Bioversity International is a global research-for-development organization that delivers scientific evidence, management practices and policy options to use and safeguard agricultural biodiversity to attain global food and nutrition security, working with partners in low-income countries in different regions where agricultural biodiversity can contribute to improved nutrition, resilience, productivity and climate change adaptation.Bioversity International is a member of the CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.The organization is highly decentralized, with about 300 staff working around the world. Its headquarters are in Rome's Maccarese borough, Italy, with regional offices located in Central and South America, West and Central Africa, East and Southern Africa, Central and South Asia, and South-east Asia.In 2019, Bioversity International joined with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (as the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT) to "deliver research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives".
Rainfall variability presents a major challenge for climate-sensitive sectors in arid and semi-arid regions such as Djibouti, where livelihoods depend heavily on rain-fed systems. This study investigates the seasonal and interannual variability of rainfall and temperature in Djibouti during 1981–2024, focusing on spatial patterns and their relationships with large-scale ocean-atmosphere drivers-. Results confirm a bimodal rainfall regime with primary peaks during July-September (JAS) and secondary peaks during March-May (MAM), associated with the seasonal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The principal rainy season (JAS) contributes approximately 45.8
Climate and atmospheric changes are impacting forest function and structure worldwide, but their effects on tropical forest diversity are unclear. Nowhere is the scientific challenge greater than in the Andes and the Amazon, which together include the world’s most diverse forests. Here, using 406 permanent plots spanning four decades of intact lowland and montane forest dynamics, we test for long-term change in species richness and assess the influence of climate and other variables. We show that, at a continental scale, species richness appears stable, but this masks substantial regional variation. Species richness increased in Northern Andean and Western Amazon plots, yet declined in the Central Andes, Guyana Shield and Central-Eastern Amazon. Overall, warmer, drier and more seasonal forests lost species, while those at higher elevations, in less fragmented areas and with faster rates of tree turnover experienced increases. Region-specific drivers, particularly precipitation seasonality and demographic factors, modulated these trends. The results highlight the diverse ways in which Amazon–Andes forests are changing and underscore the critical need to preserve large-scale ecosystem integrity to maintain local tree diversity. By doing so, Northern Andean forests in particular could serve as an important refuge for species increasingly displaced by climate change. This study examines long-term changes in species richness across tropical forests in the Andes and Amazon. Hotter, drier and more seasonal forests in the eastern and southern Amazon are losing species, while Northern Andean forests are accumulating species, acting as a refuge for climate-displaced species.
As of 2025, an estimated 150.2 million children under 5 years globally were stunted-falling more than two standard deviations below the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards median. Helminth infections represent a potentially significant yet under-addressed contributor to childhood stunting. Our aim was to elucidate the potential causal relationship between helminth infections and childhood stunting, including the mediating role of low birth weight (LBW). Three causal directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) were constructed using evidence synthesis for constructing DAGs (ESC-DAGs) methodology: (i) maternal infection, (ii) infant infection during exclusive breastfeeding (<6 months old), and (iii) child infection post-weaning (6-24 months old). Minimally sufficient adjustment sets (MSAS) were derived from our DAGs. All three DAG models included core adjustments for geographical location, healthcare access and water, sanitation and hygiene factors. The maternal infection model additionally incorporated maternal age, socioeconomic status (SES) and maternal education as key confounders. For the child models, both age groups included adjustments for child sex, age, birth weight and parental education. The model for infants <6 months of age additionally incorporated breastfeeding status, while the model for children post-weaning (6-24 months of age) included SES alongside the other shared variables. These MSAS provide researchers with standardized confounder adjustment frameworks, helping to resolve inconsistencies in prior literature stemming from incomplete confounder control and advancing methodologically rigorous causal inference. This article is part of the theme issue 'Biological, biomedical and environmental drivers of stunting'.
BACKGROUND:Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) based medicines (for example Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound) are moving rapidly from specialist care to mass adoption in high-income countries, with measurable effects on food purchases and eating patterns. Early retail and household panel data from the United States indicate that households with a GLP-1 user reduce total grocery spending by about 5% within six months, with larger declines among higher-income households and even more marked reductions in snacks and other energy-dense items. Major manufacturers are already deploying "GLP-1-responsive" strategies such as reformulation, smaller portion-size packaging, and "GLP-1-friendly" branding. MAIN BODY:We argue that if demand for energy-dense, ultra-processed products softens further in high-income markets, transnational food and beverage firms may hedge by redirecting and intensifying marketing pressure and portfolio growth towards some low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where regulatory frameworks often remain weaker and GLP-1 access remains uneven. This could add to the already rising burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases linked to ultra-processed foods and beverages in LMICs. The risk is sharpened by limited and inequitable access to GLP-1 therapies in these settings, even though most people living with overweight and obesity are projected to reside in LMICs by 2035. We outline plausible pathways for an LMIC GLP-1 "spillover effect", including intensified corporate political activity, more aggressive marketing, accelerated modern retail expansion; and more aggressive use of price promotions, pack size engineering, and premium "healthier for you" ultra-processed products. CONCLUSION:Policymakers and global health actors should treat GLP-1 induced shifts in high income countries as an early warning signal. Precautionary, equity focused policies are needed to prevent potential GLP-1-related demand shift from translating into heightened commercial determinants of health in LMICs. Policy safeguards should include comprehensive restrictions on unhealthy food marketing including digital marketing; fiscally effective excise taxes on sugar sweetened beverages and other ultra-processed products; stronger management of conflicts of interest in food policy; and improved monitoring of retail food environments and corporate practices.
Despite growing global investments in ecosystem restoration, seed supply for native tree species remains a major bottleneck, particularly in the Global South where species diversity is high and natural seed sources dwindling due to land use change. This slows down restoration efforts and reduces their biodiversity, climate and socio-economic benefits. We present a spatially explicit methodology for assessing the availability of site-adapted tree seed for restoration, which combines environmental clustering to define seed zones, MaxEnt species distribution models for restoration target species, and data on existing tree seed sources. Species-specific seed source gaps are identified as those zones within species' distribution ranges without any seed sources. Application of the method to 21 native pilot species in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines revealed that, on average, only 34% of seed zones had designated seed sources, despite the species being widely used in restoration. An analysis of community-managed forests in Mindanao, the Philippines, showed that such forests can potentially fill the identified gaps in seed source availability, but challenges remain in registering and supporting community-managed forests as seed sources. Ninety-seven percent of the seed sources were predicted to remain within the species' suitable habitat under future climates, but the availability of sources in specific seed zones can reduce with climate change projected to shift the seed zone boundaries. The gap analysis methodology enables countries to strategically identify priority areas for seed source development. By addressing critical seed supply constraints, this approach strengthens national capacity to deliver effective, inclusive, and climate-resilient restoration at scale.
