Climate change mitigation in forests: Conflict, peacebuilding, and lessons for climate security III There is growing awareness of the link between climate change and security. Most of the climate security debate has focused on the ways that climate change exacerbates geopolitical and state security matters through ‘threat multipliers’, especially in terms of intra-state, inter-group and sub-national conflicts. At the same time, 64 per cent of climate finance was allocated to mitigation and 25 per cent to adaptation between 2013 and 2019 (OECD 2020; OECD 2021). Despite this, the dynamics between climate change mitigation and security remains a less-explored topic. As climate security attracts increasing attention in research and policy, our entry point into reviewing the links between climate change mitigation and security is rooted in studies of conflict and peace in environmental governance. Because forests are a global focus of climate change mitigation, we focus our review on initiatives that directly affect, or are implemented in, forest areas in low- and middle-income countries. Forests have complex governance contexts and are prone to conflict due to histories of colonization and ongoing resource extraction that lead to disputes over who has authority to make decisions, how different actors are compensated, and whose priorities and claims dictate actions in forest areas. CCMIs related to forests are often inserted into these long-standing conflicts. Many of these tensions over rights and resources are located in fragile states and some in armed conflict and post-conflict contexts. Conflict and weak institutional governance are often associated with deforestation but have also been shown to protect forest resources when insurgent forces are compelled to do so.
Tag: agriculture
A decade of science for climate change adaptation and mitigation
This working paper synthesizes findings and reflections from an analysis of 300 CCAFS outcomes reported by project and program leaders between 2011 and 2020. The analysis, organized in the form of an outcome harvest, was aimed to distil typologies of outcomes achieved across geographies and groups of beneficiaries; the contributions of outcomes to program and institutional targets and sustainable development goals (SDGs) and targets; as well as key impact pathways derived from the activities, outputs and outcomes reported by CCAFS teams in relation to interventions targeting policy/investment and services/farm. The study also reveals examples of outcomes that progressed from one maturity level to the next, that expanded the scope of work, scaled to new geographies, or marked an increase in the number of innovations developed over the years, indicating a diversity of forms in which CCAFS outcome-oriented work has evolved towards increased impact.
Selected Soil Properties Among Agroforestry, Natural Forest, Traditional Agriculture, and Palm Oil Land Uses in Central Kalimantan
The deforestation in Indonesia has begun in the twentieth century due to agricultural expansion and mechanization. The uncontrolled and illegal land conversions have affected forest functions, food security, and soil health. The objective of this study is to evaluate differences in soil properties among major land-use practices and determine agroforestry’s potential for soil rehabilitation. The study design consisted of palm oil plantation (POP), traditional agriculture (TA), agroforestry homegarden (AHG), and natural forest (NF) management treatments in completely randomized block design with three replications. Soil samples were collected from three villages Kuala Pembuang, Muara Dua, and Telaga Pulang within the Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve located in Seruyan District, Central Kalimantan Province, Indonesia, in June 2017. Soils from 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm were analyzed for cellulase, PMEase, urease, C, and N. The results showed that enzyme activities and percentages of C and N were significantly different (α 0.05) among management practices within the soil depths. The highest enzyme activities were found in NF, AHG, and TA treatments. The lowest C level was found at 0–15 cm soil depth (1.32%) of POP. The highest nitrogen level was found at NF (1.23%) for 15–30 cm soil depth followed by TA site at 0–15 cm (1.15%). The lowest soil N level was found at POP among treatments and depths (0.43% and 0.21%). The outcomes of this study will help formulate land management recommendations for landowners, palm oil management, government agencies, and communities around the study areas to maintain soil quality for long-term sustainability of the peat forest ecosystems. Homegarden systems can be recommended as the most appropriate alternative land management in Seruyan District, Central Kalimantan. Future research could investigate microbial community structure and characteristics to understand specific soil functions by treatments.
