Food Security Under Threat From Climate Change Environmental Sciences Essay

regimen Security Under flagellum From mood Change Environmental Sciences EssayThe changing of the worlds mood is real. Already, 2 billion people face the daily struggle to survive malnutrition. The causes ar complex but there is no doubt that humour vary has played a part and is likely to exacerbate the bunk into the future. humor diversity accepts forage auspices in multiple ways a negative imp phone trope on reduce yields, st mogul of food supplies, and the ability of people to price of admission and utilize food in numerous split of the developing world. (FAO) Although developed countries be responsible for most greenhouse flub emission (GHSs), the restore of modality change is anticipate to be disproportional in its severity on developing countries and on the pitiable.. (Braun) The high photo of the poor is not only due to geography but as well to limited adaptive capacities. Low-income communities dep leftover directly on tillage, forestry, fisheries, aquaculture, and humor-sensitive resources. (Braun). In asset the Swaminathans publication in 1988 argues that food supplies in sm eitherer nations go forth be affected to a greater extent by climate change than those of larger nations.It is recognised that the positive effects of climate change much(prenominal) as CO2 fertilization of plants could contribute to increasing food output and protection (). However, rising temperatures and the increased frequency of extreme weather events act to offset greater productivity and leave alone exacerbate food insecurity. The negative effects of climate change may lead to increased weewee tautness, decreased biodiversity, damaged eco frames, rising sea levels, and potentially to social appointment due to increased competition over limited natural resources. Small-holder agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture atomic number 18 among the systems most at encounter (FAO 2008).This essay forget provide background informatio n on the impacts of the interrelationship between climate change and world(a) food security, and ways to deal with this novel threat. It will also chalk out the opportunities that exist for the agriculture sector to adapt, and how the industry can contribute to mitigating the climate challenge.Impacts of Global warming on climate system and food systemGlobal warming is the immediate yield of increased greenhouse gaseous state emissions with no offsetting increases in carbon storage on earth. These gases absorb heftiness radiated from the Earth to space and warm the atmosphere. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), increases in greenhouse gas emissions have been associated with an increase in the mean orbicular temperature of 0.3C-0.6C since the late 19th century. By the end of the 21st century, greenhouse gas emissions could cause the mean global temperature to trick up by another 1.4C-5.8C (IPCC, Darwin).The Parry et al.experimental findings on w heat and rice, debate decreased crop duration of wheat as a consequence of warming, resulted in rice yield reductions. It has also targetn links between human-induced global warming and changes in weather patterns that will cause additional stress for food systems, with consequent implications for food security.Impacts of climate change on victuals Production and SupplyClimate change, including global warming and other climate variables have a potentially huge impact on countrified occupation. Some of these effects are biological,, some are ecological, and some are economic. Recent studies show that in tropical and sub-tropical regions, especially in seasonally dry areas, crop and animal productivity may decrease significantly due to temperature increases of 2 to 3C ( ). In its Fourth sagacity Report (AR4) of 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) state that,, guidance on Africa, by 2020, in some countries, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be trim by up to 50%. Agricultural production, including access to food, in many African countries are projected to be severely compromised (Muller 2011).The study by Lobell et al. used crop models to calculate changes in untaught production until 2030. (Lobell, Brown). They show that increasing temperature and both declining precipitation and grassland productivity over semiarid regions are likely to reduce yields of corn, wheat, rice, and other elemental crops in the next deuce decades. Further more than, cllimate change could cause high levels of desertification and soil salinization in some areas in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America( ) increasing water stress, particularly in irrigated production systems ( ) increased salinity from seal-level rise, leading to some areas in sub-Saharan Africa and to the south Asia, such(prenominal) as coastal plains, becoming flooded or inapplicable for agriculture ( ). All of these changes could have a substantial impact on global food sec urity.In addition, food supply may be affected by an increase in frequnecy of extreme weather events, such as storms, floods, droughts as well as sea level rise, telephone line pollution and climate variability associated with global warming (Easterling DR). The increase in intensity and frequency in extreme weather conditions will affect both developed and developing countries.However, developed countries are in a better position to come with these adverse conditions, due to their greater resources. galore(postnominal) studies on crop production suggest that agriculture is the most dangerous part of the climate change ( ). Changed weather patterns increase crop vulnerabilities to infection, pestis infestations, and weeds(). These will not only decrease yields of crops, but also might coldmers to apply harmful and expensive pesticides and herbicides, which will eventually increase the market bell and mean an overall increase in the food price for the consumers. High prices m ay make certain foods unaffordable and can have an impact on individuals nutrition and health.Impacts of climate change on Global Food SecurityAccording to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food security is defined as a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietetic needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (FAO 19960). It is the overall import of food system processes throughout the food chain. Climate change will affect food security through its impacts on multiple components of global, national, and topical anaesthetic food systems.Ensuring food security is a critical aim for the agriculture sector in two ways. First,, it produces the food that people eat and supplies nutrition. Secondly, it provides the primary source of livelihood for 36% of the worlds total workforce (). In the countries of Asia and the Pacific, this fate ranges from 40% to 50%, and in sub-Saharan Africa, two-thirds of the working population hush make their living from agriculture (ILO,2007). If climate change negative impacts upon the agricultural production in low-income developing countries, eg. Asia and Africa, the livelihoods of large numbers of the rural poor will be put at risk and their vulnerability to food insecurity increased.The World Food Trade Model, designated as the Basic conjugate system (BLS), links countries through trade, world market prices, and financial power. The BLS estimates that in 1980, there were about 500 million people at risk of ache in the developing world. Without climate change, the number of people expected to be at risk of thirst in 2060 has been estimated approximately 640 million. However, with consummate(prenominal) climate change, declines in yields in low-latitude regions are projected to require that interlock imports of cereals increase. Higher grain prices will affect the number of people at ri sk of hunger. The number of hungry people in developing countries will increase by 1% for every 2-2.5% increase in prices. This way of life that the number of people at risk of hunger grows by 10-60% in the scenarios tested, resulting an estimated increase of between 60-350 million people who will suffer from hunger (Parry).Mitigation and AdaptationOne of the ways to prevent the effects of global warming is to decrease the amount of money of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In 1997, most industrialized countries ratified an international agreement to reduce the amount of human-induced greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, called Kyoto Protocol. FAO defines Mitigating climate change means bring down greenhouse gas emission and sequestering or storing carbon in the goldbrick term and reservation development choices that will reduce risk by curbing emissions over the long term. Although the entire food system is a source of greenhouse gas e missions, primary production is by far the most important component (Lobell). Incentives are needed to persuade crop and livestock producers, agro-industries and ecosystem maintainrs to adopt good practices for mitigating climate change.Lobell et al. defines interlingual rendition as a key factor that will shape the future severity of climate change impacts on food production. He also suggests that communities can cope with climate change, for example, by switching from producing corn to producing sorghum, whose lower water requirements and higher temperature tolerances are better suited to a warmer and drier climate (Lobell, Darwin). Ensuring food security for all in the face of climate reductions will require adequate food production through im attemptd set out and fertilizer, better land use policies and shifting planting date. These will prove costly but the biggest benefits will likely result from the development of unused crop varieties and expansion of irrigation (Brown) . These adaptations require substantial investments by farmers, governments, scientists, and development organizations, all of who faces many other demands on their resources. Successful climate change adaptation are likely to diminish the food insecurity that we are face up now.CONCLUSIONClimate change poses an unprecedented challenge to the aim of eradicating hunger and poverty. In order to meet the growing demand for food security under increasingly difficult climatic conditions and in a situation of diminishing natural resources, the world must move towards embracing a two-fold approach First, we must invest in and support the development of more efficient, sustainable and resilient food production systems. Second, we must improve access to adequate food for the most vulnerable and at-risk populations and communities as well as improve social protection systems and safety nets as part of the adaptation agenda. Protecting the most vulnerable also requires improving our ability t o manage weather-related disaster risks and accelerate community development. Only if we succeed in making significant advances on all fronts -increasing food availability, enhancing access to food, and strengthening resilience and development will we reduce the risk of dramatic increases in the number of the malnourished and hungry in the poorest regions of the world.