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April 20, 2009 Table of Contents
Commentary
Market Developments
» Carbon
Policy and Law
» Agricultural Carbon in International Climate Talks
Resources
Commentary Agricultural Landscape Carbon: The New Frontier in PES?
by Sara J. Scherr & Seth Shames, Ecoagriculture Partners The field of Agricultural PES is bursting with activity. Opportunities for farmers continue to expand in markets for watershed services, biodiversity conservation, and for eco-certified products, but carbon is clearly the topic of the day in the agricultural PES world. Probably the most salient question at present is whether farmers in the developing and developed world will have an opportunity to benefit from agricultural landscape carbon within the post-2012 international climate change agreement. Voluntary markets already provide opportunities for farmers to benefit from carbon sequestration in soil and biomass on their farms. But if properly structured, provisions in the post-2012 UNFCCC carbon trading framework would provide immense additional possibilities. Political forces appear to be gathering ahead of December’s Copenhagen meeting to advocate for agriculture’s inclusion (see Policy and Law section), as scientists, policy analysts and advocates debate confront technical, institutional and political challenges. Recent developments in the US are of particular interest for global agricultural PES markets. In January, the US Department of Agriculture established an Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets, a sign that the US government is getting serious about the potential for significantly upscaling PES, particularly carbon. Farmers have been receiving soil carbon credits for a few years on the voluntary Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) and have been piloting methodologies for verification and monitoring. Comparable activities have not been taking place in the regulated markets. This could change with the passage of US cap-and-trade legislation which is currently working its way through the political gauntlet in Washington. A unique constituency of environmental and agricultural advocates would like to see agricultural land as a piece of the climate change puzzle. The outcome of this debate could influence not only the US, but also the way the UNFCCC deals with these issues. We’ll see what happens, and report on it in the AgPES Newsletter. Back To Top Market Developments» Carbon Global: Land Use Carbon and Poverty Reduction Roundtable Highlights Success
The Climate Action for Poverty Reduction (CAPR) Roundtable hosted the event “Land Use Carbon and Poverty Reduction” sponsored by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Ecoagriculture Partners, CARE, World Vision and Conservation International. The goal of the meeting was to convene practitioners and initiate knowledge between them on initiatives that have contribute to poverty reduction. Highlighted efforts included the ‘multiple benefit’ agroforestry systems of the CARE/ICRAF Communities, Conservation and Carbon Initiative (C3), Conservation International's Conservation Agreements, World Vision's Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration and Ecoagriculture Partners’ Landscape Measures Resource Center. check back soon on Global: The Voluntary Carbon Standard announces its rules for Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Uses (AFOLU)
After an 18-month consultation and writing process, The Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) has released protocols for developing carbon sequestration projects in Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU), with provisions for expanding the categories over time. These new standards will pave the way for AFOLU Voluntary Carbon Units (VCUs) that are “credible, robust, permanent and fungible” and deal with thorny project design challenges such as permanence, additionality, leakage, measurement, and monitoring. Among the debut categories is Agricultural Land Management (also included are Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation; Improved Forest Management; and Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation.) The Agricultural Land Management standards allow for the creation of credits through the increase of carbon stocks in soil and woody biomass or by decreasing carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide or methane emissions from soils. Credits for these activities are now virtually impossible to create in regulated carbon markets because of the onerous bureaucratic requirements placed on them. However, these standards could contribute to a reconsideration of the potential of AFOLU credits in the post-2012 climate change negotiations now underway. US: Chicago Climate Exchange addresses soil carbon credibility
Beginning in February, the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) restricted the sale of soil carbon credits to those that are created in current and future years. This means no more selling credits from carbon stored as far back as 2003. This move is designed to blunt criticism directed at CCX surrounding the quality of its soil carbon credits. The CCX is the primary mechanism for US agricultural and livestock producers to sell land use carbon credits. Farmers can participate in the CCX program by using certain low tillage farming practices or by converting cropland into pasture or forest. Livestock producers can sell credits by increase biomass in their pastures or by installing methane capture systems. US: USDA Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets may partner polluters with farmers
The 3-month-old US Department of Agriculture Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets (OESM) is considering ways to stimulate markets for land-based carbon offsets, including on agricultural land. One idea is to create a program that would partner industrial emitters of CO2 with landowners to plant forests or crops. For farmers, this structure would be similar to payments they currently receive to rest their land in order to preserve soil fertility. Global: Cargill enters carbon-credit business
