Climate Change Adaptation in the Agriculture and Land Use Sectors: A Review of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Abstract

Climate change is already altering the natural resource base upon which global food security and nutrition depend, with disproportionate impacts on rural and coastal communities in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) (IPCC in An IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate. IPCC, 2018). The agriculture and land use sectors (crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture) lie at the heart of the global response to climate change, with the unique capacity to protect ecosystem integrity and promote the livelihoods and resilience of the poor and vulnerable (FAO in State of food and agriculture: climate change, agriculture and food security. FAO, Rome, 2016a). The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) has developed a methodology (Crumpler et al. in Working paper no. 76, FAO, Rome, 2019) and analysis of the role of the agriculture and land use sectors in the climate change adaptation components set forth in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of Pacific SIDS under the Paris Agreement (FAO in regional analysis of the Nationally Determined Contributions in the Pacific: gaps and opportunities in the agriculture and land use sectors. FAO, Rome, 2020). The analysis aims to provide a synthesis of the extent to which countries in the Pacific region include agriculture and land use in their adaptation components, as well as identify “gaps” and “opportunities” for enhancing adaptation ambitions by addressing the major climate-related impacts, hazards and vulnerabilities reported in ecosystems and social systems. Overall, around 90% of Pacific SIDS identify adaptation measures in ocean and coastal zone ecosystems and agroecosystems, with mangrove conservation and replanting and water storage and harvesting amongst the most frequently prioritized adaptation options. Adverse health, loss of productive infrastructure and assets, and food insecurity and malnutrition constitute the greatest climate-related risks in social systems reported. Over two-thirds of countries promote health information and services as a cross-cutting adaptation priority, and half prioritize resilient infrastructure. However, high adaptation policy coverage gaps emerge around climate-related losses in ecosystem service provision, particularly biological control, soil erosion control, moderation of extreme events and the maintenance of genetic diversity and abundance. In social systems, high policy coverage gaps are found around climate-related migration and displacement. The analysis aims to inform 2020 NDC revision processes, as well as guide country support and investment options in the region.