World Environment Day is celebrated on 5 June each year to focus public attention on the importance of protecting the Earth. This year the slogan is kick the habit! towards a low carbon economy, in recognition of the fact that climate change is the defining issue of our time.  

Climate change has significant consequences for the entire world. Its implications are most profound for poor rural people. Landless people, farmers whose plots are too small to provide for their needs, nomadic herders, small-scale fishers and indigenous peoples are the most vulnerable to its effects.

There is no longer any doubt that human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests, are having a dramatic impact on our planet’s climate. Average temperatures are now heading to levels not experienced for millions of years.

Scientists are observing rapidly melting glaciers, rising sea levels, shifts in species ranges, and more frequent incidents of extreme weather.

As temperatures and precipitation levels change, crop yields and quality will decline, especially in tropical and semi-tropical regions where many of the poorest countries are found.

Desertification will be exacerbated by changes in rainfall and intensified land use. Rising sea levels will threaten the livelihoods of people living in coastal communities. For example, the Lateu settlement in the Vanuatu island chain in the Pacific has had to be relocated because of rising sea levels. In many developing countries, poor rural people can expect to see lower crop yields, increased incidences of droughts and floods and higher prevalence of disease.

Global warming is a very real threat to meeting the first Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. Farmers in some regions are seeing changes to their growing seasons. Africa is especially vulnerable. Climate change is already having an impact on the landscape of sub-Saharan Africa and is expected to lead to further land degradation and more hunger.

Yet some of the worst effects of climate change can be prevented if appropriate international action is taken. Climate change and environmental issues are already addressed, directly and indirectly, in many IFAD programmes and projects.

IFAD works with impoverished communities in some of the harshest and most remote areas of the world, promoting sustainable water use and land management to help protect the environment. Every IFAD programme and project is subject to an environmental screening before approval.

IFAD is also increasingly involved in projects specifically designed to tackle the challenges posed by climate change.

One such project in Sri Lanka will rehabilitate three coastal ecosystems – mangroves, coastal lagoons and sand dunes – along the tsunami-devastated east. The project aims to enhance the resilience of the three ecosystems to climate variability and to reduce the local population’s vulnerability to extreme weather events. The project is being funded jointly by IFAD and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Another project in China is turning human and animal waste into a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide gases that can be used for lighting and cooking.

IFAD’s commitment to protecting natural resources and combating desertification is reflected in its partnerships with global institutions such as the GEF. IFAD is an active member of the Multilateral Financial Institutions Working Group on Environment, which meets regularly to share experiences of environmental issues. IFAD is an executing agency of the GEF. The GEF is one of the main financial mechanisms for addressing climate change and represents a strategic partner for IFAD.

Together, the GEF and IFAD are addressing the intertwined issues of poverty alleviation, sustainable land management and climate change. IFAD helps countries access funding opportunities with the GEF for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

IFAD also hosts the Global Mechanism and the secretariat of the International Land Coalition.

The Global Mechanism is a subsidiary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification with a mandate to increase financing for sustainable land management. It is hosted by IFAD in recognition of IFAD's focus on rural development, agriculture and sustainable land management.

The International Land Coalition is a global alliance of organizations dedicated to working with poor rural people to increase their secure access to natural resources, particularly land.

It does this by building alliances between development partners, including NGOs, intergovernmental, governmental and civil society organizations. By working together to share our strengths and expertise, we will be able to promote sustainable land management and help communities adapt to a changing world.