Policy Brief No. 1 March, 2020

Introduction Desertification as land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas result from many factors, Desertification including climatic variations and human activities. It leads to reduction in crop yields and weakens the and Climate resilience of agricultural and pastoral systems - key livelihood pillars in Africa. Through its effect on vegetation and soils, desertification leads to changes in carbon Change in pools and sinks and release of associated GHGs. It also 1 tends to increase albedo, decrease in energy available Africa at the surface and associated surface temperatures, producing a negative feedback on climate change. Desertification is not limited to irreversible forms of land degradation, nor is it equated to desert expansion, but represents all forms and levels of land degradation occurring in drylands.

Two thirds of Africa is classified as drylands, of which 319 million hectares has been estimated to be highly vulnerable to desertification. These areas are concentrated in Sahelian region, Horn of Africa and Kalahari in the south. Increasing concentration of poverty in the drylands of sub-Sahara Africa has been documented, where 41% of the total population Photo credit: https://landportal.org lives in extreme poverty, which is partly attributed to KEY MESSAGES desertification. Drought and desertification are at the core of serious challenges and threats facing 1. Desertification has increased in African sustainable development in Africa, with far reaching drylands in recent decades, led by land use change, climatic variability and poor adverse impacts on human health, food security, land management practices. economic activity, physical infrastructure, natural resources and the environment, with incidence in 2. People living in drylands in Africa are highly national and global security. vulnerable to desertification and climate change, because of their impacts on a There is high confidence that climate change will wide range of livelihood based resources. exacerbate the vulnerability to desertification among dryland populations, and that the combination of 3. Desertification and climate change affect pressure from climate change and desertification will gender disproportionately, with women diminish opportunities for reducing poverty, enhancing and youth being the most affected. food and nutritional security, empowering women, reducing disease burden, improving access to water 4. Without implementation of adequate and sanitation. measures, climate change will exacerbate the vulnerability to desertification among dryland populations in Africa. The process of desertification includes both biological and non-biological processes, and is attributable 5. Policy responses and integrated land to the physical, chemical and biological properties management practices, as well as of terrestrial ecosystems. Some of the key drivers of indigenous and local knowledge are desertification include soil erosion; global warming needed to consider the complex and multi- 1 Based on Chapter 3 of the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change, faceted nature of causes and effects of Desertification, Land degradation, Sustainable Land Managment , Food desertification. Security and Greenhouse gas fluxes in Terrestial Ecosystems, 2019. 2 DESERTIFICATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN AFRICA - MARCH, 2020 Horn ofAfricaisgetting drierexacerbatingthe (67%), Limpopo (66%) and Lake Chad (26%). The (42% ofarea),Niger(50%),Senegal(51%),Volta identified inmanyriverbasinsincludingtheNile degradation overrecentdecadeshasbeen feeling the effects. Moderateor higher severity are vulnerable to desertification, with some already It is estimated that 46 of the 55 countries in Africa to desertification inAfrica. Map: Drylandareasareexpectedtobecomemorevulnerable The StatusofDesertificationinAfrica lack of property rights, lack of access to markets, of desertification include land tenure insecurity, The institutional, policy and socio-economic drivers growth. and cropland expansion, escalated by population of landdegradation,e.g.throughdeforestation has also been indicated as the ultimate driver growing consumption of land-based resources development, and extractive by livestock,urbanexpansion, management practices such as overgrazing include: cropland expansion, unsustainable land Anthropogenic drivers of desertification fertility and affects the soil microbial community. increases runoffandsoilerosion,reduces services, wildfire which reduces vegetation cover, changes; invasive plants which affect ecosystem temperature anomalieswhichdriverainfall leading country, for the period 1992–2015. Fragmentation negative (positive) trends over 21.6% (8.9%) of the (NDVI) residuals,Kenya experiencedpersistent Based on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index vegetation cover is diminishing ecosystem services. desertification situation. The observed decline in desertification. of countries in vulnerable to 83.6% Africa are 46/55 to theriseofCO 2 levels;seasurface industries. High and infrastructure

