Development, Global Change and Food Security in Pacific Island Countries

Abstract

The overall purpose of this paper is to address food security and poverty reduction in the face ofclimate change and energy security. It attempts to bring to the fore food security threatsassociated with climate change in the food production and supply environments, as well as thebroader livelihood and ecological changes that will occur as a consequence. Recognizing thedifferent geographical regions around the Pacific and how climate change would impact on theirfood security situations opens up new opportunities for understanding why changes happen. Anattempt will also be made to address how Pacific Islanders can be assisted to enhance theircapacity to reduce risk and make optimal use of current climate resources in order to capitalizeon benefits that may arise due to the changing climate. In doing so, it will attempt to highlightsome of the current impacts of climate change reported by Pacific Island Countries in theirnational communications to the UNFCCC and their National Adaptation Programmes of Action(NAPAs), and what attempts have been made to seriously address these issues. It is recognizedthat climate change is an additional stress that needs to be managed by the agricultural andbroader development communities but it should also be emphasized that climate change willfurther exacerbate current development stresses that are already plaguing the agriculturecommunity and national governments. This paper will try to draw out these links and discussways to proactively address the situation now rather then later.