The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land What’s in it for Africa?

The document examines how climate change and unsustainable land management drive desertification and food insecurity in Africa, while highlighting sustainable land management practices and the necessity of integrated governance and gender-inclusive policies to build resilience.

• Climate change and land conditions are mutually influential; land can act as both a source and a sink for greenhouse gases, and changes in land cover can affect regional climates, such as tree planting in West Africa and the Sahara which is expected to cause regional surface cooling.
• Desertification is a significant threat in Africa, affecting 46 of 57 nations. Notable degradation has occurred in the Nile (42%), Niger (50%), Senegal (51%), Volta (67%), and Limpopo (66%) river basins, with the Sahara desert expanding by 10% during the 20th century.
• Climate change and desertification act as a 'threat multiplier' for poverty and food security. In Ghana, land degradation reduced agricultural incomes by US$4.2 billion between 2006 and 2015, increasing the 2015 national poverty rate by 5.4%.
• Global warming is projected to decrease staple crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa by 15% by 2046–2055. Specifically, for every 1°C of average global warming, wheat yields are expected to decrease by 6%, rice by 3.2%, and maize by 7.4%.
• Sustainable land management (SLM) technologies, such as rainwater harvesting, integrated crop-soil-water management, and the use of planting pits, can combat desertification. In South African drylands, planting pits have increased yields by up to 300%.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2019). The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land What’s in it for Africa? https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/IPCC-Land_Africa_WEB_20Nov2019.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land What’s in it for Africa? 2019. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/IPCC-Land_Africa_WEB_20Nov2019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land What’s in it for Africa? |date=2019 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/IPCC-Land_Africa_WEB_20Nov2019.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2019ipccs, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land What’s in it for Africa?}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2019}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/IPCC-Land_Africa_WEB_20Nov2019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }