UNECE Regional Workshop on Agri-Environmental Statistics (in cooperation with FAO & EUROSTAT)Budva (Montenegro), 13-15 May, 2013

Impact of Agriculture on the Environment

Salar Tayyib FAO Regional Statistician

for Europe and Central Asia

Focus on:The Environmental Impact of

Unsustainable Agriculture

Growth in AgricultureDramatic change in agriculture since end of World War II following the “Green Revolution” (most markedly as of the 60’s):

Food and fibre productivity greatly increased due to new technologies (incl. cross breeding), mechanization, increased chemical use, specialization and government policies for maximizing production

These changes allowed fewer farmers to intensively produce the majority of the food and fibre; and utilize(/exploit) larger areas of land

Growth in Agriculture

Today agriculture accounts for the major share of human use of land.

Pasture and crops around 35% of the earth's land area Over two-thirds of human water use is for agriculture

Growth in AgricultureNot an unmixed blessing:

Pros(+): More and cheaper food (vital for food security) Carbon capture, rural landscape preservation

Cons(-): major anthropogenic source of greenhouse gases (CH4 & N2O) Ground and sea water contamination (due fertilizers & pesticides) Topsoil depletion (due to erosion/salinization, machinery) Extent and methods of agriculture, forestry and fishing are leading causes

of loss of planet’s biodiversity

Socio-economic aspects: Considerable overall external costs of the three sectors The decline of family farms Continued neglect of the living & working conditions for farm labourers

Unsustainable Agriculture

The FAO definition of sustainable agricultural:

“The management and conservation of the natural resource base, and the orientation of technological and institutional change in such a manner as to ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for present and future generations.

Such development conserves land, water, plant and animal genetic resources, is environmentally non-degrading, technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable."

Unsustainable farmingUnsustainable farming affects the basis for its own future

through land degradation, salinization, over-extraction of water and

reduction of genetic diversity in crops /livestock.

Unsustainable agricultural (esp. intensive mono-crop systems)and certain aquaculture practices

present a great and immediate threat to species and ecosystems.

Impact of Unsustainable Agriculture

Negative environmental impacts from unsustainable farming :

Land conversion & habitat loss Soil erosion and degradation Wasteful water usage Pollution (water & land) Climate change (GHG emissions, air pollution) Loss of Biodiversity (genetic erosion)

Land Conversion & Habitat Loss Pastures & cropland cover around 40% of global land

Land needed for agriculture is continually expanding to meet increasing demand for food - resulting in large-scale clearing of natural habitats to make room for intensive monocultures (conversion of rainforests to Palm oil plantations in southeast Asia)

Areas with high biodiversity will be effected

Aquaculture is also in direct competition with natural marine and freshwater habitats for space - some European fish farms have been placed in the migratory routes of wild salmon. In Latin America, mangrove forests have been cleared to make space for shrimp farms

In addition: some 12 mln. ha of land lost to desertification annually

Soil Erosion and Degradation Soil erosion usually occurs after conversion of natural vegetation to agricultural land – ploughing exposes fertile topsoil which is blown away by wind or washed away by rain and irrigation (polluting agrochemicals also carried away)

Loss of fertile soil leads to soil degradation

In the last 50 years about one-third of the world’s arable land has been lost through erosion and other degradation. The problem persists, with a reported loss rate of about 10 mln. ha/year.

Erosion clogs & pollutes waterways: Leads to sedimentation of rivers, lakes, coastal areas. Causing serious damage to freshwater/marine habitats - and to the local communities that depend on these habitats

Pesticides and fertilizers carried away with rainwater and irrigation pollute waterways and harm wildlife

Deforestation also leads to soil erosion and increased flooding.

Deforestation

Wasteful Water Usage

The agricultural sector consumes about 70% of the planet's accessible freshwater - more than twice that of industry (23%)

 With a waste factor of around 60% !

Big food producing countries (US, China, Spain) are close to reaching their renewable water resource limits

Main causes of wasteful and unsustainable water use are:- leaky irrigation systems- inefficient field application methods- cultivation of thirsty crops not suited to the specific environment

Unsustainable water use harms the environment by: Depleting ground water supplies

Excessive irrigation can increase soil salinity and wash pollutants and sediment into rivers

Pollution (water & land)

Use of pesticides, fertilizers (phosphates) and other agrochemicals has increased hugely since the 1950s

Some application methods – e.g. pesticide spraying by aeroplane – lead to pollution of adjacent land, rivers or wetlands - Beneficial insects (e.g. bees) can be poisoned or killed, as can other animals eating poisoned insects

Inappropriate water management/irrigation: agrochemical run-off to adjacent rivers/lakes/groundwater lead to contamination

Rivers carry these agrochemicals into the marine environment causing marine “dead zones”

Eutrophication: explosive growth of algae due to nutrition over-supply (e.g. phosphates) leading to oxygen depletion (hypoxia) and death of river/marine life.

Dead Sea Zones (Eutrophication)

Pesticides

Future use of pesticides expected to grow more slowly - concern about pollution and loss of biodiversity in developed countries is resulting in restraining regulations and higher taxes

- growing demand for organic crops produced without chemical inputs

Increases in use of "smart" pesticides, resistant crop varieties and ecological methods of pest control (IPM) are foreseen

Climate Change (GHG emissions)

Agriculture (livestock, manure management, land clearing) according to most sources contributes around

15% of global greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions

If food production processes are included then that contribution almost doubles (incl. related energy use, transport, etc.)

