Welcome to the 6th issue of FAO's e-newsletter on Climate Change and Food Security.
This update includes announcements of FAO's upcoming events on climate change, information on the outcomes of various international meetings, such as a workshop on Measuring, reporting and verification of carbon organized by the UN-REDD and other conferences held with FAO's participation. Special attention is given to the latest activities on climate change in countries such as Nepal and Marocco.
This edition also includes a summer quiz to test your knowledge on food security and climate change. Also featured in this issue are presentations of publications as well as interesting new sections recently added to the FAO Climate Change web portal.
| Summer quiz | Upcoming events | From the field |
| Featured map |
Summer Quiz
How much do you know about Food Security and Climate Change?
Momentum is building ahead of talks on a new accord for Climate Change to be negotiated in Copenhagen next December and the FoodClimate team would like to test your knowledge in food security and Climate Change.
The following questions include the responses from all of those interviewed in previous numbers of the FoodClimate e-newsletter. Check your knowledge and memory by answering the questions below.
Events
World Climate Conference 3
The next World Climate Conference-3 (WCC-3) to be held from 31 August to 4 September 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland will focus on having Better Climate information for a better future.
The Conference, organized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) with the support of many other UN agencies including FAO, aims at initiating a Global Framework for Climate Services to boost climate adaptation.
The first phase of the conference includes an Expert Segment to be held from 31 August to 2 September engaging multidisciplinary scientists and experts in discussions over the current needs and capabilities for climate services. A High-Level Segment will constitute the second phase from 3 to 4 September attracting Heads of State and Government, ministers and other senior policy-makers. The High-Level Segment will culminate in the adoption of a declaration expected to endorse the Global Framework for Climate Services.
FAO will chair the sessions on Climate and Food Security to be held during the Expert Segment focusing on the needs for climate services and the current and developing capabilities and mechanisms for meeting these needs.
- Download the fact sheet on Climate Information for Securing Food here.
Visit the website of the World Climate Conference 3 here.
UN-REDD programme to hold workshop on measuring, reporting and verification of carbon emissions
The UN-REDD programme, a collaborative partnership between FAO, UNDP and UNEP, will host an upcoming workshop on Measuring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of carbon emissions to be held on 10-11 September at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.
The goal of the meeting will be to share among UN-REDD countries (Bolivia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Panamá, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zambia) and programme agencies the current status of MRV tools as well as existing information in each UN-REDD country.
Within the partnership, FAO supports countries on technical issues related to MONITORING and the development of cost effective and reliable. While at the international level, it fosters improved guidance on MRV approaches, including consensus on principles and guidelines for MRV and training programmes.
For more information visit the UN-REDD website.
Climate Change Day to be discussed during the FMPP Policy Learning Program
A three week policy learning programme is being organized by the FAO Multi-Donor Partnership Program (FMPP) dedicating an entire day to specific policy issues related to climate change on 15 September.
The seminar is aimed at high-level policy makers from six FMPP focus countries: Bhutan, DR Congo, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sierra Leone.
The climate change session will feature presentations, group work and team discussions aimed at increasing participants’ understanding of key climate change issues and of how to address adaptation and mitigation at policy level. The day will be structured in different sessions covering a wide range of topics, from disaster risk management in the context of adaptation, to the mainstreaming of climate change into policies, payments for environmental services, and carbon financing, among others.
Virtual consultation on Communication for development in Climate Change and Agriculture
As part of its capacity building efforts, the “Communication for Sustainable Development Initiative" (CSDI) is promoting a global virtual consultation to start on 7 September on current trends, experiences and initiatives in the field of Communication for Development (ComDev) to Climate Change in Agriculture (CCA).
Special attention will be given to support communication approaches within the framework of the Community Based Adaptation (CBA), an emerging area of work where ComDev would play a mayor role. In February 2009, the initiative organized in Dhaka a special session during the third International Conference on CBA organized by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), The Ring and the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS).
This activity will be the starting point for the establishment of a global platform and a community of practice on Communication for climate change adaptation. The results are expected to allow mainstreaming ComDev in the international agenda during the next Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP- 15).
For more information on the virtual consultation, please contact the CSDI initiative through its email CSDI@fao.org
From the field
Agriculture and food security, major areas in Nepal’s National Adaptation Programme of Action
A kick-off meeting for the ministerial contributions towards the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) of Nepal took place on 23 July in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Within Nepal’s NAPA there are five major sectors identified including "Agriculture and Food Security" and the meeting lead by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives aimed at initiating the contribution process from the agriculture sector.
