Deforestation, urbanization, and unsustainable agriculture are causing global land degradation on an unprecedented scale, threatening not only the global system but also human survival. Late last year, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Johan Rockström at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) launched a report, titled, ‘Stepping back from the precipice: Transforming land management to stay within planetary boundaries’. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released its World Food Price Trends on January 3. The average value in December 2024 was 127.50 points, down 0.5% from November, reflecting lower sugar, vegetable oil, and grain prices that offset the rise in meat prices. This figure was 6.7% higher than last year, but 20.7% lower than the all-time high in March 2022. The price indicator for the entire period of 2024 was 122.0 points, which was 2.1% lower than the 2023 average.

The 2024 Pick Up featured articles highlighting trends that influence global food security and food systems, such as global population growth prospects with regionally heterogeneous demographic patterns, the impacts of conflicts and economic slowdown that hinder the achievement of zero hunger, and the emerging observation of adverse impacts of climate change on food production.

From the weekend, a winter-type pressure system intensified in Japan, and under the Christmas cold wave, heavy snowfall at the warning level fell mainly in the mountains on the Sea of Japan side from eastern Japan to western Japan. Snow has major properties that affect the Earth's climate system, such as reflecting solar heat. The cryosphere, which is covered with snow and ice, is also called the "canary in the coal mine of the climate system," but it is undergoing dramatic changes under the influence of climate change.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is sometimes referred to as the "biodiversity version of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)". On 16 December, IPBES released a summary for policymakers on the "Thematic Assessment of the Interrelationship between Biodiversity, Water, Food, and Health (Nexus Assessment)".

A stethoscope for diagnosing stress conditions in plants that do not have voices is a promising tool for use in cultivation improvement and breeding selection. The author, Dr. Takaragawa, a researcher at the Tropical Agriculture Research Front, is investigating the gas exchange characteristics and morphology of leaves to explore the possibility of using them as a stethoscope. The “trait development” concept involves searching for physiological traits related to yield improvement from genetic resource populations and developing evaluation techniques to genetically add these traits, while the “trait (diversity) utilization” concept focuses on the diversity of traits in existing cultivars and hybrid populations and makes effective use of cultivars and genotypes that have both advantages and disadvantages by planting a mixture of them. The author is now trying to establish the “Trait Development and Utilization" research field, which combines the two concepts of “trait” and is promoting experiments and exchanging information among researchers.

On December 9, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced that November 2024 was the second-highest monthly temperature ever recorded, confirming the forecast that 2024 will be the warmest year.

Drought is one of the most pressing threats to the socio-economy on all continents around the world, especially in arid regions. The report, Economics of Droughts, released on the sidelines of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP15, examines financial needs and opportunities for reducing drought crises and building resilience.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released its World Food Price Trends on December 6. The value in November 2024 averaged 127.5 points, up 0.5% from October and the highest level since April 2023. This was due to the fact that the rise in dairy and cooking oil prices slightly outpaced the decline in meat, grain, and sugar prices. This figure was 5.7% higher than last year, but 20.4% lower than the all-time high in March 2022.