Most abundant GHGs: water vapour (H2O)

carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4)

nitrous oxide (N2O)ozone (O3)

Rice production is one of the single-largest producers of methane (CH4)

Deforestation accounts for a similar percentage of GHG gas emissions as agriculture itself

Climate Change (GHG emissions)

Agriculture and deforestation contribute by about 30% of all global GHG emissions

GHG: Nitrogen emissions

Percentage of annual nitrogen emissions from different sources (1998):

(adapted from 1998 studies)

Projections to 2030 imply a slower growth of nitrogen fertilizer use. With more efficiency the increase in total use between 1997-99 and 2030 could be as low as 37%

Current use in many developing countries, however, is very inefficient. - In China (largest consumer of nitrogen fertilizer): up to half the nitrogen applied is lost by volatilization

Air pollution: Plant Biomass

Burning of plant biomass: major source of air pollutants(incl. carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide & smoke particles)

Human activity is responsible for about 90% of biomass burning through the deliberate burning of forest vegetation, of pastures and of crop residues to promote re-growth and destroy pest habitats

Air Pollution: Ammonia (CH3)(in fertilizers)

One of the major causes of acid rain - more acidifying than sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (N2O)

- damages trees, acidifies soils/lakes/rivers; harms biodiversity

Projections imply a 60% increase in ammonia emissions from agriculture (particularly from livestock animal excrete) in both developed and developing countries by 2030

Loss of Biodiversity

Traditional and local crops and farm animals are being progressively replaced

with more genetically uniform, modern varieties. This is causing the genetic erosion of crops and livestock species around the world.

Agricultural crops have lost more than 70% of their genetic diversity in the last century

Today: 30 crops account for 90% of calories consumed by people 14 animal species account for 90% of all livestock production

The loss of genetic diversity reduces the potential for modern crops to adapt to, or be bred for, changing conditions – directly threatening long-term food security

Loss of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is lost when overall area available for wildlife is reduced and natural habitats fragmented due to:

• deforestation

• field consolidation (with reduction in field margins & hedgerows)

• drainage of wetlands for farming

• use of pesticides & herbicides which destroy many insects & other plants, and reduce food supplies for higher animals

Some of the affected life forms may be important soil nutrient recyclers, crop pollinators (e.g. bees) and predators of pests

Cattle breeding

significant use of antibiotics, growth hormones, vitamins without sufficient understanding of their overall impacts. - can lead to bacterial resistance in the animals and in the

environment, and can be passed on to bacteria that infect humans

- the effects of growth hormones in the production of meat may be passed on to people

virtually no research has been undertaken on the impact of these inputs

Besides:• Soil erosion• GHG emissions etc.

Cotton

Cotton is the largest money-making non-food crop produced in the world

most important production impacts are the use of agrochemicals (especially pesticides) and huge amounts of water - in developing countries, estimates suggest that

half of the total pesticides used on all crops are applied to cotton

Estimates indicate cotton represents more than half of irrigated land in the world.

- many areas devoted to cotton growing are experiencing serious salinisation (alkaline soil)

- Half of the irrigated land in Uzbekistan has lost productivity due to salinisation from cotton growing

GHG -> Climate Changesome +ve news (?!)

• Climate change will affect agriculture, forestry and fishery in complex ways, positive as well as negative.

• Carbon dioxide causes plant stomata to narrow, so water losses are

reduced and the efficiency of water use improves. • Increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide will also

stimulate photo-synthesis and have a fertilizing effect on many crops

• Global warming in the temperate latitudes: areas suitable for cropping will expand; length of the growing period will increase; crop yields will improve and forests may grow faster (benefits developed countries only)

• These gains, however, have to be set against the loss of some fertile land to flooding, particularly on coastal plains.

• Temperature rise will also expand the range of many agricultural pests and increase the ability of pest populations to survive the winter and attack spring crops. In oceans, temperature rise may reduce plankton growth, bleach coral reefs and disrupt fish breeding and feeding patterns.

• Cold-water species such as cod may find their range reduced.

• Higher global temperatures will also bring higher rainfall. • northern Latin America are projected to receive less rainfall than before. • The climate is also expected to become more variable than at present,

with increases in the frequency and severity of extreme events such as cyclones, floods, hailstorms and droughts. These will bring greater fluctuations in crop yields and local food supplies and higher risks of landslides and erosion damage.Mean sea level is projected to rise by 15 to 20 cm by 2030 and by 50 cm by 2100. The rise will lead to the loss of low-lying land through flooding, seawater intrusions and storm surges.

GHG -> Climate Change

• Rising temperatures will expand range of many agricultural pests and increase the ability of pest populations to survive the winter and attack spring crops.

• In oceans, temperature rise may reduce plankton growth, bleach coral reefs and disrupt fish breeding and feeding patterns.

• Cold-water species such as cod may find their range reduced.

• Frequency and severity of extreme climatic events will increase (cyclones. hail, etc.) greater fluctuations in crop yields and local food supplies

higher risks of landslides and erosion damage

GHG -> Climate Change

• The adverse impacts of climate change will fall disproportionately on the poor. - Hardest hit will be small-scale farmers and other low-income groups in areas prone to drought, flooding, etc. and fishers affected by falling catches caused by higher sea temperatures and shifts in currents (and over-fishing!)

• Many of the areas at risk from rising sea levels are currently poor and may not enjoy the resources to pay for flood protection

Impact of Agriculture on the Environment

Thank You.