News

Title Guarding gardens amidst climate change

Body There are things that come to mind when someone hears the phrase
“climate change” -- warming air and oceans, more unpredictable weather,
sea levels rising, ice caps melting, etc. These are all impacts of a warming
world, but there are also changes closer to home, often times much
closer. Maybe in your backyard.

As weather patterns change gardeners are beginning to think about how

to continue planting and growing their gardens in the face of
unpredictability.

Diana Alfuth is a horticulture outreach specialist with the University of

Wisconsin Extension. She is also a Master Gardener and has seen the
affects of climate change on gardening habits in Pierce and St. Croix
counties. She outlines four areas where she has seen changes: hardiness
zones, growing seasons, invasive species and the frequency of rainfall.

Hardiness zones

“Every 20 years or so the Department of Agriculture publishes a map of

hardiness zones, which is based on the lowest winter temperatures,”
Alfuth said. “The latest version shifted the colder zones farther north.
Some areas in Wisconsin moved up a zone. That means we are able to
plant and grow certain species of trees, shrubs and perennial flowers that
we never used to.

"Unfortunately, it also means that some of the plants that have

traditionally been on the 'southern edge' of their comfort zone in our area
will be stressed as the average temperatures rise. While it will be a slow
process, we expect to lose some of our native plants to rising
temperatures.”

In October 2018, Yale Environment 360 published an article that focused

on hardiness zones. The author, Nicola Jones wrote:

“When that map was last updated, in 2012, nearly half the country was
upgraded to half a zone warmer than it had been in 1990; in other words,
all the lines shifted on average a little to the north. That was partly thanks
to more detailed mapping techniques, the authors of the map reported,
but also because temperatures were warmer in the more recent data
set.”

Jones goes on to explain that based on current projections, studies found

that hardiness zones from 2041 to 2070 will continue moving northward
at a rate of 13.3 miles per decade. This will result in warmer and shorter
winters and a continual flux in what can be planted and grown in
Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Growing season

A warming world means that in the Midwest growing seasons are

changing.

“For annual plants, which includes our vegetable gardens, the average
growing season is longer than it used to be,” Alfuth said. “This means the
date of the average last frost in May and the first frost in
September/October are farther apart, meaning we can grow some crops
that take longer to mature. … A longer growing season means we can
grow some new things.”

While a longer season can mean that crops and plants grown in
Minnesota and Wisconsin can be more diverse, it also means that there
may be an increase in invasive species.

Invasive species

Alfuth explained that invasive species will become more common as

growing seasons expand.

“Both plants and insects that previously couldn’t make it through our cold
winters but will now be able to survive and get established,” Alfuth said.

Experts do not have an agreed-upon hypothesis for how climate change

will impact invasive species. The Invasive Species Council states that
climate change will result in native species being stressed while weeds,
new diseases and invasive animals will grow in population. An article
published in the Smithsonian in December 2013 stated that longer
growing seasons will allow more invasive species to take root (literally
and figuratively). Meanwhile, the Climate Institute has stated, “It remains
uncertain whether increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere
will generally favor non-native plant species over native plant species.”

Despite what climate change’s impact will be on native and invasive

species, gardeners can help native species by growing plants that are
native to the region and those that attract and feed native insects and
animals.

Rainfall frequency

Those who have been in southwestern Minnesota and western Wisconsin

over the past few years have probably noticed the varying precipitation.
 Last spring many fields had barren patches where the soil was too wet to
grow crops. In late September eastern Minnesota and the southwestern
corner of the state are classified as “abnormally dry” or in a “moderate
drought.”

“Not being able to count on our ‘average’ rainfall and rain events will
make gardening more challenging,” Alfuth said.

Action steps

While the future for gardeners is unknown there are ways that individuals
and communities can work to protect their gardens and help the region.
The University of Maryland Extension offers suggestions that include:

 Use “human power” in the garden instead of tools and equipment

that require gas.
 Plant trees around houses to help lessen the need to heat or cool
the dwelling.
 Compost from yard clippings and food waste helps return
nutrients to the soil and reduces erosion.
 Plant species that attract pollinators.
 Think about grass alternatives when planting and maintaining a
lawn.

