Increasing climate resilience and enhancing sustainable land management in the southwest of the Buenos Aires provinve, Argentina

1. INCREASING CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND ENHANCING SUSTAINABLE LAND
MANAGEMENT IN THE SOUTHWEST OF THE BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE.
ARGENTINA

2. PROJECT OBJECTIVE:
• To contribute to reduce climate vulnerability of the agroecosystems in
the Southwest of the Buenos Aires Province by increasing adaptive
capacity of key local institutions and actors, and piloting sustainable
land management practices, focusing on water, crops and livestock
management to promote climate resilience.

3. National Level
According to the National Action Program to Combat Desertification,
the Republic of Argentina uses over 80% of its land for agricultural,
livestock and forestry activities. Climate, thus, is one of the most
important physical assets on which socio-productive activities rely.
Climate adaptation is therefore a key development challenge
throughout the country.
Climate events with the greatest impact on land are:
- Extraordinary storms which cause flooding and wind erosion. This
leads to damages which affect infrastructure and diverse property
such as: crops, cattle and agricultural soils;
- Irregular rainfall which leads to cyclic droughts and floods.

4. • According to the Second National Communication
, variations in rainfall are due to the El
Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon.
The combination of severe weather changes from
ENSO and climate change are projected to
aggravate the already fragile agricultural system in
Argentina.
• Figure provides a country-wide view on the
extension of land degradation as % of dry lands
National Level

5. Southwest of the Buenos Aires Province SWBA;
Project Level
• Approximate area of 6,500,000 hectares, and has around
550,000 inhabitants.
• It is primarily an agricultural region ( 28% of the Gross
Geographic Product of the region).
• Further, it contains 15% of the beef cattle of the entire
province.
• With respect to agriculture, is essentially a cattle rearing
zone with farming on marginal lands highly vulnerable to
eolic erosion and droughts.
• The average annual precipitation varies between 840 mm
in the East and 380 mm in the West, where the rainfall is
usually not enough for livestock and crop production

6. • These soils are especially vulnerable to increasing
climate variability and change.
• The periodic droughts in the project area triggered wind
erosion processes that gave rise to the creation of dunes,
dust storms , and soil blowing.
• These fragile soils do not recover during the rainy periods
but, on the contrary, have appeared to be especially
affected by water erosion.
• This context represents affects agricultural production

7. PROJECT COMPONENTS
• Component 1: Reducing Institutional and Community-level
Vulnerability
• Component 2: Implementing Adaptation Measures in
Productive Agroecosystems
• Component 3: Applying Participatory Approach to
Knowledge Management and Local Capacity Development
for Adaptation to Climate Change
• Component 4: Developing a Sustainability Strategy

8. Component 1: Reducing Institutional
and Community-level Vulnerability
This component aims at improving response and planning capacity of local
institutions and communities by promoting people’s engagement in data collection
and analysis from interinstitutional to household level.
The Project will collect data and transform it into information through
establishment of an Information and Early-Warning System on Climate Change and
Desertification (IEWS).
Further, a Regional Consultative Observatory of Public Policies on Climate Change
and Desertification (Observatory) will be created through institutional and sector-
specific networking

9. Example of information (every three months) on productive prospects for the SWBA
Agrometoerology.
Fire risk.
Erosion risks

10. General condition of agricultural
activities.
Management recommendations for
different productive activities.

11. Component 2: Implementing Adaptation Measures in
Productive Agroecosystems
• Program of interventions, offering a menu of options related to the
management of water resources, crops, cattle and grazing lands.
• Development and installation of the Sustainable Land Management
(SLM) practices , such as: irrigation microsystems, management
practices or alternative crops, etc.

12. • The main adaptation measures, sustainable land management and
erosion control in the Project are:
• Rainwater harvesting and improved irrigation technology.
• Enhanced crop management.
• Rangeland and forage management.
• Silvopastorile livestock production.
• windbreakers and dune management.

13. Component 3: Applying Participatory Approach to Knowledge
Management and Local Capacity Development for Adaptation to
Climate Change
• Create public awareness and ownership of the
Project. People will be trained and provided proper
tools to participate in development and tailoring of
local and even farm/household-specific adaptation
strategies.
• All activities will contemplate a gender-sensitive
approach to adaptation.
• Demonstrative field visits will be organized to
promote hands-on dialogue.

14. Component 4: Developing a Sustainability Strategy
• Develop different opportunities for growth and
scalability through lines of work, such as
• Green Employment: consolidate green employment
lines in the Ministry of Social Development and the
Forest and Communities Program.
• Economic Incentives (Recovery of Soils and Water
Reservoirs): achieve articulation with other
international programs and organizations for their
expansion to other provinces and regions (CAF, GEF,
BM).
• Creation of learning networks in Adaptation to
Climate Change
• Intra-regional and Inter-regional Cooperation

15. THANK YOU!