Quantifying environmental impacts of the Climate Smart Agricultural practices tested in two Ethiopian Woredas

Ethiopian smallholders are increasingly threatened by climate change and ongoing land degradation. Aiming at adapting to locally varying environmental and socio-economic challenges and improving the sustainability and resilience of agricultural livelihoods, a set of locally appropriate climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices have been tested by farmers on a voluntary basis between 2019 and 2021 in two Climate-Smart Landscapes as part of the IFAD-EU project “Building livelihoods and resilience to climate change in East & West Africa”. To address the dual challenges of environmental change and declining food security we aimed at assessing and quantifying environmental impacts of CSA practices tested in this project. To do so, we calculated yield differences of major crops grown by both adopting and non-adopting farms as basis for assessing associated deviations in land use, water use efficiency, overall (and where applicable irrigation) water use as well as greenhouse gas emissions. After one year, relative differences in median crop yields between specific practices and practice combinations showed very mixed results in both regions. There was, however, a slight trend of combined practices performing somewhat better than single practices. This finding is congruent with previous reports, as multi-year adaptation periods might be required in order to observe patterns in farm performance and health. Our survey-based results further underline the urgent need for more quantitative rather than empirical assessment and documentation of various environmental and productivity indicators. Finally, we provide a basis for discussing how resulting relative changes in environmental impacts of CSA can potentially be transferred and applied to comparable agricultural landscapes in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa

Nudges for more sustainable food choices in the out-of-home catering sector applied in real-world labs

Food production is responsible for approximately 17% of Germany's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. After retail, out-of-home catering is the second largest food sales channel in Germany. A variety of means on both the supply and demand side are necessary to stimulate, facilitate and encourage a more sustainable development and minimise GHG emissions in this sector. Nudges are one of these. This paper's focus lies on the demand side. Set in real-world laboratories, we use a standardised empirical approach to compare different nudging interventions belonging to the area of physical environment and consumers’ choice making process. We compare the effects of the same intervention across different settings and the effect of different, sequential nudging interventions in the same setting. Data was collected in eight workplace and school cafeterias in Germany over two project iterations (2016/2017; 2019/2020). A similar intervention design was applied. Comparability was assured by a harmonised menu. The first project iteration revealed that only one nudge (top menu position, +22.5%) led to significant increases in sustainable food choices, while results from the second iteration showed that all nudge interventions (best counter position, +11.6%; top menu position, +6,9%; label plus information, +15.9%) positively influenced consumer choice. Possible explanations such as the stricter compliance to the experimental design in the cafeterias but also societal developments such as the appearance of the Fridays for Future movement are discussed. As results vary between specific locations and settings, our findings suggest that nudges need to be adjusted to situational conditions for achieving highest efficacy.BMBF, 01UT1409B, Entwicklung, Erprobung und Verbreitung von Konzepten zum nachhaltigen Produzieren und Konsumieren in der Außer-Haus-Gastronomie - Teilprojekt 2 : VerbraucheranspracheBMBF, 01UT1902B, NAHGAST II - Nachhaltige Außer-Haus-Gastronomie - Teilprojekt 2: Interventione

Life expectancy and agricultural environmental impacts in Addis Ababa can be improved through optimized plant and animal protein consumption

In Ethiopia, children and adults face a double burden of malnutrition, with undernutrition and stunting coexisting with non-communicable diseases. Here we use a framework of comparative risk assessment, local dietary surveys and relative risks from large observational studies to quantify the health and environmental impacts of meeting adult and child recommended daily protein intakes in urban Addis Ababa. We find that plant-based foods, especially legumes, would have the lowest environmental impact and substantially increase life expectancy in adults, while animal-source proteins could be beneficial for children. This context-specific approach—accounting for regional constraints and trade-offs—could aid policymakers in developing culturally appropriate, nutritionally adequate and sustainable dietary recommendations

The state of food systems worldwide in the countdown to 2030

This Analysis presents a recently developed food system indicator framework and holistic monitoring architecture to track food system transformation towards global development, health and sustainability goals. Five themes are considered: (1) diets, nutrition and health; (2) environment, natural resources and production; (3) livelihoods, poverty and equity; (4) governance; and (5) resilience. Each theme is divided into three to five indicator domains, and indicators were selected to reflect each domain through a consultative process. In total, 50 indicators were selected, with at least one indicator available for every domain. Harmonized data of these 50 indicators provide a baseline assessment of the world’s food systems. We show that every country can claim positive outcomes in some parts of food systems, but none are among the highest ranked across all domains. Furthermore, some indicators are independent of national income, and each highlights a specific aspiration for healthy, sustainable and just food systems. The Food Systems Countdown Initiative will track food systems annually to U. Rashid Sumaila, Maximo Torero Cullen, Francesco N. Tubiello, Jose-Luis Vivero-Pol, Patrick Webb & Keith Wieb

