Science and advocacy for sustainable agriculture at an NGO

Background/Question/Methods

Several steps need to be addressed to effectively bring science to the policy process. These include: gaining access to the policy dialogue; recognizing which policy options actually are on the table; establishing trust with partners and decision-makers; evaluating whether science has a role to play in that decision (and if so what it might be); gathering and synthesizing key research findings; identifying and engaging effective messengers; and working with messengers to craft a a narrative. The role of science in reducing N2O emissions from agriculture provides a valuable example to consider some of these steps, and it illustrates some of the challenges and rewards scientists face working in the policy arena in a situation that provides a relatively open door for science.

Specifically, I consider the development of a protocol, by the Climate Action Reserve (CAR), that relates farmers’ adoption of particular agricultural practices to reduced N2O emissions and associated award of carbon credits to the farmer. These carbon credits could then be sold to a regulated entity such as a power generator, allowing the entity to emit carbon dioxide that otherwise would have been prohibited.

Results/Conclusions

Most of the scientists invited to participate have high stature in their fields, but CAR’s need for representation from multiple sectors created opportunities for broader participation as well. The scarcity of high-quality data relating agricultural practices to N2O emissions has challenged the science advisors helping CAR staff decide which practices to include and how to quantify the relationship between practice change and N2O emissions. However, driven by the need for input requested by CAR and other actors in the policy arena, the research community has begun to answer formerly unresolved questions, benefiting both science and policy. Data availability poses an additional challenge for some scientists involved in the process because the best-studied practices are not necessarily the most promising ones from the perspective of delivering ecosystem services and moving towards a more sustainable agriculture. Like most policy questions, the ones surrounding the development of the CAR nitrogen protocol will not see final resolution with the publication of a draft protocol, nor with the adoption of a final protocol. Opportunities to weigh in with appropriate research-based information need to be continually identified or created.