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News in brief BUILDING FAIRNESS INTO DECISION MAKING CLOSING KNOWLEDGE GAPS FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE FairSTREAM, a new IIASA Strategic Initiative, will develop and demonstrate a co-production methodology for including fairness alongside efficiency in the development of sustainable policy options in the food, water, and biodiversity nexus. www.iiasa.ac.at/news/21-fairSTREAM Pathways towards sustainable agriculture and the feasibility of measuring their efficacy remain elusive. The Sustainable Agriculture Matrix (SAM) Consortium, an IIASA project funded under the Belmont Forum’s joint Collaborative Research Action on Pathways to Sustainability, is exploring new ways of making agricultural sustainability better measurable, bringing together researchers from various disciplines and stakeholders from around the globe. www.iiasa.ac.at/news/21- sustainableagriculture Russian forests could be key in the fight against climate change Home to almost one-quarter of total forests globally, Russia can make a huge global impact regarding climate mitigation. When the Soviet Union dissolved, so too did the consistent tracking of its forests. Based on current data, there appears to be a significant information gap since 1988, showing little to no changes in the reported biomass of Russia’s forests. Remote sensing data however, paints a different picture. With the help of international colleagues and Russian experts, IIASA researchers produced new estimates of biomass contained in Russian forests, confirming that there has been a substantial increase over the last few decades. The first cycle of the Russian National Forest Inventory (NFI) was finalized in 2020, allowing the team to combine their remote sensing data with freshly produced Russian reports. “Using advanced analysis techniques for biomass calculations, we discovered that carbon sequestration in live biomass of managed forests between 1988 and 2014 is 47% higher than reported in the National Greenhouse Gases Inventory. This investigation confirms the importance and impact these forests have in the fight against climate change,” says study lead author Dmitry Shchepashchenko. While Russian forests and forestry have great potential in terms of global climate mitigation, it is important to highlight that with the climate becoming more severe, as in recent years, resulting forest disturbances might severely reduce these gains. Close collaboration of science and policy would therefore be critical to elaborate and implement an adaptive and sustainable forest management. “We are talking about the country hosting the world’s largest forest area. Imagine what just a few percent up or down of forest biomass available would do. Its consequent carbon sequestration potential can make huge impacts globally,” notes study coauthor, Florian Kraxner. Dmitry Shchepashchenko: schepd@iiasa.ac.at Florian Kraxner: kraxner@iiasa.ac.at Further info: pure.iiasa.ac.at/17270 SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR On this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, IIASA, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Environmental System Research institute (ESRI) launched the Global Agro-Ecological Zones version 4 (GAEZ v4). This research tool supports sustainable development in agriculture by assessing global land and water resources. www.iiasa.ac.at/news/21-agriculture By Neema Tavakolian Figure: Predicted mean forest growing stock volume (m3 ha-1) for the year ca 2014 5Optionswww.iiasa.ac.at Winter 2021