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THIRD WORLD NETWORK INFORMATION SERVICE ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Dear Friends and Colleagues Innovating Adaptation to Climate Change Through Agroecology The agricultural sector is both a contributor to, and casualty of, accelerated climate change. Current food systems are undermining their very own resilience. To date, however, the global response has remained sectoral, and disconnected in nature. To effectively respond to the systemic challenges posed by climate change, prevailing agricultural production models need to change. Research on adaptation for food security and rural livelihoods needs to correspond to the complexities at hand and acknowledge the importance of different knowledge systems. There is emerging evidence that agroecology which links food production at farm level to the broader social-ecological systems that support resilience to climate change can contribute towards more systemic solutions. A recent paper outlines the results of a consultative process to explore the contribution of agroecology to innovative and transformative climate change adaptation responses. Five key messages are identified: (1) To be innovative, adaptation efforts must respond to the systemic challenges posed by climate change to our food systems. (2) Diverse agricultural systems are less vulnerable to extreme climatic events, climate variability, and cumulative agro-climatic changes. (3) To strengthen the adaptive capacity of rural livelihoods, it is necessary to pair technological innovations, and improvements in agricultural practices, with investments in social capital, the co-creation of knowledge with farmers, new marketing networks, and the responsible governance of land and natural resources. (4) Integrated measurement approaches are necessary to capture all the factors that contribute to climate-resilient food systems. (5) Innovating adaptation to climate change calls for nothing less than transforming our food systems. The required systemic response should include the following measures:
With best wishes, Third
World Network SYSTEMIC CHALLENGES, SYSTEMIC RESPONSES: INNOVATING ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH AGROECOLOGY Jes
Weigelt, Anna Kramer, Alexander Mόller et al. Executive Summary There is an inextricable link between our food systems and accelerated climate change. A growing body of evidence reveals that accelerated climate change has far-reaching impacts on our food systems, while at the same time, our food systems are adversely affecting climate change trends. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2019) found that unsustainable agricultural production processes accelerate biodiversity loss, and are responsible for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions from land use change, land degradation, and the unsustainable use of freshwater resources. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, if current rates of greenhouse gases emissions are maintained, there will be a 17% decline in the production of four major cereal crops that provide the staple food for billions of people (coarse grains, oil seeds, wheat and rice) by 2050. These findings underscore that the agricultural sector is both a contributor to, and casualty of, accelerated climate change. To date, however, the global response has remained sectoral, and disconnected in nature. The complexity of local adaptation needs, coupled with the need to address the resilience of food systems as a whole, means that no single initiative can address all challenges in a comprehensive way. There is emerging evidence that agroecology which links food production at farm level to the broader social-ecological systems that support resilience to climate change can contribute towards more systemic solutions. Adding to concrete results documented by agroecological initiatives, such as MASIPAG in the Philippines or Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming in India, recent reports from High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security, and the Global Commission on Adaptation, have acknowledged this contribution. Over the course of several months, a broad range of experts, policy makers and practitioners held a series of consultations to explore the contribution of agroecology to innovative and transformative climate change adaptation responses. This paper is the culmination of this process, which not only sought to develop a common understanding of the role of agroecology to climate change adaptation, but to craft a common language that can help bring together the agriculture and climate change communities. The consultative process identified the following five key messages:
Through its call for a large-scale, international mobilisation to strengthen the resilience of small-scale farmers to climate change, the Global Commission for Adaptation Action Track on Food Security and Rural Livelihoods offers a timely opportunity to road test these messages. However, these messages are just a first step. In order to start to transform our unsustainable food production, and consumption systems, the required systemic response must span the entire trajectory of the need for systemic responses (in terms of research focus, investments and, ultimately, measures) to meet climate change challenges. This paper underscores that we need to take a number of measures, moving forward. These include:
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