Valuing Restoring And Managing Presumed Drylands Cerrado Miombo Mopane Woodlands And The Qinghai Tibetan Plateau

The study "Valuing, restoring and managing presumed drylands: Cerrado, Miombo–Mopane woodlands and the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau" confirms the existence of 1 075 million hectares of presumed drylands that are under threat from unsustainable use and climate change. This is in addition to the 6.1 billion hectares of official drylands that already cover 41 percent of the planet’s land surface and are home to 2 billion people. All these areas contain high levels of biodiversity and are home to a large number of people reliant on agriculture to sustain their livelihoods, this is why it's so important to research, analyse and work to protect them. The report contains concrete information on the environmental and ecological value of these dryland areas, and key recommendations for actions to limit land degradation, sustain biodiversity and mitigate climate change.

Climate change is one of the most critical social and environmental concerns and the biggest threat to economic stability in human history. Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, are vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change. Although average forest cover is only 10.2 percent of these countries (FAO-SEC countries), they play an essential role in climate change mitigation and adaptation, including human well-being and biodiversity co-benefits. The NbS concept has gained attention since the late 2000s. Its practical contribution to global climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts has found significant implementation opportunities in forestry to support the protection and conservation, restoration and expansion, and sustainable management of forests under the impact of climate change.Globally, implementing NbSs to combat the negative impact of climate change on forestry is promoted by the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Paris Agreement, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.Regionally, implementing NbSs to combat the negative impacts of climate change on forestry has been included in the forest policy initiatives of the countries in the sub-region recently. As a result, governments have implemented NbSs through national strategies and programs to address societal challenges by enhancing ecosystem services and promoting human well-being and biodiversity co-benefits. For example, Azerbaijan has implemented afforestation, reforestation, rehabilitation, and restoration activities in forest fund lands on an average of 9 727 hectares (ha) annually since 2000. Kazakhstan aims to save the Aral Sea basin from salinity and improve soil fertility through afforestation activities of saxaul species on 0.25 million ha, and the afforestation area in the Aral Sea will be extended by 1 million ha till 2025. Kyrgyzstan has planned a 1,000-ha annual plantation program to expand protected natural areas to 10 percent. Tajikistan implements 2,000 ha of annual plantation activities to increase the greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential through participatory forestry sector development. Türkiye implemented afforestation, soil conservation, forest rehabilitation, pasture rehabilitation, private afforestation, artificial regeneration, and establishment of energy forests activities on 9.62 million ha from 1946 to 2022. Turkmenistan conducts afforestation activities with drought-resistant plant species and established the "Golden Century Lake" in the Karakum Desert to improve the climate conditions and conserve biodiversity. Uzbekistan declared the Aral Sea region

Trees in dryland forests and wooded areas provide key ecosystem services such as animal feed, timber, fruits and, regulation of soil and water cycles. Equally, the presence of livestock in dryland woody areas can also play an important role in the local ecosystem; not only are they a source of income for local communities, but they also help vegetation and mobilise stored biomass. When both of these ecosystem elements are wisely combined – livestock and trees – it creates an integrated agricultural system that can boost the local ecosystem, representing a welcome agro-ecological transition in livestock farming. The ‘Grazing with Trees’ report gives a thorough assessment of the positive role that optimized extensive grazing livestock farming can play in the management and restoration of drylands’ forests and lands with trees. It assesses and provides sound evidence on the benefits of applying an integrated landscape approach and utilizing farmers and pastoralists’ knowledge to halt desertification, increase resilience, and enhance food security under the actual changing scenario. The report confirms the importance of agroforestry as a primary pathway for forest restoration in dryland areas as recommended by FAO’s State of Forests 2022, and its recommendations encourage landscape planners and decision makers to consider livestock as allies, carefully restore tree cover and accelerate action to promote healthy ecosystems.

This book is an initiative of a subcommittee of SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment) which realized that the integrity of many natural ecosystems was being threatened by the ingress of invasive species.

The rapidly changing nature of animal production systems, especially increasing intensification and globalization, is playing out in complex ways around the world. Over the last century, livestock keeping evolved from a means of harnessing marginal resources to produce items for local consumption to a key component of global food chains. Livestock in a Changing Landscape offers a comprehensive examination of these important and far-reaching trends. The books are an outgrowth of a collaborative effort involving international nongovernmental organizations including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Swiss College of Agriculture (SHL), the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), and the Scientific Committee for Problems of the Environment (SCOPE). Volume 1 examines the forces shaping change in livestock production and management; the resulting impacts on landscapes, land use, and social systems; and potential policy and management responses. Volume 2 explores needs and draws experience from region-specific contexts and detailed case studies. The case studies describe how drivers and consequences of change play out in specific geographical areas, and how public and private responses are shaped and implemented. Together, the volumes present new, sustainable approaches to the challenges created by fundamental shifts in livestock management and production, and represent an essential resource for policy makers, industry managers, and academics involved with this issue