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Joint UNCCD, BMZ and ADB side event on: Sustainable Land Management, Climate Change and Food Security

Keynote Speech by
Ursula Schaefer-Preuss
Vice-President, Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development
Asian Development Bank

5 May 2009
Bali, Indonesia

Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: As we have heard, land degradation is a serious economic, social and environmental problem. Cropland loss, soil erosion, water scarcity and forest loss undermine the natural resource base that underpins the economic development and social stability of our developing member countries.

The Response: Integrated Land and Water Management and Sustainable Agriculture

To cope with these problems, a variety of responses will be needed. For example, more investment is required in agricultural research on crops and cropping methods resilient to floods, high temperatures and droughts, including biotechnologies. Improved water management will be of paramount concern. It will be crucial to combine new attention to the impacts of climate change with pro-poor approaches to rural development and more sustainable models for agriculture such as organic farming and water and soil conservation programs. Captured under the banner of "sustainable land management", this approach must be centered on the principles of integrated land and water resource management and sustainable land use. This is important everywhere, but it is especially critical in drylands to cope with increasing climatic fluctuations and change, and to enhance productivity in fragile landscapes.

ADB Experience and Ongoing Programs.

ADB is committed to assisting Asian countries in the long-term challenge of sustainably managing their land and water resources. ADB already provides strong support for the application of integrated water resources management approaches under its Water Financing Program (2006-2010), and we plan to more than double our water sector investments over the 2006 to 2010 period – from $1 billion to $2 billion annually.

Countries across the region have come to understand that they need to manage water in an integrated and holistic manner to ensure its efficient and sustainable use. The same sense of urgency has been felt in ADB's approach to land management, and I would like now to briefly touch on two partnership programs that we are financing that show in concrete terms our commitment to sustainable land management.

PRC-GEF Partnership on Land Degradation in Dryland Ecosystems

The first of these is the Peoples’ Republic of China-Global Environment Facility Partnership on Land Degradation in Dryland Ecosystems. This program fosters long-term cooperation between national and international organizations to introduce an integrated ecosystem management approach to managing agricultural lands and the surrounding resource systems in the western region of China. The program has already led to the adoption of new policies and legislation mandating use of this approach as well as institutional coordination mechanisms, land data collection systems and information exchange programs among the six cooperating provinces.

The Central Asian Countries Initiative for Land Management (CACILM)

The second initiative I will touch on is the Central Asian Countries Initiative for Land Management or CACILM (ka-si-lem). This program brings together Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, supported by the GEF and a range of international development agencies – and led by ADB – to work towards sustainable land management, reverse land degradation, and adapt to climate change. The goal is to restore and sustain the productive and ecological functions of land and water resources in Central Asia, and to improve the economic and social well being of those who depend on them. The program includes a 10-year program of activities in each participating country based on national programming frameworks which call for local and external financing of as much as $1.4 billion by 2015. At this point, the Central Asian partnership has been successfully established, and its management, administration, and monitoring and evaluation systems are operational at the regional and national levels.

The Way Forward

ADB is committed to assisting Asian countries in the long-term challenge of achieving sustainable development. We already provide support for a range of responses to the new risks imposed on land management from climate change, and we are expanding our attention to forest conservation and land use to better understand the new opportunities to tap the global carbon market in support of sustainable forest management through the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation – or REDD – approach.

New opportunities are also being taken to support more integrated programs of land and water management that will help our developing member countries build their resilience to climate change while improving the productivity and sustainability of land and water resources. Attention is also being given to the associated policy, institutional and financial dimensions to maximize and sustain outcomes. We are committed to further mainstream environment, integrated natural resources management and climate change considerations into our core operations, including the scaling-up of investments to promote more sustainable land and water management. These concerns are increasingly reflected in our country partnerships and sector strategies. We are also actively assisting our developing member countries in accessing new sources of finance for adaptation measures and for investments in sound land and water management.

To accomplish this, we will need to work together, develop and sustain strategic partnerships; address key barriers, promote better governance; and better generate and disseminate knowledge, lessons learnt and best practices. If we all do our part, we can reverse the troubling land degradation trends, improve agricultural yields and rural incomes, improve freshwater access and food security, and help to stabilize the region’s biodiversity resources, which are so critical to both farm and ecosystem resilience.

In closing, let me state that ADB stands firmly behind efforts, and we look forward to working with all of you to build a more sustainable future for the Asia and Pacific region, and the world.

Thank you.