But despite being climate-resilient and nutritious, they’re in steady decline and often overlooked for more commercial crops. Experts warn that we must act quickly to conserve the diversity of the world’s millets before it is lost forever.

Millets are high in micronutrients and fiber, gluten-free and have a low glycemic index, with a higher nutritional content than refined cereals such as rice, wheat or corn. They can also grow in very difficult, dry conditions with poor soils and at temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius – which makes them a prime candidate for feeding tomorrow’s hotter world.

However, millets are difficult to process, and while more reliable than most other crops from year to year, their productivity can be low overall, especially under unpredictable conditions caused by the climate crisis. Still, experts believe millets can play a huge part in filling nutritional gaps in the global food systems – if get the care they need.

The United Nations has declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM). Here on GLF Live, we close off the year with this episode, where we’re joined by scientist Chrispus Oduori and chef Wisdom Abiro to learn how we can bring these precious crops back to the mainstream.

One important way to ensure a reliable and nutritious supply of food is by protecting crop diversity from being lost – which is why the Crop Trust has partnered with five African genebanks through Seeds for Resilience, a five-year project providing financial and technical support to safeguard the national seed collections of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia.

In this episode, we speak with Daniel Ashie Kotey, acting director of Ghana’s national genebank, CSIR-PGRRI, and Nora Castañeda-Álvarez, who leads Seeds for Resilience at the Crop Trust, to learn how the project aims to bolster the country’s long-term food security and climate resilience.

The GEF Assembly also saw the launch of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, a fund for protecting global ecosystems and species. The Fund will dedicate up to 20 percent of its resources to support Indigenous-led initiatives to protect and conserve biodiversity, and more than a third of its resources towards Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.

In this episode, join host Peter Mbanda Umunay and experts Maria Helena Semedo, Jyotsna Puri and Christopher Brett to find out the key takeaways from the GEF Assembly and what they mean for ecosystem protection.

But now, as climate change and land degradation take hold, while demand for coffee skyrockets, it’s more crucial than ever for Kenya’s coffee industry to rethink the way it operates and find new ways to deliver value for local people.

In this episode, we chat with experts Elijah Kathurima Gichuru and Anne Fidelis Itubo to learn how Kenya can build sustainable value chains and implement a landscape approach in its agricultural sector, especially in coffee and cocoa production.

However, many of the world’s more than 1,700 genebanks are vulnerable to natural disasters, war, social unrest, infrastructure issues, or a simple lack of funds. To ensure these vital resources are safe and secure, organizations are looking to form long-term funding and genebank collaborations, which have seen success with the Crop Trust’s Long-term Partnership Agreements (LPAs), which offer funding to keep seedbanks running in perpetuity.

In this episode, hosted in cooperation with the Crop Trust, host Natasha Elkington speaks with experts Sarada Krishnan and Michael Abberton about seeds, grains, genebanks and how long-term funding and collaboration can help protect crop diversity and the food supply of the future.

In this episode, produced in cooperation with the Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) Impact Program, find out how a robust set of standards for sustainability disclosures could help highlight opportunities for investors and how various financial reporting standards can work together to achieve sustainable food systems.

This conversation features David Craig, co-chair of the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and Jingdong Hua, vice-chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), moderated by Nicoletta Centofanti, general manager of the Luxembourg Sustainable Finance Initiative (LSFI).

For the first time in its 52-year history, an African woman is steering the ship of a CGIAR research center, CIFOR-ICRAF. Her mission is to “transform lives and landscapes with trees.”

In this exciting and exclusive interview, Éliane Ubalijoro, the new CEO of CIFOR-ICRAF and director general of ICRAF, shares her personal and professional journey across three continents that has led up to this important position of leadership.

Listen to learn about the deep connection with landscapes she forged while growing up in Rwanda, her journey studying and teaching global health in Canada and Europe, and her work to combat poverty and food insecurity across the Global South.

In this episode, find out how our new CEO envisions the future of our planet, and what needs to change – from replenishing our soils to the importance of public and private sector partnerships by also giving women, elders, youth and Indigenous Peoples a seat at the table.

The Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme is a major initiative of CIRAD, the World Conservation Society (WCS), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and CIFOR-ICRAF that aims to improve wildlife conservation and food security.

The program focuses on three key socio-ecosystems: forest, wetland and savannah, with CIFOR-ICRAF leading the work on “Consumption of wildmeat becomes sustainable” and the ”Monitoring and evaluation mechanism.” This collaborative project develops scalable approaches to conserve wild animals and protect ecosystems, whilst at the same time improving the livelihoods of the Indigenous Peoples and rural communities who depend on these resources.

