Climate–smart Agriculture and soil-
carbon sequestration
Marja-Liisa Tapio-Biström, FAO
May 2012
Contents
• Challenges
• Climate smart agriculture
• Mitigation thorough land management
• Conclusions
• FAO and climate change
Two Goals of Our Time
1. Achieving Food Security– 1 billion hungry– Food production to increase 70% by 2050– Adaptation to Climate Change critical
1. Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change– ”2 degree goal” requires major emission cuts– Agriculture and Land use = 30% of emissions..– ..and needs to be part of the solution
Climate Change & Agriculture GHG emissions
Sources of GHG emissions by sector (IPCC 2007)
A Sustainable Development landscape
National ->International
National ->Local Climate
UNFCCC“Carbon”
Biodiversity
CBD“Species”
Food Security
WSFS“Calories”
+Human rights,Health, Trade, Education, .....
LOCAL REALITIES
GLOBAL OBJECTIVES
C l i m a t e – s m a r t A g r i c u l t u r e
Climate-Smart AgricultureAgriculture that sustainably:• increases productivity and income• increases resilience of livelihoods and
ecosystems (adaptation)• reduces/removes GHG emissionsAND• enhances achievement of national food
security and development goals• ⇒ADRESSES MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES!
Indicative relevance
Parameter Increased productivity
Resilience / Adaptation
Mitigaton
Income from products and services Carbon stock in the landscape Energy use / GHG emissions
IPCC 2007
Agricultural sources and sinks of greenhouse gases
Climate Change & AgricultureMitigation
Mitigation options in the land use sectorMitigation potentials: Forestry 5.4 Gt CO2/yr
Agriculture: 5.5-6 Gt CO2e/yr 86 % in developing countries
(1) Reducing emissions
(2) Avoiding or displacing emissions
(3) Removing emissions and creating sinks
Mitigation options
• Restoration of cultivated organic soils/peatlands
• Cropland management• Rangeland management• Restoration of degraded
lands• Agro-forestry• Avoided deforestation -
sustainable intensification on existing agricultural lands
• Increase/maintain landscape-scale C stocks - add trees
Peatlands and organic soils• 3% of the land area 30 % soil carbon• 25 % of CO2 emissions from land areas
from drained pealtands (0.3% of land area)
• Secure undrained peatlands to prevent emissions
• Rewet drained peatlands to reduce emissions
• Adapt management of peatlands that cannot be rewetted
Deforestation
Woody encroachmentOvergrazing
Intensive tillage; erosion
Land management and mitigation-C loss due to poor agricultural practices
Soil organicmatter
CO2
Silvo-pastoral systems
Sowing legumes/improved species Soil organicmatter
CO2
Land management and mitigationCover crops
Improved rotations
-Adding C to the system
Reduce forage off-take
Leave crop residues
Soil organicmatter
CO2
Arrest erosion
Land management and mitigation
No-tillage
-Avoid emissions in land management
• Land management contributes massively to global greenhouse gas emissions
• Change in land management can reduce emissions and can sequester C in soils
• Nobody farms to mitigate climate change
• Sustainable land management is a win-win response to climate change and food security challenges
• Land tenure and governance situations are severely limiting the possibilities
Overview/conclusions
FAO and Climate Change challenges
• Integrated across Programme of Work• Involves all Departments and Offices• Some key programmes
Climate-smart Agriculture