COVID-19 highlights the need for food systems-based policies for reducing tropical deforestation

by Augusto Castro | Jun 5, 2020

Photo credit: Terra-i   Deforestation has many drivers but one is often overlooked: food consumption in cities that increases demand for products produced on deforested land. To be successful, tropical countries’ zero-deforestation policies need to address...

Opinion: We can do better to achieve zero deforestation and low-carbon development | Devex

by Augusto Castro | Mar 9, 2018

An aerial view of the Amazon rainforest. Photo by: Neil Palmer / CIAT This is an excerpt from an op-ed published on Devex and co-authored by Marcela Quintero, Matthias Jäger and Mark Lundy.  Recently, Unilever made an announcement that can be considered unprecedented....

Opinion: How to make climate negotiations equitable, efficient and evidence-based | Medium

by Augusto Castro | Feb 14, 2018

A scene from the 2017 Bonn climate summit. Photo by: UNFCCC This op-ed was originally published on Medium. The start of 2018 marked the beginning of a process called the Talanoa Dialogue, which aims to check how countries are faring in meeting their Paris Agreement...

Opinion: Armed conflict was not always ‘good’ for preventing deforestation in Colombia | Mongabay

by Augusto Castro | Dec 20, 2017

A field trip to Reserva Natural El Hatico, familia Molina Durán, near Palmira, Colombia, to take carbon measurements in an area of tropical forest, as part of a CIAT-hosted workshop on REDD+. Photo by: Neil Palmer / CIAT   This piece first appeared on Mongabay. ...

Opinion: How climate finance links forest conservation, peacebuilding, and sustainable food | Devex

by Augusto Castro | Nov 21, 2017

Augusto Castro-Nuñez, a researcher on sustainable food systems at CIAT. Photo by: Neil Palmer/CIAT   The below is an excerpt of Augusto Castro’s op-ed published on Devex: The scene remains vivid in my head. People packed the hall outside the plenary where...