Agriculture remains a major source of income for more than 80 per cent of the rural population in Lesotho, although the country's arable land is only about nine per cent of the total land area. Moreover, the rural economy has been declining due to poor land and water resources management, unsustainable farming practices and unpredictable weather conditions. Communities living on marginal lands whose livelihoods depend on natural recourses are among the most vulnerable to climate change.

1 KEY MESSAGES

Climate change is expected to alter existing coastal habitats in Grenada, jeopardizing the island's mangroves, such as through the conversion of basin mangroves to fringe habitats as storm surges open barrier beaches, increasing tidal action and flood duration.

Likewise, incremental sea level rise and storm overwash can lead to increased salinity within coastal ponds, backwaters, and estuaries.

Each of these processes, acting alone or in concert, can greatly affect colonization by all mangrove species that occur in the region.

This policy brief examines the role of forests for climate change adaptation in the region of Asia. It is organized into several sections. Firstly, anticipated changes to precipitation and temperature in Asia under a low and a high emissions scenario, between 2010 and 2039, are outlined. Following on from this, the key elements of Forest-Based Adaptation (FBA) are discussed and the current status of FBA in Asia is highlighted. Finally, recommendations aimed at moving forest-based adaptation forward are made.

Reports on and on-farm evaluation of hedgerow intercropping by the IRA/ ICRAF Programme in the lowlands of Cameroon, which has been in progress since 1988. Throughout the years the biophysical performance of the system was found to be inferior under farmer management on farm to that achieved on station. At the same time, farmers' interest in the technology was far below the expectations.

This report analyses evidence linking community forest rights with healthier forests and lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

FAO-Sida report providing evidence and lessons learned from a climate adaptation pilot project in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.

Bhutan is a mountainous landlocked country with a varying climate and rich biodiversity. Despite significant economic progress being made over recent years Bhutan remains a least developed nation with constraints and vulnerabilities adversely affecting its capacity to cope with climate change.The authors recognise that Bhutan’s vulnerability is heightened by low economic strength, inadequate infrastructure, lack of institutional capacity and an agro-based rural economy. Impacts of climate change will have significant implications for the overall development of Bhutan.

Agroforestry, the inclusion of woody perennials within farming systems, has been widespread throughout the tropics as a traditional land use developed by subsistence farmers and, more recently, as an important livelihoods’ option promoted by land-use managers and international development agencies. Agroforestry systems range from subsistence livestock and pastoral systems to home gardens, alley intercropping, and biomass plantations with a wide diversity of biophysical conditions and socio-ecological characteristics.

Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly vulnerable to global challenges such as food insecurity, climate change, rural poverty, malnutrition and environmental protection. This puts pressure on the fragile food production system. The term ‘Sustainable Intensification’ – ‘producing more outputs with more efficient use of all inputs on a durable basis, while reducing environmental damage and building resilience, natural capital and the flow of environmental services’ – has become synonymous with big, industrial agriculture.

This paper analyses issues that affect the role of agriculture as a source of economic development, rural livelihoods and environmental services. Using experiences of land expansion in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa, it assesses the extent to which recent demand for land differs from earlier processes of area expansion and identifies the current challenges, in terms of land governance, institutional capacity and communities’ awareness of their rights.

Considerable hype and debate are currently surrounding the potential of biochar (charcoal created through the burning of biomass in low oxygen environments) in climate change mitigation and agriculture. This report attempts to summarise the arguments, assumptions and interests in the biochar debate and offer reflections on its prospects. The report begins by outlining what it calls the triple-win of biochar. The production of biochar can be tuned to release bioenergy or biofuels in the form of syngas and bio-oil, thus providing decarbonised biomass fuel.