Issues 93:
Biodiversity

Editorial

Of Pandas and Peas
They may lack the charisma of megafauna, but plants are the objects of stronger connections with people. Can they cope with climate change?

Biodiversity and Food Security
Can we have our biodiversity and eat it too? International and Australian specialists focused on biodiversity conservation and world food security at the 2010 annual conference of the Crawford Fund.

Biodiversity Back on the Menu
Healthy diets depend on diversity. Despite calls for more diversity in food and underlying crop systems, the world has witnessed research and development focusing almost exclusively on a handful of crops.

Garden Variety
Crop improvement, environmental sustainability and higher farm incomes all depend on agricultural biodiversity – as does simply consuming a healthy, balanced diet.

GM and Biodiversity
Over the next 40 years there will be marked increases in agricultural inputs, and an additional one billion hectares of wild land will be appropriated for crops and pastures.

Unleashing the Potential of Wild Fruits
Bringing superior varieties of fruit trees out of the forest and domesticating them to be grown on farms and in gardens is increasing biodiversity and generating income for farmers.

Expansion without Extinction
Managing agricultural development while conserving biodiversity is a challenge for practitioners of development and conservation.

Waterbirds at Risk at Bundala RAMSAR Site
Irrigation projects upstream have left some wetlands dry while others are flooded, with consequences for the waterbirds that depend on them.

Mammal Extinctions: A Top End Tragedy
A surge of mammal extinctions is underway in the Top End, according to an alarming new report.

Livestock Diversity Needs Gene Banks
Livestock gene banks are needed to ensure the world’s future food supply.

Australian Plant Genetic Resource Collections and Global Food Security
Better investment in and coordination of our plant genetic resources centres can benefit both global food security and rural Australia.

Critical Situation for Pavlovsk Station
The international scientific community has called on the Russian President to halt the destruction of a Russian plant collection that is critical to the world.

Fish Diversity and Migration in the Mekong River
The diverse fish fauna of the Mekong provides food, employment and income for millions of people, but its sustainability is threatened by barriers that block fish migration.

Aquatic Biodiversity and the Livelihoods of Fishers in Developing Countries
An understanding of all levels of biodiversity is needed to address poverty and hunger among people who rely on fishing or fish farming to live.