Projects

Project description

While various countries have set out plans in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), implementation to achieve the stipulated goals will require a suite of actions and access to finance. In the case of mitigation in the rice sector, this includes knowledge about mitigation options at field level that are aligned with national sector plans and development priorities. It also requires engagement of private sector value chain actors.

This project builds on the results of Phase 1 and 2 of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) paddy rice workstream. The overall objective is to achieve large-scale mitigation of Short Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCP) emissions from paddy rice cultivation across different countries through leveraged investment from the public as well as the private sector.

CCAC supports activities that identify priority areas for alternate wetting and drying (AWD) implementation and provide incentives, technical support mechanisms and enabling conditions to help farmers overcome barriers to adoption of new practices.  This work has been conducted in two phases over 4 years. Phase 1 (2015 – 2016) resulted in: 1) compilation of information in Bangladesh, Colombia and Vietnam to assess opportunities and barriers to large-scale implementation of low-emission options. Information includes current rice management practices, data on AWD, biophysical and socioeconomic suitability; 2) development of national policy-focused working groups in target countries to identify areas with high mitigation potential and identify country-specific agricultural development interventions for scaling-up of mitigation practices in those areas. In Phase 2 (2017 – 2019) mechanisms for scaling out AWD in Bangladesh and Vietnam have been installed and tested, supported by technical and policy guidance for reducing methane emission intensity. These activities have helped to enhance awareness and political will to move to the national policy development and implementation stage.

Activities

• Developing and promoting the uptake of a ‘private sector kit’ for optimizing low carbon value chains to be integrated into sustainable corporate strategies
• Develop a normative MRV framework including support tools that can be adjusted for NAMAs under country-specific conditions
• Developing Rice NAMA concepts and associated financing strategies for target countries supported by socio-economic studies and bio-physical assessments
• Preparing project proposals targeting a transformative change for low emissions rice production

Expected outcomes

• Private sector companies can assess their rice value chains and apply measures to minimize GHG emissions
• Project proposals for a transformative change for low emissions rice production have been developed and accepted by national stakeholders
• A committed group of national stakeholders that have ownership of project proposals drive the application process

Gender and youth

It is widely accepted that climate change impacts will not be gender neutral. And it goes without saying that climate change will have greater impact over the lifetime of younger generations. The project aims to address gender and youth dimensions of climate change in planning climate action agendas. This will be achieved through gender-sensitive research and youth-inclusive programs to design equitable action plans that take into consideration the needs and constraints faced by the underserved.

Partners

• International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
• United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment)
• Oxfam
• Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (MARD)
• Institute of Agricultural Environment (IAE)
• Thai Rice Department (TRD)
• Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI)
• World Widelife Fund (WWF)

More information

For more information, please contact project leader Bjoern Ole Sander, IRRI (b.sander@irri.org).

Funding

Funding for this project is provided by: