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Tropical reforestation (TR) has been highlighted as an important intervention for climate change mitigation because of its carbon storage potential. TR can also play other frequently overlooked, but significant, roles in helping society and ecosystems adapt to climate variability and change. For example, reforestation can ameliorate climate‐associated impacts of altered hydrological cycles in watersheds, protect coastal areas from increased storms, and provide habitat to reduce the probability of species' extinctions under a changing climate. Consequently, reforestation should be managed with both adaptation and mitigation objectives in mind, so as to maximize synergies among these diverse roles, and to avoid trade‐offs in which the achievement of one goal is detrimental to another. Management of increased forest cover must also incorporate measures for reducing the direct and indirect impacts of changing climate on reforestation itself. Here we advocate a focus on “climate‐smart reforestation,” defined as reforesting for climate change mitigation and adaptation, while ensuring that the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on reforestation are anticipated and minimized.

AbstractMost tropical forests outside protected areas have been or will be selectively logged so it is essential to maximize the conservation values of partially harvested areas. Here we examine the extent to which these forests sustain timber production, retain species, and conserve carbon stocks. We then describe some improvements in tropical forestry and how their implementation can be promoted. A simple meta‐analysis based on >100 publications revealed substantial variability but that: timber yields decline by about 46% after the first harvest but are subsequently sustained at that level; 76% of carbon is retained in once‐logged forests; and, 85–100% of species of mammals, birds, invertebrates, and plants remain after logging. Timber stocks will not regain primary‐forest levels within current harvest cycles, but yields increase if collateral damage is reduced and silvicultural treatments are applied. Given that selectively logged forests retain substantial biodiversity, carbon, and timber stocks, this “middle way” between deforestation and total protection deserves more attention from researchers, conservation organizations, and policy‐makers. Improvements in forest management are now likely if synergies are enhanced among initiatives to retain forest carbon stocks (REDD+), assure the legality of forest products, certify responsible management, and devolve control over forests to empowered local communities.

The objective of this article is to review: (a) the principles that underpin conservation agriculture (CA) ecologically and operationally; (b) the potential benefits that can be harnessed through CA systems in the dry Mediterranean climate; (c) current status of adoption and spread of CA in the dry Mediterranean climate countries; and (d) opportunities for CA in the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region. CA, comprising minimum mechanical soil disturbance and no-tillage seeding, organic mulch cover, and crop diversification is now practised on some 125 million ha, corresponding to about 9% of the global arable cropped land. The area under CA is spread across all continents and many agro-ecologies, including the dry Mediterranean climate. Empirical and scientific evidence is presented to show that significant productivity, economic, social and environmental benefits exist that can be harnessed through the adoption of CA in the dry Mediterranean climates, including those in the CWANA region. The benefits include: higher productivity and income; climate change adaptation and reduced vulnerability to the erratic rainfall distribution; and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. CA is now spread across several Mediterranean climate countries outside the Mediterranean basin particularly in South America, South Africa and Australia. In the CWANA region, CA is perceived to be a powerful tool of sustainable land management but it has not yet taken off in a serious manner except in Kazakhstan. Research on CA in the CWANA region has shown that there are opportunities for CA adoption in rainfed and irrigated farming systems involving arable and perennial crops as well as livestock.

By the year 2050, agriculture will have to provide the food and nutrition requirements of some 9 billion people. Moreover, to maintain that level of productivity indefinitely it must do so using environmentally sustainable production systems. This task will be profoundly complicated by the effects of climate change, increasing competition for water resources and loss of productive lands. Agricultural production methods will also need to recognize and accommodate ongoing rural to urban migration and address a host of economic, ecological and social concerns about the ‘high inputs/high outputs’ model of present-day industrial agriculture. At the same time, there is a need to confront the unacceptable levels of continuing food and nutrition insecurity, greatest in the emerging economy countries of Africa and Asia where poverty, rapid population growth and climate change present additional challenges and where agriculture is practiced primarily by small-scale farmers. Within this context, we here review science-based evidence arguing that diversification with greater use of highly valuable but presently under-valorised crops and species should be an essential element of any model for sustainable smallholder agriculture. The major points of these development opportunity crops are presented in four sections: agricultural farming systems, health and nutrition, environmental sustainability and prosperity of the populations. For each section, these crops and their associated indigenous knowledge are reported to bring benefits and services when integrated with food systems. In this paper, we conclude that not only a change in policy is needed to influence behaviours and practices but also strong leadership able to synergize the various initiatives and implement an action plan.

