Reducing the costs of land degradation from agriculture
Over the past two centuries, humans have converted or modified 70% of the world’s grasslands, 50% of the savannah, 45% of temperate forests and 27% of tropical forests for farming and grazing…
Archive
Year: 2015
A focused section of the long-running Mark and Focus publication record.
Water scarcity a catalyst for cooperation
Demand for water is projected to outstrip supply by 2030 as a result of numerous mega-trends including climate change, rapid economic and population growth and urbanization. As such there is potential for…
Mixing education with food security
Urban farming is the growing of plants and the raising of animals within and around cities. Examples of food products grown include crops such as grains, root crops, vegetables, mushrooms and fruit.…
Hamburg’s resilience plan
Cities around the world are being impacted by more frequent and severe weather-events. With global urban populations increasing rapidly, and cities encroaching into natural watersheds, more people and infrastructure will be in…
Berlin becoming a climate-friendly city
This year, Berlin launched the BerlinStrategy | Urban Development Concept Berlin 2030. The BerlinStrategy revolves around three key themes in achieving a sustainable future: Economic strength: Berlin will be an established leader…
Rotterdam on the path to becoming a resilient city
A resilient city according to resilientcity.org is one that “has developed capacities to help absorb future shocks and stresses to its social, economic, and technical systems and infrastructures so as to still…
Chicago’s buildings leading the way in energy efficiency
Since the birth of the skyscraper, Chicago has played a leading role as an innovative hub for architecture and construction. This innovative streak continues with Chicago’s buildings leading the way in energy…
Sydney Water becoming a utility of the future
Sydney Water is Australia’s largest water utility and is among the ten most largest water utilities in the world. The utility provides water, recycled water and wastewater services to 1.4 million properties…
Smart water meters managing limited supplies
One of the major challenges for all nations, developing and developed, is ensuring people have reliable access to water supply services. By 2050, the UN projects that one in four people is…
Mitigating water risks to the pharmaceutical industry
The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks report has ranked the water supply crises as the number 1 global risk to businesses over the next ten years: Globally, individuals and communities are…