CLIMATE CHANGE AND NUTRITION

 

The issue of climate change has been gaining widespread attention and concern as it has the ability to directly/indirectly affect our standard of living and quality of life. It has often been postulated that changes in climate would have a vast effect on food production systems and that food security might be threatened due to increasing climate change.

What is Climate Change?

Climate change is a change in the average temperature and cycles of weather over a long period of time. 

Scientists have recorded the global surface temperature using thermometers since 1880. The climate is changing as the earth becomes warmer.

Why is climate change a problem?

 Rapid climate change may cause the organism not to have enough time to adapt to new conditions and may no longer survive.  Previously, those species were able to survive in the condition they live in due to the stable climate supports.

What is the effect of climate change?

Climate change disrupts weather patterns and causes extreme weather events to become more common. These include hurricane activity, droughts, and floods.

As the global temperature has increased, so has the number of reported natural disasters.

The rising in temperature will cause the sea level to increase. Rising sea levels can overwhelm coastal areas, destroying habitats and displacing entire populations from low-lying areas. In addition, the sea ice will be reduced as the global temperature increases. This will cause problems for the animal that depend on ice to hunt, mate, and sleep.

Impact of Climate Change on Food Security

Agriculture:

💧Availability of good quality water

🌳Habitats and species distribution

🌄Timing and length of the growing season

🌾 Distribution of agro-ecological zones

🌏Ecosystem stresses

Vulnerable People:

People depending on climate-sensitive livelihoods and poor or marginalized groups, with limited access to resources and information sharing, are the most affected by climate change.

What action can be taken to address climate change?

Adaptation Strategies:

Adaptation measures deal with the impacts of climate change and have the objective of reducing the vulnerability of human and natural systems.

 

📢Addressing drivers of vulnerability(e.g: diversifying sources of household income)

📢Building response capacity(e.g:  improvement of mapping, weather monitoring, and natural resource management practices (NRM).

📢 Managing climate risks(e.g: Availability and accessibility of good quality seeds )

📢Confronting climate change(e.g: relocation of communities due to sea level rise)

Mitigation Strategies:

Mitigation addresses the causes of mitigation of the problem, which involves reducing greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere

🚩 Reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, exposure to methane and nitrous oxide. This strategy was followed by adopting improved cropland management practices, improving livestock feeding practices, and avoiding drainage of organic soils.

🚩Avoiding and displacing emissions by improving post-harvest practices and energy use in agricultural production.

🚩 Removing emissions by improved agronomic practice and replanting mangroves in aquacultures area.