AGRICULTURE Why we need a roadmap for change.The imperative to act swiftly and reshape prevailing narratives stands crystal clear on the horizon. It is a call to immediate progress, fueled by an acute awareness of the pressing need for change. In the realm of our collective responsibilities, the fundamental principles of food security and nutrition emerge as intrinsic human rights. While our paramount focus is anchored in realizing the right to food, the path to sustainable achievement intertwines inseparably with robust climate actions. This symbiotic relationship establishes the crucial link between providing nourishment for today and ensuring a sustainable supply for tomorrow. Breaking down silos becomes imperative—across concepts, actors, and sectors. Overcoming specific trade-offs demands measured consideration, and the true cost accounting methodology emerges as a valuable tool in quantifying these intricacies. Tackling inequalities within and across nations assumes a central role in the agrifood systems. It takes a prominent position at the forefront of a just transition process, recognizing that equitable progress is indispensable for sustained transformation. The roadmap we envision strategically targets ten pivotal domains, representing areas where immediate action is imperative. The foundation for these actions is grounded in the evidence meticulously gathered by FAO across diverse sectors in the preceding years. These actions cannot afford delay; they demand mobilized climate finance. The roadmap aims to revolutionize the perception of agrifood systems, transcending the conventional view of a sector contributing to emissions and environmental degradation. Instead, it advocates for a profound understanding: historically, agrifood systems have been the sustenance providers. The food they yield is indispensable for human survival on this planet. This shift in perspective underscores the critical need to prioritize agrifood systems not only to assure the right to food but also because the agrifood systems are the one that can improve the most in terms of reducing the burden to our nature and climate. Currently representing a mere 4% of total climate financing, climate finance must be redirected to this essential sector.This redirection aligns with the overarching goal of the roadmap—safeguarding the pathway to the 1.5-degree target, ensuring sustainability, and securing the promise of food for today and tomorrow. The roadmap stands as a testament to the imperative of international coordination, a vital step in this transformative journey. The ongoing process initiated at COP28 marks the genesis of a collaborative effort, essential in steering our global course toward a future where sustenance, equity, and environmental stewardship converge harmoniously. SIX REQUIRED ACTIONS- scroll down and select six pathways.......1.We need to urgently act and change the narrative......2. Food security and nutrition is an essential human right and will not be achieved sustainably without climate actions.....3.  Silos have to be broken: across concepts, actors, and sectors. It is a necessity to overcome specific trade-offs.......5.  Agrifood systems have to be on the forefront of a just transition and inequalities have to be reduced.......6. Solutions, gathered in 10 domains.......International coordination is an absolute necessity.....and then continue on the full report    https://www.fao.org/interactive/sdg2-roadmap/en/?utm_source=Climate+Weekly&utm_campaign=38d25157df-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_07_28_05_27_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-6ff1db6665-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D       

Great Green Wall is Failing, But its Legacy Could Still Be A Success TRISTAN BOVEAFRICAMAR 24TH 2021 Desertification– when droughts, climate change or human activity deteriorate soil fertility and cause vegetation loss- depletes the productivity of 12 million hectares of land each year, affecting 1.5 billion people worldwide and annually incurring USD$42 billion in lost earnings from agriculture. Projects to replace lost vegetation abound, the most ambitious of which has been the Pan-African Great Green Wall Initiative (GGW), a mammoth reforestation project that would stretch at least 7 000km across the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The megaproject has encountered several difficulties, but it has also helped uncover indigenous agroforestry practices in the region that had almost been completely lost. Indigenous land management and farming receives little in the way of funding or legal tender, but areas where land is primarily tenured by indigenous groups tend to be substantially more productive, sustainable and resilient. The Great Green Wall was announced in 2007 by the African Union (AU). Funded by the EU, the World Bank and the United Nations, the wall was first planned as a barrier of vegetation across the Sahel region of northern sub-Saharan Africa. The Sahel is highly vulnerable to land degradation, as overgrazing, deforestation and persistent droughts have made the once-lush belt of land vulnerable to desertification. The Sahel’s population is projected to increase from 83.7 million in 2019 to 196 million by 2050, exacerbating these stressors.
