FAO’s Post

Let the Cimate Improvement Action Begin

Embracing Sustainability: Varmora Ceramics Leads the Way on World Environment Day On World Environment Day, Varmora Ceramics stands in solidarity with the global theme of “Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience.” As a leader in the ceramic industry, we recognise our unique position to influence positive environmental change. Today, we’re not just manufacturing tiles; we’re cultivating a greener future. Our employees have enthusiastically participated in a tree plantation initiative right at the heart of our production facilities. Each tree planted is a commitment to our planet’s health and a testament to our motto: ‘Our Land, Our Future.’ We call upon all ceramic manufacturing units to join us in this green revolution. It’s time for our industry to pave the way for sustainable manufacturing practices. By restoring land and building drought resilience, we can ensure that our operations leave a legacy of vitality, not vulnerability. Together, let’s mold a future where the ceramic industry is synonymous with environmental stewardship. #WorldEnvironmentDay #SustainableCeramics #VarmoraCeramics #EcoFriendlyManufacturing

Plants & Fungi are crucial to the livelihood and cultural practices of so many indigenous communities and so their trade must benefit them as well as conservation aims. Read more about the work of TRAFFIC and our team in Nepal here: https://lnkd.in/gZGGNHTs as well as an interview I conducted with a wonderful woman called Ramila who is a wild plant selling entrepreneur with a fascinating story https://lnkd.in/gv67tSxE X

On this #WorldSoilDay, we return to our series of posts that weekly highlight different RAIN projects that are helping not only the soil stay healthy but also emphasizing its significance for communities rooted in these lands for generations. Kalunga: voices from the Cerrado: Soil is a bustling community where bacteria, fungi and other tiny organisms work together to support plant growth. It speaks volumes about the interconnectedness of life. It's a silent witness to the stories of the Kalunga people, their traditions and the unique biodiversity of the Cerrado. At RAIN, through sustainable practices and community-led efforts, we're fostering a healthier, more resilient ecosystem. This is how our agroforestry and restoration initiatives in the Cerrado are nurturing the soil back to life: 🌳 Trees in agroforestry systems anchor the soil, preventing erosion and enhancing fertility. 💧 Restoration projects not only recover ecosystems but also contribute to soil regeneration, ensuring a sustainable future. On this World Soil Day, let us commit to being stewards of the soil. Whether supporting our Kalunga project or practicing sustainable soil management in your own space, every action counts. To support our project in the Quilombo Kalunga, please click here:  https://lnkd.in/d_9TfGpZ  #WorldSoilDay #KalungaVoices #SoilHealth #CerradoRegeneration #SupportRestorationProjects #QuilomboKalunga #RegenerationProjects #EcologicalRestoration #DonatetotheEarth

HAPPY WORLD BEE DAY 2024 World Bee Day is an annual awareness day for the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy. Bees are increasingly under threat from human lifestyles; the 2 main causes of depletion being use of pesticides on crops and habitat loss from urban development and intensive farming. Climate change is also applying pressure, as bees are struggling to cope with weather extremes. 75% of the worlds food crops are dependent on pollination and so something needs to be done. What can we do as individuals? - Buy raw honey from local sources - Avoid pesticides in our gardens - Plant a diverse set if native plants which flower at different times of the year - Treat tired bees to sugar water - Keep some weeds - Help to spread awareness Special shout out to Ellis Haslam, Harringtons Builders PLC and the rest of the team in Stevenage for creating planters through up-cycling old pallets, to create a vegetable patch and flower patches to support the bees. You can see how much they're enjoyed below 😀 🐝 🌸

🌱📣 Exciting Announcement! 🌱 📣 We're thrilled to share a groundbreaking collaboration between GAIAGO and Seqana that's changing the world of soil regeneration and carbon offsetting! 🌍💚 Seqana crafted a stratified sampling design for Gaïago, covering nearly 25,000 hectares of farmland across France and Belgium. 🌾 This design is a pivotal step for Gaïago's ambitious European Soil Revitalization programme.  The programme is developed in collaboration with South Pole, and is one of the largest soil organic carbon initiatives on the European voluntary carbon market. 🚀 But that's not all! Gaïago's vision extends far beyond borders, as they aim to expand this project across more regions in the coming years. 🌱 With Seqana by their side as their trusted partner in stratification and sampling design, the future looks more regenerative than ever! 🌿 Gaïago is leading the way by following Gold Standard’s Soil Organic Carbon Framework Methodology, enabling regenerative farmers to not only nurture their land but also soon reap the rewards through carbon credit revenue. 💰💡 This project is proof of the power of collaboration and dedication. Over 570 farmers have joined forces, embracing practices that promote soil health and reduce carbon emissions. 🌱🌟 At Seqana, we're proud to contribute our expertise to ensure the scientific integrity and quality of the project’s soil sampling design. 💪 Our commitment to ensuring that the resulting carbon credits are of the highest quality aligns with Gaïago's values. 🔍✨ Here's to a future where sustainability and innovation go hand in hand! 🌿💡 Let's continue to sow the seeds of change together! 🌱💚 #Sustainability #CarbonOffset #SoilRegeneration #PartnershipGoals #CarbonFarming #RegenerativeAgriculture

