If you are developing a project or initiative to support rural agricultural communities, these best-practice statements will guide you to an integrated approach, in which gains under one objective (e.g. crop production) are not achieved at the cost of losses in another (e.g. biodiversity).  The statements will help you shape interventions that rise above any specific ‘sector’ or ‘subsector’ objectives and maximize synergies within and among landscapes. They were developed as part of IFAD’s Environment and Natural Resource Management Policy as a resource for IFAD staff and partners. They will be refined in the months and years ahead through feedback from loan and grant implementation and as state of the art approaches and technologies evolve.  These statements apply IFAD’s 10 ENRM core principles to areas of common engagement for the rural development investments IFAD supports.

Biodiversity
Crop production
Energy
Fisheries and Aquaculture
Forestry
Infrastructure
Land
Livestock
Rural Financinig
Value chains
Water

Biodiversity

To support and promote: (i) reduction in agricultural land conversion and negative environmental externalities associated with agricultural production; (ii) complementarities with national and international initiatives for biodiversity conservation; (iii) introduction of an ecosystem approach; (iv) restoration and development of protected areas; (v) incentives for conservation and use of local agrobiodiversity through value chains; (vi) agriculture more resilient to extreme and changing climatic events; and (vii) avoidance of depletion of micro-organism, animal and plant genetic resources.  

Crop production

To support and promote: (i) improved soil fertility through integrated farming systems, conservation agriculture techniques, rotation with legumes, agroforestry with fertilizer trees, composting, contour planting and terracing to reduce soil erosion; and judicious use of mineral fertilizers and agrochemicals; (ii) integrated pest and weed management to avoid overuse or unnecessary use of pesticides and herbicides; (iii) water-efficient irrigation systems with users involved in management; (iv) enhancement, maintenance and preservation of crop diversity; (v) research on biotechnologies in tandem with investments in biosafety; (vi) research on and introduction of seed and crop varieties that reduce the energy, water and fertilizer inputs needed; and (vii) appropriate location-specific seed varieties.

Energy

To support and promote: (i) sustainable practices in developing rural energy resources to expand markets and ensure a steady supply; (ii) development and dissemination of bioenergy and renewable energy-efficient technologies that do not compete with food crop production; (iii) development of institutional approaches to managing local-level energy production and associated distribution systems; (iv) scaling up of the use of clean and renewable energy; and (v) targeting of sustainable energy access at poor people, giving appropriate consideration to gender roles in sourcing energy.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

To support and promote: (i) strengthened fisheries management and tenure rights of fishing communities to common-pool resources; (ii) introduction of an ecosystem approach; (iii) restoration and development of protected areas; (iv) integrated coastal and marine resource management for sustainable fishing practices; (v) investment in retraining and education for fishers to create alternative employment opportunities; and (vi) encouragement of sustainable forms of aquaculture.

Forestry

To support and promote: (i) secure access to and sustainable management of forests, with a particular focus on incentives and participatory forest management; (ii) introduction of an ecosystem approach; (iii) restoration and development of protected areas; (iv) development of value chains for sustainable and renewable natural products and development of certification schemes for sustainable forest management; (v) strengthening of tenure rights to forest resources and governance systems of local communities; (vi) further investment in diversified agroforestry systems; (vii) development of wild foods and non-timber forest products; and (viii) building of the capacity of local institutions to participate in and benefit from existing and emerging carbon and ecosystem markets. 

Infrastructure

To support and promote: (i) synergies between rural infrastructure construction and sustainable NRM; (ii) incorporation of social and environmental mitigation measures; (iii) community-driven approaches and local employment, especially creation of green jobs; (iv) adoption of context-specific and climate-resilient technologies; and v) ensuring that all new infrastructure investment is climate-smart.

Land

To support and promote: (i) continued strengthening of diverse and overlapping tenure/access systems; (ii) measures to decrease land-use impacts, including deforestation and biodiversity loss; (iii) introduction of an ecosystem approach; (iv) community land-use plans linked to higher-level landscape development plans; (v) sustainable, pro-poor land-based investments; and (vi) integrated land management at scale to manage trade-offs and improve or maintain ecosystem service flows.

Livestock

To support and promote: (i) integrated crop/livestock systems; (ii) introduction of improved livestock genetics and avoidance of erosion of animal genetic resources; (iii) the role of pastoral institutions and recognition of tenure rights and customary grazing lands; (iv) strengthened local governance capacity and national governance policy and institutional coherence; (v) increased livestock diversity; and (vi) recycling of livestock manures as organic nutrients for soil.

Rural Financing

To support and promote: (i) increased access of poor rural people to existing and new sources of green finance; (ii) principles of environmental sustainability integrated into all lending policies, rural finance programmes and rural finance institutions that serve poor rural households; and (iii) awareness-raising through IFAD co-financed projects, rural finance institutions, financial institutions participating in projects, and finance networks on the merging of rural finance and environmental sustainability.

Value chains

To support and promote: (i) eco-efficiencies in agricultural value chains, including water and energy use; (ii) harmonization with national and international standards for sustainable agriculture and consumption; (iii) continuation of diversified production within a given landscape; (iv) where possible, priority market access for purchasers of organic and sustainable niche environmental products; (v) creation of green jobs throughout the value chain, including in local food systems and organic production; (vi) facilitation of local and regional market access for sustainable production systems through public-private partnerships that link poor rural people to payment for environmental services (PES); (vii) national certification processes; and (viii) strengthened capacity for good practices, including enforcement of waste management.

Water

To support and promote: (i) integrated water-resource management approaches at different levels within watersheds; (ii) water-use efficiency and sustainability in production and good practices in sanitation and wastewater management; and (iii) stronger rural water institutions and integrated, pro-poor governance of land and water.

 

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