The 4p1000 initiative Opportunities, limitations and challenges for implementing soil organic carbon sequestration as a sustainable development strategy

• Published in: Ambio Vol. 49; no. 1; pp. 350 - 360
• Main Authors: Rumpel, Cornelia, Amiraslani, Farshad, Chenu, Claire, Cardenas, Magaly Garcia, Kaonga, Martin, Koutika, Lydie-Stella, Ladha, Jagdish, Madari, Beata, Shirato, Yasuhito, Smith, Pete, Soudi, Brahim, Soussana, Jean-François, Whitehead, David, Wollenberg, Eva
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Science + Business Media 01.01.2020; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Adaptation; Agricultural management; Agriculture; Atmospheric Sciences; Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide atmospheric concentrations; Carbon Sequestration; Climate adaptation; Climate change; Collaboration; Development strategies; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Environment; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Environmental Management; Environmental Sciences; Farming systems; Food security; Greenhouse effect; greenhouse gas emissions; Greenhouse gases; Growth rate; Innovations; issues and policy; Land management; Life Sciences; Organic carbon; Organic soils; PERSPECTIVE; Physical Geography; risk; scientists; Soil; soil organic carbon; Soil quality; stakeholders; Sustainable Development; Sustainable practices; Soil; Climate change; Carbon sequestration; Food security
• ISSN: 0044-7447; 1654-7209; 1654-7209
• DOI: 10.1007/s13280-019-01165-2

Climate change adaptation, mitigation and food security may be addressed at the same time by enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration through environmentally sound land management practices. This is promoted by the “4 per 1000” Initiative, a multi-stakeholder platform aiming at increasing SOC storage through sustainable practices. The scientific and technical committee of the Initiative is working to identify indicators, research priorities and region-specific practices needed for their implementation. The Initiative received its name due to the global importance of soils for climate change, which can be illustrated by a thought experiment showing that an annual growth rate of only 0.4% of the standing global SOC stocks would have the potential to counterbalance the current increase in atmospheric CO₂. However, there are numerous barriers to the rise in SOC stocks and while SOC sequestration can contribute to partly offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, its main benefits are related to increased soil quality and climate change adaptation. The Initiative provides a collaborative platform for policy makers, practitioners, scientists and stakeholders to engage in finding solutions. Criticism of the Initiative has been related to the poor definition of its numerical target, which was not understood as an aspirational goal. The objective of this paper is to present the aims of the initiative, to discuss critical issues and to present challenges for its implementation. We identify barriers, risks and trade-offs and advocate for collaboration between multiple parties in order to stimulate innovation and to initiate the transition of agricultural systems toward sustainability.