Climate Impacts on Food Security and Livelihoods in Asia a Review of Existing Knowledge

Climate impacts on food security and livelihoods in Asia A review of existing knowledge WFP Bangladesh Chandan Roberto Ribeiro 2 Climate impacts on food security and livelihoods in Asia 1 Contents Introduction There is agreement in the scientific community that the global food system will experience unprecedented pressure in the coming decades – demographic changes, urban growth, environmental degradation, increasing disaster risk, food price volatility, and climate change will all affect food security patterns. 1 Introduction Climate change can act as a hunger Extreme weather effects disrupt the stability risk multiplier, exacerbating drivers of food of food supply as well as people’s livelihoods. 2 Asia is a diverse continent insecurity. Climate change disproportionately Understanding the specific impacts affects the poorest and most food insecure 4 Food security in Asia is changing of climate change on food security is through a combination of decreasing crop challenging because vulnerabilities are highly 6 Food security and livelihoods in Asia are sensitive to climate production, and changes in the frequency contextual and are unevenly spread across and intensity of climate-related hazards, the world. Ultimately, these vulnerabilities 11 The climate of Asia is driven by several processes all of which can result in more humanitarian also depend on the ability of households, and food security crises. communities, and countries to manage risks. 13 Climate is changing and will continue to change Climate change affects the different Under climate change, some regions of the 26 Climate and socioeconomic trends dimensions of food security in complex ways. world may experience gains in terms of The availability of food can be affected food security outcomes, but the poorest and 27 Key messages more isolated parts of the world tend to be through variations in yields – especially more adversely affected in the absence of in key producing areas – due to increasing 28 References adaptation efforts. temperatures as well as changes in the quantity of arable land and water available The Asian continent is particularly vulnerable for agriculture. Changes in production, to climate change due to a combination of: in turn, can affect the ability of households high reliance on climate-sensitive livelihoods, to access food and as such impact on dietary high incidence of poverty and food insecurity, diversity. Moreover, changes in rainfall and high population densities in vulnerable Authors: and temperature patterns directly impact and areas highly exposed to climate-related livelihoods that depend on climate-sensitive hazards such as floods, cyclones and P. Krishna Krishnamurthy activities, such as rain-fed agriculture and droughts, and long-term climate change Kirsty Lewis livestock rearing. Changes in the timing and such as gradual changes in monsoon patterns, glacier melt and sea-level rise. Chris Kent availability of water may create sanitation problems and impact quality of available The purpose of this primer is to review Pramod Aggarwal drinking water, leading to increased health the current state of knowledge on the concerns, including diarrheal diseases. relationship between climate change and Together with other vector-borne infections, food security, focusing specifically on the it has the potential to increase malnutrition, Asian context, to provide an evidence base Myanmar and affect food utilization. for discussion and further analysis. WFP Photo Library This primer aims to provide a summary of the available evidence of climate impacts on food security and livelihoods in Asia. The material has been collected from several sources, both peer-reviewed and not, and are acknowledged throughout the document. The views expressed in this primer are solely those of the authors’ and do not represent the views of the organizations involved. This primer has been developed as part of C-ADAPT. C-ADAPT is a strategic global initiative that aims to strengthen the capacity of WFP and partners to deliver climate services to the most vulnerable and food insecure communities and build resilience to climate-related risks through effective climate risk analysis, adaptation planning, and risk management. C-ADAPT is funded by the Government of Sweden’s fast-track climate finance. 2 Climate impacts on food security and livelihoods in Asia The Asian continent 3 Asia is a diverse continent The regions of Asia Asia is a highly diverse continent, with a complex geography, economy, For the purposes of this primer, Asia refers to countries in South Asia, and demographic and political characteristics. This complexity is also reflected Southeast Asia, and East Asia as shown here. in the differences in food security vulnerabilities across countries: countries like Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore have very low rates of food insecurity while countries like Afghanistan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Nepal have some of the highest rates of food insecurity – regionally and globally (FAO/IFAD/WFP, 2014). A The Asian continent has extremely diverse of development. In part, this has been the South Asia, comprising of Afghanistan, this region is predominantly tropical, with geographic features and climates. Asia has result of close links to European and Chinese Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, plentiful rainfall, leading to abundant some of the highest peaks in the world markets, as well as rapid development in Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, is home to over rainforests. The majority of the region (in the Himalayan range) as well as several the 1970s and 1980s. The region’s economy one fifth of the world’s population – making experiences wet and dry seasons caused by low-lying coastal areas and islands. This also largely depends on agriculture, with rice, it the most populous and most densely monsoon shifts. Typhoons also bring rains influences the differences in climate: very palm oil, and rubber being prominent populated region of the world. South Asia as well as strong winds to the Philippines dry desert to wet and humid tropical regions, exports, as well as manufacturing in the has diverse geographical features ranging and parts of Vietnam; historically typhoons and hot and warm continental climates to more industrialised countries. from glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, coincide with the monsoon season but in cold polar and mountainous regions. and grasslands. The region is surrounded by recent years more typhoons have been East Asia has one of the most successful three main water bodies, namely the Bay of recorded outside of the monsoon period. Some of the key river basins in the continent regional economies, including some of the Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian The mountain areas in northern Myanmar include the Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin, largest and most prosperous economies at Sea, all of which contribute to the varied and Vietnam are the only parts of this region the Yangtze River Basin, and the Mekong the global level such as China, Japan, and the climate zones experienced in the continent. which experience milder and drier climates. River Basin – all of those are an important Republic of Korea. A combination of natural The main rivers in the region include the Finally, East Asia consists of the People’s source of water and livelihoods in the region. resources, availability of labour, favourable Indus River and the Ganges which provide Republic of China, Japan, Mongolia, political-legal environments, and integration water for agriculture, fisheries, and industrial Asia currently hosts approximately 4 the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, of markets both regionally and globally have and domestic use. The climate of South Asia billion people, roughly 60% of the world’s the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and the facilitated rapid economic development. includes tropical monsoons in the south to population. The region has some of the Republic of China. The main water body temperate climates in the northern parts. densest parts of the world, and hosts most The continent is also rapidly developing: is the Yangtze River which is becoming an In part, this is due to the complex of the world’s largest mega-cities: Tokyo, in the late 1970s the economy of Japan was economic hub for the sub-region. East Asia topography of the continent but also due Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Mumbai, Beijing, larger than all of Asia’s economic output is home to over 1.5 billion people and it is to proximity to three different water bodies. Osaka, Jakarta, Manila, Bangkok, and Dhaka. combined, but several economies have one of the most populated places of the The southern part of the region is mostly Many of these cities are located in coastal developed since with China overtaking Japan world. The climate is temperate, with cold hot and humid in the summer months areas. Similarly, there are regions with very as the largest economy in Asia, and some winters and warm summers with most of the (June-July-August-September) due to the low population densities – particularly in the additional countries such as India projected rainfall occurring during the summer months monsoons. Cyclones generally coincide with remote areas of Nepal, the Tibetan Plateau, to surpass Japan’s gross domestic product (June-July-August-September) as a result of the end of the summer months, forming Afghanistan, and western China. by 2020 (UNDP, 2014). the monsoons. between October and May, and bringing The complexity of the continent is also These changing economic circumstances

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