The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has published an interactive report that contains the main findings of the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA). The FRA provides a comprehensive report on the status and trends in world’s forests, land tenure and access rights, sustainable forest management, legal and institutional frameworks for forest conservation, and sustainable use of forest resources. Currently, the total forest area is 4.06 billion hectares, which accounts for about one-third of the world's land, and although the forest area has been declining globally since 1990, the rate of decline is currently slowing down.

Movement across borders has become difficult due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.Transboundary pests have no borders and can move long distances as shown by the desert locust outbreak that started in eastern Africa last year. The Lepidopterian pest fall armyworm is a a global transboundary pest that has greatly expanded in distribution areas in recent years. Although it is native to South America, it swept through the African continent in 2016 and arrived in Japan through the Asian continent in July last year. Recently, fall armyworm has also been reported in Australia which was heavily devastated by wildfires last year. This year 2020, as the world observes the "International Year of Plant Health" to raise awareness on mitigation of plant pests, it is essential to deal with transboundary pests in the same way as COVID-19, as both problems cannot be tackled by any one country and need to be resolved by international cooperation.

As of early May 2020, the importance of the food system is highlighted as concerns about the food security crisis are increasing under the lockdowns to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The scientific report entitled “Food Systems at Risk: New Trends and Challenges” published in 2019 by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Center for International Development Studies of France (CIRAD), and the European Commission introduced some useful concepts in constructing a robust food system at the time of COVID-19.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released a policy brief on April 24 to address long-term hunger and food insecurity due to the global economic recession caused by COVID-19, and expressed the need to mitigate the impact. It is noted that a COVID-19 triggered global recession and reduction in the growth rate of GDP by 2-10% in all countries in 2020 will result in an increase of 14.4 to 80.3 million undernourished people in net food-importing countries.

In April 2020, the World Bank released the “Commodity Market Outlook - Implications of COVID-19 for Commodities”, a detailed analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for major commodity groups including energy, agriculture, fertilizers and metals. As the pandemic continues to worsen, commodity prices saw sharp declines during the last three months, with the largest impact in the energy sector. This is a summary of the report and blog (World Bank, April 23, 2020).

“Global Renewables Outlook: Energy Transformation 2050”, formerly known as “Global Energy Transformation: a roadmap to 2050”, was published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in April 2020. This comprehensive analysis outlines the investments and technologies needed to decarbonize the energy system in line with the Paris Agreement. It also explores deeper decarbonization options for the hardest sectors, aiming to eventually cut CO2 emissions to zero.

As of April 22, 2020, which marks the 50th anniversary of International Earth Day, the COVID-19 continues to spread around the world. According to the United Nations, 75% of new infectious diseases that occur every four months are of animal origin, showing a very close relationship between humans, animals and environmental health. The destruction of biodiversity by human intervention in nature is believed to be responsible for the increase in zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans. On this day dedicated to Mother Earth, the UN referred to COVID-19, climate crisis and loss of biodiversity, and called for the urgency to shift to a more sustainable economy that works for both people and the planet.

Yeasts are indispensable in the production of seasonings and fermented foods that are directly related to our diet. Yeasts in the genus Saccharomyces used for making bread and sake are called "industrial yeasts" and have been used as model organisms in the scientific field. On the other hand, about 100 genera of yeasts with different functions and properties from Saccharomyces yeast have been reported. For example, there are yeasts that have heat resistance and can be fermented at 40 ℃ or higher, and yeasts that grow and ferment under strong acidic conditions. These yeast species are called non-conventional yeast, and are expected to have high industrial potential such as oil and fat production, surfactant production, biodegradable plastic decomposition etc. JIRCAS focuses on the cell wall components of new industrial yeast that promote immune activation of animal cells, and we are conducting research to develop livestock feed supplement to suppress mastitis in dairy cows.

Rapidly declining cost of solar and wind power generation has caused the acceleration of the transition to renewable energy globally, especially in the power sector. However, the global movement restrictions due to the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) combined with slowdowns of economic activities due to disruptions in the supply chain and closure of related equipment factories, have casted a shadow on the growth outlook for 2020. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the impact of lower oil prices on renewable energy is limited, but the short-term effects on renewable energy use including biofuels are becoming apparent in the transportation sector. The need for accelerating energy transformation, a key component of the long-term goals for the climate safe future remain unchanged ever after the coronavirus crisis. Rather, it is now necessary to pave the way toward the decarbonization of socioeconomic systems and thereby achieving Sustainable Development Goals (IRENA March 14, 2020).