In Tshopo, a forested province in the north-eastern part of the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), the regulation of water availability and quality is crucial for sustaining livelihoods and protecting communities from natural hazards. These ecosystem services are crucial for reducing water vulnerability and providing sufficient water for domestic use in places where the government’s capacity to manage water resources is insufficient. However, the forests of Tshopo are threatened by climate change and various anthropogenic activities. Its rural landscape is dominated by forests that are undergoing several transformations, exposing water bodies to contamination. Hence, water is one of the key resources vulnerable to climate change in the Tshopo Province. As few studies have focused on the understanding of water availability at the sub-national level in the DRC, in this work, we aim to review the current water situation and its relation to climate change and forest degradation in the Tshopo province. Our analysis shows the necessity to develop well-defined strategic plans that consider contextual specificities and to find a trade-off between forest and water management strategies to respond to water-vulnerability risks in the region.
Tag: Adaptation
Evidence supports the potential for climate-smart agriculture in Tanzania
National governments across Sub-Saharan Africa include climate-smart agriculture (CSA)—context-specific interventions that support resilience, productivity, and climate mitigation—in plans, policies, and strategies to jointly address climate change, agricultural production, and rural livelihood goals. This paper synthesizes the evidence on field-based CSA management practices generated through ten years of research led by the CGIAR in Tanzania. Results show consistent positive impacts of CSA on productivity, mixed impacts on resilience, short-term negative impacts on emissions intensity, and highly variable impacts on socioeconomic characteristics. Tanzania provides an example of how an agriculturally diverse country can use evidence of impacts, synergies, and tradeoffs to prioritize CSA activities for sustainable development.
Climate-Smart Conservation Agriculture, Farm Values and Tenure Security: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the Congo Basin
Background and Research Aims: Agriculture through deforestation is an important threat to biodiversity conservation in the Congo Basin’s tropical forest. The policy challenge is not only to promote adaptation to perceived climate change but also to promote forest conservation. The aim of this study is to provide empirical evidence on the impact of farm-level investments in climate-smart agricultural practices related to conservation agriculture in some Congo Basin countries. The hypothesis is that property rights to land and trees play a fundamental role in governing the patterns of investment, forestland management for conservation, as well as in the profitability of agriculture. Methods: A Simulated Maximum Likelihood Estimation using a Mixed Logit model is used to test farmers’ choice of agricultural system and a farmland value model for each agricultural system which includes determinants of tenure or property rights, climate, soils, and socioeconomic variables such as education and gender. The data was collected from more than 600 farms covering 12 regions and 45 divisions in 3 countries, Cameroon, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Results: Farmers choose one of three agricultural systems to maximize farm profit mindful of the current tenure regime and environmental conditions. Conservation agriculture techniques within climate-smart practices show benefits for smallholder farmers through improvements in soil health, soil moisture retention and enhanced crop yields. The rights to access, withdraw, manage, as well as exclude others from land and trees affect both the farmers’ choice of system and the profit earned from the chosen system. Conclusion: Farm-level investments improve farm incomes and enhance conservation effort for farmers perceiving climate change. Implications for Conservation: Climate change adaptation through planting of trees improves soil stability, restores ecosystems and creates a safe haven for biodiversity. Secure land tenure promotes better forestland management and reduces land degradation in vulnerable communities.
Agroforestry Matches the Evolving Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Agenda in Asia and Africa
Mitigadaptation, tree-based synergy between the global climate change mitigation and adaptation agendas, has been slowly emerging in the 30 years of climate science–policy interaction with its various ups and downs, false starts and ever-increasing urgency of bending the climate curve. The potential contribution of agroforestry to the climate change mitigation and adaptation agenda has been slow to be recognized and effectively supported, as agroforestry existed on farm and in landscapes, but not yet in the world of policy documents, government statistics and sectoral lobby groups. The articulation of the 17 sustainable development goals that transcend sectoral claims for prioritization and call for results-oriented investment of public funds has made it easier for the adaptation and mitigation agendas to synergize. Especially where focus is on local livelihoods in green economies, creating space for a continuum approach to Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Uses (AFOLU), within which trees outside forest and agroforestry can be recognized for what they are. The chapter takes stock of such changes, as they played out in Africa and Asia, especially, by reviewing three agroforestry concepts. The third, policy-oriented, agroforestry concept (AF3) deals with the existing forestry-agriculture dichotomy and creates space for a landscape land-use continuum, with results-based management, clarifying institutional versus vegetation-based forest concepts. The second, landscape-oriented, agroforestry concept (AF2) emphasizes multifunctionality of managing land and water for the full set of SDGs and awareness of natural and man-made disasters, supporting collective action and active participation in value chains. The first, farm-oriented, agroforestry concept (AF1) has its roots in risk management through diversity and is the primary level for climate change adaptation and climate-smart solutions. The concepts jointly interact with data, feedbacks, institutions and goals as part of complex, adaptive social-ecological systems.
