Climate Smart Agriculture and Soil-Carbon Sequestration

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