Measures related to Systemic Shift 6: Improving rural livelihoods and promoting equity and inclusion
Increasing the availability of and access to relevant education and skills opportunities
Formal education offers skills opportunity development, and vocational education systems can have a positive impact on reducing deforestation and poverty alleviation when these are adapted to reflect the economic realities of rural areas, providing young people with the necessary skills and knowledge for sustainable livelihoods that extend beyond traditional agricultural practices. Programmes that integrate climate-smart agriculture, agroforestry, entrepreneurship and include environmental or agroforestry topics in schools’ curricula, and technical training can create alternative employment opportunities, thereby reducing the pressure on forests and natural resources. Investing in the education and training of young rural people is becoming ever more important as the challenges associated with adopting sustainable, climate-smart production methods and linking up with marketing opportunities in modern value chains are growing.
Furthermore, it is essential to ensure that vulnerable families receive adequate support, particularly to ensure that children beyond the legal working age are able to access education rather than engaging in hazardous child labour. By strengthening education and skills training, governments and other stakeholders can effectively disrupt the cycle linking poverty, child labour and deforestation, while promoting long-term economic and environmental resilience.
| Reports | · FAO Report: Guidance on developing forest education programmes for primary schools · FAO Reports: Forests for a sustainable future: education modules for primary schools o Pupil’s book: Module 1 Forest products, plants and animals o Teacher’s book: Module 2 Forests, health and well-being o Pupil's book: Module 3 Forests and the climate · European Commission: Teacher Guide for Working with Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) · UNESCO: Guidebook on Education for Sustainable Development for educators |
| E-learning | · FAO E-learning Academy |
| Academic publications | · Marilena et al, 2024. Farmers’ Transition to Climate-Smart Agriculture: A Systematic Review of the Decision-Making Factors Affecting Adoption, Sustainability, Volume 16 (7), 2828, https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072828. · Fischer, D., King, J., Rieckmann, M., Barth, M., Büssing, A., Hemmer, I., & Lindau-Bank, D. 2022. Teacher Education for Sustainable Development: A Review of an Emerging Research Field. Journal of Teacher Education, 73(5), 509-524. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224871221105784 (Original work published 2022) |
Increasing, stabilizing and diversifying farmers’ incomes and livelihood opportunities
Increasing wages, especially for smallholder farmers, provides opportunities for alleviating rural poverty while at the same time having a positive impact on forest protection. To increase, stabilize and diversify incomes and livelihood opportunities and, in the case of cash crops, enable farmers to better reap the benefits of global trade, governments and the private sector can put in place social and economic measures. These include promoting green jobs and employment opportunities, fair trade approaches, and empowering farmers and their cooperatives in directly accessing markets without the need to go through intermediaries. The case of cocoa in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire illustrates that a “living income differential” – a mark-up on top of the floor commodity price – combined with price stabilization mechanisms can potentially increase and stabilize farmers’ income.
| Reports | · FAO project brief: Green Jobs for Rural Youth Employment · FAO report: Green jobs in agrifood systems – Setting a vision for youth in the Sahel |
| Initiatives/ projects | · FAO project: Integrated Country Approach for boosting decent jobs for youth in the agrifood system |
| Academic publications | · Ahamed, T., Noguchi, R., Muhsin, N., Purnamasari, R., Islam, M., Tasnim, F., Islam, M., Islam, M., & Akmam, W. 2021. Sustainable agricultural development: A micro-level GIS-based study on women’s perceptions of environmental protection and entrepreneurship in Japan and Bangladesh. GEOJOURNAL, 86(5), 2071–2103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-020-10169-5 · Fawzi, N., Helms, J., Novianto, A., Supianto, A., Indrayani, A., & Febriani, N. 2020. Reducing Illegal Logging through a Chainsaw Buyback and Entrepreneurship Program at Gunung Palung National Park. FOREST AND SOCIETY, 4(1), 151–161. https://doi.org/10.24259/fs.v4i1.7707 |
| E-learning modules | · FAO E-learning course: Fostering decent wage employment for women and men |
| Initiatives/ projects | · FAO project: Green Jobs for Rural Youth Employment (GJ4RYE) · FAO project: Ending child labour in supply chains – Addressing the root causes of child labour in supply chains through an area-based approach (CLEAR Supply Chains) |
| Academic publications | · López-Feldman, A., & Taylor, J. 2009. Labor allocation to non-timber extraction in a Mexican rainforest community. JOURNAL OF FOREST ECONOMICS, 15(3), 205–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfe.2008.06.001 · Meyfroidt, P. 2018. Trade-offs between environment and livelihoods: Bridging the global land use and food security discussions. GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY-AGRICULTURE POLICY ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENT, 16, 9–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2017.08.001 · Tufail, M., Ahmed, A., & Alvi, S. 2021. Conservation of forest through provision of alternative sources of income; evidence from rural households in Northern Pakistan. JOURNAL OF FOREST SCIENCE, 67(1), 36–50. https://doi.org/10.17221/68/2020-JFS |
| Reports | · FAO policy brief: Agricultural cooperatives, responsible sourcing and risk-based due diligence |
| Platforms | · FAO facility: Forest and Farm Facility · Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty policy instrument: Inclusive market infrastructure development · Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty policy instrument: Promote inclusive access to agricultural markets |
| Academic publications | · de Waroux, Y., & Chiche, J. 2013. Market Integration, Livelihood Transitions and Environmental Change in Areas of Low Agricultural Productivity: A Case Study from Morocco. HUMAN ECOLOGY, 41(4), 535–545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-013-9607-7 · Maguire-Rajpaul, V., Khatun, K., & Hirons, M. 2020. Agricultural Information’s Impact on the Adaptive Capacity of Ghana’s Smallholder Cocoa Farmers. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00028 · Schuit, P., Moat, J., Gole, T., Challa, Z., Torz, J., Macatonia, S., Cruz, G., & Davis, A. 2021. The potential for income improvement and biodiversity conservation via specialty coffee in Ethiopia. PEERJ, 9. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10621 |
