How Agriculture Can Be Used to Combat Climate Change in Developing Countries

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ESSAY ON THE component OF AGRICULTURE IN COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES PRESENTED BY MWAURA PHILIP W DATE 25TH MARCH 2013 INTRODUCTION Climate depart is now recognised as one of the approximately serious ch anyenges cladding the ground its people, the environment and its economies. There is now clear scientific proof that the spicy con pennyimeimeration of nursery gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere is causing orbiculate warming. While the world has experienced climatic diversenesss before, the issue we now brass involves human influence.It is a ch wholeenge that must and whoremaster be dealt with because its impacts depart fill very dire consequences on us and the generations to come. Greenhouse emmissions sequels from heterogeneous roots in our societies. We have emmissions from industries and other human activities such(prenominal) as awkward practises. It is believed that well-nigh globular warming we corporation no w observe is traceable to emissions of GHGs that result from human activities, in particular primer coat use turns such as deforestation, and the burning of dodo fuels (coal, oil and gas).All these activities argon human influenced and and then something rents to be done at the local, regional and ball-shapeds levels. This essay highlights the graphic symbol of culture in tackling clime intensify and some of the moderateness and registration measures. CLIMATE CHANGE AND AGRICULTURE The Inter-governmental bloodshed on Climate Change(IPCC) assign mode change as the term generally used to see human influences on the temper. The most signifi earth-closett threat is the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which chip in to the greenhouse outcome.The greenhouse effect is a vivid mechanism essential to life on Earth, but human performance has altered the balance in the mechanism. Radiant energy emitted by the sun comes through the Earths atmosphere and warms its sur heart. This foment then radiates backrest into the atmosphere, but some of the suns heat is absorbed in the atmosphere by gases. With increase concentration of GHGs, this effect is amplified, thus change order the Earths temperature. There is now little doubt that humour change is happening. Most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th one C is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenetic greenhouse gas concentrations. The observed widespread warming of the atmosphere and ocean, in concert with ice mass loss, instigate the conclusion that it is very likely that it is not due to known natural causes alone. These atomic number 18 some of the conclusions of the in vogue(p) report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007). Countries and individuals acknowledge the close of the climate change problem and have agreed that it exists and needinesss to be addressed.Agriculture can be defined as the spatial distribution of of forms and animals for commercial message and subsistence purposes all over the earths surfaces. The Food and Agriculture constitution (FAO, 2008) reports that horticulture and land-use change, such as deforestation, account for round 13 and 17 per cent, respectively of total GHG emissions from human activities. Changes in land use such as deforestation and grunge degradation be two devastate effects of unsustainable farming practices that emit large amounts of hundred into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.Agriculture is a major contributor to emmissions of methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O) and Carbon( iv)oxide (C02). On a global scale, unsophisticated land use in the 1990s has been responsible for most 15% of all the GHGs emmissions. One third of all ascorbic acid(iv)oxide comes from land-use changes such as shifting cultivation and intensification of agribusiness whereas virtually two thirds of methane and most nitrous oxide emmision s originate from agriculture ( FAO, 2008). In amplification to the direct agriculture emissions mentioned above, the labor of agrochemicals is another historic source of greenhouse gas emissions.Especially the life bout of fertiliser contributes importantly to the overall impact of industrialized agriculture. The greatest source of GHG emissions from fertiliser exertion is the energy required, which emits carbon dioxide during its manu facture. Animal farming has a wide range of different impacts, ranging from the direct emissions of livestock, manure counsel, use of agrochemicals and land use change to fogey fuel use. Climate change presents a dual challenge which involves how to reduce GHG emissions through itigation, season lessening the untoward impacts by registration. These challenges are evident in the hoidenish vault of heaven where a ever-changing climate get out have serious impacts on agriculture and fodder ware. A rise in temperature pull up stakes resul t into the succeeding(a) impacts( FAO 2008) * affect fodder allow for dramatically by shifting crop partment zones * change the habitats of pests * increase risks of plant disease, insects