Dialogue on the relationship between land and climate change adaptation related matters
Publication year
Resource type
UNCCD Library
Material Type
Web resource
High level event with UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw
The land-use sector, through a combination of conservation, sustainable management, and restoration, has great potential to reduce emissions and sequester carbon. Land represents the largest sink for carbon -even larger than oceans. Land has the additional advantage that there are 500 million farming families that can help in the global effort to draw carbon from the atmosphere and put it where it belongs: in our soils and vegetation.
Done right, land management can help increase both human and biophysical resilience. It is not a question of “whether or not” this is possible. Rather, the question is one of the political will to bring land into balance, thereby bringing food, energy and nature also into balance.
Put another way, optimizing « what we do where » on land has the potential to accelerate global efforts to help address the COVID-19 crisis but also to achieve all the Sustainable Development Goals, including climate action. A handful of SDG targets, such as Land Degradation Neutrality, can be harnessed to leverage real gains across the board. Land Degradation Neutrality essentially balances out tradeoffs. It can be used to optimize nature-based solutions at the landscape level so those solutions can be taken to scale.
For example, it can cost less than 100 USD to rehabilitate one hectare of farmland using traditional agro-forestry, water conservation, and livestock management practices. Land restoration is therefore the cheapest solution to climate change, while at the same time creating multiple other opportunities.
We now have the platforms – such as this one - and the opportunity to move in that direction, urgently and with determination, away from our business-as-usual mindset. (Read further his intervention ) links above.
3. LAND AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION ACTIONS: EXPERIENCE, GOOD PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED (IN BREAKOUT GROUPS)
BG 1: Land and climate change adaptation practices
The session discussed experience, good practices and lessons learned in land management and climate change adaptation actions, including, but not limited to, the following examples provided in the submissions form Parties and non-Party stakeholders: conservation, restoration and sustainable management of land, forests and other ecosystems; regenerative and restorative food production/systems; sustainable agricultural and agroforestry practices. The session considers synergies, co-benefits and trade-offs related land management and climate change adaptation practices. It also explored the contribution of adaptation of land systems in raising ambition on adaptation and mitigation under the Convention and the Paris Agreement.
What are the opportunities, challenges and gaps in strengthening linkages between land and climate change adaptation practices?
What actions are needed to leverage these opportunities and address the challenges and gaps in strengthening the linkages between land and climate change adaptation practices?
BG 2: Delivering support for land and climate change adaptation actions
Submissions made by Parties and non-Party stakeholders propose to focus on how policies, institutions, financial mechanisms and/or governance arrangements can help deliver integrated responses across the land sector to support climate-adaptive development pathways that are consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The submissions also feature examples of financing models and programmes for activities related to land management. This session will provide a platform for sharing experience, good practices and lessons learned on the scale, types and sources of current support and gaps for the land sector to build resilience to climate change, as well as related challenges and opportunities
What are the opportunities and challenges to enable the delivery of support for land and climate change adaptation under the UNFCCC?
What actions are needed to leverage the opportunities and address the challenges and gaps for delivering integrated responses across the land sector and support climate resilient development pathways?
7. LAND AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION ACTIONS: EXPERIENCE, GOOD PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED (IN BREAKOUT GROUPS)
BG 3: Assessing/monitoring land adaptation to climate change Moderator: Miriam Medel, UNCCD
Drawing upon the submissions made by Parties and non-Party stakeholders, this session focuses on key aspects pertaining to the assessment and monitoring of land adaptation to climate change such as mapping of land cover change, assessment of progress made in land management and climate change adaptation at national level, identification of relevant indicators, and the assessment of risks and resilience building in land systems. It facilitates a discussion on assessing, monitoring and evaluation of land-related adaptation actions with multiple stakeholders, and explore experience, good practices and lessons learned.
What are the opportunities, challenges and gaps for enhancing the assessment of land adaptation to climate change?
What actions are needed to leverage these opportunities and address the challenges and gaps in assessing land adaptation to climate change?
BG 4: Policy approaches for land management and climate change adaptation
Submissions made by Parties and non-Party stakeholders refer to several policy approaches on land and climate change adaptation, as well as examples of regulatory frameworks, policies and plans developed and implemented by countries to enable or incentivize measures to address land and climate change adaptation. The submissions also indicate that strategies and plans provide a solid basis for delivering significant results in addressing climate change impacts and risks, and helping to align key policy instruments for implementing coordinated measures. The submissions also emphasize the importance of the considerations regarding different groups and communities, land rights and tenure, gender, women and smallholder farmers, civil society, local communities and indigenous peoples.
