“Although the landscape approach, which involves multi-sector and multi-stakeholder interventions across multiple scales, makes planning and management challenging, there are no other options for achieving Climate-Smart Agriculture’s goals”
This sentiment, and the recognition that agricultural land management must be approached more holistically is growing in the face of climate change. As this second week of the 38th Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technological Assistance (SBSTA) within the UNFCCC comes to a close, it seems only appropriate to bring up the relevance of climate change for agriculture. On Tuesday, the Blog highlighted the SHAMBA tool to streamline accounting for climate change mitigation in agriculture, currently being piloted in Malawi. Also at the SBSTA meeting in Bonn last week, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations released its Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook. Meant to serve as a reference tool for planners, practitioners, and policy makers working in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, this sourcebook goes through elements of agriculture that can contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as the enabling conditions needed to make these possible.
While the discussion of discrete elements for climate-smart agriculture is useful in shifting toward a new agricultural paradigm, here on the Landscapes Blog we have emphasized how being climate-smart actually involves thinking beyond this level to consider more holistically the landscape scale processes and interactions. Module 2 of the sourcebook strives to address this need, examining the elements of a landscape approach and its role in a climate-smart transition. According to the Sourcebook, a landscape approach brings together different sectors, engages different stakeholders, and spans different scales. It places the management of production systems and natural resources in an area large enough to provide the necessary ecosystem services while still manageable by the people on the land.
Because climate-smart agriculture is inherently trying to achieve multiple goals, it is necessary to take a landscape approach that integrates poverty alleviation, agricultural production, and food security. The sourcebook goes on to discuss how coordination across sectors, systems, and scales increases efficiency in resource use (both natural and otherwise) and in the provision of ecosystem benefits. Ultimately, the underlying philosophy is to promote synergies among production, livelihoods, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. You’ve heard this before, but the sourcebook further elucidates the argument for a landscape approach and means to take one.
Make sure to take a look at the document and supporting materials online, which also include many case examples of approaches in practice.
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