International Conservation & Development

Fellow Cassandra Brooks was interviewed by Nature's social science editors for an early-career spotlight article. She discussed her research interests, journey in science communications and policy outreach, challenges and predictions for the near future of her field.

Ekow Edzie is a recent graduate of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the graduate school of international affairs at Tufts University. The summer after his first year at Fletcher, Edzie conducted field research on the land restitution process in Colombia using his Switzer Fellowship. He analyzed the unique challenges facing victims of land displacement in Colombia in their return to rural livelihoods and the structure of government aid intended to ensure their future success.

Fellow Pamela McElwee was one of the lead authors of the recently released IPCC report on climate change and land use. From The New York Times: The world’s land and water resources are being exploited at “unprecedented rates,” a new United Nations report warns, which combined with climate change is putting dire pressure on the ability of humanity to feed itself.

Melting Himalayan glaciers are releasing decades of accumulated pollutants into downstream ecosystems, according to a new study. The new research in AGU’s Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres finds chemicals used in pesticides that have been accumulating in glaciers and ice sheets around the world since the 1940s are being released as Himalayan glaciers melt as a result of climate change.

Sometimes modern problems require ancient solutions. A 1,400-year-old Peruvian method of diverting water could supply up to 40,000 Olympic-size swimming pools' worth of water to Lima each year. That information comes from a new study published in Nature Sustainability. It's one example of how ancient methods could support existing modern ones in countries without enough water. ...

Editor's note: Fellow Lauren Howe recently won the USAID Agrilinks Young Scholars Food Security Blog Contest with the following post about her work in Ethiopia with sweet potato leaves, which first appeared on the Agrilinks website.

In 2018 Fellow Daniel Orenstein helped narrate an interactive website for an EU-funded project he participated in. The ECOPOTENTIAL project uses Earth Observation analyses in the Israeli desert to examine natural and human-induced changes in the landscape and assesses ecosystem services for improved management and planning in the area.