Logos of datasets

Large-scale, freely available data for Ghana, Ethiopia, and Zambia

We need appropriate spatial data to understand how agricultural development has been affecting the environment in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Zambia to date.  At UCL, we have been looking to large-scale, freely available data sources to see which might b

13 Nov 2019
Abbie Chapman, UCL
Comms learning week 2019

Sentinel’s communicators sharpen skills in learning exchange

IIED’s Communications Learning Week in late June hosted by the institute’s communications team was timely and highly opportune for the Sentinel project.

21 Aug 2019
Valerie Kalinso, Copperbelt University
Participatory mapping exercise in Ethiopia

Reconnaissance surveys of study sites get under way in Ethiopia

Sentinel researchers have begun the process of shortlisting study sites where there has been expansion of agriculture into natural habitats in each of the three Sentinel focal countries – Ethiopia, Ghana and Zambia – beginning with Ethiopia.

13 Aug 2019
CC Chad Skeers March 2011

Impacts of agricultural expansion: what will we explore?

At UCL we’re interested in this question: do areas where crops are grown overlap with areas that are naturally high in biodiversity?

07 Aug 2019
Tim Newbold, UCL
10 potential sites in Ghana

Site selection for Sentinel

The Sentinel project seeks to understand the extent, nature and impacts of agricultural expansion into natural habitats.

17 Jun 2019
Geoff Griffiths, University of Reading
RUFORUM Image

The 15th RUFORUM Annual General Meeting is here. Join us!

We are pleased to let you know that the Sentinel project will participate in this year’s RUFORUM Annual General Meeting (AGM) slated for 2 - 6 December 2019 in Cape Coast, Ghana.

16 May 2019
Blog by David Ekepu, RUFORUM
Man spots some sheep in the distance

“Achieving food and nutrition security, reducing inequality, and preserving terrestrial ecosystems: 100 critical research questions for decision makers in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Increasing population growth and rising food demand...
14 May 2019
Blog by Adam Devenish, Imperial College London
RUFORUM participants

Twenty African PhD research scholarships awarded under the Sentinel project

Sentinel partner RUFORUM (The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture), has awarded 20 research scholarships to PhD candidates

07 May 2019
Blog by Beth Downe, IIED, Agroecology Team
scenario building graphic: Source - Wikimedia commons

‘Scenario building’ explained

One of the first building blocks of the Sentinel project is developing qualitative scenarios on plausible agricultural and food system development pathways.
14 Feb 2019
Blog by Aniek Hebinck and Monika Zurek, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford
Threatened forest reserve in Wa. Photo: Sentinel project

Urban expansion: an indirect driver of agricultural expansion and biodiversity loss?

Wa, the capital of Ghana’s Upper West Region, has grown dramatically over the past decades.
08 Feb 2019
Blog by Barbara Adolph, IIED, Agroecology Team