Making sure that we will continue to have enough to eat is at the heart of our shared ambitions to mitigate climate change. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the convention that has guided us through the highs and lows of 18 rounds of annual negotiations, states upfront that the reasons to stabilise emissions are threefold: to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally , to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner and to ensure that food production is not threatened .

This review was commissioned to undertake an evaluation of how the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Theme by Region matrix is being managed to deliver on International Public Goods (IPGs) and development outcomes.

Landscape scale quantification enables farmers to pool resources and expertise. However, the problem remains of how to quantify these gains. This article considers current greenhouse gas (GHG) quantification methods that can be used in a landscape scale analysis in terms of relevance to areas dominated by smallholders in developing countries. In landscape scale carbon accounting frameworks, measurements are an essential element. Sampling strategies need careful design to account for all pools/fluxes and to ensure judicious use of resources.

Niger is a landlocked country in West Africa located between 11°37´ and 23°23´ north latitude and between 00°10´ and 16°00´ east longitude, with an area of 1,267,000 square kilometers. Niger shares borders with Algeria and Libya in the north, Chad in the east, Nigeria and Benin in the south, and Burkina Faso and Mali in the west. Three-fourths of Niger is cov¬ered by the Sahara Desert. The southern part of the country is in the Sahelian climate zone, with Sudan savannah vegetation.

Nitrogen (N), being the most critical and essential nutrient for plant growth, largely determines the productivity in both extensive- and intensive- grassland systems. Nitrification and denitrification processes in the soil are the primary drivers generating reactive-N: NO3-, N2O, and NO, and is largely responsible for N-loss and degradation of grasslands. Suppressing nitrification can thus facilitate the retention of soil-N to sustain long-term productivity of grasslands and forage-based production systems.

This meta-synthesis of national climate change adaptation plans, policies and processes spans twelve countries at various stages of adaptation planning and implementation, in three priority CCAFS regions: West Africa (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Se?negal), East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda) and South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal).

Land degradation due to soil erosion is a major issue in the Ethiopian Highlands. Deforestation leads to ongoing gully erosion during the rainy season (June to September) and thus the hydrology of a watershed changes as dense gully networks cause direct drainage of rain water. To better understand watershed scale gully processes in the Ethiopian Highlands, three gauging stations were installed in the 56 km2 large Gumara-Maksegnit catchment in the northern Amhara region, to monitor discharge and sediment load in the gullies during rainy season.

Extensive land degradation in the Ethiopian Highlands jeopardizes rural livelihood. Intensified by increasing population pressure, farmers are forced to expand their arable land by deforestation and thus worsening the soil erosion problem. Through the application of various soil conservation measures, farmers and authorities try to prevent against further land degradation.

This report presents 4 scenarios for the future of food security, agriculture, livelihoods and environments in East Africa. These scenarios were developed by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with a wide range of regional stakeholders. The report discusses the theory and development process