Direct impacts of alternative energy scenarios on water demand in the Middle East and North Africa

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region stands out globally both for the immensity of its energy resources, and the paucity of its freshwater resources. Most energy extraction and conversion technologies have associated freshwater demand, and in the MENA region these account for 2% of the available sustainable supply. We examine how this demand could change over the 21st century, assuming growth in population and economic output, and considering three alternative pathways for energy efficiency, carbon intensity, and energy exports from the region. We find that in the pathway marked by improved efficiency, a transition to renewable energy sources, and declining energy exports, water consumption for energy is twice as high as today's values by the end of the century. By contrast, in the pathway marked by continued commitment to fossil resource extraction, use, and export, water demand for energy might rise by a factor of five. If the region were to maintain high levels of energy exports, but would substitute the export of fossil fuels by an equivalent amount of electricity derived from sunlight, a freshwater volume comparable to the household needs of up to 195 million people could be saved

Water saving potentials and possible trade-offs for future food and energy supply

The sufficient supply of food and energy requires large amounts of fresh water. Mainly required for irrigation, but also processing and cooling purposes, water is one of the essential resources in both sectors. Rising global population numbers and economic development could likely cause an increase in natural resource demand over the coming decades, while at the same time climate change might lead to lower overall water availability. The result could be an increased competition for water resources mainly in water-stressed regions of the world in the future. In this study we explore a set of possible changes in consumption patterns in the agricultural and energy sector that could be primarily motivated by other goals than water conservation measures—for example personal health and climate change mitigation targets, and estimate the indirect effect such trends would have on global water requirements until 2050. Looking at five world regions, we investigated three possible changes regarding future food preferences, and two possible changes in future resource preferences for electricity and transport fuels. We find that while an increase in food supply as a result of higher protein demand would lead to an increase in water demand as well, this trend could be counteracted by other potential dietary shifts such as a reduction in grains and sugars. In the energy sector we find that an increasing water demand can be limited through specific resource and technology choices, while a significant growth of first-generation biofuels would lead to a drastic rise in water demand, potentially exceeding the water requirements for food supply. Looking at the two sectors together, we conclude that an overall increase in water demand for both food and energy is not inevitable and that changes in food and energy preferences could indeed lead to an alleviation of water resource use despite rising population numbers.ISSN:0959-3780ISSN:1872-949

Costs of reducing water use of concentrating solar power to sustainable levels: Scenarios for North Africa

Concentrating solar power (CSP) has the potential to become a leading sustainable energy technology for the European electricity system. In order to reach a substantial share in the energy mix, European investment in CSP appears most profitable in North Africa, where solar potential is significantly higher than in southern Europe. As well as sufficient solar irradiance, however, the majority of today's CSP plants also require a considerable amount of water, primarily for cooling purposes. In this paper we examine water usage associated with CSP in North Africa, and the cost penalties associated with technologies that could reduce those needs. We inspect four representative sites to compare the ecological and economical drawbacks from conventional and alternative cooling systems, depending on the local environment, and including an outlook with climate change to the mid-century. Scaling our results up to a regional level indicates that the use of wet cooling technologies would likely be unsustainable. Dry cooling systems, as well as sourcing of alternative water supplies, would allow for sustainable operation. Their cost penalty would be minor compared to the variance in CSP costs due to different average solar irradiance values.Concentrating solar power Power plant cooling Climate change

Nudges for more sustainable food choices in the out-of-home catering sector applied in real-world labs

Food production is responsible for approximately 17% of Germany's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. After retail, out-of-home catering is the second largest food sales channel in Germany. A variety of means on both the supply and demand side are necessary to stimulate, facilitate and encourage a more sustainable development and minimise GHG emissions in this sector. Nudges are one of these. This paper's focus lies on the demand side. Set in real-world laboratories, we use a standardised empirical approach to compare different nudging interventions belonging to the area of physical environment and consumers’ choice making process. We compare the effects of the same intervention across different settings and the effect of different, sequential nudging interventions in the same setting. Data was collected in eight workplace and school cafeterias in Germany over two project iterations (2016/2017; 2019/2020). A similar intervention design was applied. Comparability was assured by a harmonised menu. The first project iteration revealed that only one nudge (top menu position, +22.5%) led to significant increases in sustainable food choices, while results from the second iteration showed that all nudge interventions (best counter position, +11.6%; top menu position, +6,9%; label plus information, +15.9%) positively influenced consumer choice. Possible explanations such as the stricter compliance to the experimental design in the cafeterias but also societal developments such as the appearance of the Fridays for Future movement are discussed. As results vary between specific locations and settings, our findings suggest that nudges need to be adjusted to situational conditions for achieving highest efficacy