Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU)

Overview

Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) plays a central role for food security and sustainable development. Plants take up carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and nitrogen (N) from the soil when they grow, re-distributing it among different pools, including above and below-ground living biomass, dead residues, and soil organic matter. The CO2 and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases (GHG), largely methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), are in turn released to the atmosphere by plant respiration, by decomposition of dead plant biomass and soil organic matter, and by combustion.

Anthropogenic land-use activities (e.g., management of croplands, forests, grasslands, wetlands), and changes in land use/cover (e.g., conversion of forest lands and grasslands to cropland and pasture, afforestation) cause changes superimposed on these natural fluxes. AFOLU activities lead to both sources of CO2 (e.g., deforestation, peatland drainage) and sinks of CO2 (e.g., afforestation, management for soil carbon sequestration), and to non-CO2 emissions primarily from agriculture (e.g., CH4 from livestock and rice cultivation, N2O from manure storage and agricultural soils and biomass burning.

The main mitigation options within AFOLU involve one or more of three strategies: reduction/prevention of emissions to the atmosphere by conserving existing carbon pools in soils or vegetation that would otherwise be lost or by reducing emissions of CH4 and N2O; sequestration—enhancing the uptake of carbon in terrestrial reservoirs, and thereby removing CO2 from the atmosphere  and reducing CO2 emissions by substitution of biological products for fossil fuels  or energy-intensive products. Demand-side options (e.g., by lifestyle changes, reducing losses and wastes of food, changes in human diet, changes in wood consumption), though known to be difficult to implement, may also play a role.

Land is the critical resource for the AFOLU sector and it provides food and fodder to feed the Earth’s population of ~7 billion, and fibre and fuel for a variety of purposes. It provides livelihoods for billions of people worldwide. It is finite and provides a multitude of goods and ecosystem services that are fundamental to human well-being (MEA, 2005). Human economies and quality of life are directly dependent on the services and the resources provided by land. Figure 11.1 shows the many provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services provided by land, of which climate regulation is just one. Implementing mitigation options in the AFOLU sector may potentially affect other services provided by land in positive or negative ways.

 

Technical Working Group


Mr. Deogratius Gambago
Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries
Chairperson

 

Ms. Adelaide Tillya
Tanzania Sustainable Poverty Alleviation
Deputy Chairperson

 

 

Dr. Paulo J. Lyimo
Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA)
Secretary

 

 


Dr. Zabron Nziku
Tanzania Livestock Research Institute(TALIRI)
Deputy Secretary

 

Ms. Winfrida J. Shonde
Tanzania Environment and Empowerment Movement (TEEMO)
Member

 

 

Prof. Salim Maliondo
Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA)
Member

 

 

Dr. Wilson A. Mugasha
Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA)
Member

 

 

 

 


Dr. Patrick Ndaki
Institute of Resource Assessment/Centre for Climate Change Studies
Member

 


Dr. Lucy Ssendi
Tanzania Sustainable Poverty Alleviation – TASPA
Member

 


Ms. Miza KHAMIS
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock
Member

 

Dr. Abel Masota
Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS)
Member

 

 

Prof . Josiah Katani
Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA)
Member

 

 

 


Mr. Njabha LYATURA
Kilwa District Council
Member

 

Mr. Kamwesige Mjuni Mtembei
Ministry of Agriculture
Member

 

 


Dr. Ismail Seleman
Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA)
Member

 


Mr. Prosper Makundi
Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)
Member

 

 


Mr. Fred Francis
Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries
Member

 

 


Mr. Ali Said Ali
Zanzibar Fisheries and Marine Resources Research Institute (ZAFIRI)
Member

 

 


Mr. Julius E. Salema
National Environment Management Council (NEMC)
Member

 


MS. Zaninab Sheuya
Ministry of Agriculture, Environment Management Unit
Member

 


Prof. Omari Mzirai
Institute of Rural Development and Planning (IRDP)
Member

 


Said Masoud
Zanzibar Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI)
Member

 

 


Mr. Alfei Daniel Maseke
Care International
Member

 

 


Mr. Prosper Makundi
Member

 

 


Titus Mwisomba
Member

 

 


Basil Msuha
Agriculture Statistics & ARDS
Member

 

 


Crecencia Mpanda
Ministry of Agriculture
Member

 

 


Doris Sendewa
National Irrigation Commission
Member

 

 


Prof. Germana Laswai
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Member

 

 


Mohamed Yusuf Haji
Kilimo na Uhakika wa Chakula
Member

 

 


Faki Kessi
Kilimo na Uhakika wa Chakula
Member

 

 


Dr. Masoud Said
Zanzibar Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI)
Member

 

 


Dr. Meliho
Tanzania Agriculture Research Institute (TARI)
Member

 

 


Dr. Jonas Kizima
Tanzania Livestock Research Institute (TALIRI)
Member

 

 

Mr. Cosmas J. Emily
Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA)
Member

 

 

Mr. Abdallah Lungo
Vice President’s Office
Member

 

 

 

Mr. Abbas Juma Mzee
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock
Member

 

 

Ms. Hadija J .Kayera
Vice President’s Office
Member

 

 

Mr. Edison Mwijage
National Carbon Monitoring Centre
Member

 

 

Dr. Hamza Kija
Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI)
Member

 

 

Dr. Elikana John
Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS)
Member