Living on the Land: An India Overview PRE-READ DOCUMENT Sustainable Land Use Perspectives Forum January 2019 Photo credit: CIFOR, Flickr What do we mean by land use? Our working definition of land use is the dynamic ways in which land is owned, managed, and utilised to generate diverse environmental, economic, and cultural services Note: Land use in India includes both rural and urban uses, both of which are critically important to India’s development and climate goals. For the purposes of this workshop, we focus on rural land use only, as defined in the following slides. 2 This forum will focus on the agriculture and forestry aspects of land use due to their critical importance for India’s land and population… Agricultural land and forests represent 70% of India’s At least 700 mn people in India rely on agriculture and forests for total land area their primary livelihood, and other forms of sustenance Area under different types of land use in India1 Distribution of agricultural population by primary source of income4 Million hectares, 2014 Millions, 2013 519 737 The Government of India also estimates that at least 350 mn Cropland Forestland Other lands2 people depend on forests for 163 (49.5%) 70 (21.3%) 65 (19.8%) needs beyond primary income, 170 such as fuelwood, fodder, construction, labour opportunities and other forest products5 16 32 Grassland Settlement 21 (6.4%) 10 (3%) Fisheries Forestry Livestock Farming Total Nearly 30% (100 mn hectares) of India’s land is degraded and is not suitable for agricultural use3 Notes and sources: (1) Second Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, 2018 (2) Other lands includes fallow lands, wetlands and wastelands; (3) TERI, 2018 (4) Agricultural population is defined as the population dependent on agriculture and allied sectors for their livelihoods; Average household size in India has been assumed as 4.8 to estimate agricultural population in India; Agricultural statistics at a glance, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India, 2014; Situation assessment survey of agricultural households: National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), 2013; State of Indian agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, 2015-16; (5) Forest-dependent people and their livelihood challenges, Madhusudan Bandi, 2013 3 … as well as their potential for impact on climate change Agriculture and deforestation comprise 20% of India’s Agriculture and forestry solutions are also highly cost effective for emissions, providing an immense reduction opportunity climate mitigation GHG1 emissions from agriculture and deforestation2 Global GHG emissions mitigation potential versus mitigation cost Million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, 2000-2014 Annualized estimates, 2018-2030 Agriculture 20 Deforestation SECTORS Wind turbines e) 2 Agriculture 20% of total Efficient airline fuel 15 Forestry emissions Solar farms Electric vehicles Energy Nuclear power Reforestation Transport 453 At a global level, existing tCO per ($ 416 4 35 10 361 26 farmlands and forestlands can Afforestation 17 contribute 37% of the total Regenerative agriculture emissions reduction needed to Farmland restoration Conservation agriculture Forest protection 417 hold global warming below 2ºC by 5 390 Tree intercropping 344 20303 - equivalent to halting the Mangrove restoration burning of oil cost Mitigation Natural forest management 0 2000 2010 2014 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 5 Climate mitigation potential (Mt CO2e per year) Notes and sources: (1) Greenhouse gases; (2) Beyond emissions, forests also provide a significant carbon sink opportunity, as described on slide 12. Second Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, 2018; (3) Natural Climate Solutions, The Nature Conservancy, 2017; (4) Mitigation cost is defined as the cost of a low-carbon alternative solution. The cost includes annualized capital and operational expenditures until 2030; (5) Mitigation potential of a solution is defined as the yearly average GHG emissions reduction potential until 2030; Mitigation cost data unavailable for mangrove restoration and natural forest management; Popular solutions such as electric vehicles, efficient airline fuel, wind turbines have been included to draw relatable comparisons; Drawdown climate change solutions; Pathways to a low-carbon economy, McKinsey & Company, 2009; Second Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, 2018; Dalberg analysis 4 Compared to its peers, India faces extreme land use pressure due low land productivity, and high population density and growth Bubble size: 1 mn annual