Participants included the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Livestock Services (DoLS), the Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC), the Planning, Environment and Gender Equity Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the National Agriculture and Research Fund (NARDEF) and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) representatives.
The FAO project in Nepal “strengthening capacities for disaster preparedness and climate risk management in the Nepalese agricultural sector” is playing a key role in facilitating this process.
For more information visit the project website here.
Latest news
Japanese-funded project focuses on adaptation for fisheries
Increasing awareness among FAO Members of the likely impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture is a focus of the Japanese-funded project "Fisheries management and marine conservation within a changing ecosystem context". The project aims to develop insight into adaptation mechanisms for aquatic ecosystems through its ongoing activities: establishing baseline information and indicators to monitor climate change impacts; identifying fish production systems at risk; documenting best practices, adaptive frameworks and available knowledge; developing Technical Guidelines; capacity building and outreach.
Bonn climate change talks, June 1-12, 2009
FAO participated in Bonn from 1-12 June 2009 in the climate change talks related to the preparation of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP- 15), trying to ensure that linkages between climate change, agriculture and food security issues were taken into account during the negotiations of a post-2012 climate change agreement.
Download the statements and presentations made during the various side events here.
Publications, tools and websites
Final report on the impact of Climate Change on Moroccan Agriculture available on-line
The final report on the climate change impact assessment led by FAO, the World Bank and local partners in Morocco is now available on-line with information on future yields of about 50 crops following two scenarios within six agroecological zones.
The study is part of a comprehensive programme covering the spectrum from climate change scenario projections to impacts on agriculture output and trade to lead to policy recommendations to adapt to climate change and its effects.
To read the report click here.
Low Greenhouse Gas Agriculture. Mitigation and adaptation potential of sustainable farming systems
Is low greenhouse gas emission (GHG) agriculture possible? Is it, in fact, desirable? In seeking answers to these two basic but extremely relevant questions, this study examines current farming practices and incorporates scientific databases from long‑term field experiments as case studies for low GHG agriculture. Further, the study examines the changes that will be needed for low greenhouse gas agriculture systems to become a reality. It also elucidates on the adaptive capacity of agro-ecological farming system approaches, using organic system case studies from the scientific literature.
To download the publication click here.
New publication on Sustainable Biofuels for Smallholder Farmers and Rural Households
The issue paper "Making Sustainable Biofuels Work for Smallholder Farmers and Rural Households" provides an overview of the main risks and opportunities that may arise from liquid biofuel production and use in developing countries. Both the potential environmental impacts and the socio-economic effects of liquid biofuel production and use are discussed, focusing, in particular, on the household-level implications. Recommendations on how to minimize the risks and exploit the rural development and poverty reduction potential offered by liquid biofuels are also included in the paper.
Download the publication here.
The FAO's Climate Change webportal contains an even wider array of publications related to climate change and food security, impacts, green-house gas emissions, mitigation, adaptation and policy framework that can be consulted under the Publications section of the webportal.
The FAO also has published valuable tools ranging from dataset, to e-learning and training manuals that can be easily accessed and downloaded under the Data and Tools section of the webportal.
Featured map
Recent rainfall and cattle trends in the Central-Eastern Sahel
The graphic above shows recent trends of climate, urbanisation and a livestock production index (meat and milk) from the Central-Eastern Sahel region. From the graphic we can appreciate how animal products supply in the Sahel is very weather dependent, and eventually recovers from droughts. However, with increasing population, per capita availability decreases, and so does the nutritional status of the population.
The data stem from various FAO sources: FAOSTAT (http://faostat.fao.org/default.aspx ) for the production and population data, while the National Rainfall Indices (NRI) come from CLIMPAG (http://www.fao.org/nr/climpag/nri/nrilist_en.asp). All variables are aggregated at the level of the “central-Eastern Sahel” by combining data from Mali, Niger and Chad.
The NRI was developed by FAO/NRC to provide a simple way to compare climatic conditions at the national level with other socio-economic indicators available at the same scale.
The NRI is a national average of annual rainfall weighted in a way to give more importance to areas that are favourable to agriculture.
For more information read the publication Rainfall variability and drought in sub-Saharan Africa since 1960. FAO Agrometeorology working papers series, 1994
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