Conservation International

The message conveyed was that "... as policymakers, there's no longer any need to make policies, all you need to do is let technology sort your problems for you", Mooney told the General Assembly's Interactive Dialogue on Harmony with Nature earlier this month (18 April).

As the world looks for ways to boost food production by at least 70 percent by 2050 to feed an increasingly hungry planet, many people are looking to sub-Saharan Africa -- a region with 50 to 60 percent of the planet's unused arable land.

Whatever their motivation, key players are talking up Africa's Green Revolution ahead of global meetings this year, from the G8 and G20 to Rio+20, where food security initiatives will take centre stage.

As economists in these countries struggle to handle vast deficits, they need reminding that the easy credit which, in part, led to the debt crisis, has fuelled a rapacious consumerism that has exacerbated the environmental crisis.

strengthening science advisory mechanisms and local governance.

for example, by establishing effective technology transfer mechanisms to get novel solutions to the marketplace where they can be disseminated, and by taking measures to fill the gap if the market fails.