Welcome to the second edition of FAO's e-newsletter on Climate Change and Food Security issued just before the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Climate Convention (COP14) of the Kyoto Protocol in Poznan. This newsletter includes information on FAO's participation in this important meeting and on the outcomes of recent climate change events such as the World Summit of Regions on climate change as well as presentations of publications recently added to the FAO Climate Change web portal.
To read more, go directly to:
| Interview | Upcoming events | From the field |
| Latest news | Publications, tools and websites |
Interview with Mr. Wulf Killmann, Director of the Forest Products and Industries Division of FAO
"FAO as a whole will make every effort to ensure that food security issues are on the table when moving from discussion to negotiation of a post - 2012 climate change agreement." - Wulf Killmann, Director of Forest Products and Industries division of FAO
In this interview, Wulf Killmann, Director of the Forest Products and Industries Division of FAO and Chair of the FAO Interdepartmental Working Group on Climate Change talks about the organization’s contribution to the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland from 1-12 December.
Green house gas emissions from the food and agriculture sector contribute over 30 percent of the annual total emissions. What does FAO suggest to tackle this situation?
When we look at the major causes of the large contribution of agriculture to green house gas emissions, we identify four main sources. The primary source of emissions happens through deforestation and forest degradation due mainly to land conversion from forested areas to cultivated or grazing land, also known as land-use change. The second important source of green house gas emissions is that of methane coming from ruminants and rice fields. Digestive processes and wastes from ruminant livestock are an important source of methane and contribute to 60 percent of agricultural emissions of methane. Rice fields on the other hand, represent the remaining 40 percent of agricultural methane emissions. Other sources of emissions are represented by the carbon dioxide released by machinery running on fossil fuels used in cultivating the land, and by greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizer and pesticide production and use.
To reduce these agriculture-related emissions, FAO recommends first of all, an improved management of forests, to reduce forest degradation, and integrated land-use policies to reduce deforestation. To face methane emissions from ruminant livestock, it recommends enhanced animal nutrition and feeding patterns. FAO also welcomes increased research to identify different kinds of rice varieties and production methods to reduce methane emission from rice cultivation. Promoting conservation agriculture through low tillage specific to the area and the soil can increase soil organic matter and this could in turn increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil.
In the past, agriculture was seen as a victim of climate change but FAO has highlighted how it could not only be the cause of the problem but also hold the solutions, amongst others by linking mitigation and adaptation measures.
The FAO made valuable contributions during the COP 13 in Bali last December 2007. How will it be present during the next UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland?
Over the years FAO has supported the efforts of the UNFCCC and its secretariat through document reviews and technical papers, through active participation in expert groups on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and technology transfer, and through side events synchronized with the negotiations. FAO also prepared a position paper for this negotiation highlighting the linkages between climate change and food security and recalling the important role of agriculture for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
During Poznan, FAO will lead and co-organize a series of side events aimed at focusing on specific issues such as mitigation in agriculture in rural areas and enhancing country preparedness for Post-Kyoto monitoring and assessment.
This meeting will be a good opportunity for the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) to present a proposal for a coordinated forest sector response to the climate change agenda. Devising more comprehensive forest policies to overcome fragmentation is a priority. Issues like climate change do not stop at the national level. Policies cannot be developed on a single sector alone. Forest policies must be developed together with those of other sectors in particular on agriculture, energy, infrastructure and weather. To achieve this, the key aspect is political will.
FAO as a whole will make every effort to ensure that food security issues are on the table when moving from discussion to negotiation of a post - 2012 climate change agreement.
When it comes to solutions to climate change, forests play a huge role. How can forests contribute to climate change mitigation?
Historically, forest conversion into agricultural land has been an important source of greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere. Conserving forests will help conserve the carbon that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere through its deforestation. FAO and other experts have estimated that global carbon retention resulting from reduced deforestation, increased forest re-growth and more agroforestry and plantations could compensate for about 15 percent of carbon emissions from fossil fuels over the next 50 years.
