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The guidelines take account of the characteristics of different genetic resources for food and agriculture which face different challenges and opportunities in respect to climate change. The objectives of the guidelines are to promote the use of genetic resources for food and agriculture in climate change adaptation and support their integration into national climate change adaptation planning; to support the genetic resources experts and those involved in climate change adaptation to identify a nd address the challenges and opportunities of genetic resources for food and agriculture in adaptation; and to promote the involvement of genetic resources stakeholders in the national [...]

This video explains the climate-smart agriculture approach including its objectives and why it is needed. Climate change will hit farmers, herders and fishers the hardest. The Climate-smart agriculture approach promotes the development of the technical, policy and investment conditions to achieve sustainable agricultural development for food security under a changing climate. It seeks to: increase sustainably agricultural productivity and incomes, help adapt and build resilience to climate change impacts and wherever possible, reduces and/or removes greenhouse gases.  To make climate-smart agriculture a reality we need to: expand the evidence base; improve policies; empower local institutions; and combine new financing options. Let’s make [...]

The Strategy and action plan are part of an initiative of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on climate change adaptation and disaster risk management in fisheries and aquaculture in the CARICOM and wider Caribbean region. The aim was to develop a strategy and action plan for integrating disaster risk management (DRM), climate change adaptation (CCA) and fisheries and aquaculture, with a focus on small-scale fisheries (SSF) and small-scale aquaculture. The strategy and action plan were reviewed and refined by65 local, national and regional stakeholders during the regional workshop on the Formulation of a strategy, action plan and [...]

The selection of the spatial area designated for aquaculture development and careful selection of farm sites are essential first steps to ensure the success and sustainability of aquaculture. They should be carried out in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, (CCRF) and the Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture (EAA) FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries, No. 5, Suppl. 4. Rome, FAO. 53 pp.

Following the Intergovernmental Group Meeting on Tea in New Delhi in 2010, FAO was requested by the Government of Kenya to assist with a climate change impact assessment of tea in Kenya and to help develop a new strategy to confront its effects. This report is the outcome of a two-year project in Kenya and offers the findings from an integrated climate impact assessment. The analysis covered (i) historical and future links between climate parameters and tea yields, (ii) a carbon life cycle analysis, (iii) tea management scenarios under climate change using aquacrop model, and (iv) a socio-economic analysis of [...]

Agriculture is a source of livelihood for over 35 percent of the world’s population. Natural hazards and disasters – such as floods, drought, storms, earthquakes, landsides, tsunamis or wildfire – disproportionately affect the small-scale farmers, herders, fishers and forest dependent communities who generate over half of the world’s agricultural production. Between 2004 and 2013, agriculture absorbed more than 22 percent of total damage and losses caused by natural disasters in developing countries. Vulnerability increases with each event, reversing improvements to food security, poverty reduction and agricultural development. As a result of climate change, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, intense [...]

Water is key to human life. It is key to human food security and nutrition. Safe drinking water and sanitation are fundamental to the good nutrition, health and dignity of all. How can the world ensure food and nutrition security given increasingly scarce water resources, especially in some regions, and the increasing competition for water uses?  This policy-oriented report from the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) presents a synthesis of existing evidence on the multiple relations between water and food security and nutrition, from global levels to household levels. The aim of this report, given the diversity [...]

Drylands cover nearly half of the earth’s land surface and are home to one-third of the global population. They face extraordinary challenges, including those posed by desertification, biodiversity loss, poverty, food insecurity and climate change. Up to 20 percent of the world’s drylands are degraded, and people living there are often locked into a vicious circle of poverty, unsustainable practices and environmental degradation. It is clear that serious efforts are needed to arrest dryland degradation and restore degraded lands, and the simple but urgent aim of these guidelines is to support such efforts. It is the first time that global guidelines on [...]

The SWSR is a reference document on the status of global soil resources that provides regional assessments of soil change. The information is based on peer-reviewed scientific literature, complemented with expert knowledge and project outputs. It provides a description and a ranking of ten major soil threats that endanger ecosystem functions, goods and services globally and in each region separately. Additionally, it describes direct and indirect pressures on soils and ways and means to combat soil degradation. The report contains a Synthesis report for policy makers that summarizes its findings, conclusions and recommendations.    Technical Summary also available here.

This book collects the findings of a group of scientists and economists who have taken stock of climate change impacts on food and agriculture at global and regional levels over the past two decades. The evidence presented describes how global warming will impact where and how food is produced, and discusses the significant consequences for food security, health and nutrition, water scarcity and climate adaptation. The book also highlights the implications for global food trade. The evidence presented in the book is presented in a way that is widely accessible to policy decision makers and practitioners and makes a distinct [...]