Calling for Nexus Approach: Introduction of the Flagship Programme on Climate, Ecosystems and Livelihoods

The United Nations Environment Programme（UN Environment） launched at the end of 2016 a decade-long（2016–2025） flagship programme on Climate, Ecosystems and Livelihoods（CEL）, with the aim to assist developing countries in delivering the Sustainable Development Goals（SDGs） and climate targets while protecting their ecosystems and improving the livelihoods of their people. The CEL programme is a major initiative supported by China and other developing countries to promote long-term South-South cooperation, led by the United Nations Environment Programme International Ecosystem Management Partnership（UNEP-IEMP）. This article presents the conceptual framework and implementation strategy of the CEL programme, which were proposed through consultations between UN Environment, Chinese and international experts. Within the conceptual framework, the CEL programme will 1） focus its work on the nexus of climate change, ecosystem services and sustainable livelihoods as the primary priority; 2） encourage cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder cooperation, enhance interdisciplinary research, and strive for breakthroughs that cross disciplinary boundaries; 3） provide four types of services and products—monitoring and assessment, capacity building, technology demonstration, and science for policy through mainly South-South cooperation; and 4） have far-reaching impacts on delivering SDGs and climate targets in vulnerable developing countries. The CEL programme is going to be implemented in a strategic way through a set of related projects and initiatives. More particularly, it will 1） focus on fragile ecosystems like drylands, mountains, river basins and coastal zones in Asia, Africa and other key regions along the Belt and Road, in the early stage and expand to include some other regions at a later stage; 2） take a three-phase approach, including Phase I, Kick-off（2016–2018）, Phase II, Development（2019–2021）, and Phase III, Scaling-up（2022–2025）; and 3） draw on the globally relevant knowledge, expertise and other resources of a substantial network of partners. So far, UNEP-IEMP has developed more than twenty projects and initiatives in the regions along the Belt and Road, especially in Africa and the Greater Mekong Subregion, which lay a solid foundation for the implementation of CEL programme in its first phase.

Promoting the Nexus Approach of Climate, Ecosystems and Livelihoods in Africa through China-Africa Cooperation

Africa is facing both challenges and opportunities in pursuing sustainability. The nexus approach of Climate, Ecosystems and Livelihoods（CEL） is a promising way to seize the ＂power of integration＂ for achieving sustainability of the African continent. Based on taking stock of the work of various organizations especially the United Nations Environment Programme International Ecosystem Management Partnership（UNEP-IEMP） in the Africa, this article explores the demands and opportunities for delivering the CEL approach in Africa and provides perspectives on how to promote it in the framework of China-Africa cooperation in future. It concludes that Africa is one of the focal regions in the delivery of the CEL nexus approach; UNEP-IEMP has launched several major initiatives that lay the foundation for delivering the nexus approach of CEL in Africa; however, more ambitious cooperation should be taken through a broad China-Africa partnership, based on existing institutions, networks and ongoing programmes in both Africa and China, to support future China-Africa cooperation on the nexus approach of CEL.

A workflow for Sustainable Development Goals indicators assessment based on high-resolution satellite data

For evaluating the progresses towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs),a global indicator framework was developed by the UN Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals Indicators.In this paper,we propose an improved methodology and a set of workflows for calculating SDGs indicators.The main improvements consist of using moderate and high spatial resolution satellite data and state-of-the-art deep learning methodology for land cover classification and for assessing land productivity.Within the European Network for Observing our Changing Planet(ERA-PLANET),three SDGs indicators are calculated.In this research,harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 data are analyzed and used for land productivity analysis and yield assessment,as well as Landsat 8,Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 time series are utilized for crop mapping.We calculate for the whole territory of Ukraine SDG indicators:15.1.1–‘Forest area as proportion of total land area’;15.3.1–‘Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area’;and 2.4.1–‘Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture’.Workflows for calculating these indicators were implemented in a Virtual Laboratory Platform.We conclude that newly available high-resolution remote sensing products can significantly improve our capacity to assess several SDGs indicators through dedicated workflows.