Forests are unique in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. This is known as carbon sequestration where, through the planting of trees, we absorb carbon from the atmosphere and tie it to the tree. Carbon is stored in the forest biomass, in the trunks, branches, foliage and roots of trees and in the soil. Sustainable management, planting and rehabilitation of forests can increase carbon sequestration. In a well managed forest, carbon storage never stops as new trees replace those that have been harvested. Even after harvest, wood products continue to store the carbon.
Carbon substitution on the other hand, can also mitigate climate change and can be achieved by using more wood instead of plastic, aluminium or cement products which are high energy and carbon intensive materials, or wood fuels instead of fossil fuels. There is also the harvested wood approach: taking into account that all wood products contain carbon, we use them as long as possible before we burn them in order to maintain carbon storage.
As Chair of the FAO interdepartmental working group on Climate Change, what main priority areas do you recommend FAO should develop in its future work on climate change?
FAO should continue working on climate change mitigation issues since many of the emissions that contribute to climate change are produced in areas of our domain. As the organization that focuses its work on food security, FAO should also continue centring its work on climate change adaptation by assisting farmers from member countries to deal with extreme weather event changes and coping with uncertainties. Climate change adaptation should thus become a priority of action for our work. We need to mainstream it in the work of the organization as a major challenge for the years to come.
Continued support to the improvement and increase of food production, especially taking into account the need of feeding a world with an increasing population, should be also a priority for the work of the interdepartmental working group.
The organization will not be able to do all this alone. It will need the continued support and active involvement of member countries, international research institutes such as the CGIAR and, very important, increased funding.
Upcoming events
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznań, 1-12 December 2008
Moving from discussion to negotiation will be the focus of the next 14th Conference of the Parties to the Climate Convention (COP14) of the Kyoto Protocol to be held in Poznan from 1 to 12 December 2008.
Environmental leaders will agree on a plan of action and programme of work for the final year of negotiations. They are also set to tackle continuing issues such as capacity-building for developing countries, reducing emissions from deforestation (REDD), technology transfer and adaptation to climate change.
During this next set of UN climate change negotiations for a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol, FAO will lead and co-organize a series of side events aimed at focusing on specific issues such as:
- Mitigation in agriculture and rural areas (with IFAD collaboration)
Wednesday, 3 December 2008 13:00 - 15:00 hrs
Fox room
Agenda - GTOS: Enhancing country preparedness for post-Kyoto monitoring and assessment (with GTOS partners)
Wednesday, 3 December 2008 18:00 - 19:30 hrs
Swan room
Agenda [359 kb]
Introduction to GTOS [4 Mb]
Terrestrial ECVs [2 Mb] - Strategic Framework for forests and climate change (with the Collaborative Partnership on Forests)
Friday, 5 December 2008 13:00 - 15:00 hrs
White-tailed eagle room
Agenda
Summary
Side events co-sponsored by FAO
- UN system response to support REDD (lead by the UN-REDD Programme (FAO/UNDP/UNEP), in cooperation with World Bank and UNFCCC)
Thursday, 4 December 2008 13:00 - 15:00 hrs
Aesculapian snake room - Adaptation experiences across sectors and scales (lead by UNDP, in cooperation with FAO, IFAD and many others)
Thursday, 4 December 2008 19:30 - 21:00 hrs
Aesculapian snake room - UN Youth: growing together in a changing climate (lead by UNFCCC in cooperation with FAO and others)
Friday, 5 December 2008 13:00 - 15:00 hrs
EXTRA II room - Climate change and the risk of hunger: is the global food crisis a wake-up call for adaptation? (lead by WFP in cooperation with FAO and IFAD)
Wednesday, 10 December 2008 13:00 - 15:00 hrs
Aesculapian snake room Bioenergy towards a low carbon future: meeting the challenges of sustainable development and climate change (lead by Italy with the Global Bioenergy Partnership - GBEP Secretariat in FAO)
Thursday, 11 December 2008 19:30 - 21:00 hrs
Fox room
Parallel to the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, CIFOR will lead the Forest Day 2 along with the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, including FAO. During this day, FAO will organize the event on:
- Adapting forest policies and institutions to meet climate change challenges: country experiences
16:30 - 18:00 hrs
FAO will also co-sponsor a series of events of a crosscutting nature:
- "The Second D"- Sustainable Forest Management Addressing Forest Degradation"
Lead by ITTO, IUCN (GPFLR), FAO, CBD
11:00 - 13:00 hrs - Getting Ready for REDD: Capacity Building for REDD Strategy Planning and Monitoring in Three Countries
Lead by World Bank, UN-REDD Programme FAO/UNDP/UNEP
11:00 - 13:00 hrs - Carbon storage in Harvested Wood Products: Why bother?
