South Asian Smallholder Forests and Other Tree-Based Systems: Synthesizing LCLUC Data and Approaches to Foster a Natural Climate Solution that Improves Livelihoods

The ongoing SARI synthesis project for South Asia is focusing on understanding LCLUC patterns and processes in agricultural landscapes of smallholder tree-based systems and their potential as natural climate solutions. This synthesis provides an observation-based evaluation of the degree to which these landscapes are increasing in terms of cover and biomass. It is evaluating conditions leading to increases in tree and forest cover in South Asia and how improvements in cover contribute to rural livelihoods. The objective of the SARI South Asia Synthesis Consortium (SARI-SAS) is twofold: 1) synthesizing current and recent NASA research on LCLUC to contribute to understanding their patterns and drivers and 2) translating fundamental science into evidence-based contributions to climate mitigation and adaptation policy.

The team leading this synthesis effort comprises all current SARI projects in South Asia, with 6 university teams and 12 regional counterparts and collaborators. The SARI-SAS Consortium is synthesizing existing research to assess the current state and trends of land-use change in the SARI region, identifying emerging trends and themes relevant to global change science and climate change policy. This is advancing understanding of processes, drivers, and impacts on carbon emissions and removals to comprehend landscape-level drivers of biotic emissions and removals.

This project employs a synthesis framework around the concept of Sustainable Landscapes (SL), combining empirical and process-based scientific research with policy and development-oriented models. The SL framework links empirical analysis to policy interventions, focusing on connecting LCLUC observations to social and economic drivers supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The synthesis flow begins with assessments of observational data from remote sensing, synthesizing reporting on tree cover change emphasizing increases in trees outside of forests (TOF). It is analyzing trends using medium and very high-resolution data and explicitly assessing biomass and carbon increases. It is reviewing the relationship between TOF and social and economic indicators, integrating satellite remote sensing data with downscaled socioeconomic indicators to understand tree cover change causes. It is exploring insights from LCLUC projects related to income and livelihood drivers. Understanding how farmers value ecosystem services, the project is examining governance, farm-scale decision-making, and policy influences on tree cover. Ultimately, it aims to develop a knowledge base informing more effective policies on natural climate solutions and interventions for climate change mitigation and adaptation in the AFOLU sector.