Sara Scherr - How can African Farmers Benefit from Carbon Markets? - Aug 2009

How can African Farmers How can African Farmers Benefit from Carbon Markets?Benefit from Carbon Markets?

Sara J. Scherr, Ecoagriculture PartnersWorld Agroforestry Congress

Nairobi, Kenya, August 26, 2009

Emissions offset potential in Emissions offset potential in working landscapes in Africaworking landscapes in Africa

Improved agronomic practices: croplands could reduce GHG emission 52-91 mln tons CO2eq (5-9% of annual fossil fuel emissions in Africa)

Agroforestry: Cocoa AF in Cameroon stores 565 t/ha; semi-arid AF with 50 trees/ha stores 110-147 tons CO2eq in soil alone

Improved pasture management can store 110 kg/ha/yr in drylands to 810 kg in humid lands

Farmer-managed natural regeneration: in Niger sequestered 100 million tons of CO2eq

PES PES for climate change integrates for climate change integrates production, ecosystem, livelihoodsproduction, ecosystem, livelihoods

Conservation Ecosystem

process & function

Wild biodiversity

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Locally beneficial services

Globally & regionally beneficial services

Sustainable

Agriculture

Livelihood support

PAYMENT FOR

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Global market for carbon in land Global market for carbon in land use, land use change and forestryuse, land use change and forestry

Types of PESMarket size in million

$/yr Global (developing countries)

Buyers Sellers Data Source

Public Sector $15 (15)

National governments;multi-lateralorganizations

stewardsWorld Bank 2007

Private, under regulation

<$10(<10)

Regulated industry, governments, carbon funds, brokers, investors

Private landowners,project developers

UNFCCC 2009

Private voluntary

$ 157(~100)

Corporations, NGOs,universities, individuals

C offset retailers andproject developers,conservation NGOs,governments

C offset retailers andproject developers,conservation NGOs,governments

Eco-certificationAgricultural products

42,000(unknown)

Individual consumers,retailers, food processingindustries

stewardsWorld Bank 2007

Source: Milder et al. 2009. Ecology and Society. Forthcoming.

African carbon projects, by African carbon projects, by country (2008)country (2008)

Kenya South Africa Tanzania Uganda

3 4 11 9

Source: The East and Southern Africa Katoomba Group. 2008. Payments for Ecosystem Services in

East and Southern Africa: Assessing Prospects and Pathways Forward.

Challenges 1: Can we measure Challenges 1: Can we measure agricultural landscape carbon? agricultural landscape carbon?

Open debate on sequestration levels of terrestrial carbon interventions

Open debate on permanence of terrestrial carbon interventions

Precise measurement systems are currently expensive

Challenge 2: Community planning Challenge 2: Community planning Too hard? too costly? too risky? Too hard? too costly? too risky?

Challenge 3: Will value chains generate Challenge 3: Will value chains generate sufficient incentives for African sufficient incentives for African producers?producers?

Challenge 4: Can we mobilize agricultural Challenge 4: Can we mobilize agricultural carbon at a large enough scale to make a carbon at a large enough scale to make a difference for poverty and for the climate? difference for poverty and for the climate?

Agriculture perceived to have weak institutions

Climate action has focused on small projects

Smallholders assumed to = small scale

Perception of low economies of scale due to site-specificity/diversity of solutions

Current focus on achieving high impacts per hectare, rather than high total impacts

Measure agricultural carbon Measure agricultural carbon cheaply and effectively cheaply and effectively

New agricultural landscape scale MRV tools being developed (e.g. Carbon Benefits Project, Cornell Climate Initiative)

Leading edge projects being implemented (e.g. WB Biocarbon Fund projects in Kenya)

Methodologies being developed for Voluntary Markets

Mobilize communities for climate Mobilize communities for climate planning and investmentplanning and investment

Initiate climate action with organized & tenure-secure communities

Build capacity of farmer and local/landscape organizations (numerous landscape initiatives)

Small grant facilities for local analysis, planning, assistance, mapping (e.g., Google Earth)

Ensure community representatives are ‘at the table’ to set PES rules (including Copenhagen)

Build efficient value chains for Build efficient value chains for climate payments to farmersclimate payments to farmers

Institutionalize intermediary & bundling services, accountable to farmer clients (e.g., build on farmer coop models)

Establish livelihood-focused Carbon Funds

Utilize landscape-scale planning and monitoring tools (e.g. www.landscapemeasures.org)

“Bundle” agricultural products with climate regulation services

Incorporate into outgrower schemes

Build on existing models for Build on existing models for operating at scale operating at scale Large-scale government programs for

restoring degraded lands and forests (e.g., South Africa, Nigeria)

Large-scale development projects on sustainable land management (e.g., IFAD, Sahel)

National platforms for coordinating action on SLM (e.g., TerrAfrica)

Territorial management initiatives

NGO, farmer, agribusiness networks (e.g., IFAP, EAFF, dairy networks)

Build support for full inclusion of Build support for full inclusion of African agriculture in climate talks African agriculture in climate talks negactionnegactionBuilding a rigorous case

for the potential to scale

• Document existing programs that can be scaled

• Document landscape-wide GHG emissions/storage in diverse landscapes

• Calculate impacts of landscape-wide action

Devise concrete strategies for action at scale

• Pilot country plans where major co-benefits identified for ‘re-carbonizing’ or protecting standing carbon in landscapes

• Integrate climate action in major agricultural investment programs of donors & development banks

• Mobilize voluntary carbon market to pilot and document diverse strategies

Thank you…Thank you…

www.ecoagriculture.org