Agribusiness giant Cargill, through its London-based wholly owned subsidiary Green Hercules Trading Ltd., is trading greenhouse gas offsets on the Chicago Climate Exchange. The subsidiary is one of several Cargill business units already listed on the Chicago Climate Exchange. Cargill joined the Chicago exchange, also known as CCX, in March 2007, when the company announced its intention to reduce its own greenhouse emissions some 6 percent by 2010. Green Hercules Trading has a portfolio of carbon offsets from hydro, wind and biomass power projects in locations such as project locations including Mexico, Kenya, Pakistan, India and China. Back To Top » Water Australia: Water markets struggle in New South Wales
A recent report published by the University of New England (UNE) in New South Wales, Australia highlights why the benefits expected from Australia’s National Water Initiative are not being fully realized. The report argues that water reform needs to be integrated with broader environmental and institutional reform. The goal of water trading is for water rights to go to the most efficient users, or the ones who could produce the most value from the water. However, political competition at the national and provincial levels — plus overlapping planning and environmental laws— have created little room for a market to operate. In rural southern Queensland, these overlapping requirements and excessive complexity of administration have discouraged farmers from seizing trading opportunities. US: Chesapeake farmers to begin selling clean water credits in Maryland
This summer, policy for a water quality credit-trading program is expected to be finalized that would pay farmers to go beyond basic conservation efforts to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The credit trading program establishes a marketplace in which farmers can sell certified reductions in nutrient discharges to point source polluters which will in turn be allowed to offset some their pollution. To learn more about Chesapeake Bay water quality trading efforts, visit Back To Top » Biodiversity Global: Bioversity International explores potential for Payment for Agrobiodiversity Conservation Services
Until now there has been almost no explicit consideration of PES schemes for “payment for agrobiodiversity conservation services” (PACS) that monetize the public conservation values at the farmer level, thereby creating incentives for the conservation of crop genetic diversity. The objectives of this Bioversity International project are to promote better nutrition, incomes and empowerment of stakeholder groups through sites in Bolivia, Peru, India and Yemen. It will undertake a wide spectrum of interlinked activities within this topic such as assessment and maintenance of cultural and genetic diversity, selection of better varieties, improvement of processing and value-addition, enhancement of capacities of stakeholders and marketing as well as influencing policy makers and raise public awareness. » Eco-Labeling China: Green Food provides a stepping stone to organic certification
Green Food is a reduced-input agriculture certification system that has served as a stepping stone for Chinese farmers to transition from chemical-intensive farming to the internationally recognized organic standards. Green Food has come to be one of the most successful eco-labeling programs in the world since it began almost 20 years ago, and has helped China become the largest producer of organic-certified food in the world. The Green Food standard has now expanded beyond China to Canadian wheat producers exporting to China who use the label to command premiums in the Chinese markets. This development demonstrates the power of the domestic Chinese food markets for eco-certified food even as the organic label is poorly understood. The Green Food case also provides noteworthy evidence that a country’s transition from chemical intensive agriculture to internationally accepted organic standards does not need to happen in a single step. Global: Wildlife-Friendly Brand expands in agricultural areas, among others
COMACO (Community Markets for Conservation) is a project in the Luangwa Valley of Zambia which supports sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation. The COMACO brand It’s Wild has now been certified as ‘Wild-life-Friendly’ which allows the community to sell its products at a premium and enter new markets. In exchange they manage their agricultural systems to maintain soil fertility, reduce conflicts with wildlife, and commit to stop wildlife snaring or illegal hunting. All proceeds from sales are reinvested in efforts to achieve food security, increased rural income, and improved natural resource management. Certified products include rice, a soy protein supplement, peanut butter, honey and Snarewear, jewelry crafted from snares confiscated by local farmers to protect wildlife. COMACO is only one of 3 projects to have recently received ‘Wildlife Friendly’ certification. For more information on the COMACO and other ‘Wildlife Friendly products, Policy and Law» Agricultural Carbon in International Climate Talks FAO advocates for Smallholder Farmers and carbon finance at the UNFCCC 5th Session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action in Bonn, Germany
This submission to the early April meeting by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) focuses on the climate mitigation potential of soil carbon sequestration, its relevance to smallholders, and its current exclusion from the CDM. It addresses quantification and uncertainty challenges associated with soil carbon sequestration. It also advocates for the development of the necessary institutional and policy environments required to link carbon finance to mitigation from smallholder agricultural sector. The text of the submission can be found here, UNCCD supports soil carbon and biochar as mitigation and adaptation strategies for drylands in post-2012 Climate agreement
Recognizing the potential of drylands as a globally significant sink for carbon, the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) secretariat, like FAO, submitted an agricultural carbon proposal to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 5th Session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA 5). It proposes that climate change policy should take into account carbon contained in soils and the importance of biochar in replenishing soil carbon pools, restoring soil fertility and enhancing the sequestration of CO2. Biochar has been shown to increase soil organic matter and improve its oxidation, traits that can enhance drylands’ long-term water-retention capacity, potentially improving their ability to sustain vegetation and reverse land degradation and desertification. For more information on biochar, IFPRI outlines why agriculture should be at the center of climate negotiations