As the inhospitable conditions of the Sahara expand due to reduced rainfall and receding vegetation, countries in the Sahel including Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea and Mali have worked with neighbouring nations and the AU to establish the GGW. Initially planned as a literal wall of trees around 15km wide stretching 7 000km from Senegal to Djibouti, the project’s vision has evolved due to implementation challenges and concerns over the looming population boom in the region.     The initiative now aspires to be a ‘mosaic of sustainable land use practices,’ implementing agroforestry to increase tree density while disseminating the most efficient local practices to farmers. The goal is to address the region’s lack of social and economic resiliency to climate change impacts, improving the efficiency of crop yields and creating jobs. Land degradation has caused the Sahel region to become chronically prone to food shortages, with as many as 37 million people suffering from food insecurity in 2016. The GGW has been championed by advocates as a prime example of the land restoration initiatives governments should be pursuing. The initiative addresses food insecurity and poverty as well as land degradation and biodiversity loss, and has been seen as a desirable effort by countries to engage in a communal conservation effort across multilateral lines. Its long term goals by 2030 are to reforest 100 million hectares of degraded land, sequester 250 million tonnes of carbon and create 10 million new jobs.  However, the project is worryingly behind schedule. In 2020, the Great Green Wall was only 4% complete ahead of its planned 2030 completion date. The delays and missed timelines are due to a number of reasons, but mainly insufficient funds, lack of oversight and improperly allocated technical support. By 2020, 18 million hectares of land had been restored, 350 000 new jobs created and around USD$90 million in revenue generated. But after over $200 million invested and significant losses incurred, these achievements are somewhat underwhelming. The few success stories of the Great Green Wall have been scattered, symptomatic of the project’s largely disjointed and fragmented oversight, but these instances may be decisive in informing how the initiative could ultimately yield tremendous economic, social and environmental benefits in the Sahel and beyond. The decision to shift the GGW’s priorities from a simple regreening project to a network of locally sourced sustainable land management practices has proved to be a game-changer, and forming a more cohesive overseeing body to drive grassroots movements across the region could be what finally sees the project and other like it come to fruition.    https://earth.org/the-great-green-wall-legacy/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA35urBhDCARIsAOU7QwnJauV-QfIFrVyLic9noczR5JpGVTYkxC56zCEPw2z2cfuOW4xllZcaAnzcEALw_wcB                                                                                                                                                  The Great Green Wall Programme- The global Great Green Wall movement to grow 8000 km across the width of Africa has demonstrated limited success, often due to conflicts between sedentary and pastoralist communities. WeForest’s programme is well positioned to accelerate and scale the African Great Green Wall, starting with our established projects in Ethiopia. We work in threatened and degraded tropical and sub-tropical forests and landscapes to create locally-led reforestation projects. RESTORATION......Collaboration is key. We build local partnerships to deliver long-term transformational change.......We design restoration strategies in partnership with local communities and stakeholders:protecting remaining intact forests through strengthening local governance and working to reduce pressure in the buffer zones.......restoring degraded forest through planting and encouraging natural regeneration of native species.......establishing agroforestry systems which increase tree cover in farming landscapes and improve and sustain food, fuelwood and timber production and income generation for local families.......We promote the adoption of forest-friendly livelihoods and income generating activities to reduce pressure on forests while giving alternatives to local communities. Women-led micro-businesses, such as mushroom production, small livestock and mangrove products, flourish with the right support. We provide the training, guidance and equipment to catalyse their success..........read on    https://www.weforest.org/what-we-do/  Discover our restoration principles here.       Explore some of the efforts in regions of  Ethiopia......https://www.weforest.org/project/machakel/                    

Landscape architects "could be very important" to Africa's Great Green Wall says Elvis Paul Tangem.......Landscape Architects to the Rescue? click on this link

