Post-COVID-19, we need a food systems approach to achieve zero-deforestation diets

by Maria Eliza Villarino | Jul 1, 2020

Primary forest areas in Ucayali, Peru, deforested due to palm oil production. Photo by: Rettet den Regenwald e.V. (Rainforest Rescue) / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 By Augusto Castro-Nuñez and Ma. Eliza J. Villarino The COVID-19 pandemic brings home a point that Jane Goodall...

For sustainable cacao farming in Colombia, going organic is not necessarily the only good answer

by Maria Eliza Villarino | Nov 27, 2019

Members of the SLUS Project team – Dr. Augusto Castro-Núñez (second from the left), Jhon Jairo Hurtado (third from the right), Miguel Romero Sánchez (second from the right), and Grey Yohana Lozano (rightmost) –  spoke with cacao farmers and a technical advisor from...

Could these crops save Peruvian forests?

by Maria Eliza Villarino | Jul 29, 2019

Cacao and oil palm (CIAT/Neil Palmer) There’s an emerging narrative on why deforestation happens in Latin America. And it’s not quite the story that various studies, international policies and news outlets tell. As noted in a previous blog, a study conducted by CIAT...

New study: In Colombia, cacao isn’t causing significant deforestation but could help reduce forest loss and conflict

by Maria Eliza Villarino | May 6, 2019

Cacao growing on a farm in the Department of Guaviare, Colombia. Photo by: Neil Palmer / CIAT   Nearly a year ago, Colombia signed up for the Cocoa & Forests Initiative, making it the first Latin American country to do so. Its commitment: to end deforestation...

Sustainable land use systems: A way to help achieve Colombia’s climate change mitigation and peacebuilding goals

by Maria Eliza Villarino | Mar 12, 2019

Colombia has set ambitious targets to mitigate climate change and achieve stability. One promising approach to help achieve those simultaneously is designing and promoting sustainable land use systems that incorporate the views of all the stakeholders in the value...