Agroforestry as a Key Intervention to Achieve Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Targets
Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) have emerged as the main tool for defining, communicating, and potentially reporting contributions of “parties” to the Paris Agreement on climate change. Agroforestry has been identified as a key part of most developing country NDCs; hence, it is a potentially important contributor to global climate objectives. This chapter explores the degree to which agroforestry is represented in current NDC ambitions, how its application is envisaged, and how its contribution could be enhanced. Agroforestry is one of the land uses with immense potential to fulfill commitments set out in NDCs and reduce emissions from agriculture; estimates of its potential to sequester vary widely, between 1.1 and 34.2 Pg C globally. Over 85% of the 22 NDCs assessed mentioned agroforestry as a strategy for achieving unconditional NDC commitments. By converting 25% of deforested areas to agroforestry, about 80% of the non-Annex I countries could achieve their unconditional commitments. The widespread use of agroforestry (about one billion hectares) and its familiarity among smallholder farmers and local practitioners makes it a potential low-hanging fruit for achieving NDC commitments, emission reduction in agriculture, and resilience. However, there are financial, policy, and technology challenges that should be addressed, including land and tree tenure and carbon rights in some countries, the potential impacts of climate change on the growing niches of tree species, and limited sources of quality germplasm.
Coastal area rehabilitation for climate change adaptation: The key role of mangroves in Nationally Determined Contributions
With a coastline of more than 90,000 km – the second longest after Canada – it is in Indonesia’s interests to protect its coastal areas from climate change impacts. The continued existence and preservation of extensive coastal vegetation like mangroves and seagrasses is a nature-based solution for successful adaptation to climate change.
A coastal area rehabilitation/restoration agenda for climate change adaptation must be able to increase areas’ resilience in overcoming rising sea levels, waves, coastal erosion, flooding and inundation, so the resilience of communities, particularly fishing communities living in coastal areas, can be enhanced. Communities’ social cohesion, economic opportunities, and institutional capacity must also improve. Information and funding flows must be transparent for all stakeholders, so adaptation agenda decision making and implementation can be carried out effectively, efficiently and equitably.
This paper demonstrates efforts to bundle adaptation and mitigation measures to secure optimum outcomes in coastal area rehabilitation/restoration, as recommended in the Paris Agreement. It proposes adopting a responsive adaptation cycle so adaptive measures in these strategic coastal areas can commence immediately, and be monitored and evaluated. In this regard, emissions mitigation scenarios linked to adaptation measures can be considered to facilitate the achievement of 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Indigenous farmers’ perception of climate vulnerability, barriers and factors influencing farmers adaptation intention: evidence from mountainous area of Vietnam
Climate change has adversely affected the agriculture of indigenous farmers. Farmers can lessen agricultural losses by using adaptation strategies to climate change. However, the adaptation process depends on several factors, including barriers. This paper examines the farmers’ opinion toward adaptation barriers and tries to identify how the barriers influence farmers’ adaptation intention. We collected data from 362 randomly selected farmers by using face to face interview method and focus group discussions in Backan province, Vietnam. The severity index technique was applied to calculate farmers’ perception of barriers and climate change vulnerability indexes, and we used the probit model to determine the factors affecting farmers’ adaptation intention. The results indicate that farmers identified 10 internal factors and 14 external barrier factors that influence the adaptation intention. Moreover, probit model confirmed that farmers’ adaptation intention was significantly affected by education level, major occupation, income, lack of technical process, high cost of farm labor, lack of access to pesticides, and lack of technical officers. As a result, climate vulnerability indexes and barriers, and adaptation factors should be considered for designing and performing the policies in the future for indigenous farmers.
Vulnerability and coping strategies within wild meat trade networks during the COVID-19 pandemic
Measures adopted to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and economic shocks caused by the pandemic have affected food networks globally, including wild meat trade networks that support the livelihoods and food security of millions of people around the world. In this article, we examine how COVID-related shocks have affected the vulnerability and coping strategies of different actors along wild meat trade networks. Informed by 1,876 questionnaires carried out with wild meat hunters, traders, vendors, and consumers in Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Guyana, the article presents qualitative evidence as to how COVID-19 impacted different segments of society involved in wild meat trade networks. Our findings largely align with McNamara et al. (2020) and Kamogne Tagne et al.’s (2022) causal model hypothesising how the impacts of the pandemic could lead to a change in local incentives for wild meat hunting in sub-Saharan African countries. Like McNamara et al. (2020) and Kamogne Tagne et al. (2022), we find that the pandemic reduced wild meat availability for wild meat actors in urban areas while increasing reliance on wild meat for subsistence purposes in rural areas. However, we find some impact pathways to be more relevant than others, and also incorporate additional impact pathways into the existing causal model. Based on our findings, we argue that wild meat serves as an important safety net in response to shocks for some actors in wild meat trade networks. We conclude by advocating for policies and development interventions that seek to improve the safety and sustainability of wild meat trade networks and protect access to wild meat as an environmental coping strategy during times of crisis.
Climate smart agroforestry in Ethiopia: Technical Information Kit with special emphasis on Faidherbia albida
The purpose of this TIK is to establish a common background and knowledge base on how and where Agroforestry systems as the key Climate Smart practice can be promoted and scaled in Ethiopia with special emphasis on Faidherbia albida. This TIK is believed to be used by various actors as an extension material to guide, inform and train farmers on the importance of Agroforestry systems and practices and their multiple services and functions taking Faidherbia albida as a case and the overall implication for sustainable land management, and climate change adaption and mitigation.
Gergera Watershed: A success story of restoration community-based adaptation and climate-smart practices
Gergera watershed is located in Tabia Hayelom, Atsbi Wonberta district of Tigray region in northern Ethiopia. The altitude of the district ranges from 1500 to 2800 m.a.s.l. The average daily temperature of the area is between 15°C and 30°C with a mean annual rainfall of about 529mm. The area is prone to drought with erratic, unevenly distributed rainfall and high runoff. However, it has good sources of underground and seasonal water from the surrounding mountain catchments.