Improving access to information technology can help communities assess their own vulnerability and boost local planning, says John Waugh.

South-East Asia has suffered from neglecting planning for disasters. Governments must heed the warnings and act now, argues Crispin Maslog.

The proposed UN World Environment Organisation is badly needed to give poor countries a strong voice in green policy, says Zakri Abdul Hamid.

Agro-ecology offers simple solutions and can align climate change with food security agendas, says UN adviser Olivier De Schutter.

The scientific community should create new intergovernmental organisations that promote innovative science in Africa, says Calestous Juma.

Josette Sheeran, executive director of the UN World Food Programme, argues for programmes that build sustainable food security.

Neither dispassionate information nor scare stories are the answer: we need public engagement on health interventions, argues Priya Shetty.

Analysing vulnerability to climate change must go beyond stating obvious problems to become truly useful, argues Marcus Moench.

Cities face many social, economic and environmental challenges, and must facilitate innovation to cope with them, says an editorial in Nature Geoscience.

Several collaborations between researchers and indigenous communties are underway, but more needs to be done, says Henry P. Huntington.

The East Africa famine calls into question the wisdom of investing in early warning systems without improving take-up, writes Linda Nordling.

Success stories show that food crises can be controlled with the right tools and agricultural policies, says Sam Dryden.

Nuclear power is no magic solution, argues Pervez Hoodbhoy — it's not safe, or cheap, and it leads to weapons programmes.

Population forecasts may be based on unrealistic assumptions of demographic change in the developing world, warns Carl Haub.

We must find a better way of monitoring the impact of food insecurity, argues Derek D. Headey.

Entrepreneurs are pioneering new modes of innovation to help poor farmers, and policymakers must support their creativity, says Andy Hall.

Ambitious plans for a 'desert development corridor' in Egypt could provide a concrete example of the social value of science, says Athar Osama.

The current drought in northern Kenya has deep roots in the current practices of pastoralists that need to be addressed, says conservationist David Western.

Combined strategies are needed to meet the world's rising demands for food without further damage to biodiversity, says Jason Clay.

Assessments of bioenergy must consider the potential benefits for rural development and food security, say Lee R. Lynd and Jeremy Woods.