In this episode, hear three experts – Nathalie van Vliet, Kim Spencer and Oswin David – discuss the CIFOR-ICRAF-led SWM project in Guyana, their successes in the past few years, lessons learned, plans for the next five years, and how this project could be replicated or scaled up.

Each year, clothing production uses enough water to provide for 5 million people, while at the same time, up to 92 million tons of used clothes end up in landfills. This is the age of fast fashion – cheap, mass-produced clothes designed to reflect the latest trends, with new collections being released all the time to tempt us into buying more.

So, how can we dress up without chewing up the planet? In this episode, we expose the naked truth behind fast fashion and its impacts on communities in the Global South, as well as potential ways to forge a greener future for our clothes.

Soil holds an estimated 2,500 gigatons of carbon, which is more than all carbon in the atmosphere and in plants combined – and scientists believe it could sequester billions more tons annually through more sustainable agricultural and land use practices.

In this episode, originally released in June 2022, we quiz one of the world’s foremost soil scientists, 2020 World Food Prize recipient Rattan Lal, on why soil has been overlooked for so long – and how we can start to tap into all the benefits it can bring.

Some African leaders are still considering investing in gas and oil exploration, even though climate experts insist that countries should instead focus on expanding their renewable energy sectors. 

In this episode, originally released in July 2022, we examine how these different agendas can be reconciled – and what it will take to achieve a just energy transition for Africa. Joining us is Hamira Kobusingye, a climate and health activist from Uganda, and Davina Ngei, the communications manager at Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition from Kenya.

From supporting grassroots projects in South America to investing in more resilient food systems in Pakistan, tune in to discover how these two women use finance for positive social and environmental change.

In honor of its 15th anniversary, the Vault has opened its doors to new seed deposits – and to mark the occasion, we’re chatting with Åsmund Asdal, who coordinates its operations and management.

In this episode, find out what resides in the vault’s chambers, the importance of the Seed Vault’s mission and deposit, and what this all could mean for the world’s food future.

In this episode, first aired in April 2022, we speak with Ukrainian deputy minister of environmental protection and natural resources Iryna Stavchuk and conflict and peacebuilding expert Moosa Elayah to examine what’s happening in different conflict areas – and the toll these conflicts are taking on our planet.

Listen back to episode 1 to learn how the ongoing war in Ukraine is affecting global food security.

That’s why Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN) created the world’s first framework measuring and monetizing women’s empowerment – the W+ standard. Developed with women in rural Kenya and Nepal, the framework provides metrics and procedures to quantify, verify and monetize women’s empowerment across six areas: time, health, education and knowledge, food security, income and assets, and leadership.

In this episode, we’re joined by WOCAN executive director Jeannette Gurung, and the founder and CEO of Ecosystem Regeneration Associates, Hannah Simmons, to learn what that means in practice and how the framework is being used to make climate finance work for women.

Given that many of these ecosystems are located in low- and medium-income countries, the framework is designed such that rich countries provide financial rewards for forest protection, coupling conservation and climate change mitigation with economic growth in parts of the world that need it most. In 2013, the framework was solidified and given the name reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, more commonly known by its acronym REDD+.

However, since its inception, REDD+ has developed something of a controversial reputation in the climate sector, revolving around one main question: If the framework is working as it should, then why is there still so much deforestation?

Ten years on from the framework’s inception, this episode brings together three REDD+ experts to discuss the framework, what REDD+ has achieved for emissions reductions and livelihoods, if its initial design is still relevant, and how it could be adjusted to work better in the future.

Read this report from IUFRO on a decade of REDD+: https://www.iufro.org/science/gfep/follow-up-studies/biodiversity-forest-management-and-redd-2021/ 

Register for GLF–Luxembourg Finance for Nature: https://events.globallandscapesforum.org/6th-glf-investment-case-symposium/ 

And yet, recent climate action has primarily focused on land, leaving the ocean neglected and missing the science, policy and funding it needs in order to continue sustaining its life – and ours.

In this episode, originally aired in December 2021, we interview Dorothée Herr, a preliminary expert on ocean policy, about how to rebalance the ‘green’ and the ‘blue’ in the context of climate change and what research, funding, decisions and developments are needed most to curb the degradation of our waters.

