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

The document examines the reciprocal relationship between climate change and land in Latin America, highlighting how land degradation and desertification threaten livelihoods and food security. It advocates for sustainable land management, integrated governance, and gender-equitable policies to enhance resilience and achieve climate goals.

• Climate change is altering land-based ecosystems in Latin America, including shifts in climate zones observed in Northeast Brazil and southern Argentina, and increased frequency and intensity of drought in Amazonia and Northeast Brazil.
• Land conditions in South America influence regional climates through 'moisture recycling', where forests release water vapour that supports rainfall downwind; consequently, deforestation can decrease rainfall in these areas.
• Amazonian deforestation over the last 30 years has likely caused forested land to transition from being a carbon sink to a net carbon source.
• Climate change is negatively impacting agricultural productivity in the region, with evidence of affected crop yields in Colomi, Bolivia, and increased yield variability for maize and soybeans in Argentina.
• Desertification poses significant economic and infrastructure risks in Latin America, costing between 8% and 14% of gross agricultural product in many countries and reducing the performance of solar power modules in Chile's Atacama Desert by nearly 19% due to dust.
• Sustainable land management (SLM) is economically viable, with one study showing 97% of SLM projects had positive or very positive cost-benefit ratios in the long term.
• Gender inequality and insecure property rights hinder progress in sustainable land management, as women often lack access to credit, agricultural advisory services, and land ownership.
• Integrated governance across sectors and scales is necessary to manage competing land interests and maximise the co-benefits of development and climate action, particularly at national, river basin, and ecosystem levels.
• Over-reliance on land-based mitigation, such as large-scale bioenergy production, can increase competition for land and jeopardise food security and biodiversity.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2019). The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land What’s in it for Latin America? https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/IPCC-Land_Latin-America_WEB_20Nov2019.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land What’s in it for Latin America? 2019. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/IPCC-Land_Latin-America_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 Latin America? |date=2019 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/IPCC-Land_Latin-America_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 Latin America?}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2019}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/IPCC-Land_Latin-America_WEB_20Nov2019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }