2 Need of a Proactive Response to Climate Change
and Associated Bioresources Conservation
The response to climate change does not relate to the confines of the environment
alone, but has multiple constituencies. Therefore, climate change assessment has to
be done in viewpoint of impact, vulnerability and adaptation in different
agro-ecological regions. As the scholarly fraternity are making efforts at global,
nation, state and even at local levels to address climate change in the post 2015
agenda through mitigation and adaptation strategies, the information/knowledge
base about ecosystem/land use modelling requires enhancement, especially in India.
The chapters by Saikia et al. (Chap. 8), Khuda Bakhsh et al. (Chap. 12), P.J. Dilip
Kumar (Chap. 3), Mansi and Jamwal (Chap. 28), Suresh Nadagoudar (Chap. 9),
Kala S Sridhar (Chap. 16) address the bio-resource conservation and sustainable
livelihood development under a changing climate and further providing connections
with land use land cover policy making.
3 Climate Change and Food Security—The Global
and Indian Contexts
Bill Pritchard and Muhammad Haroon et al. (Chaps. 2 and 4) addressed the food
security of India and Pakistan under climate change scenarios. There is incontrovertible evidence that global temperatures have increased during the past century,
and that the role of humans (anthropogenic forcing) is centrally implicated in this.
The study of climate change is extensive in nature, looking at each component
individually and then as a complete unit. It involves specialists from across the
natural and social sciences. In recent years, considerable attention has been given to
the implications of climate change for global food security. The Fifth Assessment
Report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released in 2014,
concluded that global food security would be dramatically affected by climate
change. In accordance with FAO definitions, the IPCC considers food security to
include four dimensions—food availability, food accessibility, food utilization and
food systems stability. Also, it needs to be taken into account that the food system
by itself is a major contributor of greenhouse gases, and hence, reforming the global
food system needs to be a major plank of climate change mitigation. The impact of
climate change on food security will be felt at global, national and local scales.
Vulnerable people and communities are at the frontline of these threats, and India
faces major impacts including potential changes to the timing and strength of
monsoons, retreat of Himalayan glaciers and sea-level rise. India is also vulnerable
to the way climate change may affect neighbouring countries. Bangladesh is widely
recognised as one the world’ s most vulnerable nations to climate change, and
climate migrants/refugees may seek to relocate to India, which may aggravate
geopolitical tensions. The aim is to enhance our information base about the threats,
634
S. Nautiyal et al.
and Associated Bioresources Conservation
The response to climate change does not relate to the confines of the environment
alone, but has multiple constituencies. Therefore, climate change assessment has to
be done in viewpoint of impact, vulnerability and adaptation in different
agro-ecological regions. As the scholarly fraternity are making efforts at global,
nation, state and even at local levels to address climate change in the post 2015
agenda through mitigation and adaptation strategies, the information/knowledge
base about ecosystem/land use modelling requires enhancement, especially in India.
The chapters by Saikia et al. (Chap. 8), Khuda Bakhsh et al. (Chap. 12), P.J. Dilip
Kumar (Chap. 3), Mansi and Jamwal (Chap. 28), Suresh Nadagoudar (Chap. 9),
Kala S Sridhar (Chap. 16) address the bio-resource conservation and sustainable
livelihood development under a changing climate and further providing connections
with land use land cover policy making.
3 Climate Change and Food Security—The Global
and Indian Contexts
Bill Pritchard and Muhammad Haroon et al. (Chaps. 2 and 4) addressed the food
security of India and Pakistan under climate change scenarios. There is incontrovertible evidence that global temperatures have increased during the past century,
and that the role of humans (anthropogenic forcing) is centrally implicated in this.
The study of climate change is extensive in nature, looking at each component
individually and then as a complete unit. It involves specialists from across the
natural and social sciences. In recent years, considerable attention has been given to
the implications of climate change for global food security. The Fifth Assessment
Report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released in 2014,
concluded that global food security would be dramatically affected by climate
change. In accordance with FAO definitions, the IPCC considers food security to
include four dimensions—food availability, food accessibility, food utilization and
food systems stability. Also, it needs to be taken into account that the food system
by itself is a major contributor of greenhouse gases, and hence, reforming the global
food system needs to be a major plank of climate change mitigation. The impact of
climate change on food security will be felt at global, national and local scales.
Vulnerable people and communities are at the frontline of these threats, and India
faces major impacts including potential changes to the timing and strength of
monsoons, retreat of Himalayan glaciers and sea-level rise. India is also vulnerable
to the way climate change may affect neighbouring countries. Bangladesh is widely
recognised as one the world’ s most vulnerable nations to climate change, and
climate migrants/refugees may seek to relocate to India, which may aggravate
geopolitical tensions. The aim is to enhance our information base about the threats,
634
S. Nautiyal et al.