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Addressing climate change in
Asia and the Pacific
Major challenges for agriculture
and rural development
The average temperature in the Asia and
Pacific region could rise by some
0.5 to 2 degrees Celsius by 2030 and
between 1 and 7 degrees Celsius
by 2070. Annual rainfall is also expected
to increase in several parts of Asia while
arid and semi-arid areas would become
drier. The areas predicted to get more
annual rainfall would nonetheless suffer
decreased water availability as the rainfall
would be concentrated during the rainy
season in fewer incidences of highintensity rainfall – with massive run-off and
floods expected to be the result.
Rising sea levels will affect a
significant number of countries in the
region, with small atoll Pacific Island
countries, Bangladesh, the Maldives and
Viet Nam particularly hard hit. In the past
50 years, Viet Nam has experienced a
50-centimetre sea-level rise, as recorded
in the Hon Dau station. It is expected
that a 30-centimetre increase will be
experienced in the Mekong Delta by
2050, and this increase, coupled with
salinity intrusion, will lead to the loss of
some 420,000 hectares of arable land.
The projected sea-level rise is likely to
result in significant losses of coastal
ecosystems. The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
concludes with high confidence (about
an 8 out of 10 chance of an event
happening) that 1 million people along
the coasts of South and South-East Asia
will be at risk from flooding.
The risks to agriculture are among the
most urgent to be addressed. Most food
is produced by smallholder farmers who
are dependent on rainfall patterns.
According to the International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI), 87 per cent of
the world’s 500 million smallholder farms –
consisting of less than 2 hectares of land
largely under rainfed conditions – are in
the Asia and Pacific region. In India, where
Pacific islands:
Cook Islands
Fiji
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Niue
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
more than 50 per cent of total agricultural
output comes from smallholders,
72 per cent of farmers are reliant on
monsoon rains. But those rainfall patterns
are already becoming less reliable.
In the inland areas, where average
temperatures are increasing the most,
many smallholders plant rice and wheat
as their main crops, both of which are
already at the upper limits of their heat
threshold. According to the International
Rice Research Institute, if rice is
exposed to temperatures of more than
30 degrees Celsius for one hour during
the flowering period, the pollen will
become sterile. In fact, under current
cropping patterns, a 2.5 to 10 per cent
decrease in crop yields is projected for
parts of Asia by the 2020s, and a
5 to 30 per cent decrease by the 2050s
compared with 1990 levels.
IFAD’s response
Throughout the region, IFAD is engaged in
finding new solutions to enhance the
adaptive capacity of rural populations,
References: IPCC, Fourth Assessment Report, 2007; United States Agency for International Development, Global
Climate Change in the Asia-Pacific Region, 2008; IFPRI, Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture and Policy Options
for Adaptation, 2010; Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Viet Nam, Climate Change, Sea Level Rise
Scenarios for Vietnam, 2009
protect ecosystems and mitigate the
effects of climate change. Immediate
priorities are to strengthen the resilience of
poor rural communities engaged in crop,
livestock, fisheries and forestry activities,
in order to meet basic food requirements
and safeguard livelihoods.
Historically, IFAD has been proactive
in addressing the needs of vulnerable
rural communities, with a special
emphasis on women, young people and
ethnic minorities, and has promoted
sustainable land management and
diversification of rural livelihoods as a
means to reduce risk. The new
generation of projects is building on this
approach and further articulating
adaptation to climate change responses
that help reduce vulnerability and build
resilience to climate shocks.
The projects that IFAD supports also
focus on sustainable natural resource
management and introduce simple
innovative techniques for land and water
conservation that build resilience to
shocks. IFAD grants are helping pilot
new and innovative approaches and
technologies for climate change
adaptation and mitigation that could
become the key strategies of tomorrow.
Examples of climate change
activities in IFAD loans and grants
IFAD loans
Bolstering defences against rising seas in Bangladesh
Experts have identified the Ganges Delta in Bangladesh as one of the areas in the world
at greatest risk from climate change. The fertile farmland of the delta is vulnerable to
rising sea levels and increasingly extreme weather conditions. The 2007 Water Sector
Track Record of Bangladesh carried out by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands estimated that, each year, 20,000 to 30,000 households lose their homes,
land and livelihoods as a result of erosion and flooding. An IFAD-supported project,
now in its fourth phase, is helping poor farmers to protect their land from encroaching
water levels and adapt to more frequent and severe cyclones and storms. The project’s
activities in this area include building flood protection embankments and drains to
protect chars (islands within the delta made of silt deposits) from salt water intrusion,
and establishing cyclone shelters, shelters for livestock and protective tree belts.