| Case studies/ examples | · Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana national price premium: Living income differential · Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana national price stabilization mechanism: Origin differential |
| Academic publications | · Adams, M. A., & Carodenuto, S. (2023). Stakeholder perspectives on cocoa’s living income differential and sustainability trade-offs in Ghana. World Development, 165, 106201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106201 · Boysen, O., Ferrari, E., Nechifor, V., & Tillie, P. 2023. Earn a living? What the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana cocoa living income differential might deliver on its promise. FOOD POLICY, 114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2022.102389 |
Strengthening social protection
Strengthening social protection for smallholder farmers can help to protect them against poverty while promoting more sustainable livelihoods, combining poverty alleviation goals with improved livelihoods and reduced deforestation. Retirement systems and social support for farmers and agricultural revenue insurance schemes can protect against life-cycle risks and the need to convert forests to respond to crises or generate living incomes. Likewise, farmers’ organizations and cooperatives can pool their resources to contribute to farmers’ pensions and cover health-related expenses, thereby strengthening overall socioeconomic development and environmental sustainability.
| Guidance | · FAO guidance: Elimination of child labour in agriculture through social protection - Guidance note |
| Reports | · FAO report: Scoping review on the role of social protection in facilitating climate change adaptation and mitigation for economic inclusion among rural populations · FAO report: Social protection and child labour - Eliminating child labour in agriculture with social protection |
| Platforms | · Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty policy instrument: Unconditional cash transfer |
| Case studies/ examples | · Case study Strengthening the livelihoods of vulnerable households and preventing child labour through cash transfers in Burkina Faso: Promotion of income-generating activities in cotton-producing areas |
| Academic publications | · Cunha, P., Neto, C., & Morsello, C. 2022. The effects on deforestation of conditional cash transfers: A study among the Khisetje Amazonian indigenous people. INTERNATIONAL FORESTRY REVIEW, 24(3), 330–344. · Falcon, W., Hadiwidjaja, G., Edwards, R., Higgins, M., Naylor, R., & Sumarto, S. 2022. Using Conditional Cash Payments to Prevent Land-Clearing Fires: Cautionary Findings from Indonesia. AGRICULTURE-BASEL, 12(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12071040 · Ferraro, P., & Simorangkir, R. 2020. Conditional cash transfers to alleviate poverty also reduced deforestation in Indonesia. SCIENCE ADVANCES, 6(24). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz1298 · Wilebore, B., Voors, M., Bulte, E., Coomes, D., & Kontoleon, A. 2019. Unconditional Transfers and Tropical Forest Conservation: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial in Sierra Leone. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, 101(3), 894–918. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aay105 |
| Reports | · FAO working paper: The state of social insurance for agricultural workers in the Near East and North Africa and challenges for expansion · FAO report: Strengthening coherence between forestry and social protection for sustainable agrifood systems transformation · ILO report: China: Social protection and climate change |
| Platforms | · Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty policy instrument: Social care services · Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty policy instrument: Social pension · Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty policy instrument: Subsidized health insurance |
| Academic publications | · Binkley, C. S., Stewart, F., & Power, S. 2020. Pension-Fund Investment in Forestry. World Bank, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.1596/35167 · Ryan, M., O’Donoghue, C., & Kinsella, A. 2017. The potential impact of differential taxation and social protection measures on farm afforestation decisions. 74. · Simonet, G., Subervie, J., Ezzine‐de‐Blas, D., Cromberg, M., & Duchelle, A. E. 2019. Effectiveness of a REDD+ Project in Reducing Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 101(1), 211–229. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aay028 |
| Reports | · FAO report: Protecting livelihoods – Linking agricultural insurance and social protection · World Bank report: Government support to agricultural insurance : challenges and options for developing countries · GIZ report: Innovations and emerging trends in agricultural insurance for smallholder farmers – an update |
| Platforms | · Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty policy instrument: Inclusive insurance |
| Case studies/ examples | · Case study: Brazil’s Harvest Guarantee Program |
| Academic publications | · Alam, A. F., Begum, H., Masud, M. M., Al-Amin, A. Q., & Leal Filho, W. 2020. Agriculture insurance for disaster risk reduction: A case study of Malaysia. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 47, 101626. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101626 · McSweeney, K. 2004. Forest product sale as natural insurance: The effects of household characteristics and the nature of shock in eastern Honduras. SOCIETY & NATURAL RESOURCES, 17(1), 39–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920490247245 · Vaglietti, G., Delacote, P., & Leblois, A. 2022. Droughts and deforestation: Does seasonality matter? PLOS ONE, 17(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276667 |
Empowering vulnerable groups and promoting equity and inclusion
Empowering vulnerable groups and promoting equity and social inclusion holds the potential to reduce inequalities, strengthen sustainable economic development and reduce pressure on forests. Better inclusion of marginalized groups into the economy and associated creation of economic opportunities, including for women and Indigenous Peoples, and poor and young people, could go a long way in reducing rural poverty. By strengthening access to education, technological capacity and employment, these groups can better pursue income generating opportunities, improve their livelihoods and reduce overall rural poverty, thereby also reducing the need to clear forests for economic gains.