and weeds * shrink the subject field of cropland due to floods and * raise sea levels. Potential direct effects on uncouth systems Seasonal changes in rainfall and temperature could impact agro-climatic conditions, altering growing seasons, planting and harvesting calendars, pee availability, pest, weed and disease populations, etc. * Evapotranspiration, photosynthesis and biomass outturn is altered. * Land suitability is altered. * Increased Carbon(iv) oxide levels lead to a arrogant outgrowth responsefor a number of staples under controlled conditions, likewiseknown as the carbon fertilization effect. MITIGATION Agriculture offers options to reduce CHGs significantly.One of them is to reduce emmissions and in that respectby minimise the production of anthropogenic gases such as meth ane and carbon(iv)oxide whereas at the same time increasing sustenance production to achieve food security especially in ontogeny countries. moderateness is a response strategy to global climate change, and can be defined as measures that reduce the amount of emissions (abatement) or enhance the absorption capacity of greenhouse gases ( sequestration). The total global powerfulness for moderateness depends on many factors, including emissions levels, availability of technology, enforcement, and incentives.In many situations, the efficiency of agriculture can be improved at a secondary cost. However, when low cost incentives are unavailable, polity development is important. Mitigating GHG emissions from the agricultural area will be an important element of climate change and agriculture policy at the national and outside(a) levels, and especially so in maturation countries where 75 per cent of poor people live in clownish areas, most of whom depend on agriculture for the ir livelihoods directly or indirectly ( man Bank, 2008).The Bali Action Plan (BAP), agreed to at COP 13 in December, 2007, identified four pillars to address in reaching a bare-ass agreement relief, accommodation, technology development and transfer, and financing and investment. The BAP calls for relief actions by all unquestionable countries, including quantified GHG emission lessenings objectives, as well as mitigation actions in create countries, that are supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity construct in a measurable, reportable and verifiable expressive style (UNFCCC, 2007, p. 1).Agriculture could be an important component of a wise climate change agreement, addressing two priorities of the BAP * temperance Agriculture must make up a role in climate change mitigation by storing carbon in lands, reducing its GHG emissions (for example, acid and livestock) and providing fossil fuel offsets from biomass and * version Agriculture must adapt to new climatic conditions (increase temperatures, drought, increased climatic variations, among others) to image a sufficient food supply for the world and contribute to the maintenance of cracker-barrel livelihoods and viable rural economies.Emission reductions in the agricultural domain can to a fault be a meaningful way for many exploitation countries to contribute to the goal of the convention and participate in a future regime. The IPCC report estimates that 70 per cent of the mitigation strength in agriculture is in growth countries (Smith et al. , 2007). sustainable agricultural practices that mitigate carbon can have important co- wellbeings, including increased soil fertility and productivity, enhanced resistance to drought and extreme weather, and reveal capacity to adapt to climate change.Sustainable agriculture can contribute significantly to increased food production, as well as make a significant impact on rural peoples eudaimonia and livelihoods. Despite the s ignificant probable and important sustainable development benefits, tokenish progress has been made to capitalize on opportunities in this sector, mainly because of complexities, sensed or otherwise, around accounting, monitoring, verification, non-permanence and other issues.Mitigation measures in the agricultural sector could contribute to substantial GHG emission reductions up to 2030 with potential ranges from 5 to 20 per cent of total Carbon(iv) oxide emissions by 2030. The global technical mitigation potential of agriculture, excluding fossil fuel offsets from biomass, is estimated to be between 5. 5 and 6 Gigatonnes Carbon(iv) oxide emmissions per year by 2030 (Smith et al. , 2007). However, actually meeting this potential is a complex issue with both(prenominal) technical and economic challenges.An estimated, 89 per cent of the total potential can be achieved by soil carbon sequestration through crop-land management, browse land management, restoration of organic soils and lush lands, bio-energy and water management (Smith et al. , 2007). authentic countries are discussing if agricultural soil carbon sequestration should be complicate in overall accounting of emissions and removals, and how to leave alone incentives in the area of agriculture for developing countries (UNFCCC, 2009).Intensity targets in the agricultural sector are in addition an issue, recognizing the fact that food production will need to increase to keep gradation with rising