Adaptation to Climatic Changes through Global Cooperation

Written by Dr. Polycarpos Polycarpou^[1]

Climatic changes are no longer a future event, but they are already happening in many places of the world, especially in the Mediterranean region. Extreme weather phenomena are observed almost every day. Climate change will affect the four dimensions of food security: availability, accessibility, food utilization and food system stability. It is evident that a new way of thinking is to be applied by all governments around the globe, a “Global Thinking”. Global cooperation is to be promoted with governments being realistic, so as to accept and adapt to the unavoidable coming alternations, due to the climatic changes.

A useful tool has been developed from the scientific community in many countries: The Global Climate Models (GCM), that show a projection of climatic conditions on earth in the future. Although a certain degree of uncertainty is embedded in these models, they at least show the direction of changes to be expected up to the end of the century. These models predict those countries that are to be negatively affected by the climatic changes and at the same time they show those countries that are going to be positively affected. Therefore, the old story of “”Losers” and “Winners” comes under the microscope. This shows the way humanity has to proceed in the future. Food security and poverty are to be faced by “Cooperation”.

GCMs show that the MENA region belongs to the Losers while at the same time the Sub Saharan region belongs to the Winners. Both regions suffer from poverty, malnutrition, disease outbreaks and infrastructural insufficiencies ([1], [2], [3], [4]). World Help Organizations must work more targeted and more effectively in removing these barriers and aim their policies in promoting cooperation between these regions of Losers and Winners.

The Problems in Agricultural Production:

Agriculture is the primary source of livelihoods and revenue for the majority of the population in many countries in the WANA region and over 70% of the poor in WANA live in rural areas. Cereal yields in the WANA region are currently half the world average and all countries in the region are net importers of food. Over 70% of the land area is rangelands and traditional livestock provide the major support for livelihoods. Increasing human population in the region is placing greater pressure on natural resources and expansion of cultivated land is leading to a decrease in pasturelands and forests leading to land degradation and desertification which are being exacerbated due to increased livestock population. WANA is one of the most water scarce regions in the world with 1100 m3/capita water availability which is 12% of the global average and water overuse or misuse is exacerbating environmental degradation, [5].

The main resources in agricultural production are:

1. Land that is degraded by the climatic changes that cause erosion and lost of organic matter in the soil and in addition affected by intensive cultivations, increased salinity due to the use of saline water for irrigation, bad agricultural practices. Etc.
2. Water that is becoming scarcer due to less rainfall, that is polluted by human activities and wasted by bad management and practices.
3. Man power, the farmers that are becoming poorer, older, lack medical attention and lack adequate education and training.

What is to be done:

Both regions need technical assistance in firstly optimizing the use of their resources in a sustainable way and secondly in building an efficient Market Network for exchanging goods between them. Farmers and people in rural communities have to be trained to face the forthcoming challenges and to use the existing new technologies in the different stages of their processes. In parallel, targeted programs should be launched, so as to attract young people in agriculture. A key role in this issue is given to the local Extension Services of the Ministries of Agriculture of the different countries that have to be strengthened and facilitated in all aspects so as to complete effectively and efficiently their critical task.  Local Cooperatives and Producer Organizations should be formed so as to promote the collective benefits rising through such cooperation. In this way the building of a market network for trans-regional good mobility would be facilitated. All stakeholders involved in the production, post harvest handling of products, policy making and marketing chains should be activated. In this way the promotion and expansion of small-scale agriculture that prevails in both Regions, shall be enabled.

Post harvest treatment of agricultural products is considered to be of top priority, since about 50% of the products, which are produced under such difficult conditions, never reach the consumers due to deterioration caused during the transport or shelf storage. A lot of research has to be done in this area.

The main problem in the WANA Region is the issue of water availability. As a first step, rain water harvesting methods should be applied (storage in Dams, aquifer recharge techniques, etc), [5]. Then, the use of treated water for irrigation should be promoted. This implies the harmonic coexistence of Urban Cities and Agricultural Communities. Cities and villages provide treated water suitable for use in agriculture and livestock. The formation of “Urban Islands”, i.e. agricultural zones developed around the water treatment plants, is necessary. Policy makers should provide these opportunities. Farmers and Herders should be provided with suitable land around the Urban Islands with minimum criteria. The use of modern pressurized irrigation systems instead of furrow or flood irrigation would save huge amount of water that could be used to increase the cultivated land and the food production so as to meet the population increase in the Region. The manure produced by livestock and the compost from agricultural residues could be used to increase the organic content of soils, increase their fertility and prevent desertification. Its present use as fuel for cooking should be stopped. Solar cookers could be promoted as an alternative.

Conclusions

Through proper policy designs and implementations in both Regions, at the end there are going to be only Winners and no Losers.

There is a lot of ground work to be done so that humanity, through global cooperation, is prepared to adapt to the coming climatic changes affecting the whole planet. It is evident that Farmers cannot shoulder the burden alone. Public policy must support farmers in both Regions by all means.

This is the challenge posted to the International Help Organizations: The creation of infrastructure, to promote effective and sustainable use of natural resources, capacity building, encourage the formation of Producer Organizations, opening of national and international marketing channels, promote quality and hygiene measures, etc. Through Global cooperation, food security and environmental stability are going to be achieved. Humanity as a whole is going to adapt itself to the coming Climatic Changes.

References:

1. Velkoff, Victoria A. and Paul R. Kowal, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P95/07-1, Population Aging in Sub-Saharan Africa: Demographic Dimensions 2006, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 2007.
2. Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Situation in the OIC Member Countries, A Preliminary Report. Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRTCIC), Organization of the Islamic Conference, Ankara, Turkey, 2007.
3. IFAD in the Near East and North Africa region, 2007. http://www.google.gr/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=rural%20population%20in%20nena%20countries&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ifad.org%2Foperations%2Fprojects%2Fregions%2Fpn%2Ffactsheets%2Fnena.pdf&ei=YX3KTsHWJsjP8gPSku2NAQ&usg=AFQjCNHPpZyGb6Emo3dUpJppdYAixH_LDA&cad=rja
4. The status of rural poverty in the Near East and North Africa. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).2003.
5. Kuwait Declaration. International Conference on Adaptation to Climate Change and Food Security in WANA, Kuwait City, 2011.

Photo: ©FAO/Asim Hafeez

[1]Chief Agricultural Research Officer Agricultural Research Institute, Cyprus