Drylands host a large portion of the world’s farmland but face continued desertification, despite many of them recently experiencing increased vegetation. Five million hectares (12 million acres) of drylands, an area half the size of South Korea, have been desertified due to climate change since 1980, but elevated CO2 levels are also driving a regreening of other drylands, which some argue is a positive effect of pumping CO2 into the atmosphere.

However, our guest on this episode says this isn’t necessarily good news: remote-sensing researcher Arden Burrell describes how the CO2 fertilization effect is greening some dryland ecosystems and why this worries scientists who say it may mask land overuse and decreased water resources.

Read the study here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01463-y

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Image Credit: Green areas saw a growth in foliage from 2000 to 2017, while brown areas represent a reduction. Image courtesy of Joshua Stevens/NASA Earth Observatory.

Time Codes

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(00:00) Introduction

(02:50) Drylands and desertification

(04:19) Impacts of climate change on drylands

(09:33) The CO2 fertilization effect

(23:34) Digging into the models

(30:16) Implications for land overuse

(35:54) Post-show

(41:42) Credits

Marine biologist and climate policy advocate Ayana Elizabeth Johnson joins this episode to discuss her latest book, What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures, a compilation of essays and interviews with experts and authors in the climate and environmental fields.

Her book sensitively probes the problems human society faces and potential pathways to address environmental injustice, from the unsustainable industrialization of our food systems to the inequity (or lack) of climate policy in many places.

Co-host Mike DiGirolamo speaks with Johnson about key insights from her book’s array of interviews, plus lessons learned from fighting for climate policy herself in the form of a “Blue New Deal.”

Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast.

Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, and you can also listen to all episodes here on the Mongabay website or download our free app for Apple and Android devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones.

Image Credit: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson holding a copy of her book “What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures.” Image courtesy of Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.

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Timecodes

(00:00) Introduction

(01:06) What If We Get It Right? A brief review

(05:10) The barriers to change

(09:20) What is 'biophilia'?

(10:42) Agriculture doesn't have to be this way

(12:52) Unsung advice

(16:12) It's all about heat pumps

(18:36) The role of media in covering protests

(21:50) An ocean policy odyssey

(25:43) Credits

The Phnom Chum Rok Sat community forest used to support local and Indigenous groups in Cambodia’s Stung Treng province, as well as a thriving local ecotourism venture, but that all changed this year when mining company Lin Vatey privately acquired roughly two-thirds of the land and began clearing the forest.

Mongabay features writer Gerry Flynn investigated how this happened with freelance reporter Nehru Pry, and speaks with co-host Mike DiGirolamo about how the 10 individuals behind the land grab, many of whom have connections to powerful Cambodian military officials and their families, managed this land grab. Local community members who have resisted currently face legal intimidation and arrests.

While community forests, such as Phnon Chum Rok Sat, are supposed to belong to the public, this kind of corporate acquisition of land is commonplace in the nation, Flynn says.

“As we see a lot in Cambodia, it’s public forests being turned into private fortunes.”

Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast.

Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, and you can also listen to all episodes here on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for Apple and Android devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones.

Image Credit: Lin Vatey's original mining site inside Phnom Chum Rok Sat threatens to consume the entire forest according to documents seen by Mongabay. Image by Gerald Flynn/Mongabay.

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Timecodes

(00:00) Introduction

(02:56) A once vibrant community forest

(06:04) Cordoned off from the land

(08:48) Liv Vatey moves in

(17:03) Letter number 1456

(26:24) Arrests and intimidation

(30:06) Ecotourism efforts shut down

(34:14) The 'mental gymnastics' of a government spokesperson

(37:12) Credits