Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 7 • Number 6 • 30th March 2007

BIOFUELS DEBATE AT DESERTIFICATION MEETING


Experts attending a recent meeting on desertification identified biofuels production and agriculture trade — when practiced in a sustainable manner — as measures that can help promote sustainable land management in dryland areas.

Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) met in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 12-21 March, to review the Convention’s implementation in light of national and regional experiences, and to exchange information on initiatives to conserve soil, manage arid lands sustainably and prevent desertification. Interlinkages with climate change, the impact of global agriculture trade, and opportunities inherent in expanding biofuels production generated much interest and stirred debate at the meeting.

The meeting focused on affected country parties in regions other than Africa. In addition to reviewing the result of regional meetings, sessions were mainly dedicated to panel presentations and discussions on selected topics such as synergies with other environmental conventions, measures for the rehabilitation of degraded land and investment in rural areas in the context of combating land degradation and desertification. The meeting also sought to provide input to the draft UNCCD strategy for the next 10 years, set to be agreed at the next Conference of the Parties.

Sustainable income from dryland agriculture?

Meeting participants highlighted positive and negative trade impacts on land management, as well as trade-related factors that could enhance sustainable practices in arid areas. They noted that income generated from agricultural trade, physical access to markets, ecotourism development, and the dismantling of agricultural subsidies in industrialised countries could foster investment in sustainable land management (SLM).

During a session on measures for the rehabilitation of degraded land, the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) called attention to farmers’ profit margins as the main driver for sustainable agricultural practices. In an intervention, IFAP stressed that for SLM to take place, there was a need to ensure the maximum possible benefits from trade for producers, physical access to markets, and trade reforms (Negotiations in the context of the WTO Doha round seek to, among other, open up trade in agricultural products by cutting subsidies and tariffs globally, see Bridges Trade BioRes 2 February 2007, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/07-02-02/story1.htm). IFAP underscored the need to guarantee that farmers receive a ‘fair’ price for the goods they produce. Following the same line of thought, Switzerland said that farmers’ ability to invest in natural resources and SLM was related to income generation from agricultural production.

Biofuel potential in drylands

The potential for biofuel production in drylands was also discussed at the meeting. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) spoke out in support of biofuels production as a strategic opportunity in dryland areas. The EU and Brazil also said biofuels could enhance income generation and reverse land degradation and desertification. Jatropha, a small tree that does well in dry areas, provided one concrete example. Vegetable oil is extracted from the fruits of the Jatropha tree, which originates from Central America. As the tree grows, it binds carbon dioxide, and by selling such ‘emissions reductions,’ countries could tap into emerging international carbon markets in addition to gaining incomes from the oil itself.

The role of ecotourism in generating income in drylands

In a presentation on investment in rural areas in the context of combating land degradation and desertification, Namibia stressed that biodiversity-based industries such as ecotourism provided more income, education, and job opportunities than farming in Namibia’s marginal agricultural land. Namibia said that policies promoting a high "tradable value" for indigenous biodiversity increased investment in sustainable use of natural resources. A delegate from Brazil explained that entrepreneurship, access to capital markets and prospects of profitability, as well as public policies that create a positive investment environment and reduce the costs of doing business created the conditions for increasing investment in rural areas. During the discussions, Germany stressed that one of the conditions for small-scale farmers to invest in sustainable land use was the dismantling of agricultural subsidies in industrialised countries.

The report of the fifth session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC-5) will be used to produce a series of recommendations for the eighth Conference of the Parties (COP-8) to the UNCCD, to be held from 3-14 September 2007, in Madrid, Spain. Proposals adopted included "giving priority to preventive policies and specific activities in the areas of agriculture and forestry, land tenure and promotion of agricultural trade" and the consideration of "potential gender-sensitive income-generating opportunities offered by drylands, such as national parks, community conservancies, wildlife farming, indigenous biodiversity production and ecotourism developments."

Additional resources

The meeting documents are available at http://www.unccd.int/cop/officialdocs/cric5/doclist.php

A comprehensive summary report by IISD’s Earth Negotiations Bulletin is available at http://www.iisd.ca/desert/cric5/

ICTSD reporting; EARTH NEGOTIATIONS BULLETIN, Vol. 4, No. 195, 24 March 2007.