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and enhancing forest carbon stocks (REDD+) is a performance-based payment mechanism currently being debated in international and national environmental policy and planning forums. As the mechanism is based on conditionality, payments must reflect land stewards’ level of compliance with carbon-efficient management practices. However, lack of clarity in land governance and carbon rights could undermine REDD+ implementation. Strategies are needed to avoid perverse incentives resulting from the commoditization of forest carbon stocks and, importantly, to identify and secure the rights of legitimate recipients of future REDD+ payments. We propose a landscape-level approach to address potential conflicts related to carbon tenure and REDD+ benefit sharing. We explore various land-tenure scenarios and their implications for carbon ownership in the context of a research site in northern Laos. Our case study shows that a combination of relevant scientific tools, knowledge, and participatory approaches can help avoid the marginalization of rural communities during the REDD+ process. The findings demonstrate that participatory land-use planning is an important step in ensuring that local communities are engaged in negotiating REDD+ schemes and that such negotiations are transparent. Local participation and agreements on land-use plans could provide a sound basis for developing efficient measurement, reporting, and verification systems for REDD+.

À l'échelle mondiale, les changements environnementaux anthropiques exacerbent les conditions déjà vulnérables de nombreuses personnes et de nombreux écosystèmes. Afin d'obtenir de la nourriture, de l'eau, des matières premières et des abris, les populations rurales modifient les forêts et d'autres écosystèmes, affectant l'offre de services écosystémiques qui contribuent aux moyens de subsistance et au bien-être. Malgré une prise de conscience généralisée de la nature et de l'étendue des impacts multiples des changements d'affectation des terres, il reste une compréhension limitée de la façon dont ces impacts affectent les compromis entre les services écosystémiques et leurs bénéficiaires à travers les échelles spatiales. Nous avons évalué comment les communautés rurales dans deux paysages forestiers en Indonésie ont changé l'utilisation des terres au cours des 20 dernières années pour adapter leurs moyens de subsistance qui étaient menacés par de multiples dangers. Nous avons estimé l'impact de ces stratégies d'adaptation sur l'offre de services écosystémiques en comparant les différents avantages procurés aux populations par ces utilisations des terres (produits, eau, carbone et biodiversité), en utilisant des inventaires forestiers, la télédétection et des entretiens. Les populations locales ont converti les forêts en plantations d'hévéas, reboisé les terres cultivées moins productives, protégé les forêts à flanc de colline et planté des arbres dans les jardins. Nos résultats montrent que les décisions d'utilisation des terres ont été propagées à l'échelle du paysage en raison du renforcement des boucles, les acteurs locaux percevant que ces décisions contribuaient positivement aux moyens de subsistance en réduisant les risques et en générant des co-bénéfices. Lorsque les changements d'affectation des terres se généralisent suffisamment, ils affectent la fourniture de multiples services écosystémiques, avec des impacts au-delà de l'échelle locale. Ainsi, l'adaptation mise en œuvre à l'échelle locale peut ne pas répondre aux défis du développement et de l'adaptation au climat à l'échelle régionale ou nationale (par exemple dans le cadre des objectifs de développement durable des Nations Unies ou des actions prises dans le cadre de l'Accord de Paris de la CCNUCC). Une meilleure compréhension du contexte et des impacts de l'adaptation basée sur les écosystèmes locaux est fondamentale pour la mise à l'échelle des politiques et des pratiques de gestion des terres conçues pour réduire les risques et améliorer le bien-être des populations à différentes échelles. A nivel mundial, el cambio ambiental antropogénico está exacerbando las condiciones ya vulnerables de muchas personas y ecosistemas. Con el fin de obtener alimentos, agua, materias primas y refugio, la población rural modifica los bosques y otros ecosistemas, afectando la oferta de servicios ecosistémicos que contribuyen a los medios de vida y el bienestar. A pesar de la conciencia generalizada de la naturaleza y el alcance de los múltiples impactos de los cambios en el uso de la tierra, sigue habiendo una comprensión limitada de cómo estos impactos afectan las compensaciones entre los servicios ecosistémicos y sus beneficiarios en todas las escalas espaciales. Evaluamos cómo las comunidades rurales en dos paisajes boscosos en Indonesia han cambiado los usos de la tierra en los últimos 20 años para adaptar sus medios de vida que estaban en riesgo por múltiples peligros. Estimamos el impacto de estas estrategias de adaptación en la oferta de servicios ecosistémicos comparando diferentes beneficios proporcionados a las personas por estos usos de la tierra (productos, agua, carbono y biodiversidad), utilizando inventarios forestales, teledetección y