droughts, floods and dust storms. management practicesincreasetherisksfrom for land-basedresources.Unsustainableland lost or can no longer cope with growing demands local knowledge and practices are increasingly degradation. Currently, however, indigenous and for regulating grazing and controlling rangeland informal community bylaws were successfully used indigenous and local knowledge across Africa and variability and sustain livelihoods. For example, the and localknowledgetocopewithhighclimatic ingenuity and innovations, distilled into indigenous historically demonstrated remarkable resilience, institutional constraints, dryland populations have Despite environmental,socio-economicand for sustainable land management. desertification, and lack of economic incentives agricultural support and subsidies contributing to knowledge and skills, agricultural price distortions, and toruraladvisoryservices,lackoftechnical have been observed inrecentdecades. Inthe and overexploitation of the savanna ecosystems intensities, unsustainable agricultural practises conversion oflandtowards higherutilisation In theOkavangoriverBasin insouthernAfrica, of the continent. but it is relatively weak compared to other regions has also been observed in parts of southern Africa use, grazingpressureandsoilfertility.Greening 2006 waslargelyexplainedbychangesinland reduction in herbaceous yield between 1994 and respectively. In Fakara region in Niger, a 5% annual decreased by 18.8%, 19.4%, 4.8%, 45.2% and 31.2%, tree savannas, shrub savannas and water bodies 89.7%, respectively, while woodland, gallery forest, and agriculturallandsincreasedby18.8% 150%. In Burkina Faso, from 1984 to 2013, bare soils 1975, with settlement area also increasing by about Sahel regionofWestAfricahavedoubledsince on annual rainfall. However, cropland areas in the have expanded by 10% over the 20th Century based the last three decades. The Sahara is reported to conditions have been observed in this region over concern since the 1970s, wettingand greening Despite desertification in the Sahel being a major in the rangelands of Kenya. be the main drivers for vegetation structure loss grazing, higher stocking rates are considered to of habitats,reductionintherangelivestock Policy BriefNo.1 3 DESERTIFICATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN AFRICA - MARCH, 2020 mechanism through which climate change and or very high risk of further degradation. The major continent’s land area, out of which 55% is at high Desertification is affecting about 45% of the African Impacts ofDesertificationinAfrica aquifer system in Africa). periods (e.g. the AtacamaDesertandNubian rates arelowerthanduringthepreviouswetter reductions because the current natural recharge Some arid lands are very vulnerable to groundwater in the Atlantic Ocean. About 60% of dust transported off Africa is deposited sourced from nearby drylands, reaches the oceans. considerable amountofmineraldustaerosols, locations, including the west of northern Africa, a an increaseinsandandduststorms.Inseveral and/or climate change can be expected to cause drylands. Thustheirlossduetointenselanduse emissions haveanthropogenicorigins,oftenin comes from the Sahara. About 25% of global dust desert dust;perhaps50%ofatmosphericdust The Africancontinenthasthelargestsourceof richness in central Senegal has also been noted. Land degradationthroughreductioninspecies in economicproductivityoftheaffectedareas. constitutes land degradation since it leads to losses plant species, such as currently face growing encroachment of invasive in Morocco and Tunisia. Drylands of eastern Africa Product (GDP) in Algeria and Egypt, and about 0.5% were estimatedatabout1%ofGrossDomestic pressure. Theannualcostsofsoildegradation on plains with highpopulationand livestock areas affected by desertification are predominantly conditions inabout20%ofthearea.InMorocco, conditions have led to low-medium regrowth the lastdecadesustainedbyimprovedrainfall affected. However,reforestationmeasuresin with the Central North Kordofan State being most 2006. Sudanhasover64Mhabeingdegraded, indigenous plant biodiversity between 1975 and both climatic and human causes led to the loss of arid Algerian High Plateaus, desertification due to incomes in drylands. The forecasts for Sub-Saharan but also on the losses in agricultural productivity and climate change and desertification on crop yields, evidence pointing not only to negative impacts of impacts on agricultural productivity. There is robust desertification affect food security is through their Prosopis juliflora, which Africa, had the highest share of undernourished were in Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly East globally were food insecure in 2017, of whom 31% climate change by 2050. About 821 million people crop production may be reduced by 17–22% due to across drylands. In sub-Saharan Africa particularly, of plantspeciesandreducebiologicaldiversity and livestock productivity, modify the composition It is further projected to cause reductions in crop to the loss of biodiversity in many dryland regions. productivity and incomes; it has also contributed Desertification has led to reduction in agricultural Africa, 11% in Middle East and North Africa by 2050. sunflower and rapeseed – by 15% in Sub-Saharan potato, wheat,rice,maize,soybean,groundnut, global crops–millet,eldpea,sugarbeet,sweet change willreducethemeanyieldsfor11major Without thecarbonfertilizationeffect,climate aridity, will affect the rain fed agricultural systems. in thenumberofheat-waves,andincreasing Africa suggest that higher temperatures, increase confidence that many oases of North Africa are linked to human-induced warming. There is high recent droughts and decadal declines have been live inextremepoverty.ForeasternAfrica,both Saharan Africa where 41% of the total population There is increasing poverty levels in drylands of Sub- particularly in semi-arid environments of Africa. with negativeimpactsonagriculturalsystems, conflicts. Climate change will amplify water scarcity, increased disease burden, as well as potentially to will contribute to poverty,food insecurity, and variability andanthropogenicclimatechange Desertification alongside pressures from climate e.g. plant species due to drought and desertification (1978–2014) has shown loss of important perennial respectively. In North Africa, long-term monitoring populations in the world in 2017, with 28.8% and 31.4%, Herders migratingwith livestock. Photo: http://media-3.web.britannica.com/eb-media/55/20155-004-C8550C5E.jpg Stipa tenacissima and Policy BriefNo.1 Artemisia herbaalba. 4 DESERTIFICATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN AFRICA - MARCH, 2020 technologies used. Models have been used to socioeconomic conditions;andagricultural associated errors);spatialheterogeneitiesof structure; spatial scale; data requirements (with to theiroveralluncertainty,including:model assumptions andlimitationsthatcontribute All biophysicalmodelshavetheirownsetof land degradation. classes of potential productivity and map general combined with observations of land use, to define that describe climate patterns and soil groups, to place. Biophysical models use global datasets feature whose indicators are different from place because degradationremainsasubjective the wholepicture.Expertjudgmentisimportant holistic assessment but none on its own captures These approaches together provide a relatively productivity, and(3)useofbiophysicalmodels. judgement, (2) satellite observation of net primary assessing the extent of desertification: (1) expert Three methodological approaches are applied for variations. globally andregionallystillshowsubstantial evaluation, the status and extent of desertification definitions appliedandmethodologiesusedin ecological contexts. However, depending on the vary depending on specific socioeconomic and anthropogenic and other drivers of desertification implies that the relative contributions of climatic, desertification difficult to map at global scale, and largely unique to any given location. This renders social, economic and political systems, which are environment interactions coupled with biophysical, Desertification resultsfromcomplexhuman- Desertification Methodologies toEvaluate charcoal, crop straws and livestock manure. region. These include fuelwood, agricultural residue, about 50% of the total energy consumption in the to rely on traditional biomass which account for sources: majority of the population in Africa continue vulnerable toclimatechange.Lossofenergy using a factorial simulation approach indicated causes ofvegetation changesfrom 1982-2009, of ecosystemmodels adopted toinvestigate vegetation changes. For instance, an ensemble land andtounderstand thecausesofobserved estimate the vegetation productivity potential of climate change. been put in place to address desertification and some of the major intervention options that have and effects of desertification. Listed below include the complex and multi-faceted nature of causes are needed, particularly those that will consider in Africa, it remains clear that further interventions efforts have been made to address desertification to significant population in Africa. While significant social and economic dimensions and implications reaching adverse effects that have environmental, degradation since it leads to losses in economic as encroachment ofinvasiveplantspecies,such Drylands of eastern Africa currently face growing these could be considered as land degradation. increased productivityinsatellitedatathough high fertiliser applicationgivesanindication of rangelands andintensivemono-croppingwith instances. Forexample,bushencroachmentin ecosystem types, giving a false positive in some differ widelywhenlookingacrosslandusesand are closelyrelatedinsomesystems,theycan with NDVI is that although biomass and productivity of standing biomass. Main challenge associated canopy greenness that is related to the quantity index is the NDVI,whichprovidesa measure of The most widely used remotely sensed vegetation dominant effects in various dryland locations. though climate and land cover change were the CO Desertification remains a major challenge Interventions satellite observed greening. through areductioninspeciesrichnessdespite in central Senegal found degradation manifested greening in the satellite data. Another case study productivity of affected areas but appears as a Photo: Aulia Erlangga (CIFOR). Prosopisjuliflora, 2 fertilisation to be the dominant effect globally