Alfuth said of local gardeners:

“Be prepared for anything! They should plant trees and shrubs that are
adaptable to both wet and dry periods. They should have backup
irrigation available for dry spells, but that irrigation should be efficient
and water saving (such as drip irrigation, soaker hoses, etc.). They should
push the hardiness zones to try new plants, but also be prepared for an
'old fashioned' year that ends up damaging or killing them. They should
follow the DNR’s list of potentially invasive plants and avoid anything of
concern. Basically, they should keep aware of news and information that
becomes available on how climate change is progressing and what the
latest science is.”
Excerpt “Be prepared for anything! They should plant trees and shrubs that are
adaptable to both wet and dry periods. They should have backup
irrigation available for dry spells, but that irrigation should be efficient
and water saving (such as drip irrigation, soaker hoses, etc.). They should
push the hardiness zones to try new plants, but also be prepared for an
'old fashioned' year that ends up damaging or killing them. They should
follow the DNR’s list of potentially invasive plants and avoid anything of
concern. Basically, they should keep aware of news and information that
becomes available on how climate change is progressing and what the
latest science is.”
Publish date 30 Dec 2020
Type World news
Source https://www.rivertowns.net/news/weather/6714934-Guarding-gardens-
amidst-climate-change
Picture

Title Biden Faces Environmental Challenges on Multiple International Treaties

Body Paris Agreement on climate

The treaty negotiated in 2015 was a major accomplishment of the Obama

administration. By withdrawing the United States from the treaty, President
Donald Trump made the country the only one in the world to quit the pact. Some
189 nations have ratified it and a few more have signed (but not ratified).

President-elect Biden has vowed to rejoin the pact on his first day in office. That
one act won’t change much right away, but it may be a start at restoring U.S.
leadership on worldwide climate action.

Biden’s pick of former Secretary of State John Kerry to be his special envoy for
climate may help, too. Kerry was one of the key actors in getting consensus on
the Paris accord during the Obama years.

The hopes embodied in Paris may have unraveled a bit since 2015. The
leadership role abandoned by the United States has been only partially filled by
China and the European Union.

Despite Trump’s false assertions, the Paris pact didn’t hurt the United States,
because it is entirely voluntary and forces no nation to do anything. That, in fact,
is the problem. The work ahead — still — is to give it teeth.

The existing Paris pact allows each nation to volunteer its unique “nationally
determined contribution,” or NDC, in terms of greenhouse gas reductions. The
pact also declared the parties’ collective goal of limiting global warming to “well
below” 2° C during this century, preferably 1.5° C.

A 2018 report (may require subscription) by the Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change, or IPCC, the science body that advises the United Nations on
climate, painted dire consequences if the 1.5° goal is not reached. More recent
studies suggest that many nations are not meeting their NDC commitments and
that the world could warm 1.5° C by 2025.

As Biden re-engages the United States in the Paris process, there are some
touchstones to watch.

First, to use U.N. lingo, is “ambition.” That means convincing signatory nations to
jack up their NDC commitments to a higher level, hopefully one that will keep the
temperature goals from being exceeded.
Second is “transparency” — which means each nation showing its receipts to
prove that it is fulfilling its NDC pledge. The issue, with nations like China, is,
“How do we know you are doing what you say you are doing?”

Another code phrase you need to know is “loss and damage.” The idea is that the
emissions of rich countries like the United States are hurting poor,
underdeveloped and vulnerable countries, like small island nations that may be
completely swamped by sea level rise.

Many of the poorer countries have asserted that rich countries owe them
compensation — money — not only for fairness, but to help them comply with
low-emission goals and adapt to climate damage.

