Climate Change and Food Security

One of the great challenges of the 21^st century will be to increase the global food and timber supply to accommodate a world growing to 10 billion or more people while undergoing climate change. Meeting the challenges brought about by climate change will require cooperation between different countries and institutions. The impacts of climate change in agriculture and forestry including its implications to food security is highlighted in a series of review papers published by the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).

Within the developing world, adverse effects of climate change will fall disproportionately on the poor. It will most likely increase the dependency of developing countries on imports, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. These regions will require help from the international community. The regions will benefit from: freer trade, which can help improve access to international supplies, investments in communication and transportation infrastructure, irrigation and promotion of sustainable agricultural practices. The reviews also enumerated possible strategies for adapting food and forestry production to climate change.

The Climate Change and Food Security Special Feature of PNAS is available at http://www.pnas.org/current.shtml#SF_RESEARCH_ARTICLES