The Nanchang Communication about the potential for implementation of conservation practices for climate change mitigation and adaptation to achieve food security in the 21st century

There is a large number of peer-reviewed publications reporting that a changing climate is one of the biggest challenges humanity will have during the 21st century. With population growth and the need to significantly increase agricultural production per unit of area during the 21st century, a changing climate will put additional stress on soil resources. Soil and water conservation will be key for the future of humanity. Professional societies in the area of agriculture and soil and water conservation have recognized the importance that soil resources will have for humanity during this century and have made calls for implementation of worldwide soil and water conservation. For example, in 2010 the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) invited a group of scientists to review the literature about the potential to use conservation practices for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The Delgado et al. (2011) paper was used by the SWCS to develop and adopt a position statement about the importance of using soil and water conservation practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The International Soil Conservation Organization (ISCO) invited the lead author to present the paper as a keynote presentation at the ISCO 2013 conference. The European Society of Soil Conservation (ESSC) published a short communication about this paper in one of their newsletters in 2014. The World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (WASWAC) also invited the lead author to present a keynote presentation on this topic at the 2015 WASWAC annual meeting in Nanchang. This paper (the Nanchang Communication) is a summary of the Delgado et al. (2011) paper that was used by the SWCS to develop the SWCS position statement related to soil and water conservation and climate change. The Nanchang Communication (this paper) was used by WASWAC to develop a position statement about the immediate need for implementation of conservation practices for mitigation of and adaptation to climate change to achieve food security in the 21st century. These papers (Delgado et al., 2011, Nanchang Communication), and the SWCS and WASWAC position statements, support the conclusions from the worldwide literature that without implementation of soil and water conservation practices for climate change mitigation and adaptation, the survival of life, including our own species, will be in jeopardy, since soils will be key to meeting the higher demands for food during the 21st century.