FAO: Climate change threatens food security of Pacific island countries

Xinhua: Ocean warming, frequent tropical cyclones, flash floods and droughts are likely to bring a devastating impact on food production systems in Pacific island countries, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Tuesday. Climate change-related disasters have already seriously constrained the development of these islands, the FAO said in a new report entitled "Climate Change and Food Security in Pacific Island Countries."

“Climate projections for the Pacific island countries are bleak and indicate reduced food security, especially for households," said Alexander Muller, FAO assistant director-general for Natural Resources Management and Environment Department. "It is critical to build resilience of the food systems to avoid enormous future economic losses in agriculture, fisheries and forestry," he said.

"Countries will have to assess how vulnerable their food systems are and how they can adapt agriculture, forestry and fisheries to future climate-related disasters. There is a need to act urgently," he added….

A leaf of a taro plant, an agricultural mainstay for Pacific islands. Shot by tom burke, in Hawaii, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License