Environmental Security

Dr Helen Watson

watsonh@ukzn.ac.za

Land clearance, preparation for, & the production of ALL crops potentially have very significant direct and indirect, short and long term, detrimental effects on all earth systems & food security.

Atmosphere: burning, exposing plant litter & soil organic matter to rapid decomposition creates high carbon debt. lowest for sparsely covered, abandoned, &/or degraded lands. highest for “carbon sinks” e.g. peatlands, lower river plains and deltas.Their conversion NON NEGOTIABLE for food or fuel crops.

Lithosphere/ Hydrosphere: bad practices cause wide range of negative effects – compaction, sealing, aridification, salinization of soils & euthrophication of water bodies. Good practices MUST be carried out -using improved breeds; agroforestry and intercropping; minimum tillage; integrated pest management; drip irrigation; slow release fertilizer application; etc.

Specific biofuel crops are capable of substantially - increasing organic matter & nitrogen content of soils,&- decreasing salt &heavy metal content of soils

Grown on (marginal)abandoned, contaminated, &/or degraded lands biofuel crops can improve soil quality & productivity restoring the ability of these lands to support food crops.

Biofuel crops planted as barriers around food crop fields reduce food loss from animals and soil erosion by wind and water.

Biosphere: effects dependent on habitat or crop being removed,• removal methods • land preparation- extent to which natural habitat is fragmented into

isolated pockets, & riparian vegetation left undisturbed• what crop/s is/are grown, & how they are grown.• landscape ecology principle of leaving natural habitat corridors

linking larger areas of natural habitat MUST be used.

Fears that biofuel crops may become invasive, reduce bee populations needed to pollinate food crops, & cause a wide range of other indirect impacts that detrimentally affect food security, addressed:-

Bioenergy Decision Support Tool identifies “no-go” areas• “carbon sinks” & habitats• containing keystone, rare, endangered or endemic species• critical to regulating ecosystem services• that provide livelihood products for indigenous communities.• BEFS Rapid & Detailed Assessment

Identifies areas both suitable & available for particular bioenergy feedstocks to be shown in IRENA Bioenergy Global Atlas.

soyasunflower maize

South African Bioenergy Atlas

Purposely Cultivated:Unconstrained Potentials

Bioenergy policies & strategies MANDATE use of well established “good” agricultural practices, discourage use of irrigation & arable land, encourage use of abandoned, marginal and degraded lands, encourage integrating energy & food crops, better use of co-products, & increased cropping intensity.

GBEP indicators for monitoring & evaluating impacts of biofuelsBeing tested & refined: preforming well even in developing & data poor countries. We have the knowledge !!

The fact that “bad” agricultural practices persist today is more often a function of land tenure insecurity than lack of knowledge.