which constitutesland Policy BriefNo.1 Landscape Restoration with far Policy Brief No. 1

Case Study: Great Green Wall (GGW) in Sahel programme of the AU on addressing desertification and land degradation is the Green Wall for the The Great Green Wall (GGW) is a flagship initiative of the African Union to build prosperity and resilience in Sahel though Sahara Initiative, stretching from Mauritania to combating desertification and climate change, and addressing Djibouti that aims to slow the advance of the Sahara food insecurity and poverty. It aims to transform lives of millions Desert, enhance environmental sustainability, of people by creating a great mosaic of green and productive landscapes across the region. The GGW Strategy was adopted control land degradation, promote integrated by countries and partners in the year 2012. It targets 780 million natural resources management, conserve hectares, comprising arid and semiarid zones, of which 21% biological diversity, contribute to poverty reduction, needed restoration due to inadequate tree cover. About 232 million people live in the GGW target areas. In the spirit of GGW and create jobs. strategy, target countries have made land restoration a priority in their national strategies and action plans. At the sub-regional level, regional economic

Early results have indicated that degraded lands can be restored. communities (RECs) have put in place regional For instance, it has been reported that 15% of drought-resistant policies that deal with matters of land degradation trees have been planted, largely in Senegal, with 4 million and climate change. For example, the East African hectares of land restored. Also, successful grassroots greening efforts in Niger have helped close the gap between the project’s Community (EAC) Climate Change Policy aims to ambition and reality. The farmers of Niger practice natural guide Partner States and other stakeholders on regeneration of the land, using innovative practices such as the preparation and implementation of collective reviving the roots of plants and trees, and digging “half-moon” measures to address Climate Change in the region pits to store water. Trees destroyed during droughts are allowed to recover over years, and then carefully maintained. These while assuring sustainable social and economic methods have succeeded in restoring 5 million hectares of development. land and planting around 200 million trees. At the national level, many countries in Africa have Policy responses developed various policies and frameworks to guide national actions and investments aimed Global policy framework: Several global policy at addressing land degradation. Some of these interventions exist to provide guidelines and include the Nationally Determined Contributions frameworks to combat desertification. The three (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Rio Conventions: the United Nations Convention National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United (NBSAPs). In addition, there are many programs Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and projects that are being implemented directed (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological to address land degradation. Strong synergies Diversity (CBD) provide such framework. They exist between the land degradation neutrality target to address land degradation including (LDN) concept and the NDCs of many countries, desertification and emphasize actions that with linkages to national climate plans. LDN is promote sustainable development and enhance also closely related to the SDGs in the areas of ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation in poverty, food security, environmental protection drylands. and sustainable use of natural resources.

At the regional level, there are instruments at the Integrated response options continental level that provide a framework for

DESERTIFICATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN AFRICA - MARCH, 2020 MARCH, - AFRICA IN CHANGE CLIMATE AND DESERTIFICATION dealing with climate change, desertification and land degradation. These include: i) Agenda 2063; ii) Sustainable Land Management approaches: Soil the African Ministerial Conference on Environment and water conservation practices, reforestation and (AMCEN); and iii) The Malabo Declaration that farming systems have to be given special attention, promotes sustainable land management and taking into account the need to maintain soil fertility. governance, irrigation and water management, These approaches are important in reducing soil animal resources development, technology erosion, enhancing water percolation into the generation, dissemination and adoption, ground, reducing soil degradation and increasing agripreneurship for youth and women and value soil fertility and therefore crop production. For chain development. There are also established better results, integration of multiple traditional climate change centres in Africa, including /indegineous approaches is essential. African Centre for Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) also serving as WMO Agronomic practices: Intercropping maize and sorghum with Desmodium (an insect repellent 5 Regional Climate Centre (RCC). The flagship 6 DESERTIFICATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN AFRICA - MARCH, 2020 control over resources,decision-making and responsibilities, dailyactivities,accessand Socially structuredgender-specificrolesand alongside other impacts. will diminish opportunities for empowering women pressures from climate change and desertification to desertification,andthatthecombinationof exacerbate the vulnerability of dryland populations there is high confidence that climate change will institutional andpoliticalfactors.However, from theeffectsofothersocio-economic drylands are complex and are difficult to isolate change on socio-economicdevelopmentin Combined impacts of desertification and climate boring insects. In addition to changes in cropping in maize production and an 80% decrease in stem Africa, can lead to a two-to-three-fold increase grass), which is being promoted in drylands of East forage legume) and time infetching water,whichhas implications than men in rural Ghana as they had to spend more For example, water scarcity affected women more differently with natural resources and landscapes. opportunities leadmen and women to interact Photo: CoutesyofCGIARSystemOrganization Palmer CIAT. worst droughtinthreedecadesN. Malawi, whichissufferingfromits Trials ofdroughttolerantbeansin Gender Considerations Brachiaria Joseph Gachoka. Photo credit:WorldAgroforestryCentre/ Agroforestry (an insect trapping ,

