Climate change presents a major risk for poor rural communities that depend directly on agriculture and natural ecosystems for their livelihoods. This risk combined with ecosystem management that is not sustainable and comprehensive can lead to problems of degradation of natural resources, putting food security at risk.

Climate change presents a double challenge: (i) reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and (ii) adapting to future climate change, strengthening resilience to these changes and global warming.

The UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December 2015 achieved the first global agreement to stop GHG emissions. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports advocate for solutions based on local territories, on the knowledge of local populations and comprehension in the interactions between inhabitants and resources.

FAO promotes the following integrated approaches to help countries in adapting to and mitigating climate change, increasing the territories’ resistance and resilience:

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) sustainably increases productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduces/eliminates GHG emissions and reinforces achieving national development and food security goals. See Climate-Smart Agriculture Manual (FAO, 2013)

Landscape-based approach offers protection not only for people but also for ecosystems. See Landscape for Life (FAO, 2017)

Green Negotiated Territorial Development (GreeNTD) is an approach used to improve territories’ equality in access and sustainable management. See Green NTD (FAO, 2016)

For an appropriate management of natural resources, it is necessary to (a) reinforce the institutional framework to ensure consistency between an environmentally responsible approach and development management; (b) have the budget and monetary resources to implement all of the adaptation/mitigation measures to CC; and (c) promote incentives that offer rewards for preservation of the environment.

Adaptation to climate change, mitigation and reduction of the risk of natural disasters should be a horizontal dimension of territorial planning and management, which includes investing in training social actors, institutions and infrastructure.