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Features archive results 1-20 of 46 in Agriculture & Environment and Biodiversity
Chinese rubber rush leads to 'ecological credit crunch'
China's profitable rubber industry is a boon for some rural communities, but the environmental costs could be much higher.
Can crops be climate-proofed?
Climate change threatens food crops across the world. Now scientists are re-focusing their efforts on crop resilience, rather than yields.
China-Tibet railway not a runaway success
The Quinghai-Tibet railway has now been open for over a year. Jane Qiu evaluates its success and examines the challenges it still faces.
Palm oil tries to show its sustainable side
The palm oil industry needs to prove its sustainability and is turning to scientists for ways to minimise harm, reports Richard Stone.
Bhutan's balancing act: Happiness vs. development
T. V. Padma reports on Bhutan's dilemma: how to reconcile conservation, economic development and happiness in a modern world.
Agri-biotech in sub-Saharan Africa: Facts and figures
Dominic Glover outlines the status of agricultural biotechnology research, development and commercialisation in sub-Saharan Africa.
FEATURE | 5 June 2007 | EN
The bad side of biofuel: palm oil in Indonesia
The popularity of palm oil as a biofuel is a disaster for Indonesia's forests, providing cover for illegal loggers and destroying biodiversity in the region, reports Ian MacKinnon.
Seeds of change: rebuilding a Brazilian rainforest
Scientists have embarked on an ambitious plan to restore the ecosystems of Brazil's Atlantic rainforest devastated by deforestation, reports Bernice Wuethrich.
FEATURE | 23 February 2007 | EN
Racing to save the Amazon
Conservation is seeing a surge in 'quick and dirty' biodiversity surveys with an emphasis on local participation. Thomas Hayden reports from the Amazon.
Urban planning the Maasai way
Maasai mapmakers are helping solve one of modern Africa's biggest conflicts — between humans and wild predators. Kimani Chege reports.
FEATURE | 11 September 2006 | EN
Struggling to predict how species shift with climate
Miguel B. Araújo and Carsten Rahbek discuss the challenge of perfecting models that predict how species will shift with climate change.
Dry land degraded as demand for 'get rich' plant rises
Emma Graham-Harrison reports on how consumer demand for a 'lucky' vegetable is degrading semi-arid land in northwestern China.
Banking on bioprospecting in Costa Rica
Costa Rica's top biodiversity research centre aims to beat its financial problems by sharing in profits from drugs based on chemicals it discovers in local species, reports Rex Dalton.
FEATURE | 1 June 2006 | EN
Barriers to building a bigger breadbasket in India
Indian scientists say that reduced access to plant material in international gene banks will limit the country's ability to produce enough wheat, reports K.S. Jayaraman.
FEATURE | 24 May 2006 | EN
Shoot to kill: the war against 'island invaders'
Eradication programmes to rid islands of non-native species could be triggering conservation issues of their own, reports Kevin Krajick.
FEATURE | 2 December 2005 | EN
Is Brazil beating biopiracy or biodiversity research?
Michael Astor reports that Brazil's attempts to prevent the exploitation of its Amazonian flora and fauna is stifling important biodiversity research.
Should conservation be driven by finance?
Conservation that focused on endangered species has had limited success, so should we concentrate on ecosystems' monetary value instead? Lucy Odling-Smee reports.
A new prescription for Kenya’s traditional healers
Ehsan Masood reports on how Maseno University in Kenya is helping traditional healers to modernise the way they diagnose and treat illness.
Beating world hunger: the return of 'neglected' crops
T. V. Padma reports on efforts to tackle hunger and malnutrition by promoting traditional crops that have been neglected by international agricultural research.
FEATURE | 5 August 2005 | EN
Fijians grow artificial coral for aquarium trade
Jane Sanders reports on a project in Fiji that combines coral reef conservation, economic development and a search for promising new drugs.
FEATURE | 26 July 2005 | EN
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