sustainable landscapes: food security and adapting to climate change

Sustainable Landscapes:

Food Security and adapting to climate change

Gernot Laganda CoP19/ Global Landscape Forum

Warsaw, 17 November 2013

Rural livelihoods depend on the

services provided by the mosaic of

natural and/or human-modified

ecosystems:

- Food & water quality/security

- Energy services

- Disaster mitigation

- Carbon sequestration

- Public health & wellbeing

- Economic revenues

Smallholder farmers are part of the

social, ecological and economic

transactions within these landscapes,

sustaining or eroding these services

Why is IFAD concerned about landscapes?

How does climate change impact on

agricultural landscapes?

1. Directly, by altering the biophysical

characteristics of landscapes:

• Vegetation (composition, extent, health & productivity)

• Topography (e.g. shorelines, ice bodies, permafrost,

landslides, flooding, drought, erosion)

• Ecosystem distribution & composition (e.g. loss of

habitat, biodiversity, migratory shifts of species in

forests, coral reefs, wetlands)

• Natural cycles (e.g. hydrological cycle, seasonality,

monsoon, ENSO)

How does climate change impact on

agricultural landscapes?

• Constructed features (responding to too much/too

little water; influencing choice of materials and

engineering designs)

• Land use (e.g. encroachment on sensitive eco-

systems; land use conversion; land zoning)

• Crop types (e.g. crop/livestock ratio, mixed cropping,

monocropping)

• Farming practices (e.g. degree of diversification,

storage, energy choices, fertilizer and pesticide use,

mechanization)

2. Indirectly, by affecting the livelihood options, choices

and cultural traditions of people living in landscapes:

How does IFAD engage in integrated

land/food/climate systems?

Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP)

- Grant co-financing programme focusing on climate resilient agriculture

- 5 bilateral donors, 330 million US$ in contributions/pledges

- Integrates climate risk management and adaptation actions into IFAD investment programmes (~ US $1 billion per year)

- Centerpiece of a change management process to help IFAD become a ‘climate-smart’ organisation

- 25 ASAP investments (2 under implementation, 9 in advanced design stage, 14 early/mid-design)

Some challenges in integrated

land - food - climate systems (1)

Challenge: Land is a scarce resource, under pressure from

both human- and climate-induced stresses. There is limited room

for expansion, more food needs to be produced on less land.

e.g. Moroccoe.g. Mali

Adaptation options / solutions:

- Sustainable restoration of degraded lands (e.g. through farmer-based

natural regeneration, improved rangeland management)

- Improved land-use planning to optimize production (e.g. through

participatory mapping, mosaic farming)

- Promotion of alternative energy options to reduce forest degradation

e.g. Malie.g. Rwanda

Some challenges in integrated

land – food - climate systems (2)

Challenge: Rising losses and damages in productive land and

infrastructure through climate-related events

Adaptation options / solutions:

- Erosion control and soil stabilisation

- Adaptive engineering of irrigation, storage & transport infrastructure

- Climate information systems monitoring emerging hazards (e.g.

salinity, pests & diseases)

e.g. Mali

e.g. Rwanda e.g. Vietname.g. Nigeria

Some challenges in integrated

land - food - climate systems (3)

Challenge: The yield gap between potential and actual

production is widened by climate-induced shocks and stresses

Adaptation options / solutions:

- Sustainable intensification (e.g. conservation agriculture, use of

fertilizer trees, integrated pest management)

- Diversification of risk across different crops and value chains

- Know-how and technology transfer to lowest yield-areas (e.g.

drought-resistant varieties; efficient irrigation systems)

e.g. Ghana e.g. Nigeriae.g. Nicaragua

Some challenges in integrated

land - food - climate systems (4)

Challenge: Local governance structures determine the

abilities of smallholders to access and manage land and landscapes.

The distribution of land ownership is determined by power structures

e.g. Morocco

Adaptation options / solutions:

- Empowering farmer groups & connecting them with policy processes

- Investing not only at farm-, but also at landscape-level (e.g. through

watershed restoration, slope stabilisation)

- Strengthening livelihoods of landless and seasonal workers through

restoration of degraded communal lands

e.g. Vietnam e.g. Bolivia e.g. Niger

Conclusion

e.g. Moroccoe.g. Mali

• Land, food and climate systems are interconnected.

Investing in smallholder adaptation is a multiple-win strategy and a

good point of departure

• Agricultural landscapes are at risk from human- as well as climate-

induced stresses. Adaptation investments should not isolate these

from each other. Both need to be tackled concurrently.

• Adaptation programmes should integrate investments at landscape

as well as farm-level

• Climate Change Adaptation is a process, not an Outcome. A key

ingredient of a long-term strategy is the empowerment of local

institutions with access to technologies, information and financing

Thank you !