Sustainable Land Management for Environmental Benefits and Food Security A synthesis report for the GEF Beverley Henry, Brian Murphy and Annette Cowie July 2018 Preface This paper brings together the latest knowledge about sustainable land management and its potential to deliver global environmental benefits and improved livelihoods. It will strengthen the scientific and technical understanding of sustainable land management and its contributions to environmental objectives, both global and local. The GEF’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) commissioned the study to support targeted efforts in the management of land degradation and to raise awareness of this vital issue, as the GEF considers its focus for the next phase (GEF7: 2018-2022). Authors Dr Beverley Henry1 Assoc. Professor, Institute for Future Environments, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. Director, Agri Escondo Pty Ltd. Dr Brian Murphy Visiting Fellow, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra. Honorary Scientific Fellow, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. Dr Annette Cowie NSW Department of Primary Industries/ Adjunct Professor, University of New England, Armidale. STAP member 1Corresponding author: [email protected] Cover photo: Green terrace rice paddy at Mu Cang Chai, country. Source: Draftangle. Important note The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the STAP or the GEF. The presentation of material and information in this paper does not imply the expression of any opinion, endorsement or recommendations on the part of the GEF. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the reviewers who provided expert comment on this paper and particularly to Guadalupe Durón for her management throughout its preparation. 2 Contents Executive summary ................................................................................................................................. 6 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 10 1.1. Context .................................................................................................................................. 10 1.2. Objectives and scope of this study ....................................................................................... 11 1.3. Sustainable land management – key terms and concepts ................................................... 12 1.4. Sustainable land management – understanding the need ................................................... 15 1.5. Sustainable land management – understanding the challenges .......................................... 19 2. Context for implementing sustainable land management ....................................................... 21 2.1. The land resource – drivers, pressures and opportunities ................................................... 21 2.1.1. Food demand .................................................................................................................... 22 2.1.2. Climate change .................................................................................................................. 23 2.1.3. Urbanization ...................................................................................................................... 25 2.1.4. Energy demand ................................................................................................................. 26 2.1.5. Agricultural demand for water ......................................................................................... 27 2.1.6. Competition for land ......................................................................................................... 27 2.1.7. Biodiversity loss................................................................................................................. 28 2.2. The policy environment ........................................................................................................ 29 2.3. Threats to food security ........................................................................................................ 32 3. Sustainable land management strategies for food security, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation .................................................................................................................... 34 3.1. Sustainable intensification .................................................................................................... 34 3.2. Land sharing and land sparing .............................................................................................. 34 3.3. Closing the yield gap ............................................................................................................. 36 3.4. Rehabilitation of degraded land ........................................................................................... 37 3.5. An integrated land management approach to food security ............................................... 37 3.6. The many benefits of SLM - summary .................................................................................. 39 4. Sustainable land management to combat land degradation and enhance soil health ............ 41 4.1. Relationship between SLM and land degradation ................................................................ 41 4.2. Forms and processes of land degradation ............................................................................ 41 4.3. Soil health and land potential ............................................................................................... 43 5. Sustainable land management – principles and practice ......................................................... 54 5.1. Introduction to the principles for SLM interventions ........................................................... 54 5.2. Good practice for SLM – principles and strategies ............................................................... 54 5.3. Examples of specific SLM strategies ..................................................................................... 60 5.3.1. Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) ................................................................... 60 3 5.3.2. Increasing soil organic matter to improve soil health ...................................................... 62 5.3.3. Conservation agriculture ................................................................................................... 64 5.3.4. Organic agriculture............................................................................................................ 64 5.3.5. SLM for land restoration and rehabilitation ..................................................................... 64 5.4. Integrating soil health, land degradation management and sustainability .......................... 65 5.4.1. Framework for defining good practice in SLM .................................................................. 65 5.4.2. Framework overview ........................................................................................................ 65 5.4.3. Step A – Characterising the Existing System ..................................................................... 67 5.4.4. Step B – Developing SLM practices ................................................................................... 69 5.4.5. Step C – Defining and facilitating adoption of recommended SLM practices for a given set of climate, soils, landform and socioeconomic conditions and constraints ............................... 72 5.4.6. Step D – Evaluating the impact of SLM practices at different scales ................................ 72 5.4.7. Monitoring for technical and policy needs ....................................................................... 73 5.4.8. Use of long-term monitoring sites .................................................................................... 76 5.4.9. Scaling up sustainable land management ......................................................................... 76 5.4.10. Identifying SLM best practices for up-scaling ................................................................... 78 5.4.11. Overcoming constraints to adoption ................................................................................ 78 6. International programs in sustainable land management ....................................................... 82 6.1. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification ........................................................ 82 6.2. The Global Environment Facility ........................................................................................... 82 7. Summary and recommendations .............................................................................................. 86 7.1. Context for sustainable land management........................................................................... 86 7.2. Investment in sustainable land management ....................................................................... 87 7.3. Sustainable land management for the great global challenges............................................ 89 7.4. Recommendations for programs in sustainable land management ..................................... 93 8. References ................................................................................................................................ 98 Appendix 1 – Forms and processes of land degradation ...................................................................