Project name: Char Development and Settlement Project, phase IV
Contact information: Thomas Rath, Country Programme Manager, [email protected]
Partner: Government of the Netherlands
Project duration: 2010-2018
Waste into clean energy in China
©IFAD/G.M.B.Akash
In developing countries, daily dependence on biomass fuel is a major contributor to
deforestation and forest degradation, and also constitutes a health hazard in the home.
Activities that reduce emissions from deforestation and enhance forest carbon stocks
through conservation, increased forest cover and the sustainable management of forests
now play a key role in development and poverty eradication. An IFAD-financed povertyalleviation project in West Guangxi promoted the use of household biomass units,
which transform human and animal waste into a clean, renewable and affordable
energy source for lighting and cooking. In addition to producing fuel, biogas digesters
have the added benefit of producing a high-nutrient fertilizer and encouraging better
sanitation on farms. The digesters were adopted by 30,000 households by project close,
resulting in savings in terms of firewood of about 56,500 tons, equivalent to the
recovery of 7,470 hectares of forest. Thanks to this technology, people, especially women
who are traditionally responsible for fuelwood collection, have more time for
agricultural and other income-generating activities. Biogas technology has now been
introduced in a number of IFAD projects across regions.
Project name: West Guangxi Poverty-Alleviation Project
Contact information: Sana Jatta, Country Programme Manager, [email protected]
Partner: World Food Programme
Duration: 2002-2008
Disseminating solar technology in China
Renewable energy sources can contribute to energy and cost savings and also provide
global benefits by helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An IFAD-supported
programme in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region helps install solar systems in
poor rural households to meet their power needs and reduce their dependence on
fuelwood and other energy sources that result in deforestation or greenhouse gas
emissions, as well as negative human health impacts. The programme also supports
agricultural development through technology transfer, organic production and
marketing, and a microfinance component, with a strong focus on empowering
women’s groups to manage natural assets.
Programme name: The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Modular Rural
Development Programme
Contact information: Sana Jatta, Country Programme Manager, [email protected]
Partner: Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Duration: 2008-2014
Introducing dryland crops in India
In Central India, the problem of erratic rainfall has become increasingly severe over the
past six years. The monsoon rains have ceased to be reliable. The south-western part of
the state of Orissa is now experiencing longer dry periods and increasingly
unpredictable rainfall patterns. To help farmers adapt to these changing climatic
conditions, an IFAD-supported programme promotes the cultivation of crops adapted
to drier conditions, such as pigeon pea, chickpea, black gram and groundnut. The
adoption of these crops is gradually changing the livelihoods of smallholder farmers
who until recently were increasingly struggling to produce traditional crops under the
changing climatic conditions.
Programme name: Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme
Contact information: Nigel Brett, Country Programme Manager, [email protected]
Partners: Government of the United Kingdom; World Food Programme
Programme duration: 2003-2013
http://www.otelp.org/
Off-season cropping in the Indian Himalayas
In recent years, the largely self-sufficient survival system of Himalayan mountain
communities has been seriously undermined. The impact of climate change has led
to increased degradation of natural resources, particularly soil erosion and
deforestation, and this, in turn, has negatively affected productivity and livelihoods.
An IFAD-supported project is strengthening the resilience of poor rural people living
in these mountain areas to changing environmental and socio-economic conditions
by encouraging households to grow two crops of off-season vegetables each year.
This improves nutritional security, and sale of surplus production provides a
much-needed source of income.
Project name: Livelihoods Improvement Project for the Himalayas
Contact information: Nigel Brett, Country Programme Manager, [email protected]
Project duration: 2004-2012
http://www.ajeevika.org.in/
*The activities described represent a component or a specific feature of the project presented.