populations and improvements in standards of living. Mitigation of Methane can provide an additional 9 per cent through improvements in rice management, and livestock and manure management. The remain 2 per cent can be achieved from mitigation of Nitrous(ii)oxide emissions from soils mainly through crop management (Smith et al. , 2007).The wide diversity of agricultural practices around the world means there is a corresponding large array of workable mitigation opportunities. Agricultural Emissions M itigation in Developing Countries Developing countries shimmer a central role in agricultural GHG emissions mitigation. Without sufficient mitigation of GHG emissions in coming decades, including those from agriculture, there will likely be stark negative impacts on natural and human systems, including global food supply and food security, and developing countries are most at risk.The technical potential for GHG mitigation in developing countries agriculture by 2030 indicates significantopportunities for emissions reductions, together with anenhanced income earning potential for farmers, and associatedbenefits from lower natural resource degradation(Smith et al. , 2007). The agricultural sector is more defenceless to climate change in developing countries than developed nations, which is a objective concern because agriculture in developing countries is a major food provider.Agricultural practices must adapt to changing climatic conditions to ensure sufficient global food supply , while implementing management practices that have the greatest GHG emission reduction potential. Approximately 30 per cent of GHG emissions reduction potential from agriculture can be achieved in developed countries and 70 per cent in developing countries (Smith et al. , 2007).The mitigation potential of developing countries is about 75 to 80 per cent of the global potential for soil carbon under bio-energy and the restoration of degraded lands roughly 90 per cent for grazing land management and 98 per cent for rice management, water management, set-aside management and agro-forestry. Approximately 89 per cent of the technical mitigation potential in the agricultural sector can be achieved through soil carbon sequestration and about two-thirds of this potential is in developing countries (Smith et al. , 2007).The largest mitigation potentials in agriculture are the restoration of cultivated organic soils and degraded lands, and rice management developing countries have the largest mitigation potentials. Mitigation is generally most cost effective in developing nations. The Food Agriculture physical composition report (2008) estimates that mitigation measures in developing countries through agriculture and forestry projects might cost about one-fourth to one-third of total mitigation in all sectors and regions, while generating one-half to two-thirds of all estimated GHG emission reductions.With growing agricultural GHG emissions and the largest and most cost-effective mitigation opportunities in the agricultural sector, developing countries are likely to meet a prominent role in efforts to reduce agricultural GHG emissions. However, these countries also have the greatest barriers to overcome. At the national level, agriculture whitethorn be eclipsed by other priorities in many developing countries, such as poverty alleviation. A lack of capacity and political will to countenance mitigation are also contributing factors, where efforts in the agricultural s ector are mainly think on securing food for a growing population.Agricultural policy is viewed by many countries as a sovereign proper(ip) that is linked to food security, meaning that they are reluctant to open up this sector to any perceived control by an international body. Barriers are often country or region-related and understanding the situation in different countries is crucial to realizing the mitigation potential in the agricultural sector. Responses to climate change in these countries should involve measures that aim to reduce poverty and ensure food security (FAO, 2008). Developing countries will require technology ransfer,investment and financial support to implement relevant mitigation strategies in the agricultural sector. And these programs will need to be developed with full consideration of economic and sustainable development. such programs will need to admit methods for verifying and validating GHG emission reductions from agricultural activities and for com paring the effectiveness of various mitigation options, as well as the associated environmental, economic and social benefits and impacts for the overall production cycle.The economic potential for mitigation in agriculture depends on the price of carbon and on policy, institutional,and exertion cost constraints. To date little progress hasbeen made in the slaying of mitigation measures at the global level. The potential for GHG mitigationwould be enhanced by an appropriate internationalclimate policy framework providing policy and economicincentives. The emerging market for carbon emissions trading offersnew possibilities for agriculture to benefit from land usethat sequesters carbon or saves non Carbon(iv)oxide emissions.The betting breeding