A multi-institutional contract with the United States Agency for International Development will dedicate $15 million toward the creation of the Peru Extension and Research Utilization (PERU-Hub) to support sustainable agricultural, economic and social improvement in the San Martin region of the Peruvian jungle. The overall project is led by Peru’s Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. The University of Oklahoma received nearly $1.5 million to support the project, coordinated through its Institute for Resilient Environmental and Energy Systems. Additional partners include Utah State University, Purdue University and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, as well as 10 regional and national government bodies, Peruvian universities, and food and agricultural companies, both foreign and domestic.

The renowned Mediterranean diet is underpinned by diverse foods. However, after assessing agrobiodiversity consumption, production and conservation in the region, researchers say that further actions are needed - particularly on farms - to ensure food system resilience.

Agriculture, loss of habitat or wastewater effluents – human stressors negatively impact biodiversity in streams and rivers. Very little is known yet about the extent to which their capacity for self-purification and other essential ecosystem services are also impacted. An international research team lead by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) has synthesised the globally available research on this topic in a meta-analysis recently published in Global Change Biology. This study provides new initiatives for improved water management.