CANADA- BC Overhauls Water Management as Scarcity Looms. Premier. Eby says one ministry will now handle water issues across the province.  Mopping up British Columbia’s water management mess is now the responsibility of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Minister Nathan Cullen. He takes on the water file, along with several other new duties, in a significant transfer of responsibilities from the Ministry of Forests. Premier David Eby said Tuesday the government heard after the disastrous summer of widespread drought and record-setting forest fires that it was confusing for farmers and others who depend on water that regulations were in multiple ministries, but not the one that has “water” in its title.It was also challenging for the government itself to make sure its strategies around water were integrated, Eby said. “Water is not separate from land, it’s not separate from land use planning, and all that work is happening within our Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Ministry.”  “It’s continuation of the changes to the natural resource sector we started almost two years ago now,” Cullen said. “It’s very much what we heard in response from industry, First Nations, environment groups, just in having more clear accountability, line of sight, on some of these really big issues.”The ministry is well equipped to collaborate with Indigenous partners, stakeholders and other government ministries, Cullen said. “It’s a positive move.” BC Green Party MLAs supported the transfer, with leader and Cowichan Valley MLA Sonia Furstenau saying in a statement it has “the potential of being a turning point in B.C.’s history.”Green Party MLA Furstenau said. “Water connects everything, yet for too long decisions about land use in the province have been made in silos, ignoring the cumulative impacts on watersheds, and putting long-term sustainability of our ecosystems at risk.”Communities are desperate for watershed protection and will be watching the next steps, she said. “We need to see this announcement backed with more resources and funding. Now is the time to build the on-the-ground capacity in every part of the province and for decision-making to move to local communities and Indigenous leaders.” One area that will need attention is the groundwater licensing system that some observers have described as a “train wreck.” When the deadline passed in 2022 for an estimated 20,000 existing commercial water users to apply for a licence, some 12,000 had failed to do so and lost their legal right to use groundwater. “I’m getting briefed up right now on what the current state is, how many folks have gone through the licensing process, what we need to do to bring more people in,” Cullen said. “Given the historic and unprecedented drought season that we had, the interest from the public, and from industry, is very high for us to get a good handle on what’s happening with respect to groundwater in B.C. and it only makes sense that a ministry with ‘water’ in the name is helping lead the charge on this.” Cullen said he isn’t ready to specify what he thinks needs to happen. “I want to hear directly from staff where the frustrations have been, where the opportunities are, what we can do differently,” he said. “What types of investments do we need, because we’re responsible for that, but also our drought management, flood mitigation, the diking systems, and that’s an increasingly important part of our public infrastructure.”......read on           https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/10/26/BC-Overhauls-Water-Management/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261023    

Cattle play a colossal role in climate change: As the single largest agricultural source of methane, a potent planet-warming gas, the world’s 940 million cows spew nearly 10 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions — much of it through belches and droppings. As such, there’s an astonishing amount of time and money beingfunneled into emission control. On-farm biodigesters, for example, take a backend approach by harvesting methane wafting from manure pits. A slew of research aims to curb bovine burps by feeding them seaweed, essential oils, and even a bovine Beano of sorts. The latest endeavor,a $70 million effortled by a Nobel laureate, uses gene-editing technology in an effort to eliminate that pollution by reengineering the animals’ gut microbes. Given the world’s growing appetite for meat and dairy, these novel ventures are crucial to inching us toward international and national climate goals. Yet they beg the question: Wouldn’t it be easier toditch milk, cheese, and beef for plant-based alternatives? Why fight nature when there’s an easier solution, at least from a scientific perspective? Research shows that even a modest skew away from meat-based diets can shrink an individual’s carbon footprint as much as 75 percent. As it turns out, however, untangling cows from the climate equation is enormously complicated — especially in the United States, where the industry, worth $275 billion annually, boasts the world’sfourth largest cattle population and is its top beef and dairy producer. Achieving a cheeseburger-free America faces formidable challenges. Beyond overcoming cultural shifts — the country’s per-capita consumption of mozzarella, to name one example, averagesone pound a month — lies the challenge of meeting nutritional demands and rebalancing the intricacies of an agricultural, food, and industrial economy inextricably linked to livestock farming. For these reasons, greener diets are but one prong in a larger set of food-based solutions for curtailing human-caused climate change, said Stephen Sturdivant, an environmental engineer at the Environmental Protection Agency. “We need a comprehensive combination of strategies to achieve a truly sustainable future,” he said. “We can’t just cherry-pick our way to get there.”         https://grist.org/agriculture/why-cant-we-just-quit-cows/