Lead by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNECE
15:00 - 16:30 hrs
Download the schedule of the side events here
Read FAO's responses to climate change
Read the FAO's key messages on climate change
For more information on the event, please visit.
High-level Conference on Water for Agriculture and Energy in Africa: The Challenges of Climate Change
Water for development in Africa is the main topic to be discussed during the International Conference to be held from 15-17 December in Sirte, Lybia.
African Member States along with civil society, farmers' associations and the private sector will discuss effects of the food crisis in Africa, investment in the rural sector to ensure food security and analyse constraints to water development in support of Africa's food and energy needs. Participants in the conference will propose ways to promote and secure investment in water so as to maintain food and energy security in the region.
In preparation for the conference, five regional meetings have been organised in Northern, Western, Eastern, Central and Southern Africa in late October/early November. A series of National Investment Briefs for all the African Countries were produced in the context of:
- Agriculture and food security
- Water resources and hydropower
- Climate change
To read the country briefs click here.
For more information on the Conference visit their website.
From the field
Impact of Climate Change on Moroccan Agriculture
A study conducted by FAO together with the World Bank, the Morocco Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries and several other national institutions, assessed the impact of climate change on Moroccan agriculture toward the end of the 21st century.
The detailed study covers fifty crops, major agroecological zones, and several climate change scenarios. The first results of the study on the projected future agricultural production focus on:
- Agricultural adaptation capacity
- Uncertainties related to methodology
- Future availability of crop varieties with higher water use efficiencies.
The approach adopted for the assessment of impact of climate change on crop yields is based on the experience of FAO in establishing and operating real time crop yield forecasting systems in a number of countries worldwide in a food security context. The study is the second phase of the project led by World Bank and the Morocco on the adaptation to climate change in the agriculture sector.
To download the presentation of the findings of the project carried-out at a side event during World Food Day in Rome, in French, click here.
Latest News
Outcomes of e-discussion on climate change and its linkages to food security and nutrition
A wide variety of contributions were made during the e-discussion launched on World Food Day in October on the topic "Responding to the challenges of climate change and its linkages to food security and nutrition" hosted by the FAO Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) Forum.
The purpose of this Forum was to generate a valuable source of information that can contribute to the generation of new ideas and the collection of concrete experiences on how to face climate change and ensure food security.
Experts from Bangladesh, China, India, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda shared their experiences from various countries on topics such as:
- The experience in Bangladesh on the use of organic agriculture as a significant practice in reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
- Use of biochar in soils in various countries for improvement of soil fertility to increase crop yields while reducing global carbon emission and sequestering emissions. Biochar application in soils decreases the use of chemical fertilizers and water irrigation needs.
- Information on the national consultations on "Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments and a Draft Regional Strategic Plan for Building Resilience to Climate Change" in Jamaica
To read a summary of the discussion on these subjects please click here.
World Summit of Regions on climate change
The first World Summit of Regions on "Climate change: regions in action" took place from 30-31 October organised by the Network of Regions Governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4SD) in collaboration with the region of Brittany (France).
The "Saint Malo Declaration" adopted at the end of the Summit called upon the heads of the signatory parties of the Bali roadmap to "recognize and support the necessary, essential and complementary role of Regional Governments in the promotion of sustainable development and the efficient response to climate change", highlighting the important role this level of governance can play for climate change adaptation or mitigation, notably in terms of investment in infrastructure, coordination of interventions, contacts with stakeholders, public awareness and financing/decentralised cooperation for regions in developed countries.
During the Summit, UNDP launched a new initiative to support regions and associations of regions to develop activities related to climate change. This new initiative will help sub-national authorities in developing countries access new funding sources, such as carbon finance, special insurance products and innovative funds for adaptation. Related to this initiative, a Letter of Agreement has been signed for the creation of a new UNDP "ClimSat" centre : "Pôle mondial de services satellitaires aux régions pour la lutte contre le changement climatique". This technical centre, to be hosted in Brest (Brittany, France), will work on satellite imagery for climate change activities at regional level.
