Prioritizing climate change adaptation needs for food security in 2030

Investments aimed at improving agricultural adaptation to climate change inevitably favor some crops and regions over others. An analysis of climate risks for crops in 12 food-insecure regions was conducted to identify adaptation priorities, based on statistical crop models and climate projections for 2030 from 20 general circulation models. Results indicate South Asia and Southern Africa as two regions that, without sufficient adaptation measures, will likely suffer negative impacts on several crops that are important to large food-insecure human populations. We also find that uncertainties vary widely by crop, and therefore priorities will depend on the risk attitudes of investment institutions.     

Simultaneously mitigating near-term climate change and improving human health and food security

Tropospheric ozone and black carbon (BC) contribute to both degraded air quality and global warming. We considered ~400 emission control measures to reduce these pollutants by using current technology and experience. We identified 14 measures targeting methane and BC emissions that reduce projected global mean warming ~0.5°C by 2050. This strategy avoids 0.7 to 4.7 million annual premature deaths from outdoor air pollution and increases annual crop yields by 30 to 135 million metric tons due to ozone reductions in 2030 and beyond. Benefits of methane emissions reductions are valued at $700 to $5000 per metric ton, which is well above typical marginal abatement costs (less than $250). The selected controls target different sources and influence climate on shorter time scales than those of carbon dioxide-reduction measures. Implementing both substantially reduces the risks of crossing the 2°C threshold.     

Cultivating cacao Implications of sun-grown cacao on local food security and environmental sustainability

The reasons why upland farmerson the Indonesian island of Sulawesi areengaged in a cacao boom and its long termimplications are addressed in the context ofprotected area management regulations, andpolitical and economic conditions inPost-Suharto, Indonesia. In the remote casestudy village of Moa in Central Sulawesi, wefound that while few households cultivatedcacao in the early 1990s, all had planted cacaoby 2000. Furthermore, the vast majoritycultivate cacao in former food-crop focusedswidden fields under full-sun conditions.Farmers cultivate cacao to establish propertyrights in light of a land shortage driven inpart by the prohibition of farming and forestproduct collecting in a nearby national park,and to secure a future source of income, aconcern that has been exacerbated byIndonesia's economic crisis. However,conversion of swidden fields to sun-grown cacaoconstrains future food productionopportunities, increases susceptibility todrought stress and potential soil nutrient andorganic matter losses, and increases householddependence on a commodity that is subject toextreme price volatility. These factors raisesignificant concerns for local food securityand agricultural sustainability.     

Forests and climate change: forcings, feedbacks, and the climate benefits of forests

The world's forests influence climate through physical, chemical, and biological processes that affect planetary energetics, the hydrologic cycle, and atmospheric composition. These complex and nonlinear forest-atmosphere interactions can dampen or amplify anthropogenic climate change. Tropical, temperate, and boreal reforestation and afforestation attenuate global warming through carbon sequestration. Biogeophysical feedbacks can enhance or diminish this negative climate forcing. Tropical forests mitigate warming through evaporative cooling, but the low albedo of boreal forests is a positive climate forcing. The evaporative effect of temperate forests is unclear. The net climate forcing from these and other processes is not known. Forests are under tremendous pressure from global change. Interdisciplinary science that integrates knowledge of the many interacting climate services of forests with the impacts of global change is necessary to identify and understand as yet unexplored feedbacks in the Earth system and the potential of forests to mitigate climate change.     

Air pollution,food production and food security: A review from the perspective of food system

Air pollution negatively impacts food security. This paper reviews the current literature on the relationship between air pollution and food security from the perspective of food system. It highlights that agricultural emissions which substantially contribute to air pollution could happen at every stage along the food supply chain. Meanwhile, air pollution can not only affect plant growth and animal health but also shift market equilibrium of both agro-inputs and outputs in the food supply chain and thereby affect food security indirectly. Furthermore, this study evaluates the effects of agricultural policy and energy policy on food security and air pollution, respectively, and provides an overview of potential policy instruments to reduce air pollution while ensuring food security. Finally, we identify the remaining research and policy issues for further studies, mainly focusing on the study of household's bounded rational behaviors and the issue of rural aging population.     

