Climate Resilience and Food Security in Asia and the Pacific

A. Asia and the Pacific: Vulnerable to Climate Change and Food Insecurity Climate change is of urgent concern to Asia and the Pacific. The region is the most disaster-afflicted area of the world. A recent Asian Development assessment identified several countries that are highly vulnerable to climate change in terms of exposure, adaptive capacity, and sensitivity (Table 1). 1 Climate change threatens not only food systems and agriculture production across the region, but also livelihoods and overall human welfare.2 In Mongolia, a severe winter in 20092010 killed about a quarter of the livestock. In Thailand, the floods in 2011 cost about 2% of the gross domestic product (GDP). With the region already home to 1.7 billion people living on $2 or less a day, ADB needs to step up efforts to build the resilience of food systems to the impacts and risks of climate change.
Table 1: Countries Vulnerable to Climate Change High Exposure Low Adaptive Capacity High Sensitivity Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Armenia Bangladesh Bangladesh Azerbaijan Cambodia Bhutan Bangladesh Fiji Islands Cambodia Bhutan India Peoples Republic of China Cambodia Lao PDR Fiji Islands Peoples Republic of China Myanmar India Fiji Islands Nepal Indonesia Georgia Papua New Guinea Lao PDR India Solomon Islands Myanmar Indonesia Timor-Leste Nepal Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Pakistan Republic of Korea Papua New Guinea Kyrgyz Republic Sri Lanka Lao PDR Solomon Islands Mongolia Thailand Myanmar Timor-Leste Nepal Viet Nam Pakistan Papua New Guinea Philippines Sri Lanka Solomon Islands Tajikistan Thailand Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Viet Nam
Source: ADB. 2009. Building Climate Resilience in the Agriculture Sector of Asia and the Pacific. Manila. Table updated based on inputs from RETA 7394.

1 2

ADB. 2009. Building Climate Resilience in the Agriculture Sector of Asia and the Pacific. Manila. o Countries were classified as highly exposed if the temperature rises by at least 2 C or if annual precipitation levels increase or decrease by at least 20%. A poverty level of more than 30% is considered to be low adaptive capacity. Countries with agricultural employment above 40% are considered to be highly sensitive.

B. ADB Framework and Plan for Climate-Resilient Food Security Engagement ADBs Strategy 2020 provides the long-term strategic framework for environmentally sustainable and inclusive development of the region. ADBs Operational Plan for Sustainable Food Security for Asia and the Pacific seeks improved availability of and access to adequate and safe food by the poor and vulnerable. The plan gives priority to addressing the three binding constraints to achieving sustainable food security: low productivity, poor connectivity, and weak resilience to climate change and the volatility of food prices (Figure 1). The approach highlights multisector strategy, value addition, and partnership as the key measures to address these constraints. C. ADB is Making a Difference Now ADBs multisector engagement on food security is forward-looking and solution-based. To make food systems resilient to climate change, it directly addresses, among others, significant changes in water availability and the frequent occurrence of extreme weather events (e.g., floods, droughts, and typhoons) and plant pests and diseases. ADBs ongoing initiatives focus on water and land resource management, innovations in addressing the foodwaterenergy nexus, and strengthening policies and institutions, food value chains, rural infrastructure, disaster risk management, climate change strategy development, and cross-sectoral public management.
Table 2: Ongoing Food Security Initiatives with Climate Change Theme Region Central and West Asia East Asia Climate Resilient and Food Security Related Investments Tajikistan: Pyanj River Basin Flood Management and Building Climate Resilience in the Pyanj River Basin projects PRC: ADB provides investment and support to (i) enhance agricultural productivity through supply value chains, (ii) improve water resources management, (iii) protect and rehabilitate wetland and forestry ecosystems, and (iv) promote renewable energy to help the agricultural sector adapt to or mitigate the impacts of climate change. Mongolia: Water Point and Extension Station Establishment for Herding Families Regional: Strengthening Carbon Financing for Regional Grassland Management Regional: Strengthening Coastal and Marine Resources Management in the Coral Triangle of the Pacific Regional: Strengthening the Capacity of Pacific Developing Member Countries to Respond to Climate Change Supporting the implementation of government climate change strategies such as the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, India National Action Plan on Climate Change, and the Nepal National Adaptation Programme of Action Bangladesh: Crop Diversification and Sustainable Rural Infrastructure projects Figure 1: Three Dimensions of Sustainable Food Security

Source: ADB Regional and Sustainable Development Department Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Security Unit.

Pacific

South Asia

Southeast Asia

India: Sustainable Coastal Protection and Integrated Water Resources Management projects Nepal: Mainstreaming Climate Risk Management in Development Cambodia: Climate Resilient Rice Commercialization Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS): Climate-friendly bio-energy and food security Indonesia: Integrated Citarum Water Resources Management Lao PDR: Capacity development for Coping with Climate Change

Complementing ADB investments on climate resilience and food security is a suite of knowledge products that provide clearer understanding of the nature and degree of the vulnerability of food systems to climate change, and that develop as well foresight assessments: Food For All: Investing in Food Security in Asia and the PacificIssues, Innovations, and Practices Building Climate Resilience in the Agriculture Sector of Asia and the Pacific Climate Change in South AsiaStrong Responses for Building a Sustainable Future Food Security and Climate Change in the PacificRethinking the Options Impacts of Climate Change on the Peoples Republic of Chinas Grain Output Regional and Crop Perspective A General Equilibrium Analysis of the Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture in the Peoples Republic of China

D. ADBGearing for a Climate Resilient and Food Secure Asia Pacific ADB will step up its multisector engagement on climate resilience and food security. Investments in the pipeline put premium on producing more food with efficient and less use of water and land, building climate resilient food value chains employing innovative renewable energy, and improving rural market infrastructure. Table 3 showcases some of these projects.
Table 3: Examples of Planned Climate Resilience and Food Security Investments Region Central and West Asia East Asia Planned Investments Pakistan: MFF-Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Sector Development Tajikistan: Building Capacity for Climate Resilience Comprehensive Agriculture Development Ningxia Dryland Farming and Water Conservation Demonstration Jiangxi Zhelin Lake and Guangdong Chaonan Water Resources projects Establishment of Climate-Resilient Rural Livelihoods Renewable energy projects in the Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa, and Vanuatu Bangladesh: Climate Resilient Rural Infrastructure Improvement in the Coastal Zone India: Climate Adaptation through Sub-Basin Development Project; Karnataka Integrated and Sustainable Water Resources Management Project; and Operational Research for Sustainable Water Resources Management and Climate Change Adaptation for the Sutlej River System Nepal: Bagmati River Improvement Project, Food Security Improvement Project Cambodia: Climate Resilient Rice Commercialization Sector Development Program Lao PDR: Climate Resilient Water Management Systems for Enhanced Food Security Viet Nam: Climate Resilient Rural Infrastructure for Enhanced Food Security and River Basin Water Resources Management projects

Pacific South Asia

Southeast Asia

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) notes that food production must increase by 70% over current levels to help feed the world in 2050.3 ADBs climate resilient and food security related investments are as much a response as they are an opportunity to help Asia and the Pacific feed itself now and in the near future.

FAO. 2009. How to Feed the World in 2050: Issue Brief for the High Level Expert ForumHow to Feed the World in 2050, Rome, 1213 October 2009.