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Which practices co‐deliver food security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and combat land degradation and desertification?
Author(s) -
Smith Pete,
Calvin Katherine,
Nkem Johnson,
Campbell Donovan,
Cherubini Francesco,
Grassi Giacomo,
Korotkov Vladimir,
Le Hoang Anh,
Lwasa Shuaib,
McElwee Pamela,
Nkonya Ephraim,
Saigusa Nobuko,
Soussana JeanFrancois,
Taboada Miguel Angel,
Manning Frances C.,
Nampanzira Dorothy,
AriasNavarro Cristina,
Vizzarri Matteo,
House Jo,
Roe Stephanie,
Cowie Annette,
Rounsevell Mark,
Arneth Almut
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/gcb.14878
Subject(s) - food security , land degradation , land management , land use , sustainable land management , desertification , business , climate change mitigation , environmental resource management , natural resource economics , climate change , environmental planning , environmental science , agriculture , geography , economics , ecology , civil engineering , archaeology , engineering , biology
There is a clear need for transformative change in the land management and food production sectors to address the global land challenges of climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, combatting land degradation and desertification, and delivering food security (referred to hereafter as “land challenges”). We assess the potential for 40 practices to address these land challenges and find that: Nine options deliver medium to large benefits for all four land challenges. A further two options have no global estimates for adaptation, but have medium to large benefits for all other land challenges. Five options have large mitigation potential (>3 Gt CO 2 eq/year) without adverse impacts on the other land challenges. Five options have moderate mitigation potential, with no adverse impacts on the other land challenges. Sixteen practices have large adaptation potential (>25 million people benefit), without adverse side effects on other land challenges. Most practices can be applied without competing for available land. However, seven options could result in competition for land. A large number of practices do not require dedicated land, including several land management options, all value chain options, and all risk management options. Four options could greatly increase competition for land if applied at a large scale, though the impact is scale and context specific, highlighting the need for safeguards to ensure that expansion of land for mitigation does not impact natural systems and food security. A number of practices, such as increased food productivity, dietary change and reduced food loss and waste, can reduce demand for land conversion, thereby potentially freeing‐up land and creating opportunities for enhanced implementation of other practices, making them important components of portfolios of practices to address the combined land challenges.