CABI leads project to improve biosecurity in islands of the South Atlantic
CABI scientists will lead a two-year project to improve the biosecurity of a range of islands in the South Atlantic working closely with the UK Overseas Territories of St Helena and the Falkland Islands.
Restoring grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Halting and reversing land degradation is one of the biggest challenges to meeting the targets set by the Sustainable Development Goals. This project aims to assess the effects of grassland degradation on soil functions on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and determine whether manipulation of plant functional diversity can accelerate the restoration of functioning of degraded soils.
CABI receives JRS grant to publish dataset on invasive alien plants in Sub-Saharan Africa
CABI has received a grant of $45,750 from the JRS Biodiversity Foundation to publish one of the most complete and current datasets on Invasive Alien Plants (IAP) in Eastern Africa. The project, which is led by Dr Arne Witt, Coordinator: Invasive Species, CABI, will build upon the successful results from a previously awarded JRS grant.
GIZ Crop Protection Baseline Study
Pests and diseases often limit how much smallholder famers can produce. They affect crops both pre and post-harvest by reducing their value or making them unsafe for human consumption. Farmers try to reduce losses through a range of techniques, some of which have human or environmental health impacts. This project aims to understand and report on current crop protection practices and identify the most effective, safe and innovative options to integrate into GIZs programmes in 14 countries.
Strengthening agro-ecosystem health and building resilience in Climate Smart Villages
Climate change encourages new and existing pests and diseases to spread and makes management more difficult. This programme addresses this and aims to build resilience of the communities to pests and diseases and their management. It is operating in selected villages in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The interventions feature innovative participatory and climate-adaptive agricultural practices to enrich and restore agro-ecosystem health, manage crop pests and diseases, and improve livelihoods.
Biological control of hawkweeds
European hawkweeds are invasive in North American pastures, where mechanical methods of control are difficult and ineffective. Chemical control with broad-spectrum herbicides is not selective and relatively expensive, with the weed often recolonising untreated pastures. Insects that feed on hawkweeds in Europe have been studied as potential biological control agents for North America since 2000. Two agents have been released in North America – the gall wasp, Aulacidea subterminalis, and the hoverfly, Cheilosia urban.