Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Climate Change

XV. Potential of Desertification Control to OFFSET Anthropogenic Emissions

95. The total potential of degraded lands restoration and desertification control to sequester C is shown in Table 30. The total potential is 0.6-1.7 Gt C/yr, with a mean of about 1.2 Gt C/yr. The SLM options to achieve this potential include restoration of eroded lands, reclamation of salt-affected soils and production of biofuel feedstock through halophytes. Squires et al. (1995) estimated that management of drylands through desertification control has an overall C sequestration potential of 1.0 Gt C/yr. These high estimates are in contrast to overall low C storage potential of world soils estimated by Schlesinger (1990). Estimates presented in Table 30 are crude, tentative, and merely suggestive of the high potential that exists if judicious land use measures are adopted in the drylands. Uncertainties are high and may be 30 to 50%, as is evidenced by a wide range in the rate of C sequestration in soil and biomass. Further, estimates of potential for different strategies are not additive, and the data need to be used with due consideration of site-specific conditions. The potential of C sequestration in the ecosystem is computed for a 50-year period. Although C sequestration in an ecosystem can continue for up to 150 years (Akala and Lal, 2000), the rate and cumulative amount of sequestration are high only for up to 50 years. Upon conversion to restorative or improved systems, rate of C sequestration may peak within 10 to 15 years. Therefore, for practical purposes, 50 years is an adequate period to estimate the potential (Lal et al., 1998).

Table 30. Potential of desertification control and land restoration to sequester C (Gt C/yr) (Recalculated from Lal, 2001).
Process	Range	Mean	% of Total Potential
Restoration of eroded lands	0.2-0.3	0.25	21
Restoration of physically and chemically degraded soils	<0.01	<0.01	1
Reclamation of salt-affected soils	0.4-1.0	0.7	60
Agricultural intensification on undegraded soils	0.01-0.02	0.015	-
Sequestration as secondary carbonates	0.01-0.4	0.2	17
Total	0.62-1.72	1.17	100
These estimates have large uncertainties, the potentials of different strategies may not be additive, and adoption of recommended measures at global scale remains a major challenge.

96. An important consideration to realization of this biophysical potential is identification and implementation of policies that facilitate adoption of SLM options, assessment of the societal value of soil C, and development of mechanisms that facilitate C trading (e.g., clean development mechanism (CDM)). An important issue is C farming and its commoditization. For some of these SLM practices to be scaled-up, farmers and other land managers would need to be compensated for adopting practices that benefit the local and global environments. Important among the societal benefits of enhancing soil and ecosystem C, for which farmers must be directly compensated, include: (i) reduction in erosion and downstream sedimentation, (ii) decrease in non-point source pollution, (iii) biodegradation of pollutants, (iv) purification of natural waters, (v) enhancement of biodiversity (soil and vegetation), and (vi) reduction in risks of accelerated greenhouse effect.

XVI. Fostering a Conducive Environment for Implementing SLM Practives in Developing Countries

97. Implementation of SLM practices in developing countries necessitates objective analyses of biophysical, economic, social and cultural factors. Choice of SLM options must be based on biophysical factors including soil temperature and moisture regimes, rainfall amount and its distribution, soil texture (clay content and type), internal drainage, slope gradient, etc. Ecological conditions in low land tropics are in sharp contrast to those in the highlands and temperate regions. Institutional support, land tenure, access to credits and markets, availability of inputs are also important to SLM technology and may also depend on competing uses for inputs. For example, crop residues are needed for cattle feed, fencing and construction, and as household fuel. Similarly, cattle dung is used in many places as cooking fuel rather than as manure. Land tenure rights and gender issues are crucial determinants of land use choices and practices. And as noted earlier, adoption of SLM practices requires a profound change in mindset, perceptions, and behavior of target communities with regard to land use and management. Indeed there is a risk of recommended SLM practices failing if the target producers are poorly-prepared or under-prepared to implement those practices (Pieri et al., 2002).

98. Above all, implementation of SLM options requires sustained political support. Visionary, committed, progressive, and supportive political leadership is an essential pre-requisite to adoption of SLM technologies. Establishing strong and direct channels of communication, between researchers/extension agents, women and youth groups, community leaders, faith-based organizations, and policy makers, is essential. Indeed the important role of religion/cultural groups (faith-based organizations) in promoting sustainable land management practices cannot be over-emphasized. Several laws, charters and resolutions have proven utterly ineffective because of the lack of political support. Local, state, and federal governments can enhance support for SLM by making budgetary provisions for adoption of SLM technologies at scale. Indeed the UNCCD places primary responsibility for action to combat land degradation with affected country governments themselves. Therefore, while international and bilateral support for SLM is crucial, it must be matched by developing country government support. The 2005 Millenium Assessment noted that while desertification must be fought at all levels, it is clear that the battle must ultimately be won at the local level. And there is clear evidence that with sustained local commitment, success is possible (Reij and Waters-Bayer, 2001). For this reason, sustainable land management should be viewed as a high priority poverty reduction instrument at local, national, regional, and global levels. This implies using existing country strategies and development frameworks (e.g., poverty reduction strategies (PRSPs), country assistance strategies (CASs), community driven development (CDD) etc.) to ensure that promoting sustainable land management is mainstreamed and handled as an on-going development issue rather than as a stand-alone issue requiring ad hoc responses. Finally, gender mainstreaming in land administration and management is critical in many countries. Meeting world food needs in the future will depend increasingly on addressing issues related to gender and on strengthening the capabilities and resources of women. Approximately 98% of rural women classified as economically active are engaged in agriculture and are the primary food producers in many parts of the world. Women make up 60% of the world’s 1.2 billion poor. The percentage of women below the poverty line has increased by half since the 1970s. These realities need to be reflected in sustainable land management investments at all levels. It is crucial to urgently strengthen awareness and support with respect to women and vulnerable groups in sustainable land management activities.