have been inadequately addressed in many land of environmentaldegradationgenderissues the evidence pointing to differentiated impact on timeallocationsforotheractivities.Despite stocks per hectare. is often undervalued due to relatively low carbon (e.g., Miombo woodland in south-central Africa) rangelands, woodland and sub-humid dry forest of climate change mitigation, the contribution of following high-intensityrainfallevents.Interms the same time reduces the intensity of peak flows through the capture and storage of runoff, and at water available for agriculture and livelihoods Rainwater harvestingincreasestheamountof stone bunds and semi-permeable stone bunds. and ridges, used to capturesurface runoff), earthen bunds harvesting including traditional zai (small basins soil conditions. Other measures include rainwater are often used to reduce erosion and improve methods, forms of agroforestry and shelterbelts address desertification is crucial. land productivityandwomen’s contributionto food for their households, which is associated with the rural areas remain heavily involved in securing and women. Nonetheless, women particularly in asymmetries inpower relationsbetweenmen to participatedueculturally-embedded are beingpromoted,womenwerenotable sustainable landoptions(e.g.agroforestry) for restoration often differ. In some areas where and men’s environmental knowledge and priorities ethnicity and formal education. Hence, women’s shaped byotherfactorssuchaswealth,age, responsibilities arenotstaticbecausethey Socially constructedgender-specificrolesand to productive resources. households through restrictions on their access higher vulnerability of women and female-headed and patriarchal relationships also contribute to and climate change. Some local cultural traditions more vulnerable to the impacts of desertification households, women and subsistence farmers are livelihoods. In many dryland areas, female-headed those areas with higher dependence on agricultural men by environmental degradation, particularly in Women andchildrenareimpactedmorethan remain gender-blind. restoration and rehabilitation efforts, which often fanyajuu infiltration pits,contour Policy BriefNo.1 7 DESERTIFICATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN AFRICA - MARCH, 2020 United NationsEconomic CommissionforAfrica.(2007).Africareview reportondroughtand Ababa, Ethiopia:JointUNECA/FAOPublication. Nana-Sinkam, S. C. (1995). Land and environmental degradation and desertification in Africa. Addis Publications/Global_Drylands_Full_Report. pdf. of theUnitedNationsGeneva.Retrievedfrom http://www. unccd.int/Lists/SiteDocumentLibrary/ Emg, U.N.(2011).Globaldrylands:aUNsystem-wide response. Further Reading social, economicandpoliticalsystems.The environment interactions coupled with biophysical, Desertification resultsfromcomplexhuman- Conclusion 3. 2. there are still many areas that require further work: understanding desertification in Africa. However, Significant effortshavebeenmadetoenhance Gaps extension services), networks, and markets. equitable access of women to resources (including gender mainstreaming is necessary. This includes in the dryland regions. Therefore, ensuring proper women’s participation remains lacking particularly decisions in land management and governance, In relation to representation and authority to make change and biodiversity: Scenarios for the UNCCD Global Land Outlook. Exploring future changesinlanduse andlandcondition theimpactsonfood, water,climate van derEsch,S.,tenBrink, B.,Stehfest,E.,Bakkenes,M.,Sewell,A.,Bouwman, A.,...&Doelman,J.(2017). Regional Implementation Meeting(RIM)forCSD-16 desertification. In 1. most of the drylands to desertification impacts. attribute changesintheobservedpoverty Lack of evidence to rigorously and conclusively Africa. desertification among many communities in poor adoption of innovations for coping with Knowledge gaps, particularly on observed nature of desertification. scale, given the complex and multi-dimensional assessing andmonitoringdesertificationat Methodological challengesinmeasuring,

FifthMeetingoftheAfrica CommitteeonSustainableDevelopment (ACSD-5)

4. 2. Recommendations affected. with women,youthandchildrenbeingthemost affects different gender classes disproportionately, Desertification exacerbated by climate change natural resources which are climate sensitive. in Africaastheydependonagricultureand to desertificationamongdrylandpopulations, scale. Climate change exacerbates vulnerability makes it difficult to attribute and map at the global multiplicity and complex nature of desertification 3. 1. (pp. 1-65). enhance quickandappropriateresponseto Rolling out practices that contribute to desertification. appropriate disincentivesthatwoulddeter communities useandmanagelandwith that wouldcatalyseashiftintheway Putting in place of desertification and climate change. communities torespondadverseeffects transfer Enhancing best practices with a robust MRV system. vulnerability and approaches for adoption of the mechanismofdesertification,people’s research andinnovations Supporting desertification and climate change. thatwouldenablecountriesand Environment ManagementGroup early warningsystems technology developmentand scientific andsocioeconomic enablingpolicyenvironment Policy BriefNo.1 to better understand that would 8 DESERTIFICATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN AFRICA - MARCH, 2020 This policy brief was prepared with technical and financial support of the following partners: ICIPE DuduvileCampus,Kasarani © Africa Group of Negotiators Experts Support - 2020 [email protected] www.agnesafrica.org P.O.Box 45801-00100 +254 759402260 CONTACTS Nairobi, Kenya