This is a chronic conflict that has beset climate talks from the beginning. When
rich nations have promised financial help, they have often fallen short of
promises. When Trump dropped out of Paris, he also declared that the United
States would not follow through (may require subscription) on what it had
pledged to contribute to the Green Climate Fund, one of the mechanisms for
transferring such aid.

The nations that pursue the Paris accord meet in full regalia every year in what is
called a “Conference of Parties,” or COP. It’s the biggest of many meetings.
COP26, which was supposed to happen in November 2020 in Glasgow, was
postponed because of the pandemic. It is currently slated for Nov. 2021. The
international jockeying has, however, continued from afar, driven partly by world
events like the pandemic and fossil fuel markets.

One does not have to be a clairvoyant to know that John Kerry has his work cut
out for him.

Convention on Biological Diversity

Another big one is the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, or CBD, which was
started back in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio. Over the years, some 196
nations have ratified it. But not the United States.

The CBD is really the keystone of an array of other international treaties related
to biodiversity (see more below on the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species, or CITES, which restricts trade in endangered species). The
next COP for this treaty, because of the pandemic, was postponed from October
2020 to May 2021 in Kunming, China.

That will put it squarely on Biden’s international “to-do” list.

Even though it has not ratified the CBD, the United States could be a 900-pound
gorilla in the discussions. Currently, Brazil is at odds with other nations —
technically over meeting formats, but really over President Jair Bolsonaro’s
policies on the Amazon rainforest.

The departure of Trump, a Bolsonaro cheerleader, could alter the dynamics of

the CBD meeting, which is intended to set a framework for the treaty’s future.

Marine Fuel Agreement

Most issues related to ocean shipping are regulated (to the extent they are
regulated) by agreements adopted under the International Maritime
Organization, or IMO. Back in 1973, many of the IMO nations agreed to a treaty
called MARPOL, intended to cut down on marine pollution.

The latest version, MARPOL 2020, calls on nations to set standards for lowering
sulfur in marine fuel. Historically, ship engines have used “bunker fuel,” similar to
diesel but often with high sulfur content, which means a lot of soot.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency participates in setting standards under

MARPOL for U.S. waters. Since the standards are supposed to have come into
effect this year, the incoming Biden administration may face a challenge in
enforcing them.

Airplane emissions

It was big news in 2016, the first year after the Paris accord, when some 191
nations, meeting under U.N. auspices, agreed that they should do something to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions from non-military aircraft. That may have been
the high point.

The deal seemingly struck by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N.
entity, aspired to remove some 10,000 million tonnes of greenhouse gases from
the atmosphere each year. Things even progressed to the point of the EPA
proposing a rule that would have set emission standards for certain airplane
engines.

But the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans. By the middle of 2020, the airline
industry was facing huge losses as passengers disappeared out of virus fear.
Suddenly, all Congress and the administration could think about was how to
legislate tens of billions of dollars to rescue the industry from total oblivion.

Tune in again when the pandemic is over.

The Arctic Council

The Arctic Council isn’t a treaty exactly, but a serious international forum about a
set of issues growing more important all the time. And the United States has a
seat on it. It was set up by the Ottawa Declaration of 1996. The incoming Biden
administration faces important issues in the Arctic.
The Arctic matters because it is the part of the globe most severely and quickly
affected by climate change. It is melting, or at least thawing. This affects life and
culture in the Arctic itself — and the rest of the globe too. The waning of ice is
opening not only new global sea lanes, but potentially many oil and gas
development projects, too.

Nations on the Council beside the United States are Canada, Denmark, Finland,
Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden. Six organizations representing Indigenous
cultures are permanent participants.

The United States held the rotating chairmanship of the council during 2015-
2017. Russia will chair the council for 2021-2023. The council will be one arena
where U.S.-Russian relations will evolve during the Biden era.

If only by virtue of having more icebreakers, Russia is poised to dominate Arctic

shipping. Its ability to pursue its oil and gas agenda depends partly on U.S.
sanctions, which block funding.

