Page 143 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 1

Dalya Hazar Kalonya

Giriş

The rapid increase in the concentrations of atmospheric carbon (CO2)
throughout the industrial period results from anthropogenic activities. The
most important sectors that lead to greenhouse emissions today are energy,
transport, industry and agriculture. Pastures are essential for livestock
breeding practices, which are the primary producers of greenhouse gases
based on agriculture sector. Thus, pastures are natural assets and rural-
ecological commons that are directly affected by climate change and that
have a direct effect on climate change. With their biodiversity, and high
capacity for absorbing carbon emissions and preventing erosion, pastures
have an importance for the whole planet. Additionally, as also stated
in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), thanks to their
biodiversity and the amount of soil, they are considered as terrestrial carbon
sinks. It is known that the carbon sinks in the oceans and the land slow down
the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere (IPCC, 2019). First of all, the concept
of “sink” is defined as “any process, activity or mechanism which removes
a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the
atmosphere” (UNFCCC, 1992). Kyoto Protocol guide of land use, land use
change and forestry (LULUCF) classifies sink areas into six groups, namely: (1)
forests, (2) meadows and pastures, (3) farm lands, (4) wetlands, (5) settlements
and (6) other areas (IPCC, 2003).
The IPCC 6 Assessment Report includes projections on the carbon capture
capacity of land and ocean carbon sinks between the years, 1850 and 2100.
According to the report, the sinks, which were able to capture 70% of the CO2
emission in the year 1850, are able to capture around 44% today, and will be
able to capture 38% in the projected year. It is observed that as the CO2 in
the atmosphere increases, the capture capacity of the sinks decreases. Based
on the high CO2 emission scenarios, it is likely that as of the mid-21st century,
terrestrial carbon sinks will grow slowly due to heating and drying (IPCC, 2019).
In addition to being important terrestrial carbon sinks, pastures also play
an important role in providing the continuity of the rural tradition of breeding
livestock to make a living as well as in the food sovereignty and local sustainable
development. Food sovereignty, whose main principles were defined by La
Via Campesina, an international farmer/villager movement, refers to a set of
principles and policies providing food safety and security. The concept was
included in the agenda of the UN and UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) in 2008. The concept of food sovereignty promotes the freedom of
villagers, tenant farmers, all the people who take part in the rural production,
as well as consumers from being subject to the markets. Instead, it promotes
the democratic inclusion of all these people in the policies regarding these

128 Journal of Environment, Urbanization and Climate,