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Publications and Reports
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Blending Climate and Agriculture Finance to Support Climate-Smart Landscapes Seth Shames, Sara J. Scherr, Rachel Friedman - EcoAgriculture Partners - November 2012
Agricultural landscapes must provide food, fiber and energy to a growing global population in a changing climate, while potentially serving as instruments for climate change mitigation. However, there is a disconnect between the ways that climate-smart landscapes will need to be managed and the current financing systems available to support them. Funds for agricultural development, food security, climate mitigation and climate adaptation generally come from different sources even though these goals are inextricably linked in agricultural systems. The consequences of this separation are inefficiency and insufficient access to financing for climate-smart agricultural development. This brief first lays out the current financing landscape for climate and agriculture in the developing world. It then analyzes the implications for the development of Climate-Smart agriculture, particularly for smallholders. Finally, it suggests steps towards more effective integration of climate and agriculture finance. |
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National policy for climate-smart agriculture The Kenya experience Seth Shames - November 2012
As the links between climate change and agriculture have become better understood in the scientific community, public policy efforts to support agricultural adaptation and mitigation have intensified. To support climate-smart agriculture, policy and financing systems will need to adapt so that these multiple objectives – adaptation and mitigation as well as rural development, food security and ecosystem services – can be achieved simultaneously. Kenya has responded to major challenges of climate change by becoming a leader in climate change policy development. This brief reviews Kenya’s experience so far, to draw out lessons for future national policy and institutional development in support of climate-smart agriculture. |
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Payments for watershed services in the United States Cost-effective strategies to align landowner incentives for abundant clean water EcoAgriculture Partners - November 2011
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Harmonizing Agriculture, Forests and Rights in the Design of REDD+ Sara J. Scherr, Seth Shames, Courtney Wallace, Jeffrey Hatcher, Andy White, Peter Minang - EcoAgriculture Partners - February 2011
Global attention to Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanisms provides an opportunity for climate protection and enhancing the livelihoods of farming and forest communities. It has become increasingly apparent that an understanding of the agricultural context of REDD+ projects is critical to success. Agriculture is a major driver of deforestation, and the fate of forests is often closely connected to the management of the agricultural landscapes in which they sit. This brief shines some light on the key REDD+, agriculture and rights linkages that require deeper thinking, and presents policy recommendations on how to address and advance mutually reinforcing climate goals. |
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Advances in Agricultural GHG Measurement and Monitoring Implications for Policy Makers Christina Negra - Seth Shames - December 2010
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Edward Ayensu, Jeannot Zoro Bi Bah, Martin Bwalya, Lloyd Chingambo, Sangafowa Coulibaly, Owen Cylke, Richard Fairburn, Estherine Fotabong, Minu Hemmati, Prince Kapondamgaga, Melinda Kimble, Marcia Marsh, Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Christian Mersmann, James Nyoro, Joost Oorthuizen, algis Osman-Elasha, Sara J. Scherr, Howard Shapiro, Tesfai Tecle, Ibrahim Thiaw, George Wamukoya - Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Ghana, Government of the Cote d’Ivoire, NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, Lloyd’s Financials Limited, Minister of Agriculture, Cote d’Ivoire, World Wildlife Fund, Unilever Corp., EcoAgriculture Partners, Farmers’ Union of Malawi, United Nations Foundation, lobal Mechanism of the UNCCD, The Rockefeller Foundation, Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative, African Development Bank - November 2010
Priorities for Action
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Implications of Copenhagen for climate action through SLM in Africa
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TerrAfrica-supported NEPAD country flagship programme for climate change Ecoagriculture Partners - December 2009
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Mitigating climate change through food and land use Ecoagriculture Partners, Worldwatch Institute - August 2009
More than 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions arise from the land use sector. Thus, no strategy for mitigating global climate change can be complete or successful without reducing emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses. Moreover, only land-based or “terrestrial” carbon sequestration offers the possibility today of large-scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, through plant photosynthesis. Five major strategies for reducing and sequestering terrestrial greenhouse gas emissions are: enriching soil carbon, farming with perennials, climate-friendly livestock production, protecting natural habitat, and restoring degraded watersheds and rangelands. Recommended policy actions:
This issue of Ecoagriculture Policy Focus is based on our recent report by the same title. |
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Sustainable Land Management in Africa Opportunities for Climate Change Adaptation Sara J. Scherr, Sajal Sthapit, Frank Sperling - Ecoagriculture Partners, World Bank - April 2009
To realize the great potential for using SLM to adapt to climate change, policymakers can:
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Sustainable Land Management in Africa Opportunities for Increasing Agricultural Productivity and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Sara J. Scherr, Sajal Sthapit, Frank Sperling - Ecoagriculture Partners, World Bank - April 2009
Afforestation activities are already eligible for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) is being considered for inclusion in a post-Kyoto climate regime. But the potential contribution of agricultural land management to climate change mitigation is not recognized. Yet this is the critical element to establish landscape-scale mitigation projects that fully account for land use change. The estimated biophysical GHG mitigation potential of agricultural lands in Africa is over 1,000 MtCO2eq per year by 2030.8 To realize this great potential, policymakers can:
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Evaluating biofuel opportunities from a landscape perspective Ecoagriculture Partners - May 2008
What would a landscape managed for biofuel production look like? This brief describes three systems for biofuel production and identifies opportunities and risks for biodiversity conservation, rural livelihoods and farm production. How can we manage landscapes to produce greener biofuels that are better for the environment and the people? The brief discusses six landscape design principles and four areas for policy development. Ecoagriculture Policy Focus, Volume 1, Issue 2 The Policy Focus series, produced by Ecoagriculture Partners in collaboration with other organizations, highlights issues relevant to policy experts and decision makers in the fields of agriculture, conservation and rural development to promote integrative solutions. |
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Applying the Ecosystem Approach to Biodiversity Conservation in Agricultural Landscapes Ecoagriculture Partners - April 2008
Biodiversity conservation efforts must engage agriculture more centrally. Nearly a third of the world’s landmass has crops or planted pastures as the dominant land use; another quarter of the land is under extensive livestock grazing. 80 to 90% of lands habitable by humans are affected by some form of production activity and areas critical for the conservation of genetic, species and ecosystem diversity are often most affected. More than 1.1 billion people, most directly dependent on agriculture, live within the world’s 25 biodiversity ‘hotspots’, the most threatened species-rich regions on Earth. Agriculture’s ecological ‘footprint’ will only continue to grow with rapid increases in population, higher levels of meat consumption and the emerging biofuels market. A recent surge in research has revealed a wide range of synergistic relationships between ecological and agricultural systems, and there has been extensive documentation of sustainable practices by farmers, farming communities and agribusinesses that have found ways to maintain ecosystem integrity along with production and livelihood opportunities. This knowledge has substantially deepened our understanding of the production and conservation approaches that together lead to positive-sum interactions in agricultural landscapes, often referred to collectively as ecoagriculture. This brief draws from experience and research in ecoagriculture systems throughout the world to suggest guidelines for national and local implementation of the CBD’s Ecosystem Approach in agricultural regions. |
