Talking about Agriculture and Climate Change Ahead of COP21:

Anticipating impacts on smallholder farmers, fishers and pastoralists, and how to engage in the UNFCCC?

undertake scientific and technical work, taking into account the conclusions of SBSTA 38, in the following areas: March 2015 (a) Development of early warning systems and contingency plans in relation to extreme weather events and its effects such as desertification, drought, floods, landslides, storm surge, soil erosion, and saline water intrusion; (b) Assessment of risk and vulnerability of agricultural systems to different climate change scenarios at regional, national and local levels, including but not limited to pests and diseases;

undertake scientific and technical work, taking into account the conclusions of SBSTA 38, in the following areas: March, 2016

(c) Identification of adaptation measures, taking into account the diversity of the agricultural systems, indigenous knowledge systems and the differences in scale as well as possible co-benefits and sharing experiences in research and development and on the ground activities, including socioeconomic, environmental and gender aspects; (d) Identification and assessment of agricultural practices and technologies to enhance productivity in a sustainable manner, food security and resilience, considering the differences in agro-ecological zones and farming systems, such as different grassland and cropland practices and systems.

Two in-session workshops on the elements referred to in bullets

(a) and (b), in conjunction with SBSTA 42, (c) and (d), in conjunction with SBSTA 44. Secretariat to prepare a report on each of these workshops, with the first two reports for consideration at SBSTA 43, and the other two reports for consideration at SBSTA 45.

Country Experiences

•  Lack of determined triggers and indicators for early warning systems and contingency planning for food security

•  Lack of integration in quality data collection, data access and data monitoring for early warning systems

•  Lack of capacity by regional and sub regional and national systems to downscale early warning systems for local level action

•  Lack of integration of early warning systems into development plans due to inadequate human and financial resource capacities

Processes under convention

Research and Development •  Support implementation of regional systems for inventory

and documentation of early warning systems for food security in Africa.

•  Assist to bridge knowledge gaps in the understanding of inter-annual and intra-seasonal characteristics of rainfall and how to link indigenous knowledge based and scientific early warning systems in Africa

Processes under convention

Technology Transfer •  Support for data acquisition, tools and approaches to

downscale climate applications for extreme weather events

Capacity building •  Strengthening capacity of regional forums/ networks for

seasonal climate forecasts •  Support capacity for early warning responses that

integrate feedback for food security contingency planning and guide evaluation for improvement over time.

21/10/2015

Processes under convention

Finance •  Provide financial support for extreme weather related

hazard, risk detection and emergency response amongst vulnerable and marginalized populations in Africa

21/10/2015

DOWNLOAD THE FULL SUBMISSIONS AND BACKGROUND PAPERS Coffey K, Menghestab H, Halperin M, Wamukoya G, Hansen J, Kinyangi J, Tesfaye Fantaye K. 2015. Expanding the contribution of early warning to climate-resilient agricultural development in Africa. CCAFS Working Paper no. 115 Grace D, Bett B, Lindahl J, Robinson T. 2015. Climate and Livestock Disease: assessing the vulnerability of agricultural systems to livestock pests under climate change scenarios. CCAFS Working Paper No. 116. Mohan CV. 2015. Climate Change and Aquatic Animal Disease. CCAFS Working Paper No. 117. Ramirez-Villegas J, Thornton PK. 2015. Climate change impacts on African crop production. CCAFS Working Paper No. 119. Smith J. 2015. Crops, crop pests and climate change –why Africa needs to better prepared. CCAFS Working Paper No. 114. Thornton PK, Boone RB, Ramirez-Villegas J. 2015. Climate change impacts on livestock. CCAFS Working Paper No. 120.

There are various strands of work already underway on agriculture within the UNFCCC process

It’s especially important that these efforts be strengthened and linked closely together to ensure a 2015 agreement does not close the door on agriculture.

Many countries have included agriculture in their national plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions

In Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions or NAMAS. In 2012, at least 21 officially submitted NAMAs referred to agricultural activities and at least 30 developing countries had expressed interest in implementing agricultural NAMAs.

Countries are also developing National Adaptation Plans (aka NAPs) within the UNFCCC

These plans allow countries to address climate vulnerability, and build their capacity to adapt to current and future climatic changes. A key focus is to integrate climate change adaptation into development planning processes and strategies across all sectors and at local to national scales.

Negotiations now cover new voluntary offers by countries towards achieving the goals of the new climate change agreement.

Known as Intended National Determined Contributions (INDCs), these should contribute to ‘economy-wide’ efforts to reduce emissions, as well as adaptation action including agriculture.