The climate and land use change nexus: Implications for designing adaptation and conservation investment strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Climate change and land use change are two global and interacting forces of change that have wide-reaching effects on socio-ecological systems. Despite their interconnectedness, the two are mostly considered separately in investment programs. Therefore, without an integrated systemic approach that considers these interactions, we will fail to achieve the ambitions to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals. By integrating the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response framework and the System of Environmental-Economic Accounts Ecosystem Accounting, this paper assesses how the interlinkages between climate change and land use change can be jointly considered in the design of climate adaptation and ecosystem conservation investments. The analysis points to the following priorities for interventions in an integrated approach: forest conservation, protection of peatlands, climate-smart agriculture, and restoration of degraded lands. The paper furthermore suggests a set of systemic investment principles that can contribute to capital allocation for climate adaptation and conservation.