population change Country wise land use pressure1 People/hectare and USD/hectare, 2016 Population increase Bubble color: Population decrease 6.0 5.5 Bangaldesh 5.0 Netherlands Rwanda 4.5 India 4.0 Israel Belgium 3.5 Philippines Japan 3.0 Pakistan Vietnam Nigeria UK 2.5 Germany 2.0 Italy Switzerland Indonesia Population density Population 1.5 Ethiopia China Cambodia 1.0 Egypt Kenya South Africa 0.5 Argentina Russia Australia USA Brazil Norway 0.0 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 5,000 5,500 6,000 6,500 7,000 7,500 8,000 8,500 Value of agricultural production2 India’s overarching challenge is how to fulfill growing demands on its land despite limited land availability Notes and sources: (1) Food and agricultural data, FAOSTAT, FAO, United Nations; World Bank Open Data; Dalberg analysis; (2) Land may also be valued from other lenses than agricultural produce, such as sociocultural values. However for the purpose of this analysis, value is computed by multiplying gross production with farm output prices, per area of land used for agriculture 5 How we use our land is a crucial factor in achieving India’s national priorities and international commitments Land use underpins several SDGs and their sub-targets NDC goals 1 & 3 are directly linked to land use and change in land use patterns Goals 1 Reduce the emissions intensity of GDP below 2005 levels (33%-35%) Improve incomes Reduce by 2030 and build resilience emission of vulnerable people intensity Ensure conservation of Improve agricultural terrestrial ecosystems yields and food security and biodiversity 3 2 Land use Enhance Increase the carbon sink share of non fossil fuel Preserve and increase Enhance water table, and forestlands and drive low- Promote equitable protect and restore emission farm practices land rights and use water-related ecosystems of land resources Create an additional (cumulative) Increase the share of non-fossil- carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes based energy resources to 40% of of CO2e through enhanced forest installed electricity capacity by 2030 and tree cover by 2030 Sources: Climate Action Tracker; MOEFC. India, 2015: First Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India; United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 6 Land use strategies should recognize their interlinked impacts on multiple co-benefit areas Co-benefit areas Sample strategies with potential impacts across co-benefit areas1 Forest protection and restoration2 Incomes from timber, NTFPs, fuelwood usage, and tribal cultures Human Climate Carbon sinks, and resilience against floods and landslides development change Habitats for wildlife, forest density and air quality Farmland restoration3 Land use strategies Farmer incomes, food security, and rural-urban distress migration Forest carbon sinks, forest conversion, farmland productivity Soil nutrient, microbiome health, soil erosion, and water eutrophication Ecology conservation Agroforestry4 Farmer incomes and vulnerability to extreme shocks Water table, resistance to droughts, and carbon sinks Biodiversity, cross pollination, and seed dispersion Notes: (1) Impacts indicated may either be positive or negative; (2) Preventing deforestation practices and restoring forests by planting trees and native seedlings; (3) Restoring native vegetation on abandoned cropland through productive, carbon-friendly farming systems; (4) Blending layers of trees between crops to improve productivity of land 7 To date, a multitude of agriculture and forestry approaches have been applied in India… Securing land and forest tenure Decentralized and participatory natural Strengthening agriculture and forest resource governance produce market linkages Sustainable intensification of agriculture Biodiversity conservation and protected area management Sample Providing energy alternatives to fuelwood Providing data, information, and agriculture technology and forestry approaches Restoration of forest landscape in India Developing innovative financing mechanisms Watershed management Climate smart agriculture; natural farming; Diversifying and improving organic farming rural livelihoods Developing sustainable agriculture systems 8 … by a diverse ecosystem of actors NON-EXHAUSTIVE Funders & Financial Institutions Central & State Institutions Research Institutions NGOs & Social Movements Note: Other ecosystem actors include stakeholders from the media covering land use, such as The Economist and DownToEarth 9 Despite this extensive work, the agriculture and forestry sectors in India remain under strain, with adverse trends that affect co-benefit areas NON-EXHAUSTIVE Adverse