CIFOR-ICRAF Scientists Interrogate Climate Impact Of Land Restoration In Africa At COP27

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Center for International Forestry Research – World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) has announced that its scientists will present climate and livelihood impacts of land restoration in Africa at the ongoing 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

CIFOR-ICRAF is a world-class research institution which delivers actionable evidence and solutions to transform the way land and renewable resources are used, and how food is produced. It evolved out of the effective merger between CIFOR and ICRAF and has more than 65 years of combined expertise.

Its mission is to build, disseminate and apply evidence about the role of trees, forests and tree-based agriculture as pathways to solving global crises such as poverty, hunger, land degradation, climate change, and unsustainable supply and value chains. CIFOR-ICRAF strives to improve people’s lives while preserving the environment.

The institution’s research addresses the most important global challenges: environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, climate change, food system transition, unsustainable supply and value chains, and inequity- and inequality-related topics such as poverty, livelihood threats, gender and diversity.

The presentation will be held at the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) climate conference ‘Frontiers of Change’, on the sidelines of COP27 as well as at the launch of the EU-funded Landscapes for our Future programme, Tree diversity for climate change adaptation and food system resilience, the Trees Adapt partnership platform; and on market opportunities for mangrove blue carbon.

Growing more trees – whether on farms, in forests or mosaic landscapes, is critical to building resilience to climate change. At COP27, CIFOR-ICRAF) is bringing its many years of experience to highlight the value of trees and forests as an investment in climate resilience.

Moreover, the centre’s scientists feature in five official side events that address key questions in this arena, including how to critically assess progress to support successful forest action toward the 2030 climate goals, how to achieve socially-just, climate-resilient development in Africa and Asia, keeping in mind key risks and contexts such as fire, hazards, blue carbon agriculture and governance

It will also examine how much progress has been made on the integration of adaptation actions into countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia in the agroforestry and forestry sectors

In addition, issues bordering on how to ensure land contributes to climate change mitigation without creating a ‘land gap’ (earmarking more land for countries’ Net-Zero and NDC pledges than is actually available) as well as how to accelerate action to protect blue carbon ecosystems for mitigation and adaptation will equally be addressed.

According to a statement made available to the media, CIFOR-ICRAF is also involved in the COP’s first-ever Food and Agriculture Pavilion, which will showcase innovative solutions to help countries take effective climate action to protect agri-food systems.

“There, the centre, will lead a session on tree-based food system transformation, which will lay out how monocultural agriculture has led to “belly full hungry cells” – people consuming more food but with lower nutrition than they do in diversified production systems – and will deliberate on the linkage between nature and lifestyle, while emphasizing the need for a radical shift in production, consumption, storage and disposal patterns to benefit people and the environment”, the statement said.

Soil health, which is critically interlinked with land use decisions, and has major implications for both food security and carbon storage, will also be in the spotlight, with a high-level ministerial side event on global action for drought resilience.

“There will also be a session at the Food and Agriculture Pavilion to present a proposal, created by the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH), for governments to issue a soil health resolution at COP27”, the statement further disclosed.