entrevistas. La población local convirtió los bosques en plantaciones de caucho, reforestó tierras de cultivo menos productivas, protegió los bosques en las laderas y plantó árboles en los jardines. Nuestros resultados muestran que las decisiones sobre el uso de la tierra se propagaron a escala del paisaje debido al refuerzo de los bucles, por lo que los actores locales percibieron que tales decisiones contribuyeron positivamente a los medios de vida al reducir los riesgos y generar beneficios colaterales. Cuando los cambios en el uso de la tierra se generalizan lo suficiente, afectan el suministro de múltiples servicios ecosistémicos, con impactos más allá de la escala local. Por lo tanto, la adaptación implementada a escala local puede no abordar los desafíos de desarrollo y adaptación climática a escala regional o nacional (por ejemplo, como parte de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de la ONU o las acciones tomadas en virtud del Acuerdo de París de la CMNUCC). Una mejor comprensión del contexto y los impactos de la adaptación basada en los ecosistemas locales es fundamental para la ampliación de las políticas y prácticas de gestión de la tierra diseñadas para reducir los riesgos y mejorar el bienestar de las personas a diferentes escalas. Globally, anthropogenic environmental change is exacerbating the already vulnerable conditions of many people and ecosystems. In order to obtain food, water, raw materials and shelter, rural people modify forests and other ecosystems, affecting the supply of ecosystem services that contribute to livelihoods and well-being. Despite widespread awareness of the nature and extent of multiple impacts of land-use changes, there remains limited understanding of how these impacts affect trade-offs among ecosystem services and their beneficiaries across spatial scales. We assessed how rural communities in two forested landscapes in Indonesia have changed land uses over the last 20 years to adapt their livelihoods that were at risk from multiple hazards. We estimated the impact of these adaptation strategies on the supply of ecosystem services by comparing different benefits provided to people from these land uses (products, water, carbon, and biodiversity), using forest inventories, remote sensing, and interviews. Local people converted forests to rubber plantations, reforested less productive croplands, protected forests on hillsides, and planted trees in gardens. Our results show that land-use decisions were propagated at the landscape scale due to reinforcing loops, whereby local actors perceived that such decisions contributed positively to livelihoods by reducing risks and generating co-benefits. When land-use changes become sufficiently widespread, they affect the supply of multiple ecosystem services, with impacts beyond the local scale. Thus, adaptation implemented at the local-scale may not address development and climate adaptation challenges at regional or national scale (e.g. as part of UN Sustainable Development Goals or actions taken under the UNFCCC Paris Agreement). A better understanding of the context and impacts of local ecosystem-based adaptation is fundamental to the scaling up of land management policies and practices designed to reduce risks and improve well-being for people at different scales. على الصعيد العالمي، يؤدي التغير البيئي الناجم عن الأنشطة البشرية إلى تفاقم الظروف الهشة بالفعل للعديد من الناس والنظم الإيكولوجية. من أجل الحصول على الغذاء والماء والمواد الخام والمأوى، يقوم سكان الريف بتعديل الغابات والنظم الإيكولوجية الأخرى، مما يؤثر على توفير خدمات النظم الإيكولوجية التي تسهم في سبل العيش والرفاه. على الرغم من الوعي الواسع النطاق بطبيعة ومدى التأثيرات المتعددة لتغيرات استخدام الأراضي، لا يزال هناك فهم محدود لكيفية تأثير هذه التأثيرات على المفاضلات بين خدمات النظام الإيكولوجي والمستفيدين منها عبر النطاقات المكانية. قمنا بتقييم كيف غيرت المجتمعات الريفية في اثنين من المناظر الطبيعية للغابات في إندونيسيا استخدامات الأراضي على مدى السنوات العشرين الماضية لتكييف سبل عيشها التي كانت معرضة للخطر من مخاطر متعددة. قدرنا تأثير استراتيجيات التكيف هذه على توفير خدمات النظام الإيكولوجي من خلال مقارنة الفوائد المختلفة المقدمة للأشخاص من استخدامات الأراضي هذه (المنتجات والمياه والكربون والتنوع البيولوجي)، باستخدام قوائم جرد الغابات والاستشعار عن بعد والمقابلات. قام السكان المحليون بتحويل الغابات إلى مزارع مطاطية، وإعادة تشجير الأراضي الزراعية الأقل إنتاجية، وحماية الغابات على سفوح التلال، وزراعة الأشجار في الحدائق. تظهر نتائجنا أن قرارات استخدام الأراضي قد تم نشرها على نطاق المناظر الطبيعية بسبب تعزيز الحلقات، حيث أدركت الجهات الفاعلة المحلية أن مثل هذه القرارات ساهمت بشكل إيجابي في سبل العيش من خلال الحد من المخاطر وتوليد فوائد مشتركة. عندما تصبح تغييرات استخدام الأراضي واسعة الانتشار بما فيه الكفاية، فإنها تؤثر على توريد خدمات النظم الإيكولوجية المتعددة، مع تأثيرات تتجاوز النطاق المحلي. وبالتالي، قد لا يعالج التكيف المنفذ على المستوى المحلي تحديات التنمية والتكيف مع المناخ على المستوى الإقليمي أو الوطني (على سبيل المثال كجزء من أهداف الأمم المتحدة للتنمية المستدامة أو الإجراءات المتخذة بموجب اتفاقية باريس الإطارية بشأن تغير المناخ). يعد الفهم الأفضل لسياق وآثار التكيف القائم على النظام الإيكولوجي المحلي أمرًا أساسيًا لتوسيع نطاق سياسات وممارسات إدارة الأراضي المصممة للحد من المخاطر وتحسين رفاهية الناس على مختلف المستويات.