IFPRI (The International Food Policy Research Institute) has released its first in a series of briefs prepared to support the goal of putting agriculture on the agenda of the UNFCCC negotiations in Copenhagen in December 2009. IFPRI argues that agriculture and climate change are linked in important ways, and this brief focuses on three: (1) climate change will have large effects on agriculture, but precisely where and how much are uncertain, (2) agriculture can help mitigate climate change, and (3) poor farmers will need help adapting to climate change. As negotiations advance toward the Copenhagen meeting, this brief suggests negotiating outcomes for both mitigation and adaptation that will support climate change goals while enhancing the well-being of people who manage and depend on agriculture, especially in the developing world. East and Southern Africa: COMESA joins climate change debate
The Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) delegation attended the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting in Poznan, Poland in December 2008. COMESA advocated for the expansion of eligible carbon credit categories in the post-2012 treaty to include sustainable agriculture, rangeland and forest management, afforestation and reforestation, and reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). COMESA has asked the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) to coordinate Africa-Wide Civil Society Climate Change Initiative for Policy Dialogues (ACCID) to equip governments and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to continue to push these positions forward within the climate change negotiations. Back To Top » US ecosystem services policy developments USDA official says Conservation Reserve Program could become instrument for carbon sequestration on private land
The Conservation Reserve Program, which pays owners to idle fragile U.S. farmland, could become one of the largest carbon sequestration programs on private land, according to USDA official Robert Stephenson during a U.S. House of Representatives Agricultural Sub-committee meeting on March 25. Farm state votes in Congress will be crucial for passage of Obama’s climate change legislation
Some farm-state lawmakers and agriculture groups, including the National Farmers Union, want to allow farmers who use eco-friendly farming techniques or plant trees to earn carbon offsets in a future federally regulated carbon market. Agricultural offsets may be crucial to attracting enough votes from rural lawmakers to pass climate-change legislation, said Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, a South Dakota Democrat. “We have to insist that agriculture has a seat at the table,” she said. Back To Top ResourcesScience and Technology Worldwatch Institute releases its 2009 State of the World Report, Into a Warming World, with a chapter on climate change and land use
The Worldwatch Institute has released its State of the World 2009 report, Into A Warming World ( Back To Top The Rodale Institute promotes 'Organic no-Till' technology to combat climate change
No-till agriculture, in which farmers do not plow their field, and organic farming both promote carbon sequestration in the soil. Researchers at the nonprofit Rodale Institute are now developing an organic no-till farming system that they say could sponge up more carbon than any other way of growing food. Rodale argues that if organic no-till were employed globally, it would absorb and sequester more than half of all present-day CO2 emissions every year. Conservation Agriculture Carbon Offset Consultation explores conservation agriculture’s role in mitigating climate change
The Conservation Agriculture Carbon Offset Consultation (Oct. 28-30, 2008), sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Conservation Tillage Information Center (CTIC) consisted of three days of science, economics, brainstorming and collaboration among representatives from around the world. The group concluded that: 1) There is good science to describe and quantify the role that farmers around the world can play using conservation agriculture to sequester carbon in the soil; 2) Soil carbon offsets have been shown to work in greenhouse gas emissions trading markets.What farmers need now are policies and markets that make soil carbon a widely tradable, profitable commodity; 3) More research will yield even greater insight on how and where farmers can be most effective in sequestering carbon. Links to key documents from the meeting can be found at this site, The World Agroforestry Centre assesses the potential of carbon finance in rangelands
Globally more than 120 million pastoralists are custodians of more than 5000 million ha of rangelands, which store up to 30% of the world’s soil carbon. Estimates suggest that improved rangeland management has a technical potential to sequester 1300-2000 MtCO2e worldwide up to 2030. This study examines the role that rangeland management can play in the sequestration of carbon, and assesses the feasibility of accessing carbon markets to support sustainable resource use and livelihood development among pastoralists. European Commission reviews the relationship between soil and climate change
The European Commission published a report (CLIMSOIL) on the role that European soils can play in mitigating climate change. The objective of the CLIMSOIL study is to provide a more complete understanding of the link between soil under different land uses and climate change through a comprehensive literature review and expert contributions. Europe’s soils are an enormous carbon reservoir, containing around 75 billion tons (twice that in the atmosphere and three time the amount in vegetation), but poor management can have serious consequences: a failure to protect Europe’s remaining peat bogs, for example, would release the same amount of carbon as an additional 40 million cars on Europe's roads. Enhanced soil carbon sequestration efforts would be cost competitive and immediately available, require no new or unproven technologies, and has a mitigation potential comparable to that of any other sector of the economy. To download the full report, a summary and the press release, New Tools Decision support tool for farmers and ranchers in the US, COMET-VR, is updated
