FAO Food & Agriculture Organization [to 22 March 2014]
http://www.fao.org/home/en/

Audio
2nd International Day of Forests 2014
21 March 2014, Rome – Today marks the second annual International Day of Forests. FAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, gave his address earlier today FAO headquarters in Rome, remarking on the importance of forests and the dangers of neglecting them and those who sustain them. Often those who benefit from the forestry sector are removed from the impact these natural resources have on our lives. From their role in maintaining global climatic equilibrium, protecting our soils, regulating the water cycle, preserving biodiversity, providing livelihoods and providing food for forest-dependent peoples, forests serve as a source for valuable, renewable (…)

Central African Republic: avoiding food crisis
19 March 2014, Rome – The World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Central African Republic (CAR) government are joining forces to help prevent a full-scale food and nutrition crisis in the conflict-stricken nation. The World Bank is funding the $8 million agreement with FAO as part of a comprehensive $20 million program that includes support to agriculture and food aid assistance. Most communities have reported to FAO that they do not have enough seeds to plant after widespread fighting in the country has resulted in the plunder and destruction of seed stocks (…)

Global view of planetary land cover
17 March 2014, Rome- A new FAO database collects previously scattered and unharmonized land cover information from around the globe into one centralized database. This marks a major improvement in information regarding the physical characteristics of the Earth’s surface. Getting a good global overview of land cover – such as, how much land is covered by croplands, tree covered areas, bare soils, etc. – has been a great challenge of experts in the field, until now. Generally speaking, different countries and organizations go about identifying, measuring and recording such data in diverse ways. For FAO’s new Global Land Cover SHARE (…)