This presentation describes the first results of the Grazing with Trees (GWT) initiative, promoted by FAO as a response to the Committee on Forestry (COFO) 26th session request to "promote greater and inclusive policy coherence between the agriculture and forestry sectors, including through integrated land use planning, landscape approaches". The main target of the initiative is to promote enabling environments for dryland Silvopastoral Systems (SPS s). These agroforestry schemes provide multiple benefits and ecosystem services in dryland regions as evidenced by the recent FAO publication Grazing with Trees, which seeded the initiative. Being uniquely adapted to landscapes with water scarcity and climatic variability, SPS s can evidently improve the resilience of landscapes and communities to the impacts of climate change, combat desertification, improve watershed management and provide diverse food sources and livelihood opportunities for dryland communities. The GWT initiative aims to strengthen, at country level, the capacity to mobilize resources and investment tools to incorporate SPS s into Land Degradation Neutrality commitments and Intended Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement. GWT seeks to improve effective policy, legislation and institutional arrangements supporting climate-resilient silvopastoralism, especially those adopted by pastoralist and forester communities. The presented outcomes include participation-based silvopastoral policies, strategies and land-use management plans developed and adopted by communities in target landscapes and additional outcomes related to improved governance, participatory institutions and enhanced investment options identified through multistakeholder consultations and application of FAO assessment tools and knowledge products. Introducing the Grazing with Trees initiative Drylands and presumed drylands account for approximately 48% of the Earth's land surface and are home to 25% of the human population. They support 50% of the world's forests, 50% of global livestock and 44% of global cultivated systems. Furthermore, they harbour 46% of global carbon reserves and 36% of the earth's biodiversity hotspots. Woody vegetation and trees provide essential ecosystem services in dry areas, including animal feed, timber, fruits, shade and regulation of soil and water cycles. Equally, livestock production, in particular pastoralism, is critical for livelihoods and fo od security and supports the resilience of about one billion people throughout the Earth's dryland ecosystems.
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