The 'Addressing forestry and agroforestry in National Adaptation Plans: Supplementary guidelines' provide specific guidance for national adaptation planning in the forestry sector. They are intended to be used by national planners and decision–makers working on climate change issues in developing countries and authorities and experts who are contributing to climate change adaptation and NAP formulation and implementation.

The Addressing Fisheries and Aquaculture in National Adaptation Plans Supplement provides technical guidance on the integration of fisheries and aquaculture in the formulation and implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and complements FAO’s Addressing agriculture, forestry and fisheries in National Adaptation Plans – Supplementary guidelines (referred to as NAP-Ag Guidelines, FAO 2017a). It aims to draw the attention of policy makers and government officers responsible for NAP planning and processes generally, as well as fisheries and aquaculture officers at country level, specifically. It collates and analyses relevant information from fisheries and aquaculture to support the sector’s ability to take part in national climate change adaptation planning processes.

Land use and land-use change (including related policies) interact with climate and climate change (including related policies) in multiple ways. Land-use sectors are among the most affected by climate change. They are also a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, agriculture, forestry and other land use are the second source of GHG emissions after fossil fuel use and account globally for about 23 percent of total net anthropogenic GHG emissions. However, the land use sectors are not only part of the problem, but also part of the solution. They are key to adaptation. The global potential of land-based mitigation options is evaluated at about 30 percent of the global mitigation effort required in 2050 to meet the 1.5 °C target of the Paris Agreement. This publication, resulting from a collaboration between FAO and the Center for International Forestry Research, lead centre of the CGIAR research programme on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry, aims to recall those complex interactions and to explore the opportunities to enhance the role of land use under theUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to advance climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The Integrating Agriculture into National Adaptation Plans (NAP-Ag) programme, jointly coordinated by UNDP and FAO, worked with eleven countries to identify and integrate climate adaptation measures into national planning and budgeting processes, in support of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (in particular SDG 2 - Zero Hunger; and SDG 13 - Climate Action) and the Paris Agreement. The evaluation assessed programme relevance and the achievement and sustainability of programme results among other dimensions. The evaluation found that NAP-Ag’s country-driven, multi-sector and multi-level approach allowed for ample engagement of stakeholders, contributed to establish coordination mechanisms and promoted ownership of results. The programme supported the development of institutional capacities; directly influenced the integration of agriculture adaptation options into countries’ plans, practices and policies, and supported countries in accessing climate finance. NAP-Ag also contributed to global climate change adaptation efforts by supporting countries to accomplish the work outlined by UNFCCC. NAP-Ag also influenced the inclusion of gender aspects adaptation options in many countries. FAO should continue promoting the adoption of programme outcomes in countries’ systems and further support countries to mobilize financial support to scale up lessons learned from NAP-Ag. Private sector involvement should be increased to guarantee the implementation of certain climate adaptation options. Strategic stakeholders should be engaged to support gender mainstreaming efforts in agriculture climate adaptation options.

Climate change is expected to bring new challenges and opportunities for the livelihoods of rural communities in Uganda, where more than 80% of the population depends on rain-fed agriculture. The purpose of this review was to analyze national policies on climate change adaptation, agriculture, forests, management of forested and agroforested landscape ecosystems and their goods and services, and the roles of stakeholders in the national arena. Recognizing the role of forest cover in climate change mitigation and adaptation, this review is based on stakeholder engagement and analysis of published literature on the policy, institutional and socioeconomic drivers of forest cover change around Mount Elgon. The bulk of Uganda’s forests are on land under private ownership and deforestation has occurred mainly in such forests. Several national laws and international conventions ratified by Uganda offer a framework under which forests are managed. Management of protected forests is shared between central and local authorities. Several natural resource policies are likely to have significant unintended impacts that may enable or limit the adaptation of stakeholders and ecosystems to climate change. The current climate change policy, which is an overarching document that addresses climate change in Uganda, suggests that policy responses, either sector specific or crosscutting in nature, be harmonized in order to better address the challenges associated with climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Negative impacts of climate change on forests threaten the delivery of crucial wood and non-wood goods and environmental services on which an estimated 1.6 billion people fully or partly depend. Assessment of the vulnerability of forests and forest-dependent people to climate change is a necessary first step for identifying the risks and the most vulnerable areas and people, and for developing measures for adaptation and targeting them for specific contexts. This publication provides practical technical guidance for forest vulnerability assessment in the context of climate change. It describes the elements that should be considered for different time horizons and outlines a structured approach for conducting these assessments. The framework will guide practitioners in conducting a step-by-step analysis and will facilitate the choice and use of appropriate tools and methods. Background information is provided separately in text boxes, to assist readers with differing amounts of experience in forestry, climate change and assessment practices. The publication will provide useful support to any vulnerability assessment with a forest- and tree-related component.

This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2021 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition.

This report provides a unique, sector-specific synthesis of the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted by countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It summarizes the substantial contributions already put forward by countries, opportunities for further action, and the gaps, barriers, and needs that will need to be addressed if the agriculture and land-use sectors in sub-Saharan Africa are to raise mitigation and adaptation ambitions. The findings of this report will help FAO Members to reflect on their progress in advancing toward NDC implementation of their agriculture and land-use priorities, as well as illustrate potential areas for enhancing mitigation and adaptation ambition in future NDCs. The analysis also helps to clarify the links between the NDCs from the region and the 2030 Agenda and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR). Finally, the report serves as a guide to FAO, and other organizations in the region, to design targeted, evidenced-based support programmes that support Member Countries to fill current implementation gaps and scale up climate action in the agriculture and land-use sectors.

Land use is a central issue for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Plantations of all major tropical commodities are expanding quickly. This creates opportunities for development. It also raises concerns about the impacts of these plantations on the environment, landscapes and livelihoods. Natural rubber is a particularly interesting example to consider in the perspective of sustainable development of a commodity’s producing countries and value chains. This paper is a collaboration between the Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) research program of the CGIAR (FTA n.d.) and the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) (IRSG n.d.). FTA works across a range of plantations, value chains and tree crop commodities, from timber, palm oil, cacao, coffee and tea to bamboo, rattan and rubber, among others.

While major strides have been made in the scientific understanding of climate change, much less understood is how these dynamics in the physical enviornment interact with socioeconomic systems. This book brings together the latest knowledge on the consequences of climate change for society and how best to address them.