scholarly journals Challenges to Cocoa Production in the Face of Climate Change and the Spread of Pests and Diseases

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1232
Author(s):  
Christian Cilas ◽  
Philippe Bastide
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Additional Constraint ◽  
The Other ◽  
Plant Health ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Cocoa Production ◽  
The Face

The evolution of cocoa farming was quickly confronted with the development of pests and diseases. These sanitary constraints have shaped the geographical distribution of production over the centuries. Current climate change adds an additional constraint to the plant health constraints, making the future of cocoa farming more uncertain. Climate change is not only affecting the areas where cocoa is grown for physiological reasons, particularly in relation to changes in water regimes, but also affects the distribution of pests and diseases affecting this crop. These different points are discussed in the light of the trajectories observed in the different cocoa-growing areas. The breeding programs of cocoa trees for sustainable resistance to plant health constraints and climate change are therefore particularly important challenges for cocoa farming, with the other management practices of plantations.

scholarly journals Minimizing pest and disease risks in uncertain climates: CABI initiatives developing new technologies and tools for outreaching early warning to farmers.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryony Taylor ◽  
Jonathan Casey ◽  
Sivapragasam Annamalai ◽  
Elizabeth A. Finch ◽  
Tim Beale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Extreme Temperatures ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
The Face

Abstract Recent climate models have projected a global temperature increase of at least 1.5-2°C on present day temperatures, including a high likelihood of an increase in extreme temperatures experienced in inhabited places. Changes to observed precipitation patterns are likely with several regions predicted to experience an increase in heavy precipitation and others likely to experience more drought, and a precipitation deficit. There is a growing body of evidence to suggest these changing climatic conditions affect the distribution and phenology of pests and diseases of agriculture. As ectothermic organisms, arthropod pests and fungal diseases are sensitive to changes in mean temperatures and temperature ranges to which they are exposed, with warmer average conditions likely to increase development rates and more extreme temperatures likely to have a negative impact on development. Models which incorporate climate change projections indicate that pests and diseases may shift or increase their ranges in line with warming temperatures. Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with farmers reporting negative impacts on crop production and needing to change farming practices in response to changing climates. In the face of changeable conditions, traditional pest management practices may not be as effective given the climate change induced changes which may be present in the ecosystems e.g. alteration of tritrophic interactions between pest and natural enemies. This paper gives an overview of current and recent projects where CABI and partners have developed and utilised existing technologies, methodologies and approaches that may help smallholder farmers to receive the necessary information to control pests and diseases in the context of changing climates. First, we cover the application of species distribution models and their benefits in highlighting areas at risk of pest incursion in the future. Second, we cover within season modelling approaches, driven by earth observation data sources to help farmers to make informed decisions on the best time to apply an intervention, in the face of changing within season temperatures. Finally, we report on CABI's activities associated with climate smart agriculture in South East Asia.

scholarly journals COVID-19 in the International Year of Plant Health

2022 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Jorge Gutiérrez-Samperio
Keyword(s):  
Life Forms ◽  
Plant Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
The Bible ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face ◽  
Health Organization

<p>Pests, in their broad sense, have played an important part in the history of humankind. We could say that humans, crops and pests have walked together through life. Codices, glyphs, paintings and countless ancient documents, including the Bible and the Koran, bear witness to this. Humanity has been attacked by its own diseases, but also by those that limit them from obtaining food and deteriorate the environment. COVID-19, which is now troubling us and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March of 2020, became a part of the list of experiences we have suffered in the past, with pests or epidemics that caused millions of deaths by diseases or famines. It is paradoxical that this health contingency occurs when the United Nations General Assembly, on December 20th, 2018, in its resolution A/RES/73/252 decides to declare 2020 the International Year of Plant Health in order to “highlight the importance of plant health to improve food security, protect the environment and biodiversity and boost economic development” according to the pronouncement by the FAO. For the first time, in an era with great technological and scientific breakthroughs, humanity was aware of its vulnerability against the inevitable evolution of life forms in the face of dilemmas global impact caused by human beings. Thus, the pest or parasite makes its own declaration of existential preeminence through SARS-CoV-2 to remind us that the health of humans or plants is the essence of life and its continuity. But perhaps absolute health is not enough. It is necessary to find a balance in a world overwhelmed by giving so much in return for almost nothing to everyone living on it. If the sensor of our anthropocentric intervention of the world is climate change, then biological chaos is a masterpiece. The reemergence of pests and diseases considered eradicated, or those of zoonotic origin that had never accompanied our existence is a surreal dystopia that we will never be able to deny again.</p>