Agricultural contribution to the nutritional status of children: A comparative study of annual crop, agroforestry, and mixed-farming type in Buol, Indonesia
This study investigated the agriculture contribution to the nutritional status of children from farming families by comparing situation of the annual crop with agroforestry and mixed farming systems. A survey was conducted from December 2015 to January 2016 in Buol, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Household socioeconomic and agricultural data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The dietary intake information of the oldest under-five children was gathered using a 24-hour recall of food intake, and the results were converted into food groups and nutrient contents. Focus group discussions among male and female farmers were performed to complement the survey’s results. The prevalence of respiratory infection and diarrhea in children in the last 2 weeks was assessed. Furthermore, the weight and height of the children were measured. In total, 200 female/male farmers and their under-five children from annual food crop (n = 79), agroforestry (n = 53), and mixed (n = 68) farming systems were recruited. A very high prevalence of stunted children (above 30%) was recorded in all the groups, whereas the proportion of wasted children was above 5%. The children’s nutritional status indicated that an immediate intervention was needed to prevent further deterioration. The results of the binary logistic regression revealed that yearly food expenditure per capita was negatively and significantly correlated with the risk of being stunted (p = 0.047), whereas nonbreastfed children had a 2.9-fold higher risk of wasting at the time of the survey (p = 0.014). Of all the farmer groups, mixed farming farmers tended to benefit the most from having high cash revenue and food production, leading to a slightly better nutritional status compared to farmers managing annual crop production or agroforestry systems only. Notably, actions need to be undertaken to improve the resilience of all smallholders as well as promote the provision and spending on nutrient-dense food for children in all the farmer groups.
Accelerating understanding of resilient agriculture. Using a data sprint to catalyze new insights from existing evidence
The Evidence for Resilient Agriculture (ERA) dataset contains more than 100,000 observations describing which agricultural practices work where. A Data Sprint was held for six months to leverage ERA to generate new insights that maximize the impact of the dataset and build new scientific collaborations. A sample analysis that compared expert elicitation and ERA data of benefits of CSA identified little convergence and highlighted the need for integration of diverse evidence. A sample analysis that generated predictive scenarios to improve food and nutrition security in Ethiopia leveraged ERA data to identify pathways that account for local diversity. A sample analysis that assessed data deserts and research gaps using ERA data found a lack of evidence in regions with pastoral systems.
Ecosystem-based adaptation in agriculture: How agroecology can contribute to tackling climate change
Going into COP26 and getting it right: Forests, agriculture, ecosystems and nature for climate change mitigation and adaptation
Key messages
- Forests, trees and the transformation of agriculture remain a proven mitigation and adaptation pathway, which must receive substantially more support in terms of funding and capacity development.
- Protecting and restoring habitats is a powerful way to boost resilience to the impacts of climate change.
- There can be no solution to land degradation or the problems caused by unsustainable agricultural, forestry and fisheries systems without explicit recognition of rights.
- Any solutions in the forests and agricultural space must seek to deliver multiple benefits, thereby exploiting to the full extent the potential of trees and the (agro-)ecosystems concerned.
- Conversion of natural forest, (tropical and temperate) peatlands, wetlands, grasslands and other ecologically well-adapted ‘natural’ and high-carbon systems must be halted immediately.
- The search for climate-relevant solutions in the forests and agricultural space must factor in uncertainty and complexity.
- Scientific knowledge and practical needs must be reconciled, e.g., by providing guidelines and tools for monitoring and evaluation, programme and project management, and financing mechanisms adapted to complex, multilevel and long-term, ‘transformational’ endeavours.
Crop-climate model in support of adjusting local ecological calendar in the Taxkorgan, eastern Pamir Plateau
Climate variability and changes threaten agriculture. In response, farmers have been forced to adjust farming practices according to locally available options. Ethnoecological knowledge of surrounding environmental events inform such adjustments. This study aims to explore observed changes in the crop calendar and changes in crop yield as response to climatic variability to support adjusting the local crop calendar. Interviews with local leaders and group discussions with farmers were organized. Climatic indices such as growing degree days (GDD) and crop evapotranspiration (ETc) were calculated and regressed with crop production data (1988–2017) from Taxkorgan County of Xinjiang, China, using the partial least square regression (PLS) technique. Survey data revealed that the sowing dates of important crops began earlier than previous decades. Spatial data showed that the growing season advanced 3.2 days per decade. PLS results suggest that GDD and ETc significantly affect crop yield. GDD during the growth period had a significant positive impact, indicating that recent warming is beneficial for crop yields in these regions. ETc during the growth period mostly had a negative impact, suggesting the need for ample water to improve crop yields in the context of further warming. The current shift in sowing is corroborated by early heat accumulation, and crop calendar adjustments can reasonably increase yields. Our results are applicable to agricultural decisions at the farm level following site-specific fieldwork. Optimal planting dates can be determined by combining results from our study and other suitable farming practices to strengthen the resilience of local ecological calendars to climate change.
Tree stakes for climbing beans in Rwanda
Population growth and land fragmentation (farm sizes 0.3–0.6 ha) in Rwanda has resulted in reduced agricultural productivity and increased hunger and malnutrition, with 38% of children under 5 years being stunted.
Rural resource centers provide extension support for diversified food production options
Declined investment in agricultural and forestry extension services in Africa is negatively affecting the ability of farmers to adopt novel food production practices that involve perennial trees, since they are knowledge intensive.