Lucy Pearson looks at early warning systems for disasters, their uses and limits, and what accounts for the gap between warning and action.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has spawned a series of agreements and technical phrases.

S. Romi Mukherjee outlines human rights-based approaches to science, technology and development, and what they mean for policy and practice.

Innovations in relief technologies are vital in the world's complex conflict zones. But there are barriers to overcome, writes Imogen Mathers.

Frank Rijsberman speaks to Busani Bafana about his plans for the CGIAR Consortium and the importance of agricultural research investment.

How will science and technology fare at the Rio+20 summit? Aisling Irwin looks at scientists' demands and assesses their chances.

Promises made at previous summits have not delivered enough protection for the oceans — campaigners are pushing for better results from Rio+20, writes Prime Sarmiento.

Shamba Shape-Up, a Kenyan reality TV show, is helping farmers improve the condition and productivity of their farms.

As commercial synthetic biology production gathers speed, there are growing calls for greater regulation, reports Yojana Sharma.

The key to tackling hunger in Africa is enriching its soil, according to a story in Nature. The big debate is how to do it.

Denis Kyetere, executive director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation, outlines his vision for the continent's farmers.

Yuan Tseh Lee, president of the International Council for Science, tells SciDev.Net what scientists must achieve at Rio+20.

Sarah Grimes explores why we need good ocean monitoring, how to get it, and why it still fails Small Island Developing States.

Efforts to protect precious marine biodiversity by combining science and local knowledge are difficult but can work, reports Naomi Antony.

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.

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

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

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