The Land-Potential Knowledge System (LandPKS): mobile apps and collaboration for optimizing climate change investments

Massive investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation are projected during coming decades. Many of these investments will seek to modify how land is managed. The return on both types of investments can be increased through an understanding of land potential: the potential of the land to support primary production and ecosystem services, and its resilience. A Land-Potential Knowledge System (LandPKS) is being developed and implemented to provide individual users with point-based estimates of land potential based on the integration of simple, geo-tagged user inputs with cloud-based information and knowledge. This system will rely on mobile phones for knowledge and information exchange, and use cloud computing to integrate, interpret, and access relevant knowledge and information, including local knowledge about land with similar potential. The system will initially provide management options based on long-term land potential, which depends on climate, topography, and relatively static soil properties, such as soil texture, depth, and mineralogy. Future modules will provide more specific management information based on the status of relatively dynamic soil properties such as organic matter and nutrient content, and of weather. The paper includes a discussion of how this system can be used to help distinguish between meteorological and edaphic drought

Summary for policymakers

The Working Group III contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (WGIII AR5) provides a comprehensive assessment of all relevant options for mitigating climate change through limiting or preventing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as activities that remove them from the atmosphere. It draws on scientific literature accepted for publication prior to 4 October 2013. The WGIII Summary for Policymakers was approved at the Twelfth Session of Working Group III, held in Berlin, Germany, from 7 to 11 April, 2014. During the session, the IPCC plenary also accepted the underlying scientific and technical assessment, which stands at 2000 pages, including more than 700 pages of references

Foreword

Editoria

Making extractive industries-led growth inclusive: An introduction

The extractive industries are often perceived as extremely lucrative, with civil society, international agencies, governments, and NGOs commonly arguing for greater levels of local return. Unfortunately, it is also common for foreign-owned extractive company community engagement/development activities in poorer host nations to be 'ad-hoc' and overlap with basic government services and responsibilities. We present six papers that represent examples of development opportunities in the supply chains of the extractive industries capable of facilitating inclusive engagement while simultaneously reducing poverty and diversifying economies, and which align with government social responsibilities. Staying within the supply chain enables the companies to benefit directly from their investments, enhance their operational security, and prevent others from 'free-loading'. These six papers show a diversity of opportunities that can benefit foreign extractive engagement, improve the potential of inclusive growth to local communities, enhance the capacity of local governments, and avoid common pitfalls by maintaining communication between important stakeholders