Building on this input received, the session focused on the experience, good practices and lessons learned in policy approaches for land management and climate change adaptation and how they can further be strengthened. The session also explored interlinkages between land and climate change adaptation policies, including the integration of land-based matters into the NDCs, NAPs and other related instruments.
What are the opportunities and challenges for the considerations regarding different groups, communities and policy issues across land management and climate change adaptation actions?
What actions are needed to leverage these opportunities and address the challenges and gaps to strengthen policy approaches for land management and climate change adaptation?
9. ENHANCING ACTION ON LAND AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION – EXPECTATIONS FROM THE DIALOGUE
Discussions covered two topics:
a) Existing processes under the UNFCCC: To consider how the existing work and processes, including constituted bodies, under the Convention and the Paris Agreement could facilitate or enhance action on land and climate change adaptation related matters. Discussions will also consider possible gaps and the ways to address them. Relevant existing processes cited in the submissions include: NAPs, NWP, KJWA, WIM, Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, Gender Action Plan, LCIPP. Constituted bodies working on climate change adaptation are: AC, LEG, WIM Excom.
b) Linkages with the SDGs and other international frameworks and processes: To consider how other international frameworks and processes can be leveraged or take more actions to raise ambition to land and climate change adaptation. Examples cited in the submissions include the SDGs, Sendai Framework, CBD, UNCCD, Fifth session of the 2021 United Nations Environment Assembly, 2021 Food Systems Summit, United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests and its Global Forest Goals, United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
For details please open the link to the session page
Zac Goldsmith, UK Minister for Pacific and the Environment, for the COP 26 Presidency, said it is critical to address land degradation, highlighting the need to provide incentives for sustainable land management and secure land tenure rights. He emphasized nature-based solutions’ potential for addressing climate change and helping to minimize the threat of loss and damage. ( open the link, scroll down to listen to his intervention)
The land-use sector, through a combination of conservation, sustainable management, and restoration, has great potential to reduce emissions and sequester carbon. Land represents the largest sink for carbon -even larger than oceans. Land has the additional advantage that there are 500 million farming families that can help in the global effort to draw carbon from the atmosphere and put it where it belongs: in our soils and vegetation.
Done right, land management can help increase both human and biophysical resilience. It is not a question of “whether or not” this is possible. Rather, the question is one of the political will to bring land into balance, thereby bringing food, energy and nature also into balance.
Put another way, optimizing « what we do where » on land has the potential to accelerate global efforts to help address the COVID-19 crisis but also to achieve all the Sustainable Development Goals, including climate action. A handful of SDG targets, such as Land Degradation Neutrality, can be harnessed to leverage real gains across the board. Land Degradation Neutrality essentially balances out tradeoffs. It can be used to optimize nature-based solutions at the landscape level so those solutions can be taken to scale.
For example, it can cost less than 100 USD to rehabilitate one hectare of farmland using traditional agro-forestry, water conservation, and livestock management practices. Land restoration is therefore the cheapest solution to climate change, while at the same time creating multiple other opportunities.
We now have the platforms – such as this one - and the opportunity to move in that direction, urgently and with determination, away from our business-as-usual mindset. (Read further his intervention ) links above.
3. LAND AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION ACTIONS: EXPERIENCE, GOOD PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED (IN BREAKOUT GROUPS)
BG 1: Land and climate change adaptation practices
The session discussed experience, good practices and lessons learned in land management and climate change adaptation actions, including, but not limited to, the following examples provided in the submissions form Parties and non-Party stakeholders: conservation, restoration and sustainable management of land, forests and other ecosystems; regenerative and restorative food production/systems; sustainable agricultural and agroforestry practices. The session considers synergies, co-benefits and trade-offs related land management and climate change adaptation practices. It also explored the contribution of adaptation of land systems in raising ambition on adaptation and mitigation under the Convention and the Paris Agreement.
What are the opportunities, challenges and gaps in strengthening linkages between land and climate change adaptation practices?
