This chapter advances the state-of-the-art understanding of tipping cascades across scales and systems between Earth system and social tipping points. We consider a tipping cascade to occur when extremes or passing of a tipping point in one system triggers or increases the likelihood of reaching a tipping point in another. Here, this means that crossing an Earth system tipping point or experiencing an extreme volatility in the natural system can lead to cascading impacts that trigger social tipping points, and vice versa.

Restoring / enhancing soil health is key for sustainable intensification and regenerative agriculture in the Global South, while reducing vulnerability of
smallholder farmers to climate change.
A flexible framework is proposed that can be used to target, monitor and adapt soil health interventions with relevant stakeholders
Development of biological soil health indicators and assessment methods require more research – given the key role of soil biology for soil health/functions

Since the launch of CGIAR’s 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy (CGIAR Strategy) in 2021, the trajectory, frequency, and pace of known trends and cycles have changed, and the world has experienced an increasing array and severity of global shocks. As CGIAR prepares its 2025–2027 research and innovation portfolio, this is an appropriate time to examine the effects of these changes. Accordingly, the Independent Science for Development Council (ISDC) commissioned a 2023 project to answer the following questions:

Like many other regions across the globe, South Asia is grappling with the challenges posed by climate change. World Bank estimates that 750 million people in South Asia have been affected by at least one climate-related disaster. The hazards and extreme weather events range from cyclones, monsoon rainfall variability, floods, heat waves, increased average temperatures and salinity in coastal areas, jeopardizing food security and people’s livelihoods.

ncreasing climate and conflict-related displacement in fragile or conflict-affected states threatens human security and sustainable development around the world. As forced displacement increases and becomes more protracted in length, destination areas—where displaced and host communities often have low adaptive capacity and live side by side, sharing resources related to land, food, and water systems—are particularly exposed to human security risks.

To contribute to building sustainable and effective climate change adaptation solutions avoiding usability gap, it is largely recommended to engage in the process of co-production, integrating expertise and knowledge from various academic and non-academic actors. We want to learn if and how co-production, believed to effectively link knowledge and decision-making, and thus suggested as the best practice in building decision-support frameworks, is really applied in the frameworks that are being implemented on the ground.

Seed is life and can be a source of empowerment and disempowerment for women and men farmers. In this study, to close the gender gaps in seed, the Community Enterprises Development Organization, the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT and the National Agricultural Research Organization developed a seed credit model available to men and women belonging to farmer groups. A mixed method was used to collect information from two districts in central Uganda on how the seed credit model reconstructed access, use, control and resulting benefits.

The study focused on the extensive rangelands in Kuwait, covering more than 75% of the total land area. These rangelands face severe degradation due to factors such as overgrazing, anthropic misuse, and mismanagement. The research aimed to assess the impact of natural restoration, specifically through resting, on vegetation cover and species richness in a fenced 1 km² area. The findings indicated that while perennial species cover remained consistent between fenced and unfenced areas, there was a notable increase in annual species cover within the fenced sections.

Under RUFORUM, partnering with universities in Eastern and Southern Africa to advance climate research by integrating climate change into academic curricula through diverse approaches, included comprehensive curriculum overhauls, introduction of new programs, specialized trainings, and student clubs.

The One CGIAR Initiative TAFSSA (Transforming Agrifood Systems of South Asia) prioritizes interdisciplinary farm and landscape level research including an assessment of groundwater availability and sustainable use under scenarios of climate change scenarios and crop diversification. To integrate groundwater and cropping system modelling participatory practices were used to identify potential cropping scenarios in Nalanda, Bihar, through bottom-up exercise in a one-day workshop. This brief presents the methods and findings of this scenario development workshop.

This research examined how the Smart-Valleys approach for water control was disseminated, its impact on rice yield, farmers' income, and food consumption score, as well as the farmers' perception of its advantages in Mali. In total, 469 farmers, including 68% women and 35% youth, adopted the Smart-Valleys approach across 10 sites, covering an area of 61.9 hectares. The primary dissemination methods included on-farm demonstrations, farmers exchange days, capacity building for extension agents and young service providers, along with continuous support to farmers during implementation.

Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) has degraded soils, epitomized by decades of loss of valuable topsoil caused by continuous cultivation, monocropping, excessive run-off, and the absence of effective conservation-based farming practices. Conservation Agriculture (CA) offers several opportunities to restore land and arrest soil degradation in smallholder farming systems of SSA. This study assessed labor productivity and farm returns associated with CA in Malawi and Zambia using household survey data collected from 500 and 616 farmers in Zambia and Malawi, respectively.