The picture shows energy efficiency of various fuels.

The development of biorefineries can greatly support efforts to increase resource efficiency. Biorefineries integrate biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce fuel, power, and chemicals from biomass. By producing multiple products, a biorenery can take advantage of the dierences in biomass components and intermediate products, thus maximising the value of a biomass feedstock.

To date, energy use and economic growth have been closely linked. As figure shows, there is a linear relationship between energy consumption and wealth as measured in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of nations.

If properly planned and managed, biofuels can contribute to a number of policy objectives which support the development of the green economy. For example, because agriculture is labour-intensive, job opportunities can be found throughout the biofuel value chain, particularly where conversion from feedstock to biofuel occurs close to where the feedstock is produced. The additional income from new jobs is likely to have a multiplier effect wh...

Figure illustrates the various feedstocks, which can be converted to biofuels for transport. However, this represents only part of the larger bioenergy family, which covers liquid, solid and gaseous biofuels for different uses, including electricity production, and the traditional biomass for energy use.

Biofuels, in the use phase, emit the carbon that has been previously absorbed during plant growth. Inputs during cultivation and conversion need to be accounted for. However, the bulk of GHG emissions are related to land-use change. The carbon footprint varies considerably depending on the type of land converted, the type and yield of the feedstock (tonnes per hectare), as this figure shows. It is therefore key that any GHG analysis takes ...

Technical and sustainable biomass supply potentials and expected demand for biomass in 2050 (primary energy).

Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology (AKST) has the capacity to improve livelihoods, although effects have varied by region and social group. The ability to access and benefit from AKST is uneven, with industrialized countries gaining more than developing countries. Monsanto is by far the largest investor in agricultural research in South America.

Investments in agricultural research and development (R&D) are still growing, but the growth rate declined during the 1990s. In addition, investment trends among countries have increasingly diverged. Investment in publicly funded agricultural R&D in many industrialized countries has stalled or declined and has become a small proportion of total spending on science and technology (S&T).

Today we find a world of asymmetric development, unsustainable natural resource use, and continued rural and urban poverty. There is general agreement about the current global environmental and development crisis. It is also known that the consequences of these global changes have the most devastating impacts on the poorest, who historically have had limited entitlements and opportunities for growth.

Population Density of Children Age 0-5 Underweight (per square kilometer). Children are defined as underweight if their weight-for-age z-scores are more than two standard deviations (2 SD) below the median of the NCHS/CDC/WHO International Reference Population.

Children are defined as underweight if their weight-for-age z-scores are more than two standard deviations (2 SD) below the median of the NCHS/CDC/WHO International Reference Population. There are serious problems of child malnutrition in Latin America but not as persistent as in Asia.

The general model has been to continuously innovate, reduce farm gate prices and externalize costs. This model drove the phenomenal achievements of AKST in industrial countries after WWII and the spread of the Green Revolution beginning in the 1960s. But, given the new challenges we confront today, there is increasing recognition within formal S&T organizations that the current AKST model requires revision.

Children are defined as underweight if their weight-for-age z-scores are more than two standard deviations (2 SD) below the median of the NCHS/CDC/WHO International Reference Population. There is a high incidence of of malnutrition in Asia.

In many parts of the world natural resources have been treated as though unlimited, and totally resilient to human exploitation. This perception has exacerbated the conflicting agricultural demands on natural capital, as have other exploitative commercial enterprises. Both have affected local cultures and had undesirable long-term impacts on the sustainability of resources. The consequences include: land degradation (about 2,000 million ha of lan...

Only 15% of the world’s agricultural public sector extension agents are women [Global 3]. Women's access to extension is limited by lack of access to membership in rural organizations which often channel or provide training opportunities, and by gender blind agricultural policies that give inadequate attention to women farmer's needs in terms of crops and technology.

The withdrawal of water for irrigated agriculture has caused a social and environmental crisis in the Aral Sea Basin. Drying up of the sea has been accompanied by a wide range of other environmental, economic and social problems in the basin. The problems precipitated by this crisis have aggravated the social and economic difficulties caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Following the break- up of the Soviet Union the interests of Up-strea...

The graph shows Consumption of Nitrogen fertilizers in EU 15 from 1970 to 1992. The main source of nitrogen in soils is from organic matter. Nitrogen also comes from sources such as factories. A common concern with these forms of inorganic nitrogen is the incremental amount of nitrates they add to the nitrogen cycle, which may threaten groundwater, inland waters and fisheries.

The graphic shows consumption of pesticide (active ingredients) from 1980 to 2010. Pesticides are natural chemicals or altered versions of natural chemicals used in agriculture to control various sorts of pests such as different types of insects, rodents, weed and fungi.

Graphics from the year 2000 Baltic 21 biannual indicator-based status report on sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region (Baltic 21 Series No 1/2000). This graphic shows the production of cereals in Baltic countries in 1998.