Now, we’re revisiting the topic at the start of 2023 – yet another year in which we can say that forest restoration is needed more than ever to achieve climate, biodiversity and human rights goals. In this episode, we’re joined by acclaimed young forester Kandi, the interim CEO of forest research institutes CIFOR-ICRAF Robert Nasi, and the chair of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and head of his namesake lab Thomas Crowther to discuss what’s most promising and most needed for forest restoration this year.

Luckily, different coffee actors, from brand-name companies to cooperatives and NGOs, are working together to help ensure this commodity remains with us by making each step along its value chain more resilient, adaptive and sustainable.

In this episode, originally aired during GLF Value Chains Week in December 2022, we speak with the Global Coffee Platform‘s executive director Annette Pensel and sustainability director of Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE Peet’s) Nadia Hoarau-Mwaura to pull back the curtain on what’s being done to protect these beloved beans.

Join us on Thursday, 12 January, for the first GLF Live stream of the year: https://news.globallandscapesforum.org/59031/how-is-collective-action-protecting-the-future-of-coffee/ 

In this episode, first aired in April 2022, we meet three young African environmentalists to discuss how they’re transforming their local landscapes to be more vibrant, valuable and sustainable: Adrian Leitoro, the Global Landscapes Forum’s 2022 Restoration Steward for drylands, Safiatou Nana from the Ouagadougou chapter of the GLFx restoration initiative, and UNCCD Land Hero Patricia Kombo. Joining us as guest host is Kenyan environmentalist Wambui Paula Waibochi.

What are the immediate and longer-term consequences of oil spills – and how can we best mitigate their toxic impacts or even prevent them from happening in the first place? In this episode, first aired in June 2022, we bring together Peruvian marine conservationist Daniel Caceres Bartra, Brazilian journalist Thaís Herrero, and UN special rapporteur on toxics and human rights Marcos Orellana to discuss what should be done to lessen the ecological toll of oil spills in Latin America now and in the future.

There are numerous projects and initiatives seeking to make the world’s favorite commodities more sustainable and equitable. For every step between, say, a coffee plant being raised in Ethiopia to a cappuccino being served in New York, some important questions must be raised: Are women not only being asked to participate in making decisions but also supported in actively doing so? Is proper training being provided to everyone where needed? Are earnings and benefits shared equally across genders?

In this episode, originally aired in September 2022 and produced in collaboration with our partners at the Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact Program of the World Bank (FOLUR), we’ve invited Patti Kristjanson, a scientific expert on gender and agriculture, and Constance Okollet, a Ugandan farmer who’s led numerous women’s empowerment initiatives, to discuss pathways toward more equitable commodity supply chains.

In this episode, originally live-streamed in June 2022 in collaboration with the Youth in Landscapes Initiative, we speak with two young environmental activists from the region, Hidayah Hadid and Andhyta Firselly Utami, to learn about their hopes and ambitions for protecting, restoring and bringing the Pacific Ocean back to health. Joining us as guest host is 2021 GLF Restoration Steward Frances Camille Rivera.

But how much do these terms really mean to people who aren’t deeply involved in climate spaces? How many people actually think about keeping global warming under 2°C, perhaps even when they come face to face with it during a heatwave or hurricane? How do we close the gap between science and the average person?

It is often said that the role of art is to hold a mirror up to society, but the ever-growing field of climate fiction – “cli-fi” – has an even greater responsibility: to hold a mirror up to the global future. By repurposing data and information into stories about life when summers are unsurvivable without air conditioning and potable water has to be manufactured, climate fiction has the power to make sweeping scientific projections comprehensible, personal and emotional.

In this episode, originally aired in June 2022, we’re joined by leading heat health expert Abhiyant Tiwari and renowned author and journalist Alexandra Kleeman, who recently published an applauded work of climate fiction, to discuss the interplay of their professional fields and how it can make a climatic difference.

But is it that simple – or even true? What’s the role of emissions reductions and offsetting in helping us achieve such a balance? Have humans ever had a net-zero relationship with the climate?

In the last episode of our GLF Live mini-series of “climate crash courses,” we’re joined by Kate Dooley, a renowned expert on climate mitigation and land-use, to explore the concept of net zero and how its real meaning can be achieved – if it can be achieved at all.

Music: Gargantua by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2014. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/46361 Ft: My Free Mickey, Martijn de Boer

But just how bad are things? Is there any chance of keeping temperature-rise in check? As countries go through another round of climate negotiations at COP27, are we on a path toward creating a livable future or furthering climate disaster – or are we on any clear path at all?

In this in the third episode of our GLF Live mini-series of “climate crash courses,” we hear from Youba Sokona, the vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the pre-eminent organization on climate science and knowledge, on where we really stand with climate change and what we can expect in the months and years to come.