Improving farmer resilience in Mongolia
Over the past 60 years, Mongolia has experienced an increase in annual mean
temperatures of 1.8 degrees Celsius, changes in the duration of heat and cold waves,
and changes in the pattern and predictability of rainfall. High mountain glaciers are
melting at a rapid rate, and permafrost is degrading significantly. The groundwater
table is falling in arid regions, and land degradation and desertification have
worsened as a result of water shortages and lack of precipitation. Extreme weather
events such as drought and dzud (harsh winters) have also increased in frequency and
intensity. All of these phenomena are attributable to or aggravated by climate change,
and will increasingly damage the livestock sector on which poor rural people
depend, and overall economic development in Mongolia. An IFAD loan-supported
development project will help improve the capacity of herder households to adapt to
changing climatic conditions by introducing sustainable pasture management to
protect land and water resources and conserve the pastoral ecosystem. In addition,
the Government of Mongolia and IFAD have tapped into the Special Climate
Change Fund of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to strengthen the capacity
of herders to address climate change and to reinforce the resilience of the Mongolian
livestock system to changing climatic conditions. This is done by improving natural
resource management, climate-proofing the pasture water supply, and improving
the risk management system as a response to climate change uncertainties. The
GEF-supported project also introduces a weather index-based insurance scheme to
help herders cope with livestock losses resulting from climate-induced shocks and
leading to a loss of livelihood.
Project name: Market and Pasture Management Development Project
Contact information for IFAD loan: Frits Jepsen, Country Programme Manager,
[email protected]
Partner: Global Environmental Facility
Integrated GEF grant (Special Climate Change Fund): Mongolia Livestock Sector
Adaptation Project
Contact information for GEF grant: Roshan Cooke, Regional Climate and
Environment Specialist, [email protected]
Project duration: 2011-2015
Planning for climate change in Viet Nam
The IPCC has predicted that the Mekong Delta, including Tra Vinh Province, will be
among the regions affected earliest and most severely by rising sea levels and saltwater
invasion of agricultural land, and by an increasing number of extreme weather events
such as flooding after heavy rains. The consequences of global climate change will not
only undermine efforts to reduce poverty, but are likely to exacerbate poverty by
destabilizing agricultural activities in the region. An IFAD-supported multisectoral
programme includes work with national and local government bodies to integrate
climate change issues into local agricultural and rural development planning and
poverty reduction strategies, and increase adaptive capacity in the region. In this regard,
a climate-proofing tool is being integrated into the market-oriented commune planning
process. During the upgrading of agriculture value chains, measures are being promoted
that show a high potential for climate change adaptation and possible mitigation. They
include “climate-smart” cultivation methods, such as the system of rice intensification
and introduction of new salt-resistant varieties, and also post-harvest measures such as
using airtight seed storage bags.
Programme name: Programme for Improving Market Participation of the Poor in Ha Tinh
and Tra Vinh Provinces
Contact information: Atsuko Toda, Country Programme Manager, [email protected]
Partner: German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ)
GIZ project name: Poverty Alleviation in Rural Areas (PARA) in Ha Tinh and
Tra Vinh Provinces
Contact information: Dr Georg Deichert, Chief Technical Adviser, [email protected]
Programme duration: 2007-2013
*The activities described represent a component or a specific feature of the project presented.
IFAD grants
Increasing local resilience in Bhutan, India and Nepal
In recent years, economic growth, shifting population dynamics and climate change
have taken place so intensively and rapidly that the traditional adaptation mechanisms
of the people of the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region have lost their efficacy. The impact
of changes and variations in weather patterns is becoming more pronounced and of
greater concern for communities across the region. Prolonged drought and intermittent
dry spells between periods of rain are diminishing the moisture content of soils and the
availability of water, and resulting in decreased agricultural productivity and scarcity of
drinking water. An IFAD-funded programme is strengthening the resilience of poor rural
communities to changing environmental and socio-economic conditions in the region.
It is undertaking an assessment of the impact of climate change and socio-economic
changes on food and income security, and is documenting and mapping risks and
livelihood vulnerability. It also analyses practices and institutional mechanisms that link
global to local ecosystem services to improve livelihoods and enhance adaptation to
climate change. The programme conducts participatory action research to validate and
test poor communities’ coping mechanisms. In the area of institutional strengthening,
the programme is helping to strengthen the capacity of partner institutions to undertake
analytical work on adaptation to climate change. It is also building the capacity of
mountain communities through experience-sharing and cross-learning. Governments
and other national institutions are supported through studies for the formulation and
refinement of pro-poor policies to facilitate adaptation to climate change. Finally, a
multistakeholder mountain consortium is being initiated to promote sharing of
experiences and best practices in addressing the challenges of persistent poverty in the
mountain areas.
