Food Security and Sustainable Resource Use: Comments

Food Security and Sustainable Resource Use: Comments Sara J. Scherr, President, EcoAgriculture Partners Natural Resource Management and Food Security for a Growing Population World Resources Institute, Washington, DC – May 15, 2013

Securing Food Supply in the 21st Century: Beyond Field-Scale Productivity

More than Food: Societal Demands from Agricultural Landscapes

Beyond Resource Use Efficiency: Negotiating Whole Landscape System Efficiency

Whole Landscapes for Food, Fiber, Energy, Health, Water,Livelihoods,Biodiversity,Ecosystem,Climate

Integrated Landscapes: Key Features 1) Agreed management objectives encompass multiple landscape benefits

2) Collaborative, community-engaged processes are in place for dialogue, planning, negotiating and monitoring decisions

3) Production practices contribute to multiple objectives at farm and landscape scales

4) Interactions among different parts of the landscape realize positive socio- ecological synergies or mitigate negative trade-offs

5) Market, tenure and policy frameworks are shaped to achieve the diverse set of landscape objectives

Landscape Transformation in Ethiopia ● Operating as MERET since 2002, 400,000

has degraded land rehabiliated in 451 sub-watersheds, 125,000 direct beneficiaries, 40% female

● Menu of 48 activities in AE/E and Livelihoods and Local Level Participatory Planning Approach (LLPPA)

● Impacts in Tigray: ● Investment in re-vegetation, terracing,

community and farm-scale water harvesting restored water (ground, farm, streams)

● Irrigation & improved soil organic matter increased crop production 200-400%

● Dependence on food aid during droughts reduced from 90 to 10% households

● Transformation within 5-10 years ● Climate mitigation at landscape scale

● Institutionalization of approach in Ethiopia

Landscape Transformation in Ecuador ● Community Consortium of River

Jubones Watershed--socio-ecological interactions for food & water security

● Since 2000; now 37 municipal govts ● ‘Territorial facilitators’ for action

Income diversification Increased farm production, using

agro-ecological methods New markets incl. eco-markets Improved well-being of women,

children Protection of water sources

through community-based water users associations

Restoration of riparian habitat Coordinated legal and policy action

An Explosion of Innovation on the Ground

Ongoing Integrated Landscape Initiatives

Latin America & Caribbean Sub-Saharan Africa

# Integrated Landscape Initiatives Identified

104 87

# Countries Represented 21 33

Most Common Motivations for Stakeholder Collaboration

Biodiversity Conservation, Reducing Natural Resource

Degradation

Biodiversity and Natural Resource Conservation

Average # Stakeholders Involved in Initiative (primary stakeholders)

11 (farmers, local government,

NGOs)

9+ (local/district government,

NGOs, producer groups)

Core Investment Domains Institutional planning & coordination, Agricultural

production, Conservation & Livelihoods

Institutional planning & coordination; Conservation;

Agricultural production

Milder, et al. Unpublished Data

Leaders Overcoming Institutional Silos and Fragmentation of Effort

Agroecological Practices that Generate Both Higher Yields and Ecosystem Services Ecosystem Service

Conservation Agriculture

Holistic Grazing

Organic Agriculture

Precision Agriculture

System of Rice Intensification

Number of studies that indicate positive, neutral or negative outcomes for select system & service combinations.

+ = - + = - + = - + = - + = -

Pest Control

1 2 4 7 6

Soil Fertility & Structure

14 2 4 4 3 3 55 8 1 1 12 2 1

Nutrient Cycling

6 1 2 2 1 1 23 39 5 12 2

Wild Biodiversity

3 11 23 1 2

Erosion Control

10 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

H20 qual. & quant.

16 2 2 1 1 9 52 2

Garbach, et al. 2012. ‘An Assessment of the Multi-Functionality of Agroecological Intensification.’ EcoAgriculture Partners: Washington, DC. total # of studies reviewed = 219

Farmers Mobilizing for Land Stewardship Jointly with Production and Market Access

Prgrams to Restore Ecosystem Function in Ag Landscapes

www.landscapes.ecoagriculture.org

1) Promote Adoption of Known Best Practices

2) Support Initiatives Advancing Multi-Objective Farms and Landscapes

3) Focus Advanced Science on Multi-Functional Systems

Thank you www.ecoagriculture.org

landscapes.ecoagriculture.org