Music: Gargantua by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2014. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/46361 Ft: My Free Mickey, Martijn de Boer

But what does it mean in terms of countries’ negotiations and agreements with one another? Is it a legal liability for those that could be said to have caused climate change the most? How is it different from adaptation or mitigation efforts, and why is it coming into the limelight now?

In the second episode of our GLF Live mini-series of “climate crash courses,” we hear from Preety Bhandari, a senior advisor at World Resources Institute and the former chief for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management at the Asian Development Bank, on everything we need to know about this crucial concept.

Music: Gargantua by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2014. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/46361 Ft: My Free Mickey, Martijn de Boer

In the first episode of our GLF Live mini-series of “climate crash courses” – 15-minute lessons on foundational terms and topics we might have overlooked in our learnings – Paola Andrea Arias, who is the first Colombian woman author of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, walks us through the greenhouse gas basics: how they’re formed, when they’re released and why they’re bad for our atmosphere.

Music: Gargantua by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2014. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/46361 Ft: My Free Mickey, Martijn de Boer

From organizing climate strikes to delivering powerful speeches, leading restoration projects and pioneering innovative technologies, the youth generation of today is determined to defend their right to a healthy planet.

In this episode, originally aired in July 2021 in collaboration with the Youth in Landscapes Initiative, we hear from three environmental activists around the world discussing their experience in the global environmental arena: Fatou Jeng, Paloma Costa and Ridhima Pandey.

From what sparked their fire to what keeps them going, and from mental health and environmental anxiety to finding power and strength in their communities, these activists delve into their differences and commonalities, while envisioning a path for the years to come.

But what does climate justice really mean in practice? And how can its pursuit be inclusive of everyone, everywhere?

Originally aired in November 2021 in collaboration with the Youth in Landscapes Initiative, this episode dives into these questions and more with Joycelyn Longdon, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge and founder of Climate in Colour, an online education platform and community that makes climate conversations more diverse and accessible.

Learn more about climate justice in episode 8 with Varshini Prakash, executive director and co-founder of the Sunrise Movement.

But now, given the undeniable relationship between environmental health and vulnerability levels, it’s clear that planetary factors must be taken into account, too. Activism around climate change and social justice are increasingly interwoven, giving rise to the term “intersectional environmentalism.”

In this episode, produced in September 2020 in collaboration with the Youth in Landscapes Initiative, we speak with Isaias Hernandez, founder of Queer Brown Vegan and a council member of the Intersectional Environmentalist platform, about how to navigate the fight for many forms of justice at once.

Yet there is a growing global youth climate movement that refuses to be victims of their fate and is pushing to implement their own solutions. Young leaders, including students and young professionals, are demanding radical change from current political leaders. Will they succeed in literally changing the course of the planet?

In this episode, produced in September 2020 in collaboration with the Youth in Landscapes Initiative, we’re joined by Amelia Arreguín, regional chapter coordinator for the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) and policy officer for Women4Biodiversity, and Chiagozie Udeh, who sits as a chairperson on the board of Plant-for-the-Planet as well as multiple youth-focused UN constituencies, including YOUNGO, to discuss how young people are entering into climate politics and the changes we can expect to see from them.

Yes: children and youth worldwide are living in an age of ‘eco-anxiety’ – a term Oxford Dictionaries shortlisted as 2019’s Word of the Year (losing out to ‘climate emergency’ instead) – and it’s affecting their mental health to a point that could soon well verge on a violation of human rights. According to a recent study, nearly 60 percent of young people from 10 countries felt either “very worried” or “extremely worried” about the climate crisis, incurring feelings of sadness, fear, anxiety and anger.

This sobering episode features Susan Clayton, a professor of psychology and author of the aforementioned study as well as a lead author for the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, to discuss how climate change is affecting the minds of young people – and what world leaders must do about it.

In July 2022, the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the foremost scientific agency on biodiversity, launched its Sustainable Use of Wild Species Assessment, a seminal work of more than 85 experts from 33 countries over the past four years. The report draws attention to the most critical ways that wild species sustain us and lays out pathways to ensure their continued survival.

Originally aired following the Assessment’s official launch, this episode features Marla Emery, one of the report’s three co-chairs, to take a closer look at what the report has to say – and what we must do now.

In this episode, which originally aired at the GLF Bonn 2020 Digital Conference in June 2020, we spoke with Douglas Rushkoff, a leading thinker and explorer of the media ecosystem, about what our media consumption means and how this can shape our narratives, even without our knowing.

