Elements for Life

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production, processing, distribution and consumption of food

leading to outcomes which have consequences for food and

environmental security and the society at large.

GECAFS has a regional project in the Caribbean to imple-

ment its conceptual framework. CIMH is a key organization

involved in the development and implementation of this frame-

work. The overarching questions for GECAFS Caribbean

research are:

• How will global environmental change (GEC), especially

land degradation, variability in rainfall distribution, sea

surface temperature, tropical storms, hurricanes and sea-

level rise, affect vulnerability of food systems in the

Caribbean?

• What combinations of policy and technical diversification

in food harvested and traded for local consumption, in

export commodities and in tourism would best provide

effective adaptation strategies in light of GEC?

• What would be the consequences of these adaptation

strategies for national and regional food security, local

livelihoods and the natural resource base?

A suite of scenarios has been developed for food systems in

the Caribbean.

These scenarios are regionally downscaled

versions of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)

scenarios.

A team from the region recently completed a

science plan and implementation strategy for GECAFS

Caribbean. The plan is being reviewed by key stakeholders in

the region.

Disaster risk management

Through the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency

(CDERA) the Caribbean region has been in the process of

the Caribbean.

However, dry periods are not always yield

reducers for crops such as sugar cane, but in such cases can

increase the sucrose yield in the months just before harvest-

ing, whereas when occurring in July to September sugar cane

growth is significantly retarded. Unfortunately, agricultural

drought monitoring in the Caribbean has been limited to basic

rainfall and crop indices.

CIMH has been involved in a number of projects and initia-

tives to increase agricultural production, enhance food and

livelihood security through research, and influence policy and

decision making strategies.

Climate change adaptation initiatives in the Caribbean

Climate change is one of the major concerns for Caribbean

agriculture. Changes in temperature and other climate para-

meters, sea level rise and in particular uncertainties in the

patterns of future rainfall have serious implications for biodi-

versity, water and agriculture in the Caribbean.

Such

implications mean that urgent attention has to be paid to the

resilience of Caribbean agriculture and strategies to adapt to

future changes in climate.

Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC)

In 1999, the Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Global

Climate Change (CPACC) project began sensitising the region

to the implications of climate change. At that time, the focus

was mainly on sea level rise, which has implications for salt-

water intrusion and, by extension, water quality and

salinization of soils. This is particularly crucial in Guyana

where the majority of the population and agricultural activity

is located within 10 km of a coastline that is below sea level.

Research showed that sea level rise associated with anthro-

pogenic climate change can result in increased salinity of the

water supply, in particular the surface water.

On the comple-

tion of the CPACC project the region recognized the need to

mainstream climate change information into the productive

(agriculture and tourism) and supportive (water and health)

sectors. From this, the MACC project was developed.

The MACC project includes the dynamic downscaling of the

global climate models (GCMs). Work has begun in developing

a strategy for coupling these GCMs with models in the agri-

cultural and water sectors to support impact and vulnerability

studies which will help to guide policy making and planning.

CIMH will support these studies by investigating issues such

as the potential impacts of climate change on crop yields,

growing seasons, crop water use and requirements and agro-

ecological zones in Guyana.

Global environmental change

and food systems (GECAFS)

GECAFS is an “international, interdisciplinary research project

focused on understanding the links between food security and

global environmental change.”

Its goals are:

• To develop adaptation strategies to cope with the impacts

of environmental change on the food system

• To assess the environmental and socio-economic feedback

of such adaptation strategies.

Environmental changes addressed in GECAFS include changes

in climate, quality and quantity of water, nitrogen cycling,

atmospheric composition, sea level and conditions, land cover,

soils and biodiversity. Note that a food system encapsulates

Main features of food system

Source: Global Environmental Change and Food Systems

(www.gecafs.org)

Food System Activities

Producing food:

Natural resources, inputs, technology

Processing & packaging food:

Raw materials, standards, consumer demand

Distributing & retailing food:

Marketing, advertising, trade

Consuming food:

preparation, consumption

Food System Outcomes Contributing to:

Social Welfare

• Income

• Empoyment

• Wealth

• Social & political capital

• Human capital

• Infrastructure

• Peace

• Insurance

Food Secutity

Environment security/

Natural capital

• Ecosystems, stocks, flows

• Ecosystem services

• Access to natural capital

Food

Utilistaion

• Nutritional value

• Social value

• Food safety

Food Access

• Affordability

• Allocation

• Preference

Food

Availability

• Production

• Distribution

• Exchange