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The critical role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation is now widely recognized. Forests contribute significantly to climate change mitigation through their carbon sink and carbon storage functions. They play an essential role in reducing vulnerabilities and enhancing adaptation of people and ecosystems to climate change and climate variability, the negative impacts of which are becoming increasingly evident in many parts of the world.  In many countries climate change issues have not been fully addressed in national forest policies, forestry mitigation and adaptation needs at national level have not been thoroughly considered in national climate change strategies, and cross-sectoral [...]

The FAO Global Perspectives Studies (GPS) Team has combined data from various hydrological models that simulate water availability at the pixel level and generated projections at the country level. They created the dataset by calculating relative changes in internal and inflowing water resources by country, resulting from different climate change scenarios. Relative changes were used to re-scale reported values in FAO AQUASTAT. The dataset disseminates projections of of water availability to support foresight analyses of food and agricultural systems.    

This flyer provides a preview of the forthcoming analysis of submissions by Parties under the UNFCCC decision 4/CP.23,1 as available at 16 April 20182 on the UNFCCC submission portal. A complete analysis, covering all submissions by Parties as well as observers, will be made available following the 48th session of the Subsidiary Bodies of the UNFCCC (SB 48, Bonn, 30 April – 10 May 2018). The current draft analysis is available for review and comment (see back).

The joint UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans Programme  (NAP-Ag) is a multi-year initiative (2015-2018) funded by the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). The NAP-Ag is supporting countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to identify and integrate climate change adaptation measures in to relevant national planning and budgeting processes. This integration will help to enhance institutional capacities and processes for operationalizing climate response strategies in the agriculture sectors and facilitate greater partnerships, [...]

This review aims to provide countries and other stakeholders with relevant background and knowledge related to the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA) decision. It introduces the KJWA decision and further developments resulting from the 48th sessions of the subsidiary bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), provides a brief overview of the UNFCCC, and describes how the Convention addresses agriculture. It then looks at the subsidiary bodies and the seven constituted bodies under the Convention: the Consultative Group of Experts on National Communications from Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention, the Least [...]

After years of steady decline, child labour in agriculture has started to rise again in recent years driven in part by an increase in conflicts and climate-induced disasters. This worrisome trend, not only threatens the wellbeing of millions of children, but also undermines efforts to end global hunger and poverty. FAO Rural Livelihoods Officer Bernd Seiffert elaborates on ways to improve the safety and health of young workers and end child hazardous labour.

This publication contributes to SO1 and under Regional Initiative on Zero Hunger Challenge. Eradication of hunger and malnutrition as well as climate change are major challenges in Asia and the Pacific. Dietary and production diversity are recognized factors in strategies to improve food security and nutrition.  Currently, agriculture has an over-reliance on a handful of major staple crops. In this regard, Future Smart Food (FSF), often referred to as Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS) represent a promising abundance of food resources and constitute the bedrock of the food system diversity. FSF have enormous benefits which are nutrition-density, climate-resilience and economic viability.  To [...]

This sourcebook provides an overview of the second, digital edition of the Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook. The new edition includes new findings, case studies and lessons learned. It also takes into account the changes in the landscape of international climate action since the original edition was published in 2013. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – which encompasses the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda – provides an international framework for strong national actions and collective efforts to achieve sustainable development. Climate-smart agriculture, as an approach to achieve sustainable food and agriculture, [...]

There is a growing awareness to the role that natural resources, such as water, land, forests and environmental amenities, play in our lives. There are many competing uses for natural resources, and society is challenged to manage them for improving social well-being. Furthermore, there may be dire consequences to natural resources mismanagement. Renewable resources, such as water, land and the environment are linked, and decisions made with regard to one may affect the others. Policy and management of natural resources now require interdisciplinary approaches including natural and social sciences to correctly address our society preferences.  This series provides a collection of works containing most recent findings on economics, [...]

This publication is a compilation of the success stories covering different regions’ landscapes where on-the-ground climate-smart agriculture (CSA) work has been implemented in recent years. Climate change affects all agricultural sectors, from mussel production along Chile’s coastline to floating gardens in Bangladesh. There are many agricultural practices that can achieve the three objectives of CSA, ranging from climate-smart agroforestry systems implemented in the Dry Corridor of Central America to Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT) in coconut-farming communities in the Philippines. Whether climate change is experienced slowly over the course of many years, on a seasonal basis or as an extreme [...]