In this timeless episode, originally aired during the GLF Bonn 2020 Digital Conference in June 2020, we’re joined by Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) scientist Amy Duchelle and Science editor-in-chief Holden Thorp about the role of science in narrative-building today.

Formed by colonialism and capitalism and perpetuated by false narratives of dependency, the global markets that govern food systems undermine the rights of Africans to grow and distribute their own food. This leads to diets that are unhealthy, unsustainable and unaffordable. But the continent can still revitalize its food pyramids by adopting solutions like agroecology, family farmers, land rights and indigenous crops.

In this brand-new episode, we bring together Million Belay, head coordinator of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty for Africa, and Amanda Namayi, one of the leading young champions for zero hunger and a green revolution in Africa, to discuss the continent’s pathways to take back control over its food.

Why is it that the way Africa is portrayed in global media and discourse is so different from the realities of its 54 nations? Why is it that it’s more common to hear about what its peoples need and lack than what they have and can bring to the table? How would it affect the continent if these prevailing narratives changed to ones of abundance and strength, and how would this serve as a transfer of power that could accordingly change the world?

In this brand-new episode, we cast an eye on how the stories we tell and the lenses through which we look are fundamental for shaping our reality. We’re joined by African media and business icon Moky Makura, acclaimed author Dinaw Mengestu and UNCCD Land Hero Ibrahim Musa to discuss where narratives on Africa stand, how they got here and where they need to go.

In this episode, which originally aired in July 2020, we speak with Varshini Prakash, co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, a U.S.-based youth-led movement that seeks to address climate change by reconfiguring current systems through improved policy, creating more fair and flourishing political and economic environments in the process.

According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, women account for less than 30% of all researchers globally. From career progression to publishing to salaries, there are sizable gaps between men and women in science – which is why the IPCC is making a concerted effort to tackle these inequities.

In this episode, originally aired on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science in February 2021, we speak with IPCC vice-chair and acclaimed climate policy expert Ko Barrett about how science can become more equitable – and why equity is so crucial to the climate.

In this episode, we speak with three women honored in our 2022 list: Musonda Mumba, director for The Rome Centre for Sustainable Development of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Katharine Hayhoe, a prolific writer and chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy; and young conservationist Analí Bustos. These three remarkable leaders gave us insights into the unique role of women in strengthening climate commitments, raising public awareness on climate issues, growing the reach of science, and conducting conservation and restoration on the ground across the globe.

This week’s episode is a throwback to April 2020, when we spoke with two top experts on the spread of zoonotic diseases about how biodiversity loss causes pandemics – and what we can do about it.

Just under a third of the planet is forested, but that figure is diminishing by around 10 million hectares each year. Not only does deforestation put most of the world’s mammal, bird and amphibian species under threat, but it’s also releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and putting us at greater risk of another pandemic.

In this episode, originally aired on the International Day of Forests in March 2021, we bring together three of the world’s leading forestry experts, Wanjira Mathai, Robert Nasi and Mette Wilkie, to discuss the state of the world’s forests and how we can continue to protect and restore them.

Most of the Amazon’s some 400 Indigenous groups have made contact with the outside world over the course of the past five centuries, but a rare few remain off the map, living in almost incomprehensible harmony with the rainforest. Yet the expansion of human activity in the Amazon puts these groups at risk of annihilation, threatening not only the survival of their peoples but also their wisdom, mysticism, languages, and unparalleled knowledge of the forest’s species and cycles.

As the rainforest shrinks, can its isolated peoples somehow stay protected? In this GLF Live episode, originally aired in September 2021, renowned ethnobotanist Mark J. Plotkin takes us into his 30-year career of experiences living with Amazonians and studying their traditional plant uses to unravel this question and look at what the future could hold for some of the most ancient cultures on Earth.

Listen to Mark’s podcast, Plants of the Gods: https://markplotkin.com/podcast/ 

One project aims to do just that. The Global Virome Project, a global leader in pandemic research, has estimated that all future viral threats could be identified at a cost of around USD 4 billion. But where should this funding come from, and what else needs to be done, from international collaboration to the restructuring of health systems and the conservation of natural habitats and species?

In this episode, originally aired in December 2020, we spoke with Jonna Mazet, who co-leads the Global Virome Project, about the financial, scientific, governance and ecological measures needed to prevent the next pandemic.

This episode, originally aired live in March 2022, brought in leading food expert and GAIN executive director Lawrence Haddad to share his expectations and predictions for how the unfolding war will affect global food supplies, nutrition and security in the short and long term.