1. Environmental services as a vehicle for
synergies between climate change mitigation
and adaptation
Lalisa A. Duguma*, Peter A. Minang, Dieudonne
Alemagi, Zac Tchoundjeu, Fredrik Nkeumoe
*World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) &
ASB Partnership for Tropical Forest Margins
Email: l.duguma@cgiar.org

2. Introduction
 Strong mitigation-adaptation synergy potential sectors: Land
use sector, energy and construction (Klein et al. 2007).
 Strong segregation at higher levels (e.g. global and national
level) which eventually decreases moving to the landscape and
farm levels.
 Such segregations may be due to limited understanding of:
 the interdependencies between M and A
 the possible strategies to address the interdependencies
Aim: To highlight how environmental services could be a basis
for promoting synergies between mitigation and adaptation

3. The M A Interdependence [The Domino
Effect]
In economies relying on land resources:
 Failure in adaptation → mitigation efforts are in
jeopardy.
 Failure in mitigation → expensive adaptation.

4. 1. Weak adaptation → Poor mitigation:
e.g. Forest exploitation in Suba, Ethiopia
Consider forest carbon as a proxy for mitigation
Crop failure due
to shortage of
rainfall (drought)
Flooding in the
low lying areas
ADAPTATION
Poor/No crop
yield
Need for
alternative
income/livelihood
sources to survive
Exploitation of nearby
forests for extracting
fuel wood and timber
for sale
Clearing forests to create
new farmlands
MITIGATION

5. 1984
2004
Menagesha Suba
state forest
9557 ha
3530 ha
Each pale symbol is a
FARM HOUSEHOLD

6. 2. Poor mitigation→ Expensive
adaptation
As a result of poor mitigation:
CO2 in atmosphere
increases
Plants close
stomata early
Limited release
of H2O to atm.
The surface T0
increases.
Cloud reflectance
diminishes ;
sunlight hits directly
Less cloud
formation
•
•
•
•
•
Higher costs to cool our living spaces
Drought
Shortage of irrigation water…
Poor hydrological functions as a whole
Disease prevalence may increases e.g.
Malaria
• Migration
• Social conflict – East
African rangelands
• Invasive alien species

7. Computer model calculation of the effect of carbon dioxide on plant physiology and global
climate if CO2 concentration grows to 700ppm.
http://studentresearch.wcp.muohio.edu/ClimateChangePrediction/studentarticles/Changingglo
ballandsurface.pdf

8. Ecosystem services and vulnerability to
CC
Category
Economy
Vulnerability
Proxies/variables
Income
Role of ES in addressing the vulnerability
Health expenditure
Calories intake
Wild foods (fruits, honey, insects, etc.)
Access to nutrition
Health and
Nutrition
Sources of income e.g. fishing, ornamentals,
tourism….
Biochemical and natural medicines
Wild fruits, mushrooms, insects, fungi, meat, nuts
Infrastructure Roads
Access to sanitation
and clean water
Coastal risk
Agriculture
Agricultural self
sufficiency
Ecology
Genetic resources
(protected area)
Ecological stress
Flood protection, storm impacts and landslides risk
minimization
Water purification; sources of freshwater
Biodegradation detoxification
Storm protection by coral reefs
Soil formation and retention, soil moisture
retention, water regulation, pollination, pest and
disease control, climate regulation,….
Habitat and reproductions sites; pollination;
Population control e.g. prey predator balance,
control of pests and diseases

9. Ecosystem services and mitigation
Category
Mitigation actions
Land use
Reduce deforestation
and
and forest
agriculture degradation
Role of ES in promoting the mitigation actions
Regulatory and provisioning ES strongly boost
agricultural productivity – less deforestation and
forest degradation.
Rehabilitation of
degraded land
Tree plantations
Genetic materials for planting, growing medium,
nutrient cycling, nutrient regulation, etc…
Biodegradation of
agricultural wastes
Energy
Sources of genetic materials e.g. soil seed banks,
Detoxification;
Air quality regulation;
Hydroelectric supply
Water supply; water regulation i.e. runoff and water
discharge regulation
Biomass energy
Sources of biomass fuels

10. Selected Ecosystem Services crucial for
mitigation and adaptation
o Pollination (animal pollinators)
 75% of leading food crops (Klein et al. 2007)
 79% (~ 308,006 plants) of the total plant species on earth (Ollerton et
al 2011) .
 West Africa produces 56% of global stimulant crops with 90%
vulnerability to pollinator loss (Gallai et al 2009).
o Nutrient cycling (Biogeochemical processes)
 Nitrogen cycle; carbon cycle; the food web
o Hydrological functions (hydrological cycle)
 80% of agricultural water use comes from rainfall stored in soil
moisture – dependent on plant cover, SOM and soil microbial
community (Power 2010; Molden 2007)

11. Concluding Remarks
 Climate change mitigation and adaptation are considerably
interdependent in the land use sector.
 Mitigation-adaptation linkages are often through one or more
ecosystem services.
THEREFORE,
1. Targeting ecosystem restoration/ management for better
ecosystem services provision could enhance the
opportunities for synergies in the land use sector.
2. At a landscape level, actions/strategies that enhance
multifunctionality could provide the right direction.

12. Thank You!