Thumbnail Image

Catalysing Investments and Actions to Enhance Resilience Against Sand and Dust Storms in Agriculture - TCP/INT/3802

Copyright licence

Year of publication 2024

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 8

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Project

Category Factsheet

Synopsis (short abstract) Sand and dust storms (SDS) have become increasingly frequent and severe due to factors such as land use changes and climate variability and change. These storms have substantial transboundary impacts, affecting various aspects of the environment, climate, health, agriculture, livelihoods and the socioeconomic well-being of individuals. These effects are particularly pronounced in arid and semi-arid regions where sand and dust storms (SDS) can pose significant threats to economic development. The agriculture sector is significantly influenced by SDS, as it is both a contributor to and impacted by the phenomenon. In response, during the Fourteenth Session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 2019, a new imperative for addressing SDS was established. As a key member of the newly formed Coalition on Combating SDS, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has taken the role of chairing the Coalition since July 2020, succeeding the United Nations Environment Progamme (UNEP), to lead global efforts to tackle SDS within the agricultural context. Against this backdrop, this project aimed to enhance the resilience of agriculture-dependent communities to SDS. Furthermore, the project focused on increasing and strengthening knowledge surrounding SDS sources and their implications on agriculture, as well as promoting sustainable land use practices, primarily focusing on countries that are both major contributors to and victims of dust emissions, including Algeria, China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Mongolia. These countries, located within the SDS "risk belt” (also known as the “dust belt”), face potential threats to sustainable development and food security without immediate action. The project's outcomes contributed to the design of a broader interregional large SDS programme on agriculture with targeted funding sources, supported by the United Nations Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms and potential partners, such as the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility.

Language English

Also available in:

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Technical book
    Contingency planning process for catalysing investments and actions to enhance resilience against sand and dust storms in agriculture in the Islamic Republic of Iran 2023
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This report outlines the conceptual framework for sand and dust storms (SDS) hazard risk and vulnerability assessment and mapping in agriculture and provides the elements as part of SDS contingency planning process in agriculture in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its main purpose is to provide an applicable procedure for using web-based data to reduce SDS risk and impacts on agriculture. This is a first attempt to develop a contingency plan for SDS risk reduction in agriculture using freely available remote sensing imagery and geographic information system (GIS) modeling. It includes a set of agriculture-specific indicators proposed to assess SDS risk and discusses the required steps for developing indicators and procedures. Furthermore, a methodology for SDS contingency planning in agriculture is described, including the legal and institutional frameworks in the Islamic Republic of Iran relevant for SDS intervention as well as the organizational responsibilities for implementing the contingency plan. It reviews the main action areas and challenges to be addressed in SDS contingency planning in agriculture for Ahvaz County. It provides an action framework for the identification and fine-tuning of SDS priority actions to be addressed and integrated into existing national and local SDS disaster risk reduction/management plans and/or sectoral development plans in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Due to the central position of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the global dust belt, it is highly impacted by sand and dust storms (SDS). Mitigating the adverse effects of SDS on agriculture remains very important as the country is highly dependent on the sector and the sector is both an anthropogenic driver of SDS as well as the yields and productivity of crops, trees and pastures are negatively impacted by SDS. With climate change it is expected that droughts and land use changes will increase the frequency and severity of SDS risks. Hence, urgent action is needed, whereby short-term responses require to be linked to long-term development actions for building resilience against SDS.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Project
    Factsheet
    Catalyser les investissements et les actions pour augmenter la résilience face aux tempêtes de sable et de poussière dans l’agriculture - TCP/INT/3802 2024
    Also available in:
    Les tempêtes de sable et de poussière sont de plus en plus fréquentes et violentes en raison de facteurs tels que les changements d'utilisation des terres, la variabilité et le changement climatiques. Ces tempêtes ont des répercussions transfrontalières considérables sur l'environnement, le climat, la santé, l'agriculture, les moyens d’existence et le bien-être socio-économique des individus, en particulier dans les régions arides et semi-arides où ils représentent une menace importante pour le développement économique. Le secteur agricole est concerné au premier chef par ce problème, à la fois parce qu'il contribue au phénomène et parce qu'il en subit les conséquences. C'est pourquoi, lors de la quatorzième session de la Conférence des parties à la Convention des Nations Unies sur la lutte contre la désertification en 2019, un nouvel impératif a été établi pour lutter contre les tempêtes de sable et de poussière. En tant que membre clé de la nouvelle Coalition sur la lutte contre les tempêtes de sable et de poussière, la FAO préside la Coalition depuis juillet 2020, succédant au Programme des Nations Unies pour l'environnement, afin de diriger les efforts mondiaux de lutte contre ces aléas dans le contexte de l'agriculture. Dans ce contexte, le projet visait à renforcer la résilience des communautés dépendantes de l'agriculture face aux tempêtes de sable et de poussière. Il était axé sur l'amélioration et le renforcement des connaissances concernant leur origine et leurs répercussions sur l'agriculture, ainsi que sur la promotion de pratiques durables d'utilisation des terres, et ciblait tout particulièrement les pays situés dans les principales régions sources des tempêtes de sable et de poussière. L’Algérie, la Chine, l'Iraq, le Koweït, la Mongolie et la République islamique d'Iran se trouvent en effet dans la «ceinture de risque» (également connue sous le nom de «ceinture de poussière») et devront affronter d’importantes menaces pour leur développement durable et leur sécurité alimentaire si aucune mesure n'est prise à court terme. Les résultats du projet devaient contribuer à l'élaboration d'un vaste programme interrégional de lutte contre les effets des tempêtes de sable et de poussières sur l'agriculture, avec des sources de financement ciblées, soutenu par la Coalition des Nations Unies pour la lutte contre les tempêtes de sable et de poussière et des partenaires potentiels, tels que le Fonds vert pour le climat et le Fonds pour l'environnement mondial.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Project
    Factsheet
    Preventing and Mitigating Sand and Dust Storms in Mongolia’s Drylands - UNJP/MON/019/CCD 2023
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    More than 90 percent of the land of Mongolia faces a serious threat of desertification. Many intense desertification conditions and land degradation hotspots are found in Eastern Gobi province, including the busiest border point with China, Zamiin-Uud. The town has been seriously affected by land degradation and desertification, particularly due to demographic growth, the development of transboundary trade and increased transport movement. These phenomena aggravate the risks and impact of sand and dust storms (SDS), with negative consequences for living and environmental conditions. Building on previous initiatives in the region, this project was designed to demonstrate approaches to preventing and mitigating the negative impacts of SDS in Zamiin-Uud. It aimed to engage stakeholders in pilot measures with the goal of strengthening their capacity to apply sustainable, locally appropriate, inclusive land management practices to reduce the risks and impacts of SDS. It was implemented in close collaboration with the district government to ensure strong local ownership of the measures piloted.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.