Yojana Sharma describes various proposals for a new panel to monitor progress towards sustainable development after Rio+20.

Yojana Sharma analyses the work of a four-day meeting on access to data and information that will feed into next year’s Rio+20 conference on sustainable development.

When it comes to biodiversity information, incentives need to be provided to improve international sharing of data, report Tracy Irvine and Daniela Hirschfield.

'Blue carbon' is seen as an increasingly important issue, but it needs to be backed up by better science, reports Mićo Tatalović.

Smriti Mallapaty looks at an attempt to overcome the difficulties of accessing and understanding environmental and societal information.

SciDev.Net talks to Sylvia Earle, scientist, oceanographer, explorer, about her hopes for oceans at the Rio+20 conference in Brazil in 2012.

Data-sharing is part of the answer to problems arising from the Arab region’s most serious challenge, water, finds Rehab Abd Almohsen.

The cities account for more than three quarters of emissions of CO2, are home to half the world population and will be 'highly visible' at Rio +20.

SciDev.Net speaks to UN Environment Programme executive director Achim Steiner at the Eye on Earth Summit (12-15 December) about next year's Rio+20.

New technologies offer the promise of delivering environmental information to anyone who wants it, anywhere in the world. But we are not quite there yet.

A preparatory meeting for the Rio+20 summit will discuss open access environmental data with a focus on biodiversity, water, oceans, cities and disasters. Yojana Sharma reports.

An organic farmer has invented a mobile phone application called 'iCow', which lets farmers register their herds and receive expert advice.

Researchers are combining data in new ways to identify who is most vulnerable to climate change and population growth.

Controversy over fracking for natural gas has spread to Africa, where it is feared that the extraction process could deplete water supplies.

The recent nuclear scare in Japan has reinforced pressure in China to raise its awareness of the risks of new technologies. Li Jiao reports.

The InfoClim project, which distributes climate data to local communities, has helped Senegalese farmers adapt to climate change. SciDev.Net investigates.

The Royal Society's new foreign secretary, Martyn Poliakoff, talks to SciDev.Net about his plans to develop links with African scientists.

Are small seed banks that deposit their collections with Norway's global seed vault being exploited by big business?

Researchers hope Syria's wild plant varieties could help in the quest to boost crop yields.

Faced with increasing pressure to grow food, and with growing support to test biotechnology, more African countries may start cultivating GM crops.