The Voluntary Reporting Carbon Management Evaluation Tool (COMET-VR) is a decision support tool for agricultural producers, land managers, soil scientists and other agricultural interests funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (US). It helps farmers and ranchers report the effectiveness of various land management systems for agricultural soil carbon sequestration. The Century Soil Organic Matter model developed at Colorado State University was chosen as the method to assess soil carbon stock changes occurring on non-federal cropland, rangeland and pasture lands. The Century agro-ecosystem model output from COMET-VR provides an estimate of soil C changes specific for land management alternatives within US Regions. COMET-VR is being transitioned to a more advanced version, Century 4.5. This update represents a major change in the technical aspects of the model and includes new algorithms and structures for the physical soil, erosion, deposition, and depth distribution of organic C. Web-based Nitrogen Trading Tool calculates nitrogen savings potential from land management changes
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in collaboration with the Agricultural Research Service has developed the Nitrogen Trading Tool (NTT) for estimating nitrogen credits under different management scenarios for water quality trading. This is a user-friendly and useful tool that can help in estimating nitrogen losses in various management scenarios. The tool has been further enhanced by Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER) of Tarleton State University to estimate phosphorus and sediment losses and crop yield changes in addition to nitrogen losses. The current version of NTT, has been integrated with the Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) – a widely tested simulation model. The inclusion of APEX allows users to evaluate farm level best management practices (BMPs). Announcements and Opportunities US-based Ecosystem Service Projects Community of Practice launch website
The Ecosystem Service Projects: Community of Practice is a collaborative network of organizations and agencies that are actively involved in the development of market-based strategies and tools aimed at the conservation and restoration of ecosystems in the US. These include payments for carbon, watershed services and biodiversity conservation. The goals of the group are to 1) Foster peer to peer information exchange, learning, and coordination; 2) Collaborate on the development of common terminology, approaches, metrics, and guidelines for market operation; 3) Reduce duplication, increase partnerships, and accelerate implementation of market-based approaches; 4) Encourage new ideas and innovation. The newly created website has been built as a central place for project participants to store files, view documents, and post comments. Grants available from EPA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative for enhancing ecosystem services in agricultural lands in the US, May 26, 2009 deadline
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant program on Enhancing Ecosystem Services in Agricultural Lands is offered in partnership with the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The program will support research on the ecosystem services in agricultural settings, including both agroecosystems and ecosystems that are impacted by agriculture, with the goal of quantifying these services, identifying risks due to different stressors, and developing strategies to reduce negative environmental impacts while enhancing ecosystem services provided by working lands. Ecosystem services of interest will be related to climate change, water availability, reactive nitrogen, pests, weeds, invasive species, and soil and land degradation. Back To Top WWF Announces Global Partnership for "Carbon Benefits Project" to help the rural poor benefit from Carbon Sequestration
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has announced a partnership with Michigan State University, the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), and the Center of International Forestry Research (CIFOR) to develop an innovative system for measuring, monitoring, and managing carbon in a diverse range of landscapes. The partnership, part of the Global Environment Facility and United Nations Environment Programme's Carbon Benefits Project, will help enable some of the world's poorest people in the most vulnerable places to obtain the benefits of carbon sequestration. The Carbon Benefits Project (CBP) is an innovative solution to a persistent problem: how to measure terrestrial carbon, particularly on complex landscapes. The CBP provides a cost effective system that integrates the latest remote sensing technology and analysis, ground based measurement, and rigorous statistical analysis. Upcoming Events 12th Annual National Mitigation & Ecosystem Banking Conference, Salt Lake City Utah, May 5-8, 2009
This conference, formerly the National Mitigation and Conservation Banking Conference, focuses on banking to protect endangered species and other natural resources in addition to wetlands. It will provide up-to-date information in interactive sessions that range from how-to approaches to panels on emerging and multiple markets, investment risks, legal and tax problems, science and technology, and other issues unique to the industry. Ecosystem Markets: Making Them Work. Portland, Oregon, June 18-19, Portland, Oregon
At this national conference, presented by the American Forest Foundation and Northwest Environmental Business Council, national and regional experts, innovators, and users of these evolving ecosystem service market models will discuss recent progress, what transactions can be done now, how these markets will affect family forests and other property owners, and how state and regional efforts can merge into a common model. Also at this meeting, there will be a meeting for those interested in “Building a Community of Practice for Ecosystem Service Markets” on Friday 2:00-4:30 pm. Participating in this meeting will be a network of organizations and agencies that includes individuals and groups from across the US that are actively involved in the development of local and regional market-based strategies and tools for ecosystem services. West Africa Katoomba Group Meeting to be held in Accra, Ghana, October 6-7, 2009
The main themes of the first ever West Africa Katoomba meeting will be REDD, tree crops and carbon (focus on cocoa), soil carbon and marine/coastal PES. Check in soon at Learning Corner
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