Happy Pollinator Week (June 17 - 23)! It's amazing how something as small as a bee can have such a huge impact on our ecosystem. Did you know that "pollinators provide pollination services to over 180,000 different plant species and more than 1,200 crops"? That means 1 out of every 3 bites of food you eat is there because of pollinators! (pollinator.org) There are many ways to protect and raise awareness for our pollinators. This Pollinator Week, you can: 🌿 Make your garden more pollinator-friendly: https://buff.ly/3RXBkcv 🐝 Join the pollinator community through fun activities: https://buff.ly/3VM4D3U 🌍 Increase your awareness of the impact of pollinators: https://buff.ly/2EFHI27 Let's learn to protect our pollinators so they can continue to provide for us. #PollinatorWeek

Picture a seed confined to a jar on a shelf, craving the touch of soil, sunlight, and caring hands… Its true potential? Not in isolation but in the embrace of community—a collective commitment to its well-being. Every seed houses an ancient story of resilience, adaptation, and connection—a story woven not just in soil but in the hearts and minds of those who nurture them, and who safeguard their legacy for generations to come. A story that echoes the universal language of connection—a silent dialogue spoken in the soil of collective consciousness. This essence of rematriation transcends preservation—it's an act of love, bringing seeds back to their communities, reuniting them with rightful stewards, and honoring ancestral wisdom. Every day, around the world we are losing plant species and varieties that once nourished our ancestors. But you can help change that. Organizations like Seed Savers Exchange bridge past and present, tradition and innovation, sharing seeds to elevate communities and reclaim food sovereignty. And, in farms like Ukwakhwa Tsinu Niyukwayayathoslu @ukwakhwa, rematriation thrives,  traditional seeds taking root once more, nourished by understanding hands amid rows of corn, beans, and squash. Their long term goal for this property is to serve as a place to host events where the community comes to learn about planting, growing, harvesting, seed keeping, food preparation, food storage, as well as making traditional tools and crafts. The philosophy is that every time an indigenous individual plants a seed, that is an act of resistance and an assertion of sovereignty. As we strive to preserve the diversity of seeds and the foods they produce, we invite you to learn more about Seed Rematriation and the possibilities it holds for your communities. Consider supporting orgs that are welcoming seeds back home, like Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance , Seed Savers Exchange , Dream of Wild Health , Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and @ukwakhwa  🌱 ___ ~ Video clip from “Seed Mother: Coming Home”, by Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance, Directed by Rowen White and Mateo Hinojosa ~ Cover image via Food Tank #seedkeepers #seedrematriation #indigenous

Life Matters for All All life matters as all matters are intrinsically connected to all life on Earth What is the typical life of a donkey? Jordi Casamitjana writes about their history and their lives today, in a piece for Vegan FTA “The Truth About Exploiting Donkeys” https://lnkd.in/eakNx4Wj Farmed and exploited as laborers, and slaughtered for gelatin. Jordi’s account builds gently from their evolutionary history to their early roles in human cultures to today’s Anthrpocentric global exploitation of donkeys from kiddie rides and tourist taxi, to back country rural farm animal pulling crops to market, to construction industry hard laborers hauling tons of sand and bricks hour after hour for endless days until they finally collapse and expire of exhaustion, yet there is even more horrid fates he goes into. He references the report, “Under the Skin”, by The Donkey Sanctuary which I link you to here https://lnkd.in/ehGxYJbh The report, where the photo below tells of the Ejiao trade, speaks of how it is decimating donkey populations in Africa, and sees donkeys rounded up in the U.S. shipped to Slaughter in Japan, as China’s factory farming includes donkeys with up to 3,000 per farm. Unsurprisingly the U. S. ranks third in exporting of products containing the Ejiao gelatin. It tells of donkeys in Ethiopia and Gana who carry water and basic goods to aid families striving to survive, especially for women who must care for children and without that help must perform daily hard labors themselves, they value the donkeys as work companions, yet the donkeys are stolen and trafficked into the Ejiao trade. Of course neither the donkeys nor the impoverished people should be in such difficult situations, but for the Anthrocentric hyper capitalist “economics” of profit over inherent rights to life for all species. Is it the incessant need to dominate that seems to define “success” that drives the wedge between the have and have nots and humans and nonhumans. Animal Exploitation is the root of all oppression, the root of all personal and systemic violence. Photo caption: “Donkey awaits his fate as skins dry on the ground and carcasses pile up”

Beekeeping plays a crucial role in the pollination of almond trees in California. Almonds are the state's largest agricultural export, and they heavily rely on honeybees for successful pollination. However, the challenges of beekeeping for almond pollination are significant and require careful planning, coordination and execution. BeeHero is uniquely positioned to proudly support the important partnership between beekeepers and almond growers and ensure the sustainability of California's almond industry. Watch this fascinating video created by BeeHero's Team, to learn more about the world's largest pollination event. #pollinators #pollination #precisionagriculture #sustainablefarming #beehealth