Abstract: Renewable energy investment and development are necessary, if insufficient, parts of any climate policy agenda. Scaling up renewable energy projects to the level needed to impact greenhouse gas emissions, particularly wind and solar projects, takes up large amounts of space. As such, the rural United States may be uniquely positioned to benefit from an energy transition because of its plethora of land well-suited to host large-scale solar and wind operations. But, what if local governments in rural areas enact renewable exclusion zones, functionally banning large-scale renewable energy production within county limits? In this short paper, we focus on the case of Ohio to discuss trends in state and local policy that restrict renewable development, and argue that this represents an emerging tendency in the anti-reflexive movement from politicization (i.e., the strategic denial and obstruction of climate science and policy) of climate change to anti-reflexive policies precluding climate mitigation. We also highlight that many rural areas may represent a context of reception conducive for anti-reflexive messaging, an understated obstacle for green energy transitions.

Check their article here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2026.104648

Abstract: The CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) Accelerator enables transformative research on gender in agriculture and food systems, promoting equitable, sustainable, productive and climate-resilient outcomes. The Accelerator prioritizes the generation of high-quality evidence, development of innovative methods and tools, and creation of strategic alliances that drive systemic change toward inclusive food systems within planetary boundaries. Within the Accelerator, the Sub-Area of Work (AoW) on “Evidence to Policy”, led by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), focuses on leveraging evidence, strategic communication and engagement to inform policy and practice. It synthesizes and disseminates robust evidence, identifies gaps and addresses emerging questions related to gender in agriculture and food systems. In this context, two complementary studies and a multi-stakeholder workshop were conducted in 2024 to strengthen the evidence base on the gender responsiveness of climate information services (CIS) in agrifood systems and to distil lessons from relevant experiences across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Reliable and timely access to climate information can significantly enhance adaptation and mitigation efforts in response to climate change (Coulibaly et al. 2015; UNDP 2019; Warner et al. 2022). However, many farmers—especially women and those from socially or economically marginalized groups—face structural barriers that limit their ability to access, interpret, and act on CIS (McOmber et al. 2013). Gender-specific differences in access, needs, preferences, and use of CIS are frequently overlooked in service design and delivery (Ngigi & Muange 2022; Bryan et al. 2024). Women often require distinct communication channels, trusted social networks, and tailored capacity support to fully benefit from CIS (Raj et al. 2020). Failing to consider these gendered dimensions can exacerbate inequalities and increase women’s vulnerability to climate risks within agrifood systems. This report consolidates findings from the three-part study that builds sequentially across complementary evidence streams:
*Landscape mapping: This component maps the CIS provision landscape in agrifood systems across LMICs. It examines the state of climate data infrastructure; the types and content of agrometeorological information and advisories (e.g., meteorological variables, forecast horizons, sectoral focus); the communication channels and formats used; and the institutional actors involved in CIS production and dissemination.
*Scoping review: The second component synthesizes existing evidence on gendered access to and usability of CIS, with a focus on the barriers faced by women farmers and the design and delivery features that make CIS more gender-responsive.
*Stakeholder consultation workshop: The third component engaged researchers, practitioners and service providers in reflecting on the study findings and identifying strategies for closing evidence and implementation gaps. Together, these components aim to inform the design of gender-responsive CIS that can better reach, serv, and benefit women farmers through tailored information, participatory design and complementary support.

Read their report here: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/181376

Abstract: Climate hazards impact pastoral communities due to their dependency on nature for their primary livelihoods. This study analyzes climate risk in ten pastoral livestock farming communities in Patagonia drylands of Argentina. A participatory impact chains (PICs) approach was used as a qualitative and participatory bottom-up methodology allowing for the identification and contextualization of climate hazards, exposure, intermediate impacts and vulnerability dimensions through knowledge co-production with local stakeholders. Results show that, although drought is the predominant climate hazard across the region, its impacts are heterogeneous and mediated by local socio-environmental conditions. The analysis underlines that vulnerability is not evenly distributed but is shaped by specific historical, political and environmental pathways. These findings challenge standardized top-down risk assessments, and highlight the need for adaptation strategies that are context-sensitive, territorially differentiated and that integrate local knowledge. The study also contributes to advancing qualitative participatory methodologies for climate risk assessment in pastoral systems in arid areas of Latin America, showing the regional heterogeneity and social inequalities.

