Global Environmental Change

1
Global Environmental Change and Food
Systems GECAFS A Joint Project of IGBP, IHDP
WCRP in Research Partnership with
the Consultative Group on International
Agriculture Research (CGIAR) and in Collaboration
with WMO
2
Global Environmental Change IssuesChanges caused
by human activities
Changes in
Climate variability and extreme events Water
availability and quality Climate mean values
Land use and cover Nitrogen availability Atmos
pheric composition
3
GECAFS Goal To determine strategies to cope with
the impacts of Global Environmental Change on
food provision systems and to analyse the
environmental and socioeconomic consequences of
adaptation.
4
Food Provision
Production f (yield, area) Availability f
(production, distribution) Access f
(availability, socioeconomic potential e.g.
affordability, physiological potential e.g.
nutritional quality) Provision f
(production, availability, access)
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GECAFS Fundamental Questions

• Given changing demands for food, how will GEC
  additionally affect food provision and
  vulnerability in different regions and among
  different social groups?
• How might different societies and different
  categories of producers adapt their food systems
  to cope with GEC against the background of
  changing demand?
• What would be the environmental and socioeconomic
  consequences of such adaptations?

6
Socioeconomic Change
Global Environmental Change
Theme 1 Vulnerability and Impacts
Theme 3 Environmental Feedbacks
Theme 2 Adaptations
Adapted Food Provision
Food Provision
Theme 3 Socioeconomic Feedbacks
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Criteria for individual GECAFS projects

• Have a clear GEC dimension
• Include all 3 GECAFS Themes with a strong design
  for internal integration
• Clearly identify, and demonstrate end-user
  involvement in all stages
• Help develop policy at project level
• Include capacity development

8
GECAFS interactions with Sponsoring Programmes
and with example collaborations
NARS CGIAR
GECAFS
FAO
IIASA
MA
WMO