Demokratie im 21. Jahrhundert

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Political System ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
State And Society ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face ◽  
The One

Whereas democracy still seemed to be triumphantly sweeping the world before the turn of the century, today it finds itself under immense pressure, not only as a viable political system, but also as a theoretical and normative concept. The coronavirus crisis has underlined and accelerated these developments. There are manifold reasons for this, above all the fundamental changes the state and society have undergone in the face of globalisation, digitalisation, migration, climate change and not least the current pandemic, to name the most significant of them. This volume analyses the changes to democracy in the 21st century and the crises it has experienced. In doing so, the book identifies where action is needed, on the one hand, and investigates appropriate, up-to-date reforms and the prospects for politics, political communication and political education, on the other. With contributions by Ulrich von Alemann, Bernd Becker, Frank Brettschneider, Frank Decker, Claudio Franzius, Georg Paul Hefty, Andreas Kalina, Helmut Klages, Uwe Kranenpohl, Pola Lehmann, Linus Leiten, Dirk Lüddecke, Thomas Metz, Ursula Münch, Ursula Alexandra Ohliger, Veronika Ohliger, Rainer-Olaf Schultze, Peter Seyferth, Hans Vorländer, Uwe Wagschal, Thomas Waldvogel and Samuel Weishaupt

scholarly journals Mudanças Climáticas e seu Impacto na Incidência de Arboviroses: Uma Revisão Sistemática de Estudos Recentes

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 3361
Author(s):  
Tayane Cristiele Rodrigues Mesquita ◽  
André Pereira Rosa ◽  
Alisson Carraro Borges
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Viral Transmission ◽  
Global Distribution ◽  
The Other ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
The Relationship

Estudos indicam que as mudanças climáticas poderão afetar a distribuição global de arboviroses, influenciando fatores como sobrevivência de vetores, patógenos e transmissão viral. Assim, buscou-se nesse estudo realizar uma revisão sistemática dos artigos mais recentes – publicados entre 2015 e 2020 - relativos a essa temática. Após a aplicação de critérios de elegibilidade, 28 artigos foram selecionados para análise. A partir da revisão, verificou-se que as mudanças climáticas poderão afetar a aptidão das regiões para transmissão viral e a distribuição geográfica de mosquitos do gênero Aedes. Contudo, o efeito das mudanças climáticas varia em diferentes regiões, podendo causar expansão ou contração das áreas aptas para a ocorrência de arboviroses. Em geral, verifica-se um potencial crescimento das áreas aptas em regiões temperadas, sobretudo para o A. albopictus. Em regiões tropicais, por outro lado, o aumento da temperatura poderá limitar as áreas, atualmente, consideradas aptas. Embora não seja intuitivo, alguns estudos previram que a mitigação parcial das mudanças climáticas pode ocasionar maior risco de transmissão viral do que nenhuma mitigação. Assim, é possível verificar que a relação entre as mudanças climáticas e a transmissão de arboviroses não é direta e pode variar em diferentes cenários e locais.     Climate Change and its Impact on the Incidence of Arboviruses: A Systematic Review of Recent Studies A B S T R A C TStudies indicate that climate change may affect the global distribution of arboviruses, influencing factors such as vector survival, pathogens, and viral transmission. Thus, this study aimed to conduct a systematic review of the most recent articles - published between 2015 and 2020 - related to this theme. After applying eligibility criteria, 28 papers were selected for analysis. From the review, it was found that climate change may affect the suitability of regions for viral transmission and the geographical distribution of mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. However, the effect of climate change varies in different regions, which may cause expansion or contraction of areas suitable for the occurrence of arboviruses. In general, there is a potential for growth in suitable areas within temperate regions, especially for A. albopictus. In tropical regions, on the other hand, the increase in temperature may limit the areas currently considered suitable. Although not intuitive, some studies have predicted that partial mitigation of climate change may lead to a higher risk of viral transmission than no mitigation. Thus, it is possible to verify that the relationship between climate change and the transmission of arboviruses is not direct and may vary in different scenarios and locations.Keywords: Climate; Projection; Aedes; Arboviruses. 

