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South Asia will be severely affected by climate change within a few decades if no action is taken to counter global warming, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned on Tuesday. A new report predicts that six countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka – will see an average economic loss of […]

August 19th marks Earth Overshoot Day – the day humanity has used up the natural resources the world can supply in a year, according to data from Global Footprint Network, an international think tank. The date is calculated by contrasting the world’s demand on nature (ecological footprint) with the biocapacity – forests, pastures, cropland and

Israel’s military operation in Gaza has devastated local food production and made the population reliant on food aid, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned in a statement. The recent fighting has forced farmers to abandon their fields and has caused considerable damage to Gaza’s 17,000 hectares of croplands. Agricultural infrastructure was also destroyed,

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) failed to reach a global trade deal after India’s refusal to ratify the agreement unless it included concessions allowing the country to subsidise and stockpile food. Consensus on the global reform of customs procedures had already been reached in Bali in December, but the deadline to sign the pact lapsed

The number of worms, spiders, butterflies and other invertebrates has declined by 45 per cent on average over the past 40 years, threatening food supplies, human health, and water quality. The study, published on Friday in the journal Science, reviewed past studies, and compiled a global index of all invertebrate species. The researchers found that,

Beef is around 10 times more damaging to the environment than any other form of livestock, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The scientists from the US and Israel analysed how much land, water and nitrogen fertiliser was needed to produce dairy, beef, poultry, pork and eggs,

The UN General Assembly’s Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) concluded its final session on Saturday, adopting the outcome document by acclamation. The proposal contains 17 goals and 169 targets which are to succeed the Millennium Development Goals, including 62 targets on means of implementation. After multiple readings and overnight negotiations, the delegates

Herbicides containing glyphosate can have negative side effects on soil organisms such as earthworms and symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi, according to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports. Austrian scientists from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) investigated the effects in a model ecosystem using pots with soil, earthworms and

Organic food has more key antioxidants than conventionally-grown crops and lower levels of toxic metals and pesticides, according to new research from Newcastle University published on Tuesday in the British Journal of Nutrition. The study analysed 343 peer-reviewed studies, focussing on the compositional differences between organic and conventional crops. The researchers found that concentrations of

Global demand for agricultural products will increase steadily over the next decade although at a slower pace than in the past ten years, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Friday in a joint report. Cereals will remain central but diets will become richer