Plastics pollution treaty

Many people have complained for years about the environmental harm caused
by plastics, especially those which end up polluting the ocean.

Now there is a global movement to do something about it. The question is

whether the United States is on board.

Preliminary meetings have been promising, with some two-thirds of nations

indicating they are open to the idea of a new international agreement to limit
plastics. A working group set the stage when it met in November 2020.

The main event, however, will come at the big biennial meeting of the U.N.
Environment Assembly (the plenary of the U.N. Environment Programme) on
Feb. 22-26, 2021. It is slated to be in Nairobi, Kenya, where UNEP has its
headquarters, although the pandemic may make it virtual.

So far, though, the United States and the United Kingdom, two of the biggest
waste-producing nations, have not endorsed a global treaty to limit plastics in
the ocean. U.S. environmental groups hope Biden will jump in and support the
international effort. In fact, they have asked for much steeper restrictions on
plastic, including its manufacture.

Montreal Protocol on HFCs

The Montreal Protocol, reached in 1987, regulates substances that deplete the
stratospheric ozone layer — which protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet
radiation. By most accounts, it has been a fairly successful treaty.
One outstanding issue is a new class of chemical, hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs,
which came into use to replace ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons. CFCs have
the harmful side effect of warming the climate (they are greenhouse gases). In
October 2016, the 196 nations who are party to the Montreal Protocol agreed on
a measure to phase out HFCs. It was called the Kigali Amendment.

The Kigali Amendment was developed under U.S. leadership during the Obama
administration. It entered into force in 2019, when the requisite number of
nations ratified it. Under the Trump administration, however, it has remained
unratified.

That puts it on a potential environmental international to-do list for Biden (or
really for Kerry, whose baby it is). Senate action would be needed for the United
States to ratify the Kigali Amendment. At least a dozen GOP senators and the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce have endorsed it. The problem, it seems, was the Trump
administration, which was opposed to action on climate change and
multilateralism generally.

Other treaties

There are a lot more international environmental agreements than most people
realize — some 3,000 by one count. Those mentioned above are only the handful
that may cause President Biden real political heartburn in the near term.

For example, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or

CITES, originated in 1963 and is a fairly stable treaty. There is a full meeting every
two or three years, but the United States does not seem embroiled in major
CITES issues right now. CITES is an offshoot of the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, which makes news every year when it updates
its “Red List” of endangered species.

Another is the web of international agreements that the United States

implements via the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which Congress first passed back in
1918. This gets updated a lot and argued about even more. Most recently, the
uproar has been over the Trump administration’s reinterpretation of the MBTA
to allow killing of birds by companies when the killing is not intended (e.g., an oil
spill).

Another issue, hard to find in mainstream media headlines, has to do with cross-
border transfer of waste, particularly hazardous waste and electronic waste.
There does exist a fabric of international treaty law, under the Basel Convention,
for example, aimed at controlling these waste flows.

But children still scavenge through toxic e-waste in dumps in Ghana and other
developing countries. One of the few international bodies trying to address the
problems is the World Health Organization, from which Trump this year
 withdrew the United States.

Excer  Poorer countries have asserted that rich countries owe them
pt compensation. ... This is a chronic conflict that has beset climate talks from
the beginning.
 Even though it has not ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity, the
United States could be a 900-pound gorilla in the discussions.
 The Arctic matters because it is the part of the globe most severely and
quickly affected by climate change.
 The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which Congress first passed back in 1918, gets
updated a lot and argued about even more.
Publis 30 Dec 2020
h date
Type World news
Sourc https://www.sej.org/publications/backgrounders/biden-faces-environmental-
e challenges-multiple-international-treaties?
fbclid=IwAR0LrVnxW4qO66XVVcbPfF0UR5TO7VmqG6ReRZo1rLQrMSOlmkspW9
B7tTo
Pictur
e

Title Building up carbon sinks in northeast India’s shifting cultivation landscape

Body Chestnut and olive trees that occur naturally in the wild in Manipur have
the potential to speed up fallow regrowth in shifting cultivation (jhum)
sites and enhance carbon sinks as the fallows regenerate into secondary
forests, according to a study.

