TY - JOUR

T1 - Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change Adaptation for Small-Scale Land Users in Sub-Saharan Africa

AU - Critchley, William

AU - Harari, Nicole

AU - Mollee, Eefke

AU - Bern, University

AU - Bern, University

PY - 2023/6/10

Y1 - 2023/6/10

N2 - Land is both a source and a sink of carbon dioxide (CO2), the chief greenhouse gas. Through sustainable land management (SLM), it can capture extra CO2 and store it as carbon in vegetation and soil. SLM can also reduce CO2 emissions from the land. Thus, SLM is viewed as the key land-based solution for climate change mitigation. Yet, SLM also provides effective climate change (CC) adaptation practices—such as agroforestry, mulching and water harvesting—which confer resilience, and simultaneously help secure production. This is especially valuable for land users in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) who depend on rainfed agriculture. They are amongst the poorest on Earth and the most vulnerable to CC impacts, despite their minimal carbon footprint. The World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) manages the Global SLM Database: this holds a rich and ever-growing collection of SLM practices. Analysis of the database for rainfed SSA sheds light on which SLM technologies are effective in CC adaptation, and how well they cope with changing rainfall and temperature. Both “mechanisms” and “attributes” are explored, yielding new insights. This perspective paper showcases current developments in the field, and summarizes future directions for SLM as a CC adaptation solution for land users in SSA.

AB - Land is both a source and a sink of carbon dioxide (CO2), the chief greenhouse gas. Through sustainable land management (SLM), it can capture extra CO2 and store it as carbon in vegetation and soil. SLM can also reduce CO2 emissions from the land. Thus, SLM is viewed as the key land-based solution for climate change mitigation. Yet, SLM also provides effective climate change (CC) adaptation practices—such as agroforestry, mulching and water harvesting—which confer resilience, and simultaneously help secure production. This is especially valuable for land users in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) who depend on rainfed agriculture. They are amongst the poorest on Earth and the most vulnerable to CC impacts, despite their minimal carbon footprint. The World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) manages the Global SLM Database: this holds a rich and ever-growing collection of SLM practices. Analysis of the database for rainfed SSA sheds light on which SLM technologies are effective in CC adaptation, and how well they cope with changing rainfall and temperature. Both “mechanisms” and “attributes” are explored, yielding new insights. This perspective paper showcases current developments in the field, and summarizes future directions for SLM as a CC adaptation solution for land users in SSA.

KW - Global SLM Database

KW - climate change adaptation

KW - climate change mitigation

KW - sub-Saharan Africa

KW - sustainable land management

U2 - 10.3390/land12061206

DO - 10.3390/land12061206

M3 - Special issue

VL - 12

JO - Land

JF - Land

SN - 2073-445X

IS - 6

M1 - 1206

ER -