The Impact of Climate Change on Nutritional and Food Security

1
The Impact of Climate Change on Nutritional and
Food Security
Ana Victoria Román, PhD October, 2009
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Regional Mandates through Agreements of
Presidential Summits, Meetings of Health
Ministers and Tri-ministerial Meetings between
Health-Environment-Agriculture

• XIV (1993) y XXII (2002) Summit of Presidents and
  Chiefs of State of Central America, which took
  place in Guatemala and San Jose, Costa Rica,
  respectively
• We welcome the regional initiative for Food
  and Nutritional Security in Central American
  countries, driven by the Health Ministers, and we
  instruct them to follow-up on this with the
  technical and scientific support of the Institute
  of Central America and Panama (INCAP) and of the
  Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), with the
  support of the Secretary General of SICA.
• Resolution 20, XIV Presidents Summit,
  Guatemala, October 1993.

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• Strategic Framework to confront the situation of
  food and nutritional insecurity associated with
  conditions of drought and climate change. XXII
  Presidents Summit, 2002
• Regional Program for the Reduction of
  Vulnerability and Environmental Degradation,
  RPRVED,
• Regional Agro-environmental and Health Strategy
  RAHS, 2008
• Action Plan to protect Health and the Effects of
  Climate Change, PAHO/WHO Directing Council, 2008
• Climate Change Regional Strategy, 2009
• Health Agenda for Central America, 2009

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Resolutions of Tri-ministerial Meetings of
Ministers of Health, Agriculture, and Environment
of Central America, June 2004, April 2008

• Request INCAP/PAHO to develop a regional strategy
  on food and nutritional security in the context
  of climate change.
• To strengthen the capacity of countries in the
  region in mitigation and adaptation mechanisms at
  the national and local levels to enable them to
  face the challenges of variability and climate
  change.

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Continuation

• To increase the effectiveness of early alert
  systems for communicable diseases and nutritional
  status related to variability and climate change.
• To strengthen the epidemiological surveillance of
  the nutritional situation, infectious diseases,
  waterborne and foodborne diseases, and diseases
  transmitted by vectors related to climate and
  climate change.
• Advanced systems of geo-referencing that
  facilitate the integration of information from
  the health, agriculture, and environment sectors.

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Central America

• 20 biological reserves and 8 of the planets
  biodiversity.
• In the last 25 years, approximately 5000 people
  from the subregion die each year as a consequence
  extreme climactic events, SICA 2008.
• The frequency of droughts has increased by 360,
  hurricanes by 525 and floods by 266, if one
  compares the periods of 1971-1975 with 2000-2005,
  UNDP 2004, German Watch, Global Climate Risk
  Index.
• 50 of the families in vulnerable areas depend
  solely on family food production to satisfy their
  nutritional needs.
• Produces less than 0.5 of the planets GEI
  emissions.

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SICA
VULNERABLE GROUPS Who and where are they?

• