Download or read book Biodiversity Carbon and Chocolate written by Lord K. Ameyaw and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global demand of cocoa for chocolate moved the native cocoa production frontier from ancient Maya and Aztec to other favorable tropical locations around the world. Cocoa growing arrived in West Africa sometime by the late 1800s and was an instant success story. A massive investment in the form of expansion of lands under cultivation, intensification driven by improved varieties/systems and a plethora of farming incentives have led West Africa to supply more than half of the world's cocoa. Cocoa agroforestry provides a livelihood for many smallholder farmers and significant contribution to national economies; however, it also results in deforestation and land degradation. The traditional cocoa agroforestry system in highly forested tropical regions, utilized shade cocoa systems and require overhead canopy and favorable humidity to thrive. Thus, lands suitable for forest reserves or timber production, are also suitable for cocoa production. Land conversion of biodiverse High Forests in Ghana, part of the global biodiversity hotspot of the West African Guinean forest landscape, have allowed Ghana to become the second largest global cocoa producing nation. Cocoa led deforestation dominates the reported 2% rate of deforestation. In order to curb cocoa-led deforestation, it is essential to understand the crucial social, economic and environmental underpinnings of cocoa production. This study focuses on determining land use change and deforestation in the Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve, one of the most important cocoa producing areas of Ghana. Land use types are regulated within the reserve and timber production and protected area inside the reserve were compared with areas immediately outside the forest reserve over a 17-year period using multispectral satellite images acquired from Landsat and Sentinel earth observatory programs. A two-step land use pattern of change was observed, with closed forest land changing to open forest, and open forests were converted to croplands. These changes were mostly observed in areas of the forest reserve which have been technically designated as a production zone for wood/timber harvesting and admitted farming, in comparison to the areas specifically maintained for forest protection. Tree species composition varied significantly among the two broad management zones in comparison to uncultivated land within the forest reserve. Classifying tree species into ecological guilds depicts a natural reference condition of shade tolerant species, with non-pioneer light demanders among natural regeneration encountered in uncultivated areas. In contrast with other areas of the reserve where cocoa farming is interspersed with forests, regeneration of shade tolerant species is rare, with a greater amount of species as non-pioneer light demanders and pioneer species. Species composition of adult trees also showed a pattern of higher proportions of economically valuable species on cocoa farms compared with natural forest areas that are more diverse and have species represented in all the economic valuation classes of trees. In essence, cocoa farming promotes deforestation and species compositional changes that unequivocally present a challenge for forest management, particularly where objectives of cocoa farming and forestry are both emphasized within a broad land use category. This study suggests timber production and cocoa production, two vital industries in Ghana are connected with initial cutting leading conversion to cocoa. Cocoa production is susceptible to climatic variations which may be mitigated by environmentally friendly shaded cocoa production which effectively reduce associated deforestation. However, once cocoa farms are established, reduction of shade trees increases forest degradation, as farmers seek to increase cocoa yields. Therefore, land use change and the physical environment are interconnected. Since cocoa cultivation is essential to many livelihoods in Ghana, a changing global climate is of concern to smallholder cocoa farmers. Understanding cocoa farmers' perceptions on topics of climate change and its impacts are thus necessary to assess the potential of recent economic incentives to enhance sustainable cocoa production. A social survey of farmers' perception/knowledge of climate change and its potential effect on cocoa production was conducted to assess beliefs. I examined the potential of economic incentives of a REDD+ climate mitigation strategy as an alternative income generating avenue to maintain lower intensity, shaded cocoa production. Farmers' perceptions of climate were not in agreement with empirical data. Although farmers recognize the need to protect trees to provide ecosystem benefits, the system of direct monetary benefits associated with tree protection/maintenance presents a challenge for the success of integrating climate change mitigation strategies (REDD+) into cocoa farming. Common farm/cultural practices of cocoa farmers (e.g. slash and burn) may also degrade land, reducing forest biodiversity and releasing carbon.
Download or read book Capturing Carbon and Conserving Biodiversity written by Ian Swingland and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For decades conservation has been based on the donor-driven principle. It hasn't worked. For centuries, environmental pollution or degradation has been addressed by the same attitude: the 'Polluter Pays' principle. That hasn't worked either. The cycle has to stop. But while everyone talks about using a market-driven approach, few know how to do it. Faced with the situation on the ground what do you do? What is happening? How can you engage a system so that it is self-sustaining and the people self-motivated? This study explores how the growing market in carbon can help to conserve carbon-based life forms. It discusses how reducing global warming and saving biodiversity can both be achieved with the right market conditions. The contributors include conservation biologists, ecologists, biologists, economists, lawyers, community and tribal specialists, financial specialists, market makers, environment specialists, climatologists, resource managers, atmospheric scientists, project developers and corporate fund managers.
Download or read book Chocolate and Sustainable Cocoa Farming written by Peter McMahon and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2023-04-11 with total page 567 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This second edition includes an updated bibliography.Astley's signature is a highly allusive, layered and self-conscious prose style, non-linear and open-ended (Gillian Whitlock, JASAL: Journal of Association for the Study of Australian Literature, 6, 2007, p. 154.)The essays offer insights into issues of language, art, gender and religion ... as well as Astley's evolving body of writing and the historical and literary context of her work (Lyn Jacobs, Australian Literary Studies v.23, n.3, 2008, p.358).
Download or read book Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes written by Götz Schroth and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-03-22 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agroforestry -- the practice of integrating trees and other large woody perennials on farms and throughout the agricultural landscape -- is increasingly recognized as a useful and promising strategy that diversifies production for greater social, economic, and environmental benefits. Agroforestry and BiodiversityConservation in Tropical Landscapes brings together 46 scientists and practitioners from 13 countries with decades of field experience in tropical regions to explore how agroforestry practices can help promote biodiversity conservation in human-dominated landscapes, to synthesize the current state of knowledge in the field, and to identify areas where further research is needed. Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes is the first comprehensive synthesis of the role of agroforestry systems in conserving biodiversity in tropical landscapes, and contains in-depth review chapters of most agroforestry systems, with examples from many different countries. It is a valuable source of information for scientists, researchers, professors, and students in the fields of conservation biology, resource management, tropical ecology, rural development, agroforestry, and agroecology.
Download or read book Biodiversity and Social Carbon written by Divaldo Rezende and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Chocolate Crisis written by Dale Walters and published by University Press of Florida. This book was released on 2020-12-22 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chocolate is the center of a massive global industry worth billions of dollars annually, yet its future in our modern world is currently under threat. In Chocolate Crisis, Dale Walters discusses the problems posed by plant diseases, pests, and climate change, looking at what these mean for the survival of the cacao tree. Walters takes readers to the origins of the cacao tree in the Amazon basin of South America, describing how ancient cultures used the beans produced by the plant, and follows the rise of chocolate as an international commodity over many centuries. He explains that most cacao is now grown on small family farms in Latin America, West Africa, and Indonesia, and that the crop is not easy to make a living from. Diseases such as frosty pod rot, witches’ broom, and swollen shoot, along with pests such as sap-sucking capsids, cocoa pod borers, and termites, cause substantial losses every year. Most alarmingly, cacao growers are beginning to experience the accelerating effects of global warming and deforestation. Projections suggest that cultivation in many of the world’s traditional cacao-growing regions might soon become impossible. Providing an up-to-date picture of the state of the cacao bean today, this book also includes a look at complex issues such as farmer poverty and child labor, and examines options for sustainable production amid a changing climate. Walters shows that the industry must tackle these problems in order to save this global cultural staple and to protect the people who make their livelihoods from producing it.
Download or read book Chocolate written by Meredith L. Dreiss and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2022-09-13 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chocolate: Pathway to the Gods takes readers on a journey through 3,000 years of the history of chocolate. It is a trip filled with surprises. And it is a beautifully illustrated tour, featuring 132 vibrant color photographs and a captivating sixty-minute DVD documentary. Along the way, readers learn about the mystical allure of chocolate for the peoples of Mesoamerica, who were the first to make it and who still incorporate it into their lives and ceremonies today. Although it didn’t receive its Western scientific name, Theobroma cacao—“food of the gods”—until the eighteenth century, the cacao tree has been at the center of Mesoamerican mythology for thousands of years. Not only did this “chocolate tree” produce the actual seeds from which chocolate was extracted but it was also symbolically endowed with cosmic powers that enabled a dialogue between humans and their gods. From the pre-Columbian images included in this sumptuous book, we are able to see for ourselves the importance of chocolate to the Maya, Aztecs, Olmecs, Mixtecs, and Zapotecs who grew, produced, traded, and fought over the prized substance. Through archaeological and other ethnohistoric research, the authors of this fascinating book document the significance of chocolate—to gods, kings, and everyday people—over several millennia. The illustrations allow us to envision the many ancient uses of this magical elixir: in divination ceremonies, in human sacrifices, and even in ball games. And as mythological connections between cacao trees, primordial rainforests, and biodiversity are unveiled, our own quest for ecological balance is reignited. In demonstrating the extraordinary value of chocolate in Mesoamerica, the authors provide new reasons—if any are needed—to celebrate this wondrous concoction.
Download or read book Trends in Sustainable Chocolate Production written by Charis M. Galanakis and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-02-24 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chocolate is consumed by people of all ages in all segments of society throughout the world. However, recent changes in legislative frameworks, environmental concerns and increasing attention towards sustainability have stimulated the chocolate industry to reconsider their management policy. Current books in the market cover chocolate manufacture without taking into account sustainable practices of production, consumption and market aspects. Trends in Sustainable Chocolate Production fills this knowledge gap by covering all the important aspects of chocolate industry (manufacture, functionality, sustainability of the supply chain, commercialization aspects and market characteristics) in one reference. Starting with the health outcomes of chocolate and an overview of its manufacture, the book explores techniques to improve the functionality, flavor and microstructure of chocolate, as well as its environmental impact through sustainable practices and supply chains. By connecting research to industry and consumer interests, this text aims to support members of the scientific community, professionals and enterprises working to develop a sustainable chocolate sector.
Download or read book Capturing Carbon and Conserving Biodiversity written by Ian Swingland and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For decades conservation has been based on the donor-driven principle. It hasn't worked. For centuries, environmental pollution or degradation has been addressed by the same attitude: the 'Polluter Pays' principle. That hasn't worked either. The cycle has to stop. But while everyone talks about using a market-driven approach, few know how to do it. Faced with the situation on the ground what do you do? What is happening? How can you engage a system so that it is self-sustaining and the people self-motivated? This study explores how the growing market in carbon can help to conserve carbon-based life forms. It discusses how reducing global warming and saving biodiversity can both be achieved with the right market conditions. The contributors include conservation biologists, ecologists, biologists, economists, lawyers, community and tribal specialists, financial specialists, market makers, environment specialists, climatologists, resource managers, atmospheric scientists, project developers and corporate fund managers.
Download or read book Planet Ark written by Adrienne Mason and published by Kids Can Press Ltd. This book was released on 2013-04-01 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Young readers can learn how to be modern-day Noahs and protect the world’s plants and animals from extinction not by building a giant boat, but by making small changes in their everyday lives - from planting trees to turning off the tap - to help preserve the world’s biodiversity. Planet Ark is part of CitizenKid, a collection of books that inform children about the world and inspire them to be better global citizens.
Download or read book Cocoa Cycles written by François Ruf and published by Woodhead Publishing. This book was released on 1995-06-30 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The cyclical boom-to-recession nature of the economics of cocoa supply is a major problem for the international cocoa industry - and especially for countries whose economies depend on cocoa exports. Only through an understanding of the dynamics of cocoa cycles can policy decisions be made through the various phases of supply cycles. Based on a major international cocoa conference, this book presents seventeen edited papers from leading experts, making a major contribution to that understanding. It explains the powerful economic, social and political factors which impact on the cocoa economy. It shows the laws of cocoa supply are closely linked to environmental, ecological and institutional factors.
Download or read book Nature Inc written by Bram BŸscher and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2014-05-29 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With global wildlife populations and biodiversity riches in peril, it is obvious that innovative methods of addressing our planet's environmental problems are needed. But is “the market” the answer? Nature™ Inc. brings together cutting-edge research by respected scholars from around the world to analyze how “neoliberal conservation” is reshaping human–nature relations.
Download or read book The Carbon Almanac written by The Carbon Almanac Network and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-07-12 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When it comes to the climate, we don’t need more marketing or anxiety. We need established facts and a plan for collective action. The climate is the fundamental issue of our time, and now we face a critical decision. Whether to be optimistic or fatalistic, whether to profess skepticism or to take action. Yet it seems we can barely agree on what is really going on, let alone what needs to be done. We urgently need facts, not opinions. Insights, not statistics. And a shift from thinking about climate change as a “me” problem to a “we” problem. The Carbon Almanac is a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between hundreds of writers, researchers, thinkers, and illustrators that focuses on what we know, what has come before, and what might happen next. Drawing on over 1,000 data points, the book uses cartoons, quotes, illustrations, tables, histories, and articles to lay out carbon’s impact on our food system, ocean acidity, agriculture, energy, biodiversity, extreme weather events, the economy, human health, and best and worst-case scenarios. Visually engaging and built to share, The Carbon Almanac is the definitive source for facts and the basis for a global movement to fight climate change. This isn’t what the oil companies, marketers, activists, or politicians want you to believe. This is what’s really happening, right now. Our planet is in trouble, and no one concerned group, corporation, country, or hemisphere can address this on its own. Self-interest only increases the problem. We are in this together. And it’s not too late for concerted, collective action for change.
Download or read book The Economics of Chocolate written by Mara P. Squicciarini and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-01-21 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, written by global experts, provides a comprehensive and topical analysis on the economics of chocolate. While the main approach is economic analysis, there are important contributions from other disciplines, including psychology, history, government, nutrition, and geography. The chapters are organized around several themes, including the history of cocoa and chocolate — from cocoa drinks in the Maya empire to the growing sales of Belgian chocolates in China; how governments have used cocoa and chocolate as a source of tax revenue and have regulated chocolate (and defined it by law) to protect consumers' health from fraud and industries from competition; how the poor cocoa producers in developing countries are linked through trade and multinational companies with rich consumers in industrialized countries; and how the rise of consumption in emerging markets (China, India, and Africa) is causing a major boom in global demand and prices, and a potential shortage of the world's chocolate.
Download or read book Biodiversity written by Alfonso Alonso and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2008-03 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biodiversity is the extraordinary variety of life on Earth -- from genes & species to ecosystems & the valuable functions they perform. Life as we know it will not be the same if our rich biodiversity heritage is dramatically altered. And the signs indicate that this is precisely what is happening. Biodiversity is threatened, & not because of catastrophic events. The current threat to biodiversity, & thus to the tapestry of life, stems primarily from expanding human populations & increased human consumption of natural resources. Fortunately, we can take steps to protect our rich biodiversity. This report explains what biodiversity is, why it is so important, why it is threatened, & what can be done to conserve this valuable resource. Illustrations.
Download or read book The Secret Life of Flies written by Erica McAlister and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Below ground Interactions in Tropical Agroecosystems written by Meine van Noordwijk and published by CABI. This book was released on 2004 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Below-grownd interactions are often seen as the 'dark side' of agroecosystems, especially when more than one crop is grown on the same piece of land at he same time. this book aims to review the amount of light he past decade of research has shed on this topic. It also aims to review ohw far we have come in unravelling the positive and negative aspects of these interactions and how, in dialogue with farmers, we can use the generic principles that are now emerging to look for sita-specifics solutions.
