal against their government's rejection of a genetically modified potato.

China has reduced its sulphur dioxide emissions, but its failure to reduce nitrogen emissions could worsen acid rain in the country.

Biofuels are neither a panacea nor a pariah, says a major UN report, but they must not be grown on productive cropland.

Crop yields will plummet and millions more children will go hungry unless agricultural practices adapt to climate change, warns a report.

Scientists have urged the UN's desertification convention to unite research on land degradation and so convince policymakers to take action.

Ecuadorian authorities are fumigating aeroplanes to stop disease-carrying mosquitoes hitching a ride to the Galapagos islands.

The International Council for Science is asking scientists to define the research agenda in global environmental change.

The loss of biodiversity in South America has been analysed by experts from 12 countries, who have urged local communities to commit to conservation.

A synthesis of over 3,400 Pacific Ocean studies reveals threats to coastal communities but also widely applicable potential solutions.

Developing countries have been funded to take part in the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation scheme.

Mexico City says it will protect local maize varieties; meanwhile the country has lifted its ban on GM crop trials in the north of the country.

An EU ban on pesticides, likely to be ratified within months, will hinder malaria control programmes in developing countries, say critics.

Researchers have concluded that, with the right policies in place, coaxing a severely degraded region back into recovery is possible.

Efforts to assess and map the quality of Africa's soils to enhance food production have been boosted by a US$18 million grant.

Universities in Africa have backed a scheme to incorporate more community-driven and environmental initiatives into teaching and research.

New research reveals that using existing technologies to monitor carbon storage could save more carbon than closing power plants.

Malaysia will host an international body to encourage investment and research into underused plant species relied on by the poor.

The Indian government has come under fire over alleged flaws in regulating trials on genetically modified crops.

A UN report cites a lack of emphasis on agricultural research in development policy as a key reason for African farming problems.