The central idea of this report is that the blending of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) with agroecological approaches can increase the organizational capacity and resources devoted to translating national commitments on food security, climate, biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management into action on the ground. In contrast to the current reality of siloed approaches, there are huge opportunities for synergies where efforts are combined across sectors and levels for creating resilient food systems that actively address the multiple crises and support the realization of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is increasingly important when traversing from international aspirations to the local contexts where land use change occurs. Thus, there is an urgent imperative to connect policy design and implementation across sectors and levels. Complementarities between national programs mean more efficient resource use and higher implementation capacity. This is key as critical implementation gaps often exist at the local landscape scale.

To address climate change in agricultural landscapes, this report suggests aligning the knowledge and actions of EbA on the one hand with the agricultural approach of agroecology on the other hand. Although conferring adaptation benefits, so far agroecology does not have explicitly considered projected climate risks and impacts. This creates a clear opportunity to employ agroecological practices within an EbA framework so that both approaches are explicitly combined to address specific adverse effects of climate change. Such combined approach could also contribute to the overall resilience of agri-food systems and rural livelihoods and address in parallel the related crises of biodiversity loss as well as land and water degradation.