Mechanism (CDM) under the KyotoProtocol of the United Nations Framework conventionon Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the most importantmechanism for payments to developing countries. Currently, the CDM limits eligible activities in agricultureto afforestation and reforestation, and reduction of non- Carbon(iv) oxide gases. Hence carbon sequestration activities, such asconservation tillage and restoration of degraded soils, arepresently considered ineligible.Financing options will need to include grant funding, but there is also a need to develop market mechanisms for sustainable development (MMSDs) that will allow farmers and rural communities to benefit from such initiatives and have an elaborate livelihood strategy. On-farm mitigation Improved management practices that reduce on-farm emissions include livestock and manure management, fertilizer management, and improved rice cultivation. Methods to reduce methane emissions from enteric fermentation include enhancing the efficiency of digestion with improved supply practices and dietary additives.The efficacy of these methods depends on the quality of feed, livestock breed and age, and also whether the livestock is grazing or stall-fed. Developing countries are assumed to provide lower quality feed to livestock, which raises the emissions rate per animal to over that for developed country herds(Smith et al. , 2007). In manure management, cooling and using solid foils for computer storage tanks and lagoons, separating solids from slurry,and capturing the methane emitted are relevant techniques.Concerning developing countries, applying thissort of manure management may be difficult as animalexcretion happens in the field. Composting manure andaltering feeding practices may serve reduce emissions to acertain extent. Improving the efficiency of fertilizer application or electrical switch to organic production can decrease the amount of nutrientload and Nitrous(ii)Oxide emissions. However, overall benefitswould need to be weighed against the potential impact onyield(Smith et al. , 2007). Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable DevelopmentIn addition to reducing GHG emissions, agricultural mitigation measures have other social, economic and environmen tal benefits, peculiarly in regard to sustainable development, food security and devising progress towards meeting the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals. The list of co-benefits linked to soil carbon sequestration include reduced soil erosion, improved soil fertility and structure, improved water quality, reduced levels of phosphorous and nitrogen pollution, buffering against drought and improved agricultural performance.Another mitigation strategy is considered to be the displacement of fossil fuels through the production of cleaner-burning bioenergy, such as ethanol, biogas, and methane, which can all be derived from agricultural production. Securing food for a growing population is a major global concern for developing countries and is a primary objective of agricultural policies. As such, mitigating climate change must not result in reduced food production (FAO, 2008). There are limits to GHG emissions reductions in the agricultural sector because of its grandeur in providing food for a growing global population.Improvements in efficiency may be a more conjectural approach than absolute reductions in developing countries GHG emissions from agriculture. Linking Mitigation and Adaptation Efforts officially defined, adaptation to climate change is an adjustmentmade to a human, ecological or physiological systemin response to a perceived vulnerability (Smith et al. , 2007). Agriculture is a sector that can be used to link mitigation and adaptation policies and actions. some(prenominal) mutually reinforcing synergies exist between specific mitigation and adaptation solutions that can lead to more efficient allocation of climate response resources (FAO, 2008).Synergies may occur in cases where mitigation-driven actions in agriculture have positive adaptation consequences for example, carbon sequestration projects with positive drought preparedness aspects or when adaptation-driven actions have positive consequences for mitigation for example, residue return to fields to improve water holding capacity will also sequester carbon (Smith et al. , 2007). A large proportion of the mitigation potential of agriculture arises from soil carbon sequestration, which has strong synergies with sustainable agriculture.Linking adaptation and mitigation measures have both positive andnegative aspects, depending on national circumstances and agricultural systems. In addition, many farmers may be ill-equipped to adapt or may notunderstand the risks that climate change imposes. As a result,information sharing, such as that involving climateforecasting, will likely play an integral part in managingclimate change risk. A future climate regime should encourage countries to recognize and enhance positive impacts. Such measures include the following * Changes in tillage practices or adjusted livestock breeds are short-term measures. Longer-term measures, such as improved water management or the structure of irrigation