Olive (Elaeocarpus floribundus Blume) and chestnut (Castanopsis hystrix)

can be collected from the surrounding forests or germinated and planted
in jhum fallows to accelerate natural succession, said Mizoram University
researchers who identified the two species that strike roots in early
fallows.

The study’s corresponding author Uttam K. Sahoo of Mizoram University

told Mongabay-India that fallow age was the key contributor to carbon
recovery in fallow stands. Experts suggest the successful implementation
of carbon-based payment for ecosystem services (PES) schemes, such as
REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation),
can also conserve landscape-level carbon stocks and biodiversity in
shifting cultivation landscapes.

Researchers measured tree height and girth at four shifting cultivation

fallow lands (left unplanted for 5, 10, 15, and 20 years) owned by local
community members in Ukhrul and Chandel districts of Manipur. Ukhrul
is located at an elevation of 1662 metres above sea level and Chandel at
957 metres. They estimate that “it will roughly take 39 to 41 years for the
regenerated fallows to store equal carbon as that of an undisturbed
forest.”

In their Manipur site, researchers found that the slope, aspect

(positioning of the fallows), and elevation were responsible for the
increase in the number of trees with the increase in the number of years
the land remained uncultivated (fallow). The size of the tree also
increased with increasing fallow age.

Forest recovery increased with increasing elevation and that’s why the
percent recovery of tree species from 5 years fallow to 20 years fallow
was more in Ukhrul (located at a higher altitude) than in Chandel. This is
because high altitude species have great potential to adapt to diverse
micro-climatic situations as high elevation forests are generally open
forests and therefore have more ability to recruit in the deforested areas.

Joli R. Borah who researches on sustainable management of agricultural

landscapes for biodiversity conservation and human well-being agrees
with the findings that fallow age was found to have contributed the most
to the recovery of carbon.

“As fallows regenerate in shifting cultivation, they sequester carbon

stocks in recovering biomass,” said Borah, who was not associated with
the Manipur study. Borah, a postdoctoral research fellow, Faculty of
Forestry, University of British Columbia, told Mongabay-India that
previous studies from elsewhere including her research in Nagaland have
also shown that fallow age is the most important factor in carbon stock
recovery in shifting cultivation landscapes.

Farmers are also applying innovative ways to bolster forest regeneration (

rapid carbon recovery) and improve crop production. In Nagaland’s
Khonoma village, for example, the Angami Naga tribe innovated the Alder
coppicing system by retaining and pollarding nitrogen-fixing Alder trees
that facilitate fallow regrowth, she adds.

The dynamic nature of shifting cultivation, an agricultural system

practiced for centuries, results in a landscape mosaic of jhum fields,
secondary forests, and old-growth forests. Many forests in northeast
India are secondary forests at different stages of succession following
shifting cultivation. These forests are an essential source of rural
livelihood and also for multiple environmental functions such as soil and
watershed conservation, flood control, and carbon storage, the authors
underscore.

In northeast India, an area of 8500 square kilometers is still being used to

practice shifting cultivation, revealed a 2018 report released by the Indian
government think tank NITI Aayog. But the promotion and expansion of
settled agriculture such as terrace farming and plantations have come at
the cost of regenerating fallows, which would otherwise have regrown
into secondary forests.

The resultant land-use change has long-term implications, leading to a

loss of vital ecosystem services and land degradation, according to the
report.

Sahoo observes that while northeast India has been a “huge contributor”
to greenhouse gas emissions due to deforestation, adapting proper land-
use systems will help recover biomass carbon stock in the forests.
Secondary forests, such as recovered fallow stands, are gaining
importance in the tropics as pristine forests are cleared. “Over the years,
it is accepted that regrowth forests in the tropics provide similar
ecosystem goods and services as old-growth forests,” he pointed out,
clarifying that shifting cultivation is an old concept built around the
temporary removal of trees “but not of the forest.”

