This is taken from the always useful scidev.net. A global research alliance that aims to produce more food for the world's growing population while reducing carbon emissions from agriculture has laid out its plans.
The Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases - launched at the Copenhagen climate summit in December - held its first meeting in Wellington, New Zealand, in April 2010, with 28 of the 29 member states in attendance.
This is taken from the always useful scidev.net. A global research alliance that aims to produce more food for the world's growing population while reducing carbon emissions from agriculture has laid out its plans.
The Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases - launched at the Copenhagen climate summit in December - held its first meeting in Wellington, New Zealand, in April 2010, with 28 of the 29 member states in attendance.
The alliance aims to bridge gaps in research on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, which account for around 14 per cent of the world's total emissions. It also seeks to coordinate such research on an international scale, ensuring that scientists share their findings with research communities and farmers in other countries as well as their own.
This was the first time policy officials and scientists had come together to discuss the alliance's work for the next year. Alliance members agreed on three research strands: crop management research led by the United States; livestock issues led jointly by the Netherlands and New Zealand; and rice paddy farming investigations led by Japan.
A further research area to study the role of soil carbon in agricultural emissions is also under consideration, said David Carter, New Zealand's agriculture minister and the meeting's co-host. Member states, including 13 developing countries, can decide which research groups are most relevant to their needs and join any of them, said Carter.
The work across all three strands will initially focus on mitigation of greenhouse emissions, he added, and research must be clearly defined to avoid overlap with existing knowledge.
Developing countries are important to the alliance, he said, because a large proportion of their emissions usually comes from agriculture.
For discussions related to the launch of the alliance, see this blog.
Hayden Montgomery, Special Advisor for the Global Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases, has sent through additional background information, see below.
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