The main aim of IPM is to reduce the infestation of any pest below the threshold of damage. Purchasing chemical pesticides is often too expensive for subsistence farmers. Nevertheless, some form of pest control is still vital, since a serious infestation can lead to a total loss of harvest. In this regard, the project promotes applying IPM, which requires permanent monitoring of the fields’ phytosanitary status, so that adequate measures are taken timely. For ensuring a resilient orchard in the first place, phytosanitary measures and biological pest control should be applied.  Phytosanitary measures imply using certified seedlings, free from pests and diseases. Adequate pruning is important, for removing branches infested by die-back, and for prevention of diseases like mildew, as the leaves dry soon after rainfall or dew. During a pest outbreak, homemade insecticides can be prepared by mixing spices (chilli, garlic, onion, etc.) or toxic plants (walnut, tobacco, etc.) with soap, alcohol or oil. They can be applied for controlling insects, like aphids, thrips, and mites. Another measure for controlling pests consists of providing sources of fodder and hideouts for their natural enemies.

Vegetables or fodder crops can be planted between rows of fruit trees facilitating income from the orchard from the very beginning when fruit trees have not yet entered production. Associating fruit trees with vegetables or fodder crops is especially important in Tajikistan as farmer families have only little irrigated land and thus have to use it intensively. Vegetables can be used for subsistence or sold at market, whilst fodder crops as alfalfa and sainfoin can be planted for producing hay. Other advantages of cultivating fodder plants are that these create habitats and feed pollinators and beneficial insects. Most of the species flower after fruit trees have already blossomed, thereby extending the fodder supply for pollinators and improving conditions for beekeeping. Moreover, fodder plants protect the soil from erosion.

It is cheaper to establish a traditional or semi-intensive orchard with local varieties than an intensive one based on imported seedlings since locally produced plants are cheaper and fewer plants/ha (approximately 500-600 vs 2,600-3,125) are required.

Furthermore, a semi-intensive orchard system based on local varieties allows for better vegetable growing and fodder planting between the trees. This outweighs the disadvantage that orchards established with local varieties and grafted on local rootstocks enter production later than intensive ones (5-6 years vs 2-4 years).

Traditional varieties of fruit trees are normally better adapted to local climate conditions and are more resistant or tolerant to pests and diseases. That implies economic benefits as costs for applying pesticides are reduced considerably, production levels are stable, and less irrigation water is needed.

In addition, local varieties bear fruits much longer (30-50 years vs. 10-12 years). It is recommended to involve specialists and consult with local nurseries before beginning reproduction of fruit trees seedlings since grafting requires some experience. Local nurseries can establish collections of varieties for cutting scions and hand them over to interested fruit growers.

The Durban CEBA initiative has expanded on the original ecosystem management, and reforestation approaches. This was done by embracing a more holistic understanding of the link between communities and the ecosystems that underwrite their welfare and livelihoods, especially in the face of climate change risks. It involves climate-relevant knowledge transfer, creating local jobs and developing small businesses, all of which help to ensure cleaner, greener and more sustainable neighborhoods. As a result, communities become less dependent on costly utilities and services, and through their direct participation, they become joint owners of  a new green economy sector in Durban. Key elements include:

• The management and/or restoration of local ecosystems. This is primarily through improving, for example, river flow regulation and erosion control, which can boost climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
• Ensuring communities understand climate change related risks and how to adapt to and better manage climate related disasters.
• The upliftment of local communities through the establishment of “green jobs” for the poor and unemployed.
• The establishment of delivery partnerships between the eThekwini Municipality, other spheres of Government, Businesses, NGOs and local communities.

This building block builds on perception mapping, combining it with digital data and spatial tech to produce detailed and useful county and ward resource maps, documenting community knowledge of resources and attributes. The participatory mapping process allows traditional knowledge to enhance digital national-level data and vice versa.

Workshops introduced the project; Open Street maps satellite imagery was projected onto a wall alongside paper perception maps, and participants worked to transfer points of interest from the paper maps into GIS using coordinates to pinpoint locations in a way that could be verified and shared. Qualitative data on key resource points was then embedded into the spatial data. The maps were shared with participants and other stakeholders for feedback, before the process was repeated to refine. 