Ecological and organic farming: an answer to face climate change
A Manifesto on Climate Change and the Future of Food Security was presented at the biennial international meeting "Terra Madre" in Turin, Italy from 23- 27 October 2008, highlighting the potential to mitigate the effects of climate change through ecological and organic farming.
Terra Madre is an international gathering that takes place every two years and is organized by Slow Food. Terra Madre brought together over 7,000 people, amongst them farmers, food communities, cooks, academics and youth delegates, from 160 countries to work towards honouring and increasing small-scale, biodiverse and sustainable food production the world over.
The results of the Manifesto will be conveyed to the G8 summit in Sardinia (July 2009) and to the Copenhagen - Kyoto 2 climate negotiations also to be held next year.
Slow Food and FAO are connecting small scale producers in West Africa with the international market, thereby creating and supporting both internal and external markets. This collaboration seeks to preserve local biodiversity by creating value chains from small scale producers in West Africa to consumers in Europe, all the while honouring the local production, knowledge and biodiversity.
Download the Manifesto on Climate Change and the Future of Food Security in five languages here.
To learn more about Slow Food and Terra Madre click here.
Publications, tools and websites
A new publication to cope with disaster: Rapid Agricultural Disaster Assessment Routine
The Rapid Agricultural Disaster Assessment Routine (RADAR) proposes a shift from empirical assessments of disaster impact on agriculture towards model-based approaches through a practical decision-support model for assessing the georeferenced areas involved in damage of agriculture systems due to natural disaster.
This FAO publication is based on the idea that a disaster is the "product" of extreme factors and a vulnerable agricultural system. Once an event strikes a region, the user of the procedure should rapidly collect all available georeferenced and quantitative data on the event and the region. A Disaster Information Management System can assess the short- and long-term agricultural impact of the event by integrating physical models, knowledge-bases, databases and geographic information systems (GIS).
Successful implementation of RADAR could improve disaster preparedness, facilitate timely relief operations and integrate risk and hazard awareness into longer-term agricultural development planning.
To download the publication click here.
A response to Climate Change through sustained production
In this document published by the FAO regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, sustainable production is proposed as a response to climate change in several agroecological systems if carried out alongside policies, incentives and technology to promote a rational and sustainable use of natural resources for ensuring local and national food security.
The document seeks to set the basis for an integrated strategy on livestock, forestry and water in the context of food security of Latin America and the Caribbean. It takes into account areas of work including: climate change adaptation and mitigation, water; pests and trans-boundary diseases, disaster risk management, bioenergy, policies, markets, global perspectives, fisheries and biodiversity.
The document, available in Spanish can be downloaded here.
The FAO's Climate Change webportal contains an even wider array of publications related to climate change and food security, impacts, green-house gas emissions, mitigation, adaptation and policy framework that can be consulted under the Publications section of the webportal.
The FAO also has published valuable tools ranging from dataset, to e-learning and training manuals that can be easily accessed and downloaded under the Data and Tools section of the webportal.
Featured map
Projected impacts of climate change on rainfed cereal production potential - Change in 2050 from 1961 - 1990 baseline
The map presents impacts of climate change on rainfed cereal production potential in cultivated land (1992-1993) as well as for all land with production potential for rainfed cereals, based on the projected climatic conditions for each country averaged from three Global Climate Models (ECHAM4, HADCM2, CGCM1).
For detailed documentation see: IIASA/FAO "Global Agro-ecological Assessment for Agriculture in the 21st Century: methodology and Results", March 2002, pages 103-107 and 67-71. The values are percentage change in 2050s compared to 1961-90 baseline (value 2050s/value 1961-90)*100).
Your comments and feedback are very important to us. If you want to send a contribution for the next e-newsletter, please send a message to Food-Climate@fao.org
To unsubscribe from this newsletter in the future, send an E-mail message to mailserv@mailserv.fao.org leaving the subject blank and entering the following one-line message: unsubscribe Food-Climate-L xxx.xxx@yyy.zzz (the address to be added)