International Rubber Study Group releases data on climate change and natural rubber systems

Colombo, Sri Lanka – The International Rubber Study Group (IRSG), with the International Rubber Research and Development Board (IRRDB), the CGIAR research program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) led by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD), released the proceedings and extended abstracts of the digital workshop on natural rubber systems and climate change held June 23-25, 2020.

The document can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/FTA-WP9_Natural-Rubber_CC. Video recordings of all sessions are also available at: www.rubberstudy.org/sustainability and https://www.foreststreesagroforestry.org/fta-event/natural-rubber-systems-and-climate-change/

Natural rubber is a key global commodity, above 85 percent produced by smallholder farmers. As recalled by Datuk Dr. Abdul Aziz S.A. Kadir, secretary general of the IRRDB, “Natural rubber sustains 13 million smallholders and 40 million people, including their families.” It has a great potential to contribute to sustainable development, both poverty alleviation and rural development, and to the bio-economy. However, as emphasized by Jerome Sainte Beuve, rubber value chain correspondent, CIRAD, “Climate change is already impacting rubber production.” As stated by Dr. Vincent Gitz, director of FTA, “Natural rubber has a key role to play for both adaptation and mitigation of climate change.” There is an urgent need to understand how global natural rubber production can be safeguarded and sustainably increased on a lasting basis under climate change, while contributing to climate mitigation goals.
Salvatore Pinizzotto, secretary general of the IRSG, emphasized that, “Climate action needs to be grounded on science, on a common understanding of issues and means to address them.”

This is why the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG), with the International Rubber Research and Development Board (IRRDB), the CGIAR research program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) led by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD) organized an open digital workshop on natural rubber systems and climate change. The workshop reviewed recent research results on impacts of climate change on natural rubber production, potential means of adaptation and contribution to mitigation of climate change, to identify knowledge and research gaps, as well as recommendations for action.