©IFAD/G.M.B. Akash
Grant name: Programme for Linking Livelihoods of Poor Smallholder Farmers to
Emerging Environmentally Progressive Agro-industrial Markets
Contact information: Ganesh Thapa, Regional Economist, [email protected]
Partner: International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Duration: 2009-2012
Rewarding environmental services in China, Indonesia, the Lao People’s
Democratic Republic, Nepal, the Philippines and Viet Nam
Rewards for environmental services can improve the livelihoods of rural communities by
giving farmers an added incentive to increase tree cover with a variety of species on their
agricultural land and undertake other soil and land conservation or food security
activities. An IFAD-funded programme, now in its second phase, pilots systems of
rewards for environmental services in upland areas of China, Indonesia, the Lao
People’s Democratic Republic, Nepal, the Philippines and Viet Nam. By diversifying
agricultural output rather than relying on a single crop, farmers can reduce their
vulnerability to climate change. Tree products provide farmers with a number of income
options and increase their resilience to climate stress. In Indonesia alone, more than
16,000 farmers received permits to grow coffee while protecting the forests. Providing
communities with clear land tenure rights gave them the incentive to maintain or
restore environmental services such as replanting and managing forest areas. One
community negotiated with a private dam operator to reduce silt in the river by
applying soil protection techniques on their plots in return for a micro-hydroelectric
machine for energy supply. The company then engaged in negotiations with
communities upstream of other dams. The activities also benefit lowland communities
by protecting the watersheds, and they shore up carbon sinks.
These activities are providing evidence that payments for ecosystem services (PES)
incentives do not necessarily need to be financial, but can be provided in the form of
secure land rights. Because of this, the World Agroforestry Centre prefers the concept of
rewards rather than payments for environmental services (RES). Rewards can include a
range of incentives, including cash payments, low-cost information, marketing, input
and credit services, and conditional property rights.
During the programme, three paradigms were identified that categorized different
approaches to PES/RES: “commoditized environmental services” (CES), “compensation
for opportunities skipped” (COS) and “co-investment in stewardship” (CIS). CIS is the
most ‘pro-poor’ because both CES and COS presuppose property rights that the rural
poor often do not have. CIS involves building trust after initial conflicts over the
impacts of resource use on environmental services have been clarified and a realistic
joint appraisal undertaken. CIS is likely to deliver longer-term opportunities for
climate-smart sustainability.
©IFAD/MLIPH
Grant name: Programme on Rewards for, use of and shared investment in Pro-poor
Environmental Services (RUPES), phase II
Contact information: Laura Puletti, Grants Coordinator a.i., Gender and Knowledge
Management, Asia and the Pacific Division [email protected]
Partner: World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)
Programme duration: 2002-2012
http://rupes.worldagroforestry.org/
Building the capacity of indigenous people in India to address
climate change
A project for building the capacity of indigenous peoples to cope, adapt or mitigate the
effects of climate change on their livelihoods and environments addressed the
vulnerability of indigenous peoples to the effects of climate change and environmental
degradation, focusing particularly on the Sundergarh district in Orissa State. Building on
traditional knowledge and strategies, the project helped indigenous communities develop
and disseminate climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, share information
and build local capacity to lobby on decision-making processes related to climate change.
Project name: Building the capacity of indigenous peoples to cope, adapt or mitigate the
effects of climate change on their livelihoods and environments
Contact information: Antonella Cordone, Coordinator for Indigenous and Tribal Issues,
[email protected]
Partner: Centre for Development Action (CDA)
Project duration: 2008
Markets for carbon sequestration: Viet Nam
New market opportunities are proliferating for high-value agricultural products and
services related to climate change mitigation, such as carbon sequestration. An applied
research programme funded by IFAD was designed to ensure that poor rural people, and
women in particular, have better access to, and the capacity to take advantage of, these
burgeoning opportunities. The programme reviewed and assessed existing activities
related to carbon markets in Viet Nam and in three African countries: Ghana, Morocco
and Mozambique. Agriculture is the largest greenhouse gas emitter in Viet Nam. In
2000, it was responsible for 65 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions, mainly as a
result of methane emitted in rice fields. It is projected that methane emissions from rice
cultivation in Viet Nam will account for 6.3 per cent of the world’s methane emissions
by 2030. The programme implemented four activities in Viet Nam related to agricultural
climate mitigation and market access: current carbon market activities (review and assess
current activities related to carbon markets); access of the rural poor to carbon markets
(a study on the institutional mechanisms that can link farmers to carbon markets);
climate change mitigation potential (report on the costs and benefits of agricultural
mitigation activities in Viet Nam, and identification and evaluation of best practices and
options); and a pilot study for testing agricultural mitigation activities on the ground.