| Guidance | · FAO guide: How to mainstream gender in forestry: A practical field guide |
| Reports | · UNDP report: The End of Business as Usual: Mainstreaming Gender in Jurisdictional REDD+ Approaches · UN-REDD brief: UN-REDD Methodological Brief on Gender · FAO report: The status of women in agrifood systems |
| Platforms | · Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty policy instrument: Integrated programmes for gender equality and empowerment |
| Academic publications | · Hargrove, A., & Sommer, J. 2022. Gender-mainstreaming, governance, and the environment: An analysis of forest loss. ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY, 8(4), 484–497. https://doi.org/10.1080/23251042.2022.2065428 · Salahodjaev, R., & Jarilkapova, D. 2020. Women in parliament and deforestation: Cross-country evidence. JOURNAL FOR NATURE CONSERVATION, 55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2020.125830 · *Westholm, L., & Arora-Jonsson, S. 2015. Defining Solutions, Finding Problems: Deforestation, Gender, and REDD plus in Burkina Faso. CONSERVATION & SOCIETY, 13(2), 189–199. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-4923.164203 |
| Reports | · FAO report: Promoting gender-sensitive farm business schools. A companion guide · Care International brief: Farmers Field Business School (FFBS) Brief |
| Academic publications | · Bolin, A., & Tassa, D. 2012. Exploring Climate Justice for Forest Communities Engaging in REDD+: Experiences from Tanzania. FORUM FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES, 39(1), 5–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2011.635380 · Cerbu, G., Sonwa, D., & Pokorny, B. 2013. Opportunities for and capacity barriers to the implementation of REDD plus projects with smallholder farmers: Case study of Awae and Akok, Centre and South Regions, Cameroon. FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS, 36, 60–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2013.06.018 · Hamza, A., Esteves, L., Cvitanovic, M., & Kairo, J. 2023. Sustainable natural resource management must recognise community diversity. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY, 30(7), 727–744. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2023.2192006 · Ullah, A. 2024. Forest Landscape Restoration and Its Impact on Social Cohesion, Ecosystems, and Rural Livelihoods: Lessons Learned from Pakistan. REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-024-02198-4 · Whittaker, A. 2020. Why we fail: Stakeholders’ perceptions of the social and ecological barriers to reforestation in southern Malawi. PEOPLE AND NATURE, 2(2), 450–467. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10084 |
| Case studies/ examples | Case study: PROMUCLIMA FAO-Honduras Project: Empowering women for climate action in the forestry sector of Western Honduras Honduras has experienced significant deforestation-related biodiversity loss across nearly half of its national territory. Unsustainable agricultural practices and illegal logging are key direct drivers of this deforestation, exerting pressure on protected natural areas and water resources. Additionally, rural women in the country are facing challenges such as food insecurity, unemployment, and limited access to financial resources. In this context, FAO implemented the PROMUCLIMA project between 2018-2023 to empower women in the forestry sector, create income opportunities, and reduce poverty, all while contributing towards a reduction in Honduras’s deforestation rate. The project applied an inclusive and participatory approach, targeting agricultural and forestry producer organizations across 12 municipalities in western Honduras. At the outset, FAO supported each participating producer organization in developing a business plan, applying FAO’s Market Analysis and Development (MA&D) approach which emphasizes strong social and environmental safeguards. These business plans were then turned into action with the support of the PROMUCLIMA project which helped distribute climate-smart technology, provide training in good forestry practices and legislation, and implement climate adaptation and mitigation measures. The project also facilitated the identification of deforestation and forest degradation drivers and baselines, the analysis of early warning mechanisms, and the prevention and response capacities to forest fires. Through the project, more than 2100 women were supported in increasing their productivity, generating income, and growing or consolidating climate-positive enterprises. In terms of emissions reduction from deforestation and forest degradation, the project successfully achieved a reduction of -46,000 tCO2eq, as estimated through the FAO EX ACT tool. With its strong focus on a participatory and inclusive process, the initiative is a good example of a win-win for poverty alleviation, women’s economic empowerment, and reduced deforestation |