The latest on land use, livelihoods and environmental services in the tropical forest margins.
Under the Agricultural Mitigation Programme at FAO a new five-year project was launched at the beginning of this year on Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture (MICCA: http://www.fao.org/climatechange/micca/en/) with initial funding from the Finnish Government. One of the activities of the project is to test in practice the integration of agricultural techniques which mitigate climate change into the current practices of smallholders in developing countries.
As a first step we want to identify what existing agricultural mitigation projects there are in developing countries (including agroforestry) to clarify which farming systems are already covered, which technologies are applied, how mitigation “efficient” these are and which remuneration systems are used for the farmers.
We will analyse this information in terms of covered/missing farming systems and agro-ecological zones, and in a second step identify a number of existing agricultural projects in these “gap areas” that could incorporate a mitigation component and be used to broaden the range of agricultural mitigation activities being evaluated worldwide.
In a third step we want to then establish, in collaboration with existing initiatives and projects, five agricultural mitigation pilot projects which cover different farming systems, agro-ecological zones and geographic regions. The pilots are planned to have a three-year duration.
Thus, we would like to invite you, if you are involved in or know of any ongoing agricultural mitigation project in a developing country, to send us information on this/these project(s). The information will be compiled into a working paper which will be shared with you. We hope that you will see this as an opportunity to promote smallholder mitigation strategies and prevent experience and knowledge from being lost.
Please send the information to: micca@fao.org
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has released a factsheet titled “Climate Change: a development challenge,” which describes its work on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The note underscores that up to 35% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions result from agriculture and deforestation. Highlighting that the rural poor manage large areas of land and forest, it calls for carbon trading schemes to include mechanisms to compensate the rural poor, and for policy makers to incentivize carbon sequestration and soil and water conservation. The note also outlines IFAD’s efforts to streamline climate change adaptation and mitigation into its programmes. It further describes: a biogas project in China; a World Agroforestry Centre programme for developing mechanisms to Reward the Upland Poor of Asia for Environmental Services (RUPES); an adaptation project in Peru; and partnerships on climate change between IFAD and other international organizations.
[The Note] [IFAD Climate Change Website]
via: Climate-L.org.
The landscape of Mengsong, southwest China, was biologically diverse until recently due to historical biogeographical processes overlain by the swidden-cultivation practices of the Hani who migrated there several centuries ago. Our research sought to understand how the Hani adjusted their livelihoods to new policies, markets, and technologies, and the consequences for biodiversity conservation. We combined landscape, plot, and household surveys, interviews, and reviews of secondary documents, to reconstruct the major changes and responses to challenges in the social–ecological system over previous decades. Significant changes from closed to open canopy of secondary-forest vegetation took place between 1965–1993 and from open-canopy to closed-canopy forest between 1993–2006, mostly explainable by changes in state land-use policies and the market economy. Most remaining swidden-fallow succession had been converted into tea or rubber plantations. Swidden-fallow fields used to contain significant levels of biological diversity. Until 2000, biodiversity served several important ecological and social functions in the Hani livelihood system. Indigenous institutions were often functional, for example, linked to fire control, soil management, and watershed protection. For centuries, the Hani had detailed knowledge of the landscape, helping them to adjust rapidly to ecological disturbances and changes in production demands. The Hani understood succession processes that enabled them to carry out long-term land-management strategies. Recent government policies and market dynamics have simplified livelihoods and landscapes, seriously reducing biodiversity, but greatly increasing the area of closed-canopy forest (including plantations) and undermining the usefulness of Hani knowledge and land-use institutions. Meeting both conservation and development objectives in this landscape will require new functional links between sustainable livelihoods, culture, and biodiversity, rather than seeking to recreate the past.
Citation and links:
Xu, J., L. Lebel, and J. Sturgeon. 2009. Functional links between biodiversity, livelihoods, and culture in a Hani swidden landscape in southwest China. Ecology and Society 14(2): 20. [online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss2/art20/
Developing countries can shift to lower-carbon paths while promoting development and reducing poverty, but this depends on financial and technical assistance from high-income countries, says World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change (visit website).
The report’s key messages have important implications for ecosystems and livelihoods in the developing world:
- Developing countries are highly vulnerable to climate change
- Climate change complicates efforts to reduce poverty and promote prosperity
- A “climate smart” world is possible if we act now, act together, and act differently
- An equitable, efficient climate deal that recognizes the needs of developing countries is critical
The report calls on industrialised countries, which have released most of the greenhouse gases, to lead the way in charting a new low-carbon economic path. In addition, the report calls for financial support to enable developing countries adapt to climate change and lay the foundation for low-carbon economies.
In an op-ed to Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper, one of the report’s authors, Calestous Juma, describes how climate change is already a concern in Kenya.
Fragile ecosystems are a dominant feature of sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly two thirds of its surface area is dry land or desert, which makes it highly vulnerable to droughts and floods. Much of the continent’s political instability is associated with the fragility of its ecosystems and low levels of technological competence to compensate for the natural deficiencies.
Africa’s economies are also highly dependent on natural resources. Nearly 80 per cent of its energy comes from biomass and a third of its gross domestic product comes from rain-fed agriculture, which supports 70 per cent of the population.
Stress is already being felt in critical areas such as water supply. Today, 20 African countries experience severe water scarcity and another 12 will be added in the next 25 years. Economic growth in regional hubs such as Nairobi is now being curtailed by water shortages.
Source: Climate change a stumbling block to Africa’s economies. Daily Nation.
How can the agriculture and food security agenda fit into the debate on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), particularly leading up to the climate change conference in Copenhagen this December? Bruce Campbell, of the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Challenge Program (CCAFS) looks the evolution of the REDD debate and possible opportunities and challenges for poverty alleviation and agricultural development efforts.
Source: Campbell, B.M., Beyond Copenhagen: REDD+, agriculture, adaptation strategies and poverty. Global Environ. Change (2009), doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2009.07.010 (subscription required)