Read their full article here: https://doi.org/10.1017/dry.2026.10021

To know more about him, check his institucional profile: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/91230-enrique-castanon-ballivian/about

Abstract in English: This research aims to categorise Ecosystem Services (ES) in the Corno alle Scale Regional Park, in Lizzano di Belvedere, Italy, associating them with the benefits generated for society. The following procedures were carried out: bibliographic and documentary survey; field research; interviews; identification and categorisation of ES; and analysis of information. The Protected Area has a natural, historical, and cultural heritage that provides various benefits to residents and visitors. Twenty-nine ES were identified in the Park, namely: 11 Provisioning Services (habitat, water for various uses, food, etc.); 11 Regulatory and Maintenance Services (maintenance of biological diversity, biological control, climate regulation, water regulation, purification and maintenance of water supply, etc.); and seven Cultural Services (cultural diversity, landscape, aesthetic, spiritual and inspirational values, tourism, recreation and leisure, scientific research and educational values, etc.). Among the impacts that threaten natural resources and ES, we can mention the production of artificial snow and the installation of cable cars, which cause impacts on the soil, water resources and biodiversity. Thus, it is essential to implement strategies that consider the effects of climate change in the Bolognese Apennines and the importance and value of ES in the Protected Area.

Read the full article in Portuguese: https://doi.org/10.12957/tamoios.2026.84087

Abstract: Placing India’s experience in the global context, the report shows that China remains the dominant producer of fisheries, accounting for 39.7 per cent of global production in the triennium ending (TE) 2023, followed by Indonesia (10.1 per cent) and India (7.1 per cent). India’s fisheries production reached 19.5 MMT in FY 2025 comparable to Chinaâ€s production levels in the early 1990s, highlighting both progress and untapped potential (FAO, 2025, latest data available). Over the past two decades, inland fisheries production in India has increased more than four-fold, from 3.21 MMT in 2002–03 to 14.7 MMT in 2024–25. India ranks third in total fisheries production but second in inland aquaculture, after China. Despite ranking second globally in inland aquaculture, India accounts for only about 15 per cent of global production, compared to China’s dominant 56 per cent share in value, indicating a significant gap in productivity and scale. Frozen shrimp has emerged as the single most important driver of Indiaâ€s fisheries exports, while aquaculture growth remains spatially concentrated—particularly in Andhra Pradesh, which contributes 34 per cent of inland fisheries production and 44 per cent of national fisheries GVA in 2023–24. The uneven regional spread of aquaculture raises the policy challenge of replicating this cluster model across other states.

Read the report here: https://icrier.org/pdf/The-Blue-Revolution_Aquaculture-to-Augment-Farmers-Income.pdf

Abstract: This visual essay offers a closer look at the relations shaping nature’s transformation into a commodity. By tracing reproductive relations of struggle, death, and resurgence, we underscore how commodity production is contested, enabled, or redirected. A struggle to resist the blasting of the Mekong’s rapids succeeds, drawing potency from river spirits known to inhabit the river; sugarcane in Negros grows each year, pumped with fertilizers and the household labor of farmworkers and their families; a permaculture plot seeks to sow an alternative to industrial agriculture, but draws a partial income stream from its peripheral identity in a tourism hub. This essay reflects on built infrastructure, community-based initiatives, sugarcane plantations, and home gardens, illustrating the varied ways in which reproductive relations shape food-growing landscapes in Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Commodity production is constantly contested and transformed. The narrative progresses from struggle to death and, finally, to resurgence.

Read their full article: https://grassrootsjpe.org/seeing-agricultural-life-from-spaces-of-struggle-death-and-resurgence/

Abstract: Over the last decades, there has been a growing interest in the role of social protection as an instrument of inclusive growth. Much of the scholarship on the expansion of social protection has centred on the rationale for and design of policy instruments (Devereux, 2016; Ferguson, 2015; Hanlon et al., 2010; Seekings, 2008). Far less attention has been paid to how these systems should be financed. However, as the case of South Africa illustrates, without identifying new sources of financing for social assistance in particular, policy responses will inevitably be determined by the fiscal space available rather than the other way around (Hujo and McClanahan, 2009). This is particularly concerning for low- and lower-middle-income countries, where tax to Gross Domestic Product ratios are comparatively low and welfare budgets rarely surpass 4% of GDP (ILO, 2024). Ultimately, if social protection is to play a transformative role, countries must develop strategies to finance universal and adequate social protection coverage (Adesina, 2020; Mkandawire, 2011). Drawing on recent research conducted by the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, this forum discussion reflects on innovative financing approaches in the shadow of the digital age.

Read their full article here: https://doi.org/10.1177/14680181261421808

Abstract: Based on in-depth field research in northern Kenya over three years, this article makes the case for a new approach to building resilience in the pastoral drylands. Past approaches based on project-style interventions have not worked, but a ‘resilience from below’ approach offers an alternative, we argue. The article elaborates the contrasts between these approaches, highlighting how ‘resilience’ must be framed as emergent, relational and processual rather than simply as an externally-defined, planned response; how ‘crises’ and ‘disasters’ should be seen less as singular events but part of a normal unfolding of uncertain conditions; how local knowledges and institutions are central to building resilience based on trust, rather than a reliance on planned projects; and how resilience building is always differentiated according to axes of gender and generation, yet often emerges through collective responses rooted in local moral economies and social solidarities. In the context of less external support for standard resilience projects, this in turn suggests new roles for external intervention focused on facilitating local actors, networks, and social relations. This has important implications for development in the drylands.

Read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2026.2628671