The challenge of HIV/AIDS: Where does agroforestry fit in? - World ...

Keywords:Agroforestry, vulnerability, agricultural research,tropical agriculture, rural developmentChapter 13Opportunities for linking climate change adaptationand mitigation through agroforestry systemsSerigne T. Kandji and Louis V. Verchot, World Agroforestry Centre; Jens Mackensen, United NationsEnvironment Programme; Anja Boye, Meine van Noordwijk, Thomas P. Tomich, Chin Ong, World AgroforestryCentre; Alain Albrecht, World Agroforestry Centre and Institut de recherche pour le développement andCheryl Palm, The Earth Institute at Columbia University, USAAbstractAgroforestry systems not only provide a great opportunity for sequestering carbon, and hence helpingto mitigate climate change, but they also enhance the adaptive capacity of agricultural systems intropical and subtropical regions. Agricultural research over the last few decades has been driven by thequest to increase the productivity and resilience of agricultural systems. While increasing productivityrelates directly to the ability of a system to accumulate and retain carbon, improving the resilience ofagricultural systems is largely the result of enhancing the capacity of such systems to cope with adverseclimatic changes. This chapter presents data that examine the mitigation and adaptation potential ofdifferent agroforestry systems as well as their significance for income generation for rural populations.New areas of research are proposed and a better use of existing agricultural management knowledgeis called for.IntroductionClimate change will affect developing countries moreseverely because of their low capacity for adaptation(IPCC 2001). Within these countries, the agriculturalsector is particularly vulnerable, putting rural populationsat risk. Furthermore, climate change is an additionalthreat that might affect a country’s ability tomeet urgent rural development demands including theimprovement of food security, poverty reduction, andprovision of an adequate standard of living for growingpopulations. There is a real risk of losing the gains ofthe Green Revolution, which has largely eliminated thedanger of famines such as those seen in the 1950s and1960s. Several modelling studies carried out in SouthAsia to assess the impact of climate change (Aggarwaland Mall 2002; Aggarwal and Sinha 1993; Berge et al.1997; Kropff et al. 1996; Rao and Sinha 1994; Saseendranet al. 2000) have shown that increases in temperaturelead to a decrease in the length of the growing seasonand the yield of most crops. Maize production inthe tropics is predicted to decline by 10 percent (Jonesand Thornton 2003), with regions such as the Sahel andsouthern Africa suffering disproportionately.Within the United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC) negotiation process, mitigationand adaptation activities have been largely dealtwith as separate matters. Carbon sequestration throughland use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) as ameasure for mitigating climate change has been a very