Adapting to a changing climate.
Abstract
Changing climate, weather extremes and associated water stresses increasingly dominate news headlines and global risk reports. Whilst researchers and activists have outlined for more than a decade the likely impacts, it has been the devastating weather extremes and the costs on people and economies that have focused attention in the last few years. In the World Economic Forum's 2016 Global Risk Report, failure of climate change mitigation and adaption, and water crises, were among the top five most important risks. In the 2017 Global Risks Interconnections, changing climate was ranked second in the top five trends that determine global developments. It ranked as a top trend for 2017, with all five environmental risks in the survey such as extreme weather events, natural disasters, failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, and man-made environmental disasters, featuring for the first time among both high-risk and high-likelihood, with extreme weather events emerging as the single most prominent global risk. Today, research for development needs to focus on how best to adapt to these new climate conditions. It is often the most vulnerable with the least resilience that are most affected. Water availability for both human use and crops is one of the first felt impacts, threatening both water and food security for many millions. Responses are needed that integrate climate science, crop and water management innovations, with policy and institutional developments. The work at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) over the last two decades can bring important insight, experience and knowledge to address the increasing challenges of climate change.