Impacts of changing patterns of shifting cultivation on carbon storage

Borah reiterates while the recent trends of reducing fallow period and
expansion to the primary forest in shifting cultivation contribute
considerably to carbon emission and biodiversity loss in the tropics, at the
same time, this traditional practice of cultivation also plays an important
role in ensuring food security by providing subsistence to 200-300 million
people across the world.

“With this marked and increasing contribution of shifting cultivation to

forest transformation, it is vital to understand the impacts of changing
patterns of shifting cultivation on carbon storage and to develop
strategies to reduce carbon emission while maintaining crop yield in these
landscapes,” she said.

In the last few decades, the state policies in northeast India viewed
shifting cultivation as a primitive, inefficient (due to low yields) and
environmentally unsustainable practice (due to deforestation, forest
degradation, and soil erosion) and provided incentives for settled
agriculture and perennial cash crops, noted Borah. Holding that there is a
need to change the prevailing negative perception of jhum, Sahoo
emphasises understanding secondary succession and the ecosystem
services associated with it.

Borah spelled out legislations such as the Jhum Land Regulation act (1948)
and National Forest Policy (1952) aimed at rehabilitating shifting
cultivation and promoting terrace cultivation, animal husbandry,
horticulture, permanent agriculture, and cash crop cultivation (coffee,
tea, black pepper, teak, and rubber). Various schemes such as ‘Control of
Shifting Cultivation (1976-1977)’ and ‘Purchase of Land for Rehabilitation
of Jhumias and Land-less Tribal (1985-86)’ tried to resettle jhum farmers
in arable land across the northeastern states.

In contrast to the perceptions that motivated government initiatives to

replace shifting cultivation, scientific evidence, Borah pointed out,
suggests that it is well adapted to heavy rainfall and environmental
conditions in mountainous regions and less harmful for the environment
and biodiversity compared to permanent agriculture (e.g. oil palm or
rubber plantation). Abandoned fallows are also known to have a high
potential for carbon storage. In fact, as Sahoo notes, some studies have
shown higher species richness, soil, and water holding capacities, carbon
stock in abandoned fallows than other permanent agriculture.

While assessing how the declining fallow period affects carbon stocks in
shifting cultivation landscapes, and the land-use strategies that can boost
landscape-level carbon under REDD+ in Nagaland, Borah, and co-authors
found that carbon stocks recover substantially as the secondary forest
regenerates following shifting cultivation, with a 30-year fallow storing
about half the carbon of an old-growth forest.

Recent state policies, such as the Shillong Declaration 2004 and National
Mission on Greening India, have tried to move away from the negative
perceptions and to improve shifting cultivation rather than replacing it.
“Nagaland Environmental Protection and Economic Development (NEPED
2002) has successfully incorporated farmers’ innovations such as contour
hedgerow intercropping (growing nitrogen-fixing shrubs as dense
hedgerows along slope contours and planting crops between the
hedgerows) into its programs,” observed Borah.

Farmers in different parts of northeast India are “adapting various

innovative ways to enhance forest regeneration (i.e., rapid carbon
recovery) and improve crop production.”

“They have innovated techniques in various stages of the cultivation

process, such as clearing, cropping and fallow management such as
preventing soil erosion by using wooden logs and cover crops, managing
fallows by retaining plants that aid in faster fallow and soil recovery and in
some instances avoid burning by adopting slash and mulch system,” she
elaborated.

However, there are still challenges in incorporating the complex and

dynamic nature of shifting cultivation with its transition from farmland to
regenerating forest during a cultivation cycle. “During the cropping phase,
it is often considered as agriculture and the same piece of land is
categorised as ‘abandoned land’, ‘wastelands’ or ‘Unclassed State Forests’
during the fallow phase. This ambiguity leads to the same piece of land
falling under different laws, regulations, and management.”
“To address this effectively, policies need to adopt a landscape-scale
approach by integrating the inherent mosaic nature of this cultivation
system with various land uses and ensure cooperation between different
ministries such as the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change and Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region,” Borah
said.