浙江省粮食需求与粮食安全态势的探讨

根据粮食安全的4个阶梯标准及城乡居民的口粮需求,预测了浙江省2010年粮食需求量及粮食自给率,基于城乡居民口粮需求自给的粮地底线及耕地保有量,并提出保障粮食安全的几点建议。     

Insurance in a climate of change

Catastrophe insurance provides peace of mind and financial security. Climate change can have adverse impacts on insurance affordability and availability, potentially slowing the growth of the industry and shifting more of the burden to governments and individuals. Most forms of insurance are vulnerable, including property, liability, health, and life. It is incumbent on insurers, their regulators, and the policy community to develop a better grasp of the physical and business risks. Insurers are well positioned to participate in public-private initiatives to monitor loss trends, improve catastrophe modeling, address the causes of climate change, and prepare for and adapt to the impacts.     

基于"3S"技术的常熟市土地利用变化与粮食安全分析

基于RS、GIS、GPS技术,运用人机交互目视解译方法对江苏省常熟市1984年、1999年和2009年3期Landsat/TM影像数据进行解译,分析了常熟市25年间土地利用变化特征,探讨了该市耕地面积减少的原因以及对粮食安全的影响.耕地数量是粮食安全的重要制约因素,加强耕地保护力度,提高土地利用占用效率,优化土地利用结构,科学开展城市用地规划,增加物质投入和科技投入来提高土地生产力是确保今后常熟市土地可持续利用和粮食安全的合理途径.     

我国食品质量安全问题与食品生产全面质量管理研究

食品工业已成为我国最重要的产业之一,对整个国民经济的发展起着重要作用.然而,我国食品质量安全状况及整体水平令人担忧,因此,对食品质量全面管理的探讨有着重要的现实意义.本研究以我国食品工业生产中全面质最管理概况为基础,结合实际情况,阐述如何全面提高我国食品生产的产品质量.     

我国粮食安全的区域性和结构性差异

我国粮食安全不仅是总量上的满足,还包括区域间协调和结构上匹配.笔者将全国划分为三大区域:北方农区、南方农区和牧区,进而考察不同区域粮食和畜产品生产的变化趋势及其结构差异和匹配程度.结果表明:南方农区粮食总产量占全国粮食总产量的比重呈明显下降趋势,而北方农区则明显上升.南方农区是我国肉类主产区,肉类产量占全国肉类总产量的比重始终维持在50%以上.猪肉在我国肉类生产中占绝对优势地位,1995-2007年间,猪肉产量占我国总肉类产量的比重平均达到66.1%.南方农区是我国猪肉的主要产区,1995-2007年间,南方农区猪肉产量占全国猪肉总产量的比重平均为64.0%.1995-2007年,作为主要饲料粮的玉米在南方农区的产量仅占全国玉米总产量的20.5%.因此,应充分提高南方地区粮食生产能力,特别是玉米生产潜力,不仅可以减轻粮食生产给北方农区带来的资源和环境压力,而且可以缓解自身面临的严重饲料粮短缺问题.     

Human occupations and climate change in the Puna de Atacama,Chile

Widespread evidence for human occupation of the Atacama Desert, 20 degrees to 25 degrees S in northern Chile, has been found from 13,000 calibrated 14C years before the present (cal yr B.P.) to 9500 cal yr B.P., and again after 4500 cal yr B.P. Initial human occupation coincided with a change from very dry environments to humid environments. More than 39 open early Archaic campsites at elevations above 3600 meters show that hunters lived around late glacial/early Holocene paleolakes on the Altiplano. Cessation of the use of the sites between 9500 and 4500 cal yr B.P. is associated with drying of the lakes. The mid-Holocene collapse of human occupation is also recorded in cave deposits. One cave contained Pleistocene fauna associated with human artifacts. Faunal diversity was highest during the humid early Holocene.     

关于国家粮食安全的思考与建议

我国的耕地资源虽然紧张但能够保证国民的口粮安全。今后,国民的口粮安全将取决于政府对粮食生产的行政干预能力和政府对粮食供应(销售)的市场调控能力。我国现有涉粮的政府管理资源,存在部门割据的局面不利于上述两个能力的发挥,为此笔者建议成立国家粮食中心,统筹全国的粮食生产、销售和消费。本文还就影响粮食安全的主要因素(种植面积与种植结构、粮肉消费比与种植结构、收购基金、科技教育、农资供应、粮库库容等)提出了建设性意见。