Political Institutions and Intergenerational Ethics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Karnein
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
The Face ◽  
Intergenerational Ethics ◽  
Change Mitigation

This chapter reviews two prominent debates about institutions and intergenerational ethics, one held at the time of the founding of America and the other held today in the context of climate change. These two debates have more in common than may, at first, appear. On the face of it, the historical debate was about whether institutions, specifically the constitution, may bind future generations or whether the latter should be left maximally unencumbered. By contrast, proponents of climate change mitigation today would like institutions to be more inclusive of future generations’ interests. But, this chapter suggests, the new debate ought to be understood along the same lines as the old one, namely as being about avoiding disenfranchisement, that is, about preventing a situation in which previous generations determine too much of the context of future generations’ choices.

Using International Trade Data to Inform the Plant Health and Biosecurity Response in the UK

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 117-120
Author(s):  
Nicola Spence ◽  
Sam Grant
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Trade ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Plant Health ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Uk

Plants are essential for supporting human life, providing food, oxygen and medicine as well as benefits to health from interacting with nature. Plants also play a crucial role in ecosystems and in mitigating the effects of climate change. The importance of plants to humans and to the environment is gaining a higher level of attention in today's political and social landscape. The Great Britain Plant Health and Biosecurity Strategy will be updated this year to reflect upcoming challenges for maintaining high biosecurity standards while the Tree Health Resilience Strategy protects our trees going forward, allowing for adaption to environmental change and building resilience to future threats. Additionally, 2020 is the FAO's International Year of Plant Health providing a unique opportunity to raise the profile of plant heath further on a global scale. Critical to biosecurity is the global trade in plants and plant commodities which may offer us the option to grow plants that are more suited to a future, warmer climate and thus more resilient to climate change, but which brings with it an increased risk of invasive pests and diseases. It is important that we protect our native species and minimise the risks of introducing new pests and diseases. The UK's plant health regime aims to manage that risk to protect the value of plants and trees, both as crops and forestry products, as well as ecosystem services and societal benefits. The UK is a net importer of plants and plant commodities and it is the role of the Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate (PHSI) and the Forestry Commission (FC) to carry out checks on imported material. Given that there are over 1,000 pests on the UK Plant Health Risk Register the challenge cannot be understated. It is unrealistic to expect that we can provide effective protection from all pests and diseases so potentially serious pests which are identified by the UK Plant Health Risk Group are subject to a detailed pest risk analysis (PRA) following internationally agreed methodologies. Import inspections are risk-based and use the outcomes of the PRA as the basis for focusing resource to the highest threats. The experimental statistics released by Defra in March 2020 'Plant Health – international trade and controlled consignments, 2014–2018' were developed to address some of the evidence gaps around plant health related trade and the value of plant health, and to provide users with information on the work of import inspectors.

scholarly journals Linked hydrologic and social systems that support resilience of traditional irrigation communities

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 293-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Fernald ◽  
S. Guldan ◽  
K. Boykin ◽  
A. Cibils ◽  
M. Gonzales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Hydrologic Processes ◽  
Traditional Local Knowledge ◽  
The Face ◽  
Traditional Irrigation

Abstract. Southwestern US irrigated landscapes are facing upheaval due to water scarcity and land use conversion associated with climate change, population growth, and changing economics. In the traditionally irrigated valleys of northern New Mexico, these stresses, as well as instances of community longevity in the face of these stresses, are apparent. Human systems have interacted with hydrologic processes over the last 400 years in river-fed irrigated valleys to create linked systems. In this study, we ask if concurrent data from multiple disciplines could show that human-adapted hydrologic and socioeconomic systems have created conditions for resilience. Various types of resiliencies are evident in the communities. Traditional local knowledge about the hydrosocial cycle of community water management and ability to adopt new water management practices is a key response to disturbances such as low water supply from drought. Livestock producers have retained their irrigated land by adapting: changing from sheep to cattle and securing income from outside their livestock operations. Labor-intensive crops decreased as off-farm employment opportunities became available. Hydrologic resilience of the system can be affected by both human and natural elements. We find, for example, that there are multiple hydrologic benefits of traditional irrigation system water seepage: it recharges the groundwater that recharges rivers, supports threatened biodiversity by maintaining riparian vegetation, and ameliorates impacts of climate change by prolonging streamflow hydrographs. Human decisions to transfer water out of agriculture or change irrigation management, as well as natural changes such as long-term drought or climate change, can result in reduced seepage and the benefits it provides. We have worked with the communities to translate the multidisciplinary dimensions of these systems into a common language of causal loop diagrams, which form the basis for modeling future scenarios to identify thresholds and tipping points of sustainability. Early indications are that these systems, though not immune to upheaval, have astonishing resilience.

