Asia and the Pacific
Over the past decade, Asia and the Pacific region has dramatically reduced the incidence of poverty. The region as a whole is on track to achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving the prevalence of extreme poverty by 2015. Nevertheless, more than 641 million people, half of the world’s extreme poor, live in the region, and they are highly prone to a wide range of natural disasters. The region can expect a continuation of natural, human-induced and economic related shocks to food security in the years to come. The impacts of climate change and bioenergy development will be to exacerbate these shocks through stressed agriculture production resources and increased frequency and severity of climate related disasters. Integrated mitigation and adaptation measures will become increasingly important.
FAO's activities
Systematic approaches are needed to raise social awareness of and preparedness for climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation through:
- updated infrastructure and early warning systems
- better policies and increased financial support
- innovative technical and institutional options
- strengthened cooperation and networks at global, regional and national levels.
Extremely important examples include development of improved seed varieties with increased resistance to temperature and water stresses and, more generally, promoting agro-biodiversity which is crucial for local adaptation and resilience.
There is a need for FAO to respond properly to climate change mitigation and adaptation and to pay more attention to those win-win options which can benefit mitigation and adaptation simultaneously. In this respect, the work undertaken in the Asia-Pacific region currently includes:
- Livelihood adaptation to climate change aimed at introducing, improving or further strengthening disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation capacities for sustainable livelihood and food security in the rural sectors, including livestock, fisheries and forestry in drought prone and coastal regions;
- Provision of suitable credit and marketing facilities, irrigation services and risk mitigation measures to assist farmers, forestry and fishing communities;
- Evaluation of the impacts of biofuel production and implementation of appropriate biofuel policies and programmes;
- Continuation of support to the long-term rehabilitation of livelihoods in tsunami affected countries; and
Support to such bodies as ASEAN, SAARC and PIF as regards policy aspects of transboundary animal and plant pests and diseases, integrated watershed management, impact of floods and droughts, forest fire monitoring and early warning systems.
Events
- Regional Symposium on Climate Change, Food Security, Sea Level Rise and Environment in South Asia to be co-sponsored by FAO, WMO, ESCAP and Ohio University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 25-29 August 2008.
- An agenda item on Forests and Climate Change: Adaptation and Mitigation at the upcoming 22nd session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC) in Hanoi, Viet nam, 21-26 April 2008.
For more information
FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Proceedings of the international forum on water resources management and irrigation modernization in Shanxi Province, China
Plant protection profiles from Asia-Pacific countries
Management of tropical sandy soils for sustainable agriculture
Contact
Page content: Tarina.Ayazi@fao.org
Regional Office: FAO-RAP@fao.org