What actions are needed to leverage these opportunities and address the challenges and gaps in strengthening the linkages between land and climate change adaptation practices?
BG 2: Delivering support for land and climate change adaptation actions
Submissions made by Parties and non-Party stakeholders propose to focus on how policies, institutions, financial mechanisms and/or governance arrangements can help deliver integrated responses across the land sector to support climate-adaptive development pathways that are consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The submissions also feature examples of financing models and programmes for activities related to land management. This session will provide a platform for sharing experience, good practices and lessons learned on the scale, types and sources of current support and gaps for the land sector to build resilience to climate change, as well as related challenges and opportunities
What are the opportunities and challenges to enable the delivery of support for land and climate change adaptation under the UNFCCC?
What actions are needed to leverage the opportunities and address the challenges and gaps for delivering integrated responses across the land sector and support climate resilient development pathways?
7. LAND AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION ACTIONS: EXPERIENCE, GOOD PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED (IN BREAKOUT GROUPS)
BG 3: Assessing/monitoring land adaptation to climate change Moderator: Miriam Medel, UNCCD
Drawing upon the submissions made by Parties and non-Party stakeholders, this session focuses on key aspects pertaining to the assessment and monitoring of land adaptation to climate change such as mapping of land cover change, assessment of progress made in land management and climate change adaptation at national level, identification of relevant indicators, and the assessment of risks and resilience building in land systems. It facilitates a discussion on assessing, monitoring and evaluation of land-related adaptation actions with multiple stakeholders, and explore experience, good practices and lessons learned.
What are the opportunities, challenges and gaps for enhancing the assessment of land adaptation to climate change?
What actions are needed to leverage these opportunities and address the challenges and gaps in assessing land adaptation to climate change?
BG 4: Policy approaches for land management and climate change adaptation
Submissions made by Parties and non-Party stakeholders refer to several policy approaches on land and climate change adaptation, as well as examples of regulatory frameworks, policies and plans developed and implemented by countries to enable or incentivize measures to address land and climate change adaptation. The submissions also indicate that strategies and plans provide a solid basis for delivering significant results in addressing climate change impacts and risks, and helping to align key policy instruments for implementing coordinated measures. The submissions also emphasize the importance of the considerations regarding different groups and communities, land rights and tenure, gender, women and smallholder farmers, civil society, local communities and indigenous peoples.
Building on this input received, the session focused on the experience, good practices and lessons learned in policy approaches for land management and climate change adaptation and how they can further be strengthened. The session also explored interlinkages between land and climate change adaptation policies, including the integration of land-based matters into the NDCs, NAPs and other related instruments.
What are the opportunities and challenges for the considerations regarding different groups, communities and policy issues across land management and climate change adaptation actions?
What actions are needed to leverage these opportunities and address the challenges and gaps to strengthen policy approaches for land management and climate change adaptation?
9. ENHANCING ACTION ON LAND AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION – EXPECTATIONS FROM THE DIALOGUE
Discussions covered two topics:
a) Existing processes under the UNFCCC: To consider how the existing work and processes, including constituted bodies, under the Convention and the Paris Agreement could facilitate or enhance action on land and climate change adaptation related matters. Discussions will also consider possible gaps and the ways to address them. Relevant existing processes cited in the submissions include: NAPs, NWP, KJWA, WIM, Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, Gender Action Plan, LCIPP. Constituted bodies working on climate change adaptation are: AC, LEG, WIM Excom.
b) Linkages with the SDGs and other international frameworks and processes: To consider how other international frameworks and processes can be leveraged or take more actions to raise ambition to land and climate change adaptation. Examples cited in the submissions include the SDGs, Sendai Framework, CBD, UNCCD, Fifth session of the 2021 United Nations Environment Assembly, 2021 Food Systems Summit, United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests and its Global Forest Goals, United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
For details please open the link to the session page
Zac Goldsmith, UK Minister for Pacific and the Environment, for the COP 26 Presidency, said it is critical to address land degradation, highlighting the need to provide incentives for sustainable land management and secure land tenure rights. He emphasized nature-based solutions’ potential for addressing climate change and helping to minimize the threat of loss and damage. ( open the link, scroll down to listen to his intervention)
Keywords
land restoration
climate change adaptation
land tenure
land rights
sustainable land management
land degradation neutrality
good practices
lessons learnt