scholarly journals Editorial

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 5-10
Author(s):  
Michele Nicoletti
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
The Other ◽  
Italian Journal ◽  
The Face ◽  
Political Communities ◽  
The One ◽  
Migratory Movements ◽  
The Relationship

In introducing the inspiration behind and aims of the new Rivista Italiana di Filosofia Politica (Italian Journal of Political Philosophy), launched by the Italian Society for Political Philosophy, this editorial explores the relationship between politics and philosophy. As does all philosophy, political philosophy arises from the desire to understand what is new and to question existing reality. Political philosophy is thus political in a twofold sense: on the one hand, it is an act of freedom vis-à-vis existing power or knowledge, and, on the other, it is an attempt to establish social relations based on discursive reasoning, and on open participatory mechanisms for decision-making. This dual political attitude is ever more vital in the face of challenges to contemporary societies, such as climate change, migratory movements, dramatic inequalities, and the apparatus of surveillance. Eschewing a philosophy of distraction and non-engagement, political philosophy (and this Journal) endorses the idea of another, “more civic”, philosophy, one which is committed to the opening of new spaces of personal and collective freedom. This Journal intends to nurture the dialogue between Italian and international philosophical-political communities, showing the richness of Italian discussion, and highlighting some of the most authoritative international scholars. 

Editorial

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 11-16
Author(s):  
Michele Nicoletti
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
The Other ◽  
Italian Journal ◽  
The Face ◽  
Political Communities ◽  
The One ◽  
Migratory Movements ◽  
The Relationship

In introducing the project of the Rivista Italiana di Filosofia Politica (Italian Journal of Political Philosophy), launched by the Italian Society for Political Philosophy, this editorial explores the relationship between politics and philosophy. As with philosophy itself, political philosophy arises from the desire to understand what is new and to question existing reality. Political philosophy is thus political in a twofold sense: on the one hand, it is an act of freedom vis-à-vis existing power or knowledge, and, on the other, it is an attempt to establish social relations based on discursive rationality, and on open participatory mechanisms for decision-making. This dual political attitude is even more essential in the face of challenges to contemporary societies, such as climate change, migratory movements, dramatic inequalities, and the apparatus of surveillance. Avoiding the risk of a “philosophy of distraction or non-engagement”, political philosophy (and this Journal) endorses the idea of another, “more civic”, philosophy, one which is committed to the opening of new spaces of personal and collective freedom. This Journal intends to nurture the dialogue between Italian and international philosophical-political communities, showing the richness of Italian discussion, and highlighting some of the most authoritative international scholars. 

scholarly journals Grand challenges for the 21st century: what crop models can and can't (yet) do

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
João Vasco Silva ◽  
Ken E. Giller
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Keyword Search ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Crop Modelling ◽  
Crop Models ◽  
Grand Challenges ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
The Face

Abstract Crop production is at the core of a ‘perfect storm’ encompassing the grand challenges of achieving food and nutrition security for all, in the face of climate change, while avoiding further conversion of natural habitats for agriculture and loss of biodiversity. Here, we explore current trends in crop modelling related to these grand challenges by reflecting on research presented at the Second International Crop Modelling Symposium (iCropM2020). A keyword search in the book of abstracts of the symposium revealed a strong focus on ‘climate change’, ‘adaptation’ and ‘impact assessment’ and much less on ‘food security’ or ‘policy’. Most research focused on field-level investigations and far fewer on farm(ing) systems levels – the levels at which management decisions are made by farmers. Experimentation is key to development and testing of crop models, yet the term ‘simulation’ outweighed by far the terms ‘experiments’ and ‘trials’, and few contributions dealt with model improvement. Cereals are intensively researched, whereas roots, tubers and tropical perennials are under-researched. Little attention is paid to nutrient limitations apart from nitrogen or to pests and diseases. The aforementioned aspects represent opportunities for future research where crop models can help in devising hypotheses and driving new experimentation. We must also ensure that crop models are fit for their intended purposes, especially if they are to provide advice to policymakers. The latter, together with cross-scale and interdisciplinary efforts with direct engagement of stakeholders are needed to address the grand challenges faced by food and agricultural systems in the next century.

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