systems, can process in adapting to a changing climate. * sustenance policies that promote adaptation measures can help towards more effective implementation. * Modes of international assistance range from allocating information, advice, and training on adaptation measures, to developing institutional capacities and policies. * Adaptation is not a stand-alone activity, and its integration into development projects, plans, policies, and strategies will be crucial. * Synergies between mitigation and adaptation should be maximized.Adaptation options and their supporting policies should be adopted by the appropriate level of government and implemented by institutions in direct contact with beneficiaries. For example, adaptation responses such as changing planting dates and tillage practices may require technicalservices provided by local accompaniment agents, which are coordinatedby regional universities and research institutions. Agricultural research, including crop breeding to developdrought and heat tol erant crop varieties, will require bothpublic and private investment. Structural adaptation measures,such as creating water arkets and price incentives,will need to be implemented on a national level, most likelyin partnership with economic cooperation unions. National governments, NGOs and the international community all have a role to play in creatingthe means and cooperation required for adaptation. Conclusion In general, agriculture impacts climate change significantly through livestock productionand the conversion of forest to land cover that haslow carbon sink or sequestration potential. Nitrous oxideemissions from crop production and methane from riceproduction are also significant.Mitigation options thatare the most technically and economically feasible includebetter rice, crop- and pastureland management. Although there are viable mitigation technologies in the agricultural sector, particularly in developing countries,some key constraints need to be overcome. First, rules of access which mum do not credit developing countries forreducing emissions by avoiding deforestation or improving soil carbon sequestration must be changed. Second,operational rules, with their high transaction costs for developingcountries and small farmers and foresters in particular,must be streamlined.Climate change is also likely to have a significant negative impact on agricultural production, prompting outputreductions that will greatly affect parts of the developing world. Adaptation, including crop choice and timing, hasthe ability to partially compensate for production declinesin all regions. In addition, to date, only a limited number of studies have focused on theclimate change and carbon fertilization effects related tocrops of importance to the rural poor, such as root crops and millet. As a result of changes in production, food security will beaffected by climate change.Even the most aggressive mitigation efforts that can reasonably be anticipated cannot be expecte d to make asignificant difference in the short-term. This means thatadaptation is an imperative. Yet, in the face of this imperative,many developing countries are lacking in sufficientadaptive capacity(FAO, 2008). As a result, there is a large role for nationalgovernments, NGOs, and international institutionsto play in building the unavoidable adaptive capacity and riskmanagement structures. Finally, climate change adaptation and mitigation have to proceed simultaneously.Since adaptation becomes costlierand less effective as the magnitude of climate changesincreases, mitigation of climate change remains essential. The greater the level of mitigation that can be achieved at affordable costs, the smaller the file placed on adaptation. Policies focused on mitigating GHG emissions, if carefully designed, can help generate a new developmentstrategy one that encourages the creation of new appraise inpro-poor investments by increasing the profitability of environmentallysustainable prac tices.To achieve this goal,it will be necessary to streamline the measurement andenforcement of offsets, financial flows, and carbon creditsfor investors. It will also be important to enhance globalfinancial facilities and to reform their governance, namelyto simplify rules and to increase the funding flows for mitigationin developing countries. we know what to do,and it is therefore the right time to act before it is excessively late. It is so unfortunate to see people dying from famine in the 21st century.Climate change may worsen this situation, therefore we should cooperate toghether to ensure thatthe global issue of climate change is handled in a manner that it deserves. Agriculture is just one of those options especially by the developing countries. REFERENCES 1) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) (2008) Available online at http//cdm. unfccc. int/index. html DATE accessed 20th November 2012. 2) IPCC (2007) Summary for policy makers. Climate Change 2007 Synthesis Report. Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change. Available online at http//www. pcc. ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_spm. pdf . 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