Adapting to Climate Change and Generating Income with Trees: a Q&A with Louis Verchot

In February 2005 the Kyoto Protocol to reduce global warming came into force. Mitigating climate change and devising adaptation strategies to help poor farmers is central to the CGIAR’s mission because agriculture is one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gases.

Chameleon on coffee plant, Bwindi, Uganda.
(photo courtesy of World Agroforestry Centre)

Louis Verchot, Lead Scientist on Climate Change, World Agroforestry Centre, shares his perspectives on this challenging topic with readers of “CGIAR News.”

Q: What are the impacts of climate change for developing countries?

A: The impact depends on where you are. Some countries will get wetter and others will get drier, but all will get warmer. Climate change is yet another constraint for developing countries to overcome. In a coffee-producing country like Uganda, an increase of only 2 degrees in the average temperature makes 80% of the land no longer suitable to grow this cash crop.

Q: What role can agroforestry play in mitigating climate change in developing countries?

A: First, agroforestry can increase the resilience of farming systems to variations in rainfall and temperature. Growing coffee under trees for instance–shade coffee–will reduce field temperatures and yield better quality beans. Secondly, farmers can plant agroforestry trees that absorb greenhouse gases and sell carbon credits to companies that want to
offset their contribution to global warming.

Q: What are the major projects underway at World Agroforestry Centre dealing with mitigating climate change?

A: The Western Kenya Integrated Ecosystem Management Project is developing carbon trading models for smallholder farmers. The carbon trade revenues, though currently modest at $8 per ton of sequestered carbon, will be pooled for community development projects like sustainable seed production or improved roads for better market access. In Uganda, we are collaborating with Ecotrust, and others, in a carbon trading pilot project targeting smallholder farmers who cannot access the highly-regulated formal carbon markets.

For more information, visit www.worldagroforestrycentre.org