CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes

The three Rio Conventions were established at the 1992 Earth Summit to address interconnected global challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation.

They are implemented through the UNFCCC, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.

A new CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes white paper examines how these agendas intersect through food, land, and water systems, often described as the Rio Nexus, and how more coordinated action can strengthen outcomes across all three.

The paper highlights that food systems are central to these challenges. They contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, drive land use change, and affect biodiversity and water systems. Current estimates indicate that food systems contribute about one-third of global emissions and remain a major driver of environmental pressures.

Drawing on evidence and case studies, the paper shows that integrated approaches to managing food, land, and water systems can support climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and land restoration within the same landscapes.

It also highlights that coordinated action can improve efficiency. In Rwanda, aligning land restoration efforts across these areas reduced transaction costs by 56%, with estimated savings of USD 45.6 million annually.

The findings emphasize the importance of policy coherence, coordinated governance, and investment approaches that reflect the interconnected nature of these systems.

📄 Read the full white paper: https://cgspace.cgiar.org/items/54393e4e-16ca-40dc-a74d-07ba06e2a22b



Pauliina Upla | MAHA Al-ZU'BI, Ph.D. | Véronique Alary | Dr. Alok Sikka | Augusto Castro-Nuñez, PhD | Lulseged Tamene | Natalia Estrada Carmona | Fiona Flintan | Aymen Frija | Birgit Habermann | Manoj Kaushal | Gopal Kumar | Sudharsan Malaiappan | Ruth Meinzen-Dick | An Notenbaert | David Ramirez Collantes | Leonard Rusinamhodzi 🇿🇼 | Dr. Ayan Samaddar (Ph.D) | Ramesh Singh | Cargele Nduwamungu Masso

Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, ILRI, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Cirad - La recherche agronomique pour le développement, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), International Potato Center, WorldFish, ICRISAT

Geopolitical tensions are exposing a critical vulnerability in global food systems.

A new op-ed from the CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program, authored by Lulseged Tamene, Jonathan Mockshell, Francisco Hidalgo, Ryan Nehring, and WEI ZHANG, examines how disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz are driving spikes in fuel, fertiliser, and food prices.

The implications are significant. This corridor alone handles around 20% of global oil exports and up to 30% of internationally traded fertilisers, meaning shocks here ripple quickly across food systems.

The analysis highlights a deeper structural issue: modern food systems remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels, from fertiliser production to processing, transport, and storage. This dependence increases exposure to geopolitical and economic shocks, with disproportionate impacts on smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries.

At the same time, the authors point to a growing body of evidence showing that agroecological and nature-positive approaches can reduce reliance on external inputs while strengthening resilience, improving soil health, and supporting livelihoods.

Examples from Ethiopia, India, Vietnam, and Peru illustrate how diversified systems, crop rotations, and agroforestry can maintain or even improve productivity under changing conditions.

The piece calls for coordinated action across scales: stabilising input access in the short term, reforming subsidies and incentives in the medium term, and transitioning toward more regenerative and locally embedded food systems over the long term.

This is not only about responding to current disruptions, but about rethinking how food systems are structured in an increasingly uncertain world.

Read the full op-ed here: https://on.cgiar.org/3QqAgzJ



International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) | Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT

Geopolitical conflict-driven food fallout calls for agroecology solutions Sharp surges in energy, fertiliser, and food prices triggered by the ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf strikingly illustrate the deep interconnections between geopolitical conflicts, food insecurity and the fragility of fossil fuel-dependent food systems. Our authors are calling for a shift towar...

In Mandla, central India, small homestead plots are being transformed through agroecological practices.

In this piece, Tanmoy Bhaduri, Gulshan Borah and Sudharsan Malaiappan from International Water Management Institute (IWMI) share how indigenous women are reshaping farming systems in their communities.

The story is part of work under the CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes (MFL) Science Program, where homestead farming is being used to address nutrition, income, and resource challenges in upland areas.

What were once low-yield plots are now supporting more diverse production and new roles for women in decision-making.

Read the full story: dialogue.earth/en/food/homestead-farming-is-empowering-indigenous-women-in-central-india/