A recent study had pointed out that in the West Garo Hills district of
Meghalaya, shifting cultivation is the most extensive land-use, followed by
tree plantations, while old-growth forest is confined to only a few
locations, contradicting government reports on the area of the district
under forest cover. The study contested the India State of Forest (ISFR)
2015 report that claimed a total of 79 percent (78.84 percent) ‘forest
cover’ in West Garo Hills district. Authors had told Mongabay-India that
without a revision of the definition of forest, the map classes, and
mapping methodology, claims about shifting cultivation-induced
deforestation cannot be made.

REDD++ in shifting cultivation landscapes for conservation

Despite the ambiguity in government nomenclature and forest mapping,

successful implementation of carbon-based payment for ecosystem
services (PES) schemes, such as REDD++ (Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation), can also conserve biodiversity in
shifting cultivation landscapes by protecting its habitats.

Borah’s research shows a “strong potential of REDD+ in protecting

landscape-level carbon stocks.”

“Our assessment of potential management strategies under REDD+

suggests that sparing old-growth forests from conversion into shifting
cultivation by intensifying cropping in a smaller area is the most optimal
strategy for protecting landscape carbon. In the existing shifting
cultivation system without any old-growth forest, REDD+ funding can be
invested in sparing older fallows, which also stores a significant amount of
landscape carbon, for permanent forest regeneration,” she said.

Maintaining a longer fallow cycle, for instance at a 15-year cultivation

cycle can also sequester considerable levels of carbon compared to
landscapes with short fallow cycles (5- and 10-year cultivation cycles).

“The results from my overall Ph.D. work reveal that shifting cultivation
maintains high levels of carbon stocks and bird diversity, suggesting
potential win-win outcomes for conservation interventions. Particularly,
mosaic landscapes with farmland and regenerating secondary forests in
Nagaland sustained high levels of bird diversity including forest associated
 species of conservation concern. This implies the high conservation value
of shifting cultivation landscapes in storing carbon and sustaining species
diversity,” she said.

However, caution must be exercised while framing REDD+ projects in the

context of shifting cultivation landscapes so as to not increase farmers’
vulnerability. Some of the issues that need careful consideration are
reliable carbon and biodiversity monitoring protocols, safeguards to avoid
leakage, addressing tenure insecurity, and efficient coordination across
various stakeholders.

“The indigenous communities in shifting cultivation landscapes depend

heavily on forest resources for their livelihood and play an important role
in forest protection and management. The REDD+ mechanism, if not
designed carefully, could potentially increase the vulnerability of these
farmers to negative socio-economic changes. With the careful
introduction of REDD+ while accounting for the cultural diversity and
societal inequalities, there is a strong potential for major carbon and
biodiversity benefits in shifting cultivation,” elaborated Borah.

One example of a REDD+ project that could be replicated is the Khasi Hills
Community REDD+ project, which aimed to protect sacred groves and
watersheds and replant degraded land. It was India’s first community-
based REDD+ project and employed members to monitor forests and
complete carbon assessments.

Excerpt  Mizoram University scientists have identified two tree species that
could be planted in shifting cultivation fallows to speed up their
regeneration into secondary forests and enhance carbon sinks.
 The study finds that fallow age contributed the most to the recovery
of carbon. The findings are in agreement with other studies in the
region. Abandoned fallows are also known to have a high potential for
carbon storage.
 Secondary forests are gaining importance in the tropics as pristine
forests are cleared. And it is vital to understand the impacts of
changing patterns of shifting cultivation on carbon storage.
Publish date 30 Dec 2020
Type World news
Source https://india.mongabay.com/2020/12/building-up-carbon-sinks-in-
northeast-indias-shifting-cultivation-landscape/
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