Locally-grounded, scientifically-sound maps are useful in dryland contexts, where pastoralists must be able to utilize different resources at different times of year. Such maps also demonstrate– in a format understood by planners and others –where key resources are located, and how poorly planned/non-participatory development projects may restrict pastoralists’ access to resources. 

Isiolo County Climate Change Fund (ICCCF) is a locally-managed (devolved) financial mechanism, allowing county and ward-level decision-making on investments for addressing climate change challenges. Piloted in Isiolo (2011-12) under the then Ministry of State for Development of Northern Kenya and Other Arid Lands, the mechanism was extended from 2013 to Garissa, Kitui, Makueni and Wajir counties and from 2018 is being scaled-out nation-wide by the National Drought Management Authority within the Ministry of Devolution and ASALs. Ward-level investments in Isiolo  supported by the CCCFCinclude rehabilitation, fencing, sand damns, workshops, funding community radio and more.

Investment decision-making is participatory:

• WAPCs are formed through a public vetting process and consensus; male and female members are selected based on integrity, dedication, knowledge of the area and commitment to report back to the community.
• WAPCs identify priority investments which are submitted to the Isiolo County Planning Committee (CAPC) for review (the CAPC cannot veto proposals that meet jointly-agreed investment criteria).
• Once approved, investments are opened to competitive tenders. The successful provider receives payments in phases, based on certified completion of the previous phase.

When starting these policies, mainstreaming of organic and agroecological farming in the whole state was seen as a strategy to preserve the ecosystem of the state and the health of its citizens. The government was (and still is) convinced that this decision would deliver huge socioeconomic benefits, would help young people stay on the land, and would attract local and foreign sustainable tourism, while opening opportunities to reach premium organic markets.

Political commitment to support organic farming in Sikkim began in 2003.  That year, the Chief Minister of Sikkim, H.E. Pawan Chamling, announced his vision for Sikkim to be India’s first organic state. In a historic declaration to the State Assembly in 2003, H.E. Chamling announced “a long awaited policy initiative of declaring Sikkim as a fully Organic State”. The 2003 declaration was accompanied by the creation of an action plan containing a variety of policy measures, including a gradual phase-out of synthetic inputs and the support for the production and use of organic fertilizers and organic seeds, coupled with capacity building for extension officers, farmers and young people.

Despite being a small state, Sikkim’s visionary leadership is receiving extensive attention in India and appears destined to reverberate worldwide. Neighbouring countries and states show high interest in replicating and many other countries, especially in Asia, invited Sikkim to exchange its experiences.

Bhutan has already set out a new road map towards becoming a 100 per cent organic state by 2023, and now a number of Indian states are interested in following the wish of the India’s Prime Minister to see the whole of North India converting to organic agriculture. At the beginning of 2018, Uttakarand became the second Indian state to promise broader support to organic farming for its 1.6 million farmers, announcing an action plan backed by approximately EUR 189 million of federal funding for the next three years. Organic agriculture can help India to achieve its own sustainable development goals, including doubling the income of rural farmers by 2022, if more Indian states adopt Sikkim’s model of organic farming.

The Good Food Purchasing Program’s metric-based, flexible framework encourages large public institutions to measure and then make shifts in their food purchases. By adopting the framework, food service institutions commit to improving their regional food system by implementing meaningful purchasing standards in all five value categories:

• Local Economics: the Good Food Purchasing Program supports local small and mid-sized agricultural and food processing operations.
• Environmental Sustainability: the Good Food Purchasing Progam requires institutions to source at least 15% of the food from producers that employ sustainable production systems.
• Valued Workforce: the Good Food Purchasing Policy promotes safe and healthy working conditions and fair compensation for all food chain workers and producers.
• Animal Welfare: the Good Food Purchasing Policy promotes healthy and humane care for farm animals.
• Nutrition: Finally, the Good Food Purchasing Policy promotes health and well-being by outlining best practices that offer generous portions of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and minimally processed foods, while reducing salt, added sugars, saturated fats, and red meat consumption, and eliminating artificial additives.

Adopted first by the City of Los Angeles in 2012, the Good Food Purchasing Program ® creates a transparent supply chain and helps institutions to measure and then make shifts in their food purchases.

Its objectives are:

• To harness the purchasing power of major institutions to encourage greater production of sustainably produced food, healthy eating, respect for workers’ rights, humane treatment of animals and support for the local small business economy.
• To shift as many dollars as possible towards Good Food in order to achieve an economy of scale.