Preserving and Restoring Natural Resources
Sustainable agriculture means working hand in hand with nature. It means ensuring soil fertility, preserving biodiverse forests, promoting assorted flora and fauna and securing clean bodies of water. Our natural resources are fundamental to increasing agricultural production in the fight against hunger, and for enough food to be produced to feed everybody on the planet. Misuse and overuse, urban sprawl and climate change are just some of the reasons why natural resources are at risk in many regions around the world. SEWOH is working to counteract these negative trends with a number of projects, promoting rehabilitation of degraded soils, stopping deforestation and restoring forests and other wooded landscapes. They spread sustainable crop and livestock farming techniques, support animal health and give incentives for sustainable energy and water use.
PROJECT I ETHIOPIA
Creating alternatives with renewables
On behalf of BMZ, GIZ assists rural village communities in Ethiopia in counteracting progressive degradation of soil by employing sustainable, productive methods. Support is available for growing and processing bamboo. One of the many benefits of bamboo is that it can prevent soil erosion along water drainage canals, or gullies. As a rapidly renewable resource, it is also ideal in construction for buildings and furniture – alleviating pressure from local forests where far too many trees are still cut for these purposes. Together with local authorities and companies, the programme has managed to create new perspectives for young people. They are trained in working with bamboo and furniture manufacturing, establish contacts to other companies and workshops, receive loans and have also started their own bamboo processing companies.
IMPACT OF SEWOH I DEALING WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
At least three million people are better equipped or able to cope with or adapt to effects of climate change.
IMPACT OF SEWOH I DEALING WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
This was achieved though
- Greater reliability in planning
for smallholders thanks to early warning systems - Reduced loss of income
due to climate risk insurance - Increased resilience
of crops against weather-related stress situations - Efficient use of water
- Fewer climate-related crop failures
through diversified agricultural production
COOPERATION I CROP TRUST
Crop diversity for our future
In a world where more and more food is produced with fewer and fewer plant varieties, the Global Crop Diversity Trust, or Crop Trust for short, helps preserve the genetic properties of all crop plant species listed in the international seed contract. In light of the challenges of climate change, cultivators and researchers frequently turn to old crop plant varieties. The Crop Trust uses earnings from a capital fund set up especially for this purpose, and KfW supports in assisting gene banks around the world and the Global Seed Vault on the island of Spitsbergen. The gene banks and vault are committed to preserving and providing crop plants for increased genetic diversity. Backup copies of the various collections are also stored on Spitsbergen, with 80 per cent of samples from the eleven supported gene banks now secured in this manner. The backups in the Global Seed Vault have, for example, helped reproduce, distribute and secure a rich variety of seeds used in Syria, largely lost due to the civil war. The efforts of the Crop Trust are a significant contribution toward long-term food security.
The largest seed vault in the world is located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. Seeds of crops from all parts of the world are stored here. The aim of the project is to preserve the dwindling genetic diversity of crops for future generations.
SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT
Around 2,030,000 hectares of degraded land and forest area are restored and managed more sustainably.
That represents an area six times the size of Majorca.
PROJECT I SENEGAL I EGYPT I KAMERUN I UGANDA I ZAMBIA
Circulating practical knowledge and tapping into Africa’s potential for organic agriculture
Only 0.2 per cent of Africa’s agricultural land is used for organic agricultural practices. Many farmers simply lack the knowledge to grow, process and market organic agricultural products. GIZ is working with 23 African non-governmental organisations to set up five regional knowledge hubs for organic agriculture. The knowledge hubs collect, validate and circulate traditional and modern organic production, processing and marketing practices. These practices include using compost for higher soil fertility, applying local plant extracts to protect crops from insect pests and alternative certification systems for better market access. Videos, flyers, training, radio and TV shows present the methods to the target group. To date, knowledge hubs have published about 450 knowledge products in 16 languages and for 11 countries – another 1,400 are to follow in up to 22 languages and for other African nations. Through training, village cinemas and online platforms, the knowledge reaches nearly four million people involved in agriculture. Up to 25 million stand to benefit indirectly.