Is Land Degradation Neutrality compelling and achievable? Dennis Garrity Drylands Ambassador, UNCCD Senior Fellow, World Agroforestry Centre & World Resources Institute Chair, Partnership to Create an EverGreen Agriculture
Trend in non-climate related net primary productivity 1981–2006. Conijn et al New post-2015 Sustainable Development Goal: Zero Net Land Degradation by 2030
Trend in biomass productivity by farming system
Zero Net Land Degradation Classify all land into three categories: – Degrading – Regenerating – Stable Monitor land degradation and regeneration in terms of biomass production. Calculate the ratio: Regenerating/Degrading The target is a ratio exceeding 1.0
Image: Flickr/CIFOR; Source: WRI 150m hectares under restoration by 2020 AMBITIOUS GLOBAL TARGETS EXIST The Bonn Challenge 350m hectares under restoration by 2030 New York Declaration 6
RESTORE VITALITY AND BALANCE TO THE LANDSCAPE 10
Agriculture Forest Degraded or Under- Utilized Land Opportunity to restore hope, security, resilience and sustained prosperity Climate Smart Agriculture Forest Agro-forestry and Silvopasture Landscapes Today Landscapes in 2050 Restore ecosystem services Intensify & sustain productivity Avoid deforestation Restore into mixed systems Restore & sustain productivity 8 Agro-forestry and Silvopasture REVERSING THE PARADIGM OF DEGRADATION
The Parkland Renaissance on Niger Farmlands
Farmer-Managed Regeneration of trees has been massively upscaled on the croplands in Niger
NIGER Bringing back the Sahel’s ‘underground forest’ 5 million ha of land restored, over 200 million trees re-established Additional half a million tonnes of grain per year Reduces drought impacts Sequestration of carbon in soil and trees Learning from farmers: Farmer managed natural regeneration
Major agroforestry regions in West Africa and potential directions of expansion
Malawi Maize Lands Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration Expanding Widely
Vision for the Drylands 2 nd Africa Drylands Declaration «WE RECOMMEND AND PROPOSE that the drylands development community commit seriously to achieving the goal of Enabling EVERY farm family and EVERY village across the drylands of Africa to be practicing Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration by the year 2025."
What is Evergreen Agriculture? A VISION of a more agroecologically intensive farming that integrates trees directly into crop and livestock production systems. Evergreen farming systems are ‘double- story’ systems that feature both perennial and annual species (food crops and trees), maintaining a green cover on the land throughout the year.
Conservation agriculture with reduced tillage and trees increases productivity while restoring land quality and reducing labor.
Faidherbia Gliricidia Maize stubble Faidherbia Gliricidia Maize DRY SEASON WET SEASON Fertilizer-Fodder-Fuelwood Trees in Food Crop Production Systems
EverGreen Fertilizer Subsidies Linking input subsidies to the upscaling of agroforestry for integrated soil fertility management New Facility Assisting countries to develop the capability to scale-up fertilizer tree technologies within their input subsidy programs.
17 African countries are now engaged in EverGreen Agriculture Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration Conservation Agriculture with trees Trees interplanted in conventional tilled cropland Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration + Trees interplanted in conventional tilled cropland
The EverGreen Agriculture Partnership Steering Committee Farmers and farmer groups International and regional research Civil Society Youth and Education Governments and Policy International and regional development Donors Private Sector