Summaries (En)

Growing global population and a combination of dietary change, biofuels production, urban and industrial water demand and climate change will see food crises becoming more frequent in the next 40 years. Food and feed production must double to feed 9.1 billion people in 2050. This will require using twice as much water as at present or increasing water productivity. It is argued that we need a Blue-Green revolution to deliver water productivity increases. This revolution will depend on increases of both rainfed and irrigated production and has to include improvements in soil fertility and institutional and governance of agriculture and natural resources.

Climate change and variability will impact water availability and the food security of India. Trend analyses of historical data indicate an increase in temperature and changes in rainfall pattern in different parts of the country. The general circulation models (GCMs) also project increased warming and changes in precipitation patterns over India. This chapter presents examples of model applications in water management and crop yield simulation in India, focusing on climate change impact assessment. Simulation models have been successfully applied for rotational water allocation, deficit irrigation scheduling, etc. in different canal commands. Application of a universal soil loss equation in a distributed parametric modeling approach by partitioning watershed into erosion response units suggests that by treating only 14% of the watershed area, a 47% reduction in soil loss can be achieved. Simulation studies conducted using different hydrological models with different climate change projections and downscaling approaches showed varied hydrological responses of different river basins to the future climate change scenarios, depending on the hydrological model, climate change scenarios, and downscaling approaches used. Crop yield modeling showed decreases in irrigated and rainfed rice (Oryza sativa L.) yields under the future climate change scenarios, but the decrease is marginal for rainfed rice. Maize (Zea mays L.) yields in monsoon may be adversely affected by a rise in atmospheric temperature, but increased rain can partly offset those losses. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yields are likely to be reduced by 6 to 23% and 15 to 25% during the 2050s and 2080s, respectively. A combined bottom-up participatory process and top-down integrated modeling tool could provide valuable information for locally relevant climate change adaptation planning.

Lance Heath et al., 'Climate and Security in Asia and the Pacific (Food, Water and Energy)', Advances in Global Change Research, pp.129-198, Springer Netherlands, 2013 | The impacts of increasing natural climate disasters are threatening food security in the Asia-Pacific region. Rice is Asia�??s most important staple food. Climate variability and change directly impact rice production, through changes in rainfall, temperature and CO2 concentrations. The key for sustainable rice crop is water management. Adaptation can occur through shifts of cropping to higher latitudes and can profit from river systems (via irrigation) so far not considered. New opportunities arise to produce more than one crop per year in cooler areas. Asian wheat production in 2005 represents about 43 % of the global total. Changes in agronomic practices, such as earlier plant dates and cultivar substitution will be required. Fisheries play a crucial role in providing food security with the contribution of fish to dietary animal protein being very high in the region �?? up to 90 % in small island developing states (SIDS). With the warming of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and increased acidification, marine ecosystems are presently under stress. Despite these trends, maintaining or enhancing food production from the sea is critical. However, future sustainability must be maintained whilst also securing biodiversity conservation. Improved fisheries management to address the existing non-climate threats remains paramount in the Indian and Pacific Oceans with sustainable management regimes being established. Climate-related impacts are expected to increase in magnitude over the coming decades, thus preliminary adaptation to climate change is valuable

Pandey et al., 'Adaptation of food legumes to water stress: use of line source sprinkler system', Paper presented at the IRRI Saturday Seminar, April 16, 1983. 38 p.

Pandey, 'Drought adaptation of four food legumes. II. Influence of water stress on plant growth', In: Asian Farming Systems Network Selected Papers on Cropping Systems Research, 12 p. Los Banos, Laguna, Rice Farming Systems Program Staff, IRRI, 1984.

In this paper we analyze the relationship between social inequality and climate change policy actions in African countries. We examine whether the needs of the poor influence mitigation and adaptation policies in the region. The continent is characterized by an interesting dynamic between inequality and climate change: it is predicted to disproportionately bear the effects of climate change, at the same time that it accounts for four out of the top five countries with the starkest inequality globally. In our analysis, we construct a statistical measure of social inequality for a group of 54 African countries and use the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to obtain corresponding data on mitigation and adaptation policy actions. We then estimate the intensity of the responsiveness of the latter to the former. Using fractional regression and data imputation methods, we find a statistically significant negative relationship between social inequality and climate change policy actions in Africa. Across African countries, mitigation and adaptation actions fall by about 23% for every 1% rise in social inequality. African countries are therefore not responding to climate change threats in ways that simultaneously reduce social inequality and adapt to climate change. Furthermore, there is some evidence that countries emitting more pollutants are less likely to take action to address climate change. Our results imply that in order to address differences in the burden of climate change in Africa, a re-evaluation of current policy actions is warranted.