Challenges and Opportunities for addressing food and nutritional security in Central America in a context of Climate Change Susan Kandel, Executive Director, PRISMA Seminar on Food and Nutritional Security, Agriculture and Climate Change Sunday, December 7, 2014 Novotel San Isidro Hotel, Lima Peru

What is PRISMA Enormous changes but entrenched challenges for Central America 70s s s present Civil wars / internal conflictsStructural adjustment

Central America: Global Climate Risk Index (Germanwatch) What is PRISMA The magnitud of the challenges in Central America Guatemala El Salvador Honduras Nicaragua Costa Rica Panamá Trajectories of cyclones in Central America before and after 1980 Source: UNDP State of the Region Report on Sustainable Human Development (2011)

What is PRISMA The opportunity for a new paradigm for rural territorial development After the decades of abandonment of the “rural” - there is a growing recognition of the importance of the role of rural areas for ensuring the provision of ecosystem services that are critical for food security, productive processes and resilience to climate change and variability. In distinct territories throughout CA, innovative and promising experiences are emerging that can provide lessons to building resilience to Climate Change. These alternatives are emerging at a variety of levels (territorial experiences, as well as new policy frameworks) that support the development of new pathways to rural territorial development.

What is PRISMA El Salvador: An extreme case 82% are subsistence farmers 52% are landless farmers ExtensionPercentage > 1 ha.68% 1-4 ha.24% 4-10 ha.4% < 10 ha.4% 92% Highest rates of inequity in Latin American One of the most insecure in Central America; Most environmentally degraded in LA, after Haiti; One of the most vulnerable to climate change and variability in the world

What is PRISMA El Salvador: An extreme case Trajectories of cyclones in Central America before and after 1980 Source: UNDP State of the Region Report on Sustainable Human Development (2011) Combined Impacts of Tropical Depression IDA (Nov 2009), Tropical Storm Agatha (May 2010), Depression Tropical 12E (Oct 2011) : $1,267 Million 6% of GDP 6% of GDP Agriculture: $144 Million Drought -30 consecutive days without rain (July 4 - August 2014) LOSSES: 4 million quintales of corn 45 thousand quintales of beans

What is PRISMA El Salvador: Adaptation based Mitigation National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Program (PREP) Objetive: To radically transform the rural landscape to restore basic ecosystem functions and to build resilience The 1 st R-PP worldwide accepted by the FCPF, which strategically links the objectives of mitigation and adaptation to climate change, based on a strategy that does not focus only on forests

What is PRISMA The magnitud of the challenges in the Central American Dry Corridor According to FAO, 30% of Central America is located within the Dry Corridor, 60% of which suffers from drought conditions classified as “elevated” and “severe”.

What is PRISMA Low Emissions Development a Pillar for Revitalizing Rural Territories in Central America Low Emissions Development as a powerful pillar for a new rural economy, that contributes to:  job creation,  diversification,  dynamic markets,  food security,  resilience to shock situations, etc..

What is PRISMA The key challenges for the transition to LED for Rural Territories in Central America for Rural Territories in Central America 1. Property rights over land and natural resources  Rights to access to land over time for landless and land poor farmers 2. Stock and quality of social capital, for promoting collective action  Support and strengthen rural communities forms of organization, networks and territorial-level platforms 3. Enabling policy frameworks & incentives/compensation schemes  Policies and incentive schemes that ensure that the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices are economically and productively viable in the long term 4. Territorially rooted systems for knowledge and innovation  Going beyond technical solutions and practices, and generating knowledge about the institutional, economic and social arrangements needed for low emissions development

¡Gracias! P ROGRAMA S ALVADOREŇO DE I NVESTAGACIÓN SOBRE D ESARROLLO Y M EDIO A MBIENTE