A joint stocktaking of CGIAR work on forest and landscape restoration

Despite the high level of political engagement and the wide range of organizations involved in restoration projects from local to global levels, beyond some success stories, restoration is not happening at scale. To address this issue, three CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) – Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA); Policies, Institutions and Markets (PIM) and Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) – decided to bring together their expertise in a joint stocktaking of CGIAR work on restoration. This publication illustrates with concrete examples the powerful contribution of forest and landscape restoration to the achievement of most, if not all the 17 sustainable development goals. It can be used to support the design of future restoration activities, programs and projects. We hope that this document will help upscale restoration efforts and deliver enhanced impact from our CGIAR research

Transforming climate science into usable services: The effectiveness of co-production in promoting uptake of climate information by smallholder farmers in Senegal

Does the provision of weather and climate information services (WCIS) enhance farmer’s use of forecasts in informing farm decisions? This paper assesses the effectiveness of the Multi-disciplinary Working Group (MWG) – a WCIS co-production initiative in Senegal in influencing farmers uptake of weather and climate information (WCI). WCIS are increasingly gaining importance and widely touted as critical in helping farmers adapt to climate variability. While there have been various WCIS initiatives producing and translating climate data into tailored information and knowledge in different parts of the world, there is hardly any rigorous evidence assessing their effectiveness in improving uptake. In this assessment, we use innovative survey methods and apply rigorous analytical approaches that control for self-selection bias to establish causal linkages between the MWG and use of WCIS. Our findings indicate that MWGs are positively associated with farmers’ awareness, access and uptake of WCI resulting in farm management responses depending on the type of information used. The presence of MWGs generally increases farmer’s awareness of WCI by 18%, access by 12% and uptake by 10%. Furthermore, use of seasonal forecasts is generally associated with a higher proportion of farmers using improved seed, fertilizers and manure, but negatively with crop diversification within MWG locations. This suggests that participatory approaches in the provision of tailored climate information and advisory services can lead to higher uptake and use among farmers in informing farm management responses for better adaptation to climate change. We highlight lessons for improved evaluations of WCIS in future

From Tree Planting to Tree Growing: Rethinking Ecosystem Restoration Through Tree

Every year, millions of dollars are spent on tree-based landscape restoration activities. Over the last five decades, there are few success stories of such interventions and even those do not match the anticipated objectives for which the resources were spent. News articles that announce planting campaigns of millions of seedlings are common. Despite all this, in many countries, vegetation cover has not improved due to poor seedling survival rate. This makes the return on investment low. The objective of this paper is to highlight the main underlying challenges that need to be tackled to make restoration through tree-based interventions successful. Numerous challenges hamper the success of project-supported public tree growing schemes. 1) Often tree planting is stated as the ultimate objective of the intervention; when that objective should instead be tree growing. Performance indicators are often the number of trees planted or area planted, not the number of trees grown, or the area of land covered with grown trees. 2) Most projects operate on a short time frame (1-3 years) while many tree species (e.g. native trees in many African countries) need more time to sufficiently grow. 3) Emphasis on the right trees, for the right place and the right purposes, is very weak. 4) Even in projects of adequate duration emphasis on after-planting management is often limited. 5) There is lack of tree tenure to formally transfer the management of planted trees to local communities who reside in the landscapes over a long period of time. Tackling these challenges and changing mindsets is crucial if restoration through tree-based interventions is to yield the intended outcomes of reversing ecosystem degradation

Predicting aboveground forest biomass with topographic variables in human-impacted tropical dry forest landscapes

Topographic variables such as slope and elevation partially explain spatial variations in aboveground biomass (AGB) within landscapes. Human activities that impact vegetation, such as cattle grazing and shifting cultivation, often follow topographic features and also play a key role in determining AGB patterns, although these effects may be moderated by accessibility. In this study, we evaluated the potential to predict AGB in a rural landscape, using a set of topographical variables in combination with indicators of accessibility. We modeled linear and non-linear relationships between AGB, topographic variables within the territorial boundaries of six rural communities, and distance to roads. Linear models showed that elevation, slope, topographic wetness index, and tangential curvature could explain up to 21% of AGB. Non-linear models found threshold values for the relationship between AGB and diffuse insolation, topographic position index at 19 × 19 pixels scale and differentiated between groups of communities, improving AGB predictions to 33%. We also found a continuous and positive effect on AGB with increased distance from roads, but also a piecewise relationship that improves the understanding of intensity of human activities. These findings could enable AGB baselines to be constructed at landscape level using freely available data from topographic maps. Such baselines may be of use in national programs under the international policy Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation

Haptoglobin and Sickle Cell Polymorphisms and Risk of Active Trachoma in Gambian Children

BACKGROUND: Susceptibility and resistance to trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness, have been associated with a range of host genetic factors. In vitro studies of the causative organism, Chlamydia trachomatis, demonstrate that iron availability regulates its growth, suggesting that host genes involved in regulating iron status and/or availability may modulate the risk of trachoma. The objective was to investigate whether haptoglobin (Hp) haplotypes constructed from the functional polymorphism (Hp1/Hp2) plus the functional promoter SNPs -61A-C (rs5471) and -101C-G (rs5470), or sickle cell trait (HbAS, rs334) were associated with risk of active trachoma when stratified by age and sex, in rural Gambian children. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In two cross sectional surveys of children aged 6-78 months (n = 836), the prevalence of the clinical signs of active trachoma was 21.4%. Within boys, haplotype E (-101G, -61A, Hp1), containing the variant allele of the -101C-G promoter SNP, was associated with a two-fold increased risk of active trachoma (OR = 2.0 [1.17-3.44]). Within girls, an opposite association was non-significant (OR = 0.58 [0.32-1.04]; P = 0.07) and the interaction by sex was statistically significant (P = 0.001). There was no association between trachoma and HbAS. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that genetic variation in Hp may affect susceptibility to active trachoma differentially by sex in The Gambia

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Drivers and consequences of tropical forest transitions: options to bypass land degradation?

The early studies of the ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins stratified the domain for study into stages of a generic transition pathway that suggested a strongly non-linear trajectory of change. In this scheme, a phase of degradation of aboveground vegetation, based on over-logging or shortening fallow cycles in intensified swiddens can lead to a grass-fire cycle that needs special conditions to allow successful rehabilitation. Many places with current agroforestry and tree mosaics have gone through such a phase. A new review of the global literature on these forest transitions by Meyfroidt and Lambin (2011) framed important conclusions

Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Through the Lens of Community Preferences

Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) practices are people-centered, nature-based solutions which aim to ensure that communities can cope with the adverse effects of climate change. These practices utilize biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of the wider adaptation strategies. In recent years, communities across the globe have embraced different EbA pathways as part of their adaptation option. This necessitated a comprehensive feasibility assessment to establish the most practical options in different context in The Gambia. This technical brief looks at EbA practices based on community preferences, gender choices, values and incentives, potential enablers and barriers, as well as policy and institutional frameworks based on findings from the EbA project in The Gambi

A Framework for Monitoring Ecosystems-Based Adaptation to Climate Change: Experience from The Gambia

Implementing ecosystems-based adaptation (EbA) to climate change is challenged by the need to monitor biophysical, socio-cultural, and economic impacts which are usually context-specific. Therefore, robust frameworks are required that integrate impacts to better understand EbA effectiveness. Monitoring frameworks that are universally applicable to EbA are desirable, however their universal application is problematic as they should reflect a community-driven design that accommodates both donor reporting functions and the generation of local-level data and information to support management actions and community initiatives. Initial products from this research include a generic, five-step process for developing and testing adaptation indicators, a robust framework consisting of (i) the indicators, data and information used to design the framework, (ii) the operational EbA platform that houses and computes the adaptation indicators, and (iii) the participating institutions, and initial, community-level applications to guide water management, replenishment of the vegetation cover, and business development. Immediate benefits to rural communities include the re-orientation of performance indicators mapped to their needs as opposed to donor reporting alone. The framework contributes to the set of tools currently in use for EbA monitoring by offering an umbrella within which existing tools can be applied. Near-term future research will focus on improving the utility of the framework and its platform beyond reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs) by adapting the EbA platform to support changing management needs. Future research will be needed to understand the extent to which the environmental changes in The Gambia compared to changes across the Sahel and Sudano-Sahel regions of West Africa and whether the lessons learned from The Gambia could be extrapolated to the subregion