This paper attempts to analyse the current global crisis in the availability and prices of rice by drawing upon the long-term developments in the rice market. The instability and thinness in the world rice markets are shown to be mainly due to the predominantly precautionary export policies of major exporting countries, which in turn are a result of domestic food security considerations. Some possible policy options are also discussed.

We thought wide-scale food shortages were behind us. Just a few years ago, most countries - with the exception of some in Africa - were looking as if they would be capable of adequately feeding their people, and the rich world was trying to figure out what to do with its food mountains. How things have changed. Droughts, high oil prices, changing diets, the rush to grow biofuels and other factors have caused shortages of most of the major food crops. On every continent there is concern over high food prices, and in some places even rioting. (Editorial)

The surface of our planet is mainly water, yet usable water is in short supply. In some parts of Africa people have to walk several kilometres a day to get water, and they are the lucky ones. There, and in Asia, the prospect of conflicts over water is increasing. A particular example is the scheme to bring more water into Turkmenistan and its capital city, Ashgabat.

What do a student in New York, a farmer near Mexico City, a family in London and a nurse in Bangkok have in common?

Reactive nitrogen (Nr) includes the inorganic (NH3, NH4, NOx, HNO3, N2O, NO3) and organic forms (urea, amines, proteins, nucleic acids) that readily participate in various reactions of the global N cycle. Over the last half a century, anthropogenic perturbations of the natural N cycle have led to the increasing accumulation of inorganic Nr in the soil, water and air, intentionally through agriculture and unintentionally through fosill-fuel consumption and other activities, adversely affecting human health, biodiversity, environment and climate change.

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