The programme also established 365 hectares of tree plantations on currently degraded
grass and shrub land in Xuan Phong and Bac Phong communes, Cao Phong district,
Hoa Binh Province.
Programme name: Strategic Partnership to Develop Innovative Policies on Climate Change
Mitigation and Market Access
Contact information: Bernadette Mukonyora, Research Officer, [email protected]
Partner: International Food Policy Research Institute
Programme duration: 2008-2011
http://ifadifpri.wordpress.com/
Saline-tolerant farming: the way forward in Bangladesh
Farmers in Bangladesh are increasingly facing a range of climate-related threats to
productivity, such as cyclones, river floods, salinity intrusion and drought. Impact
analysis based on statistical crop models and climate projections for 2030 predicts that
several crops crucial to sustaining large food-insecure populations are likely to be
negatively affected by changing climatic conditions, unless adequate adaptation
measures are adopted. Working with local farmers, an IFAD-funded programme
conducted innovative research into adapting saline-tolerant farming systems in the
coastal zones of Bangladesh. This research programme was designed to support the
IFAD-funded Char Development and Settlement Project IV and to provide responses to
climate change challenges affecting the coastal zones of the country.
Programme name: Support to Agricultural Research for Climate Change Adaptation
Contact information: Thomas Rath, Country Programme Manager, [email protected]
Partner: International Rice Research Institute
Duration: 2003-2006
*The activities described represent a component or a specific feature of the project presented.
C O N TA C T S
Reducing vulnerability of Chinese farmers:
weather index-based insurance
Elwyn Grainger-Jones
Director
Environment and Climate Division
IFAD
Tel: +39 06 54592459
[email protected]
China’s agricultural production is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters and the
impact of climate change, as farmers face the common threats of drought, flooding,
hail and frost. Traditionally, Chinese farmers have fallen back on a variety of ad hoc
coping strategies, from crop diversification to, more commonly, borrowing money
from friends and relatives or relying on remittances. In recent years, the Chinese
Government has invested heavily in the development of an agricultural insurance
market, through a rapid scale-up of a national multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI)
programme. Given the potential of weather index-based insurance (WII) to reduce
some of the shortfalls of MPCI, such as high transaction costs, moral hazard and
adverse selection, the implementation partners launched the first ever WII pilot
project in China. Through public and private cooperation, the project tested the
viability of WII as a supplement or alternative to MPCI. WII offers payouts to
farmers against objective, measurable indicators such as rainfall or temperature. In
this way, poor farmers may be able to manage the risks they are exposed to more
effectively, and can plan for the future, making higher initial investments in
agricultural activities without exposing themselves to possible catastrophe if the
weather affects productivity.
LINKS
IFAD and climate change
www.ifad.org/climate/
United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change
www.unfccc.int
Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change
www.ipcc.ch
COP 17
www.cop17durban.com
World Bank 2010 World Development
Report: Development and Climate Change
www.worldbank.org/wdr2010
Project name: Reducing vulnerability and managing weather risk in China
Contact information: Francesco Rispoli, Technical Adviser, [email protected];
Weijing Wang, Programme Manager, [email protected]
Partners: World Food Programme; Chinese Ministry of Agriculture;
Guoyuan Agricultural Insurance Company Innovation Mainstream Initiative;
Government of China; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Duration: 2008-2010
*The activities described represent a component or a specific feature of the project presented.
International Fund for Agricultural Development
Via Paolo di Dono 44, 00142 Rome, Italy
Tel: +39 06 54591
Fax: +39 06 5043463
E-mail: [email protected]
www.ifad.org, www.ruralpovertyportal.org
November 2011
©IFAD/G.M.B. Akash
IFAD is an international financial institution and
a specialized United Nations agency dedicated
to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas
of developing countries.