Harnessing Ecosystem-based Adaptation Approaches for Improved Resilience in Africa: Implications for

PolicyIFPRI 2020 Resilience Conference 15-17, May 2014

Richard Munang, PhD Africa Regional Climate Change Coordinator

Ecosystem-based Adaptation for Food Security Coordinator Regional Office for Africa –

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

AFRICAN ADAPTATION GAP REPORT

Climate change impacts

2°C World v. 4°C World

Warming limited to below 2°C still implies major adaptation costs for Africa: 4°C warming by 2100 will hit the continent very hard

impossible

2 billion in Africa

100% Increase

240 Million Hungry

2015

The Future of African Agriculture?

• Experts have warned that if the current situation persists, Africa will be fulfilling only 13% of its food needs by 2050

• By 2050, even a change of about 1.2 to 1.9 degrees Celsius will have increased the number of the continent’s undernourished by 25% to 95% (central Africa +25%, East Africa +50%, Southern Africa +85% and West Africa +95%)

• The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has estimated that African countries could lose between 2% and 16% of gross domestic product due to stunting of children as a result of malnutrition

Africa’s Potential

• The question is, given this scenario,is Africa’s agricultural system readyto respond?

• Solutions that address climatechange, productivity, ecosystemservices, water and nutrients areavailable and are already in usethroughout the continent

Ecosystems Services

How can ecosystems respond to Africa’s food system challenges?

• How do we build value-added sectors to keep more revenues at home? • How do we integrate and support small farmers? • What can be done to protect from price hikes, and against environmental disasters? • How do we increase capacity and storage of water?• Can we ensure food security?

• Effective policies for food security should value ecosystems as productive assets

• Effective policies should invest in ecosystem restoration – which will not only stabilize the supply of wild-sourced food products from these ecosystems but will also help vulnerable groups to buy food, by maintaining their income-earning opportunities from the sale of natural products (e.g. non-timber forest products, fish).

• UNEP has been working throughout Africa to demonstrate that these types of policies can generate greater food security and build resilence by maintaining the flow of ecosystem goods and services to agriculture

Mozambique

• Investment of $2.86USD per cubic meter of water OR $9.53USD per person

• Grew water supply by 82% and 25%

• Contributed to greater– Food security– Resilience to droughts– Water access/sanitation– Emerging opportunities for

vulnerable groups (women and children)

– Emerging opportunities in brickmaking and other industries

Togo

Burkina Faso

• Increases from 80,000 to 120,000 tons (40%)

• Nearly 300,000 hectares rehabilitated

How do we build value-added sectors to keep more revenues at home?

Burkina Faso

Current Strains to implementing EBA Policies

Food Insecurity

Ecosystem Degradation

Food Security

Ecosystem Rehabilitation/Preservation

Policies that do not promote Ecosystem

HealthEcosystem-based

Policies

• Current food security policies continue to focus on the same three issues – agriculturalproductivity, trade and macro-economic policies– all of which have an array of diverseactors seeking often unsustainable and sometimes opposed goals while neglecting thecentral role of ecosystem management.

• By understanding that degraded ecosystems are the root cause of food insecurity andproductive ecosystems are the foundation for greater agricultural productivity,policymakers can begin to focus on sustainable, coordinated solutions

How can we develop policies that sustainably contribute to food security?

Answer: By ensuring the ecosystem health and productivity is the foundation for policy making.

With relatively little inputs, ecosystem-based adaptation can increase yields and profits, while climate-proofing local ecosystems and improving community well-being. The examples illustrated attest to this.

Developing policies which balance maximizing food production with environmental protection is imperative to building resilience.

Strengthening ecosystems governance and institutions at local and national levels, including through collaborations between the public and private sectors, civil society and local communities is key.

Valuing longer-term services provided by ecosystems above short-term gain is the fundamental first step towards building resilience.

Incorporating environmental values into economic models in order to move towards sustainable development and Investing in research to find optimal long-term balance between production and environmental protection.

1st Africa Food Security & Adaptation Conference, August 2013

Experience from the EbA intervention model of addressing climate change andenhancing food security shows that well-timed and targeted EbA interventions can havea significant impact on, for example, addressing food security and empowering societiesto build their biophysical and social resilience to climate change and variability and alsobenefiting the environment.

Africa Can feed Africa Communities across Africa are already building resilience to climate change by

stimulating their existing ecosystems. What is needed is to bring these isolated success stories to scale, to make them the

rule rather than the exception. This is the only way that Africa will be able to achieve the envisaged food secured

society and build its biophysical resilence in which its population does not experience the fear of want.

Believe it!

More information on Ecosystem-based Adaptation methods for building Resil is available at www.AAKNet.org

Believe it!