production and the regulating services the soil provides for water quality and availability and for atmospheric greenhouse gas composition is a particular concern.”
11
This chapter examines the nexus between soil governance and climate change
impacts, looking at the window of opportunity presented by Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDCs) under the 2015 Paris Agreement, for African countries to
consolidate and enhance sustainable soil management, as part of their climate
strategies and commitments. Section 2 of the chapter explores the link between
soil governance and climate change impacts. Section 3 reviews the African approach
to soil governance, focusing on treaties, to show there is a continent-wide concern on
soil health. Section 4 ventures into the opportunity window provided by NDCs
reviewing the legal nature of these NDCs. Specifically, this section argues that under
a new form of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR), African
nations have submitted NDCs based on their respective capabilities and national
circumstances. This means that African nations, in designing their NDCs, have the
leeway to identify and prioritize sustainable soil management actions as part of their
NDC mitigation and adaptation commitments. Once these are submitted, they
become binding legal commitments. African nations can thus utilize the financing
and technology transfer windows available under the Paris Agreement, for the
benefit of soil management as part of climate action. Section 5 reviews a random
selection of ten NDCs submitted to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change in 2015, reviewing how these NDCs address soil
management. Section 6 is the conclusion of the chapter.
2 The Nexus Between Soil Governance and Climate Change
Impacts
According to the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management
12 soil is the
world’s largest terrestrial pool of carbon,
13 about twice that found as carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere.
14 Soils therefore play a critical role in regulating climate and
mitigating climate change through trade-offs between greenhouse gas emission and
carbon sequestration.
15 Historically, soils in managed ecosystems such as farmlands
have lost a portion of this carbon through land use change, some of which has
remained in the atmosphere.
16
11 FAO (2015) Revised World Soil Charter, Preamble.
12 FAO (2017) Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management.
13 FAO (2017) Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management, p. 1.
14 Smith (2012).
15 FAO (2017) Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management, p. 8.
16 Smith (2012).
In Salvation of African Soils: Exploring the Window of Opportunity. . .
17
11
This chapter examines the nexus between soil governance and climate change
impacts, looking at the window of opportunity presented by Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDCs) under the 2015 Paris Agreement, for African countries to
consolidate and enhance sustainable soil management, as part of their climate
strategies and commitments. Section 2 of the chapter explores the link between
soil governance and climate change impacts. Section 3 reviews the African approach
to soil governance, focusing on treaties, to show there is a continent-wide concern on
soil health. Section 4 ventures into the opportunity window provided by NDCs
reviewing the legal nature of these NDCs. Specifically, this section argues that under
a new form of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR), African
nations have submitted NDCs based on their respective capabilities and national
circumstances. This means that African nations, in designing their NDCs, have the
leeway to identify and prioritize sustainable soil management actions as part of their
NDC mitigation and adaptation commitments. Once these are submitted, they
become binding legal commitments. African nations can thus utilize the financing
and technology transfer windows available under the Paris Agreement, for the
benefit of soil management as part of climate action. Section 5 reviews a random
selection of ten NDCs submitted to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change in 2015, reviewing how these NDCs address soil
management. Section 6 is the conclusion of the chapter.
2 The Nexus Between Soil Governance and Climate Change
Impacts
According to the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management
12 soil is the
world’s largest terrestrial pool of carbon,
13 about twice that found as carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere.
14 Soils therefore play a critical role in regulating climate and
mitigating climate change through trade-offs between greenhouse gas emission and
carbon sequestration.
15 Historically, soils in managed ecosystems such as farmlands
have lost a portion of this carbon through land use change, some of which has
remained in the atmosphere.
16
11 FAO (2015) Revised World Soil Charter, Preamble.
12 FAO (2017) Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management.
13 FAO (2017) Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management, p. 1.
14 Smith (2012).
15 FAO (2017) Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management, p. 8.
16 Smith (2012).
In Salvation of African Soils: Exploring the Window of Opportunity. . .
17