Understanding, managing and protecting water resources is critical to the delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (e.g., education, water and sanitation, healthy oceans, zero hunger, good health, gender equality, energy, industry, and biodiversity). Increasing urbanisation, industrialisation, and climate change, however, are increasing pressure on water supplies and reducing water quality ...[Read More]
Peat in the Tropics
As has been previously discussed in Robert’s blog, fertile soil is an incredibly important resource that is fast running out in many regions of the world. It is true that soil’s importance for agriculture (and sustainable development) cannot be understated, but I wish to focus on another aspect of soil in this week’s blog– its ability to store carbon. One soil type in particular, peat, is an incre ...[Read More]
Robert Emberson: Soil Erosion and Sustainable Development
Over the last few weeks we’ve introduced you to some new faces on the GfGD blog, including Robert Emberson, Heather Britton and Jesse Zondervan. Today, Robert (based in Victoria, Canada) writes on the connections between soil erosion and sustainable development, and poses the question – is soil one of our most threatened resources? When we talk about sustainable energy sources, most of the ...[Read More]
Volcanic and Biological Hotspots
Geology for Global Development followed Professor Iain Stewart’s BBC two TV series (June 2013), ‘Rise of the Continents‘ with interest. In the first episode, Iain mentioned something that really caught our attention – the strange volcanoes along the East African rift valley and their effect on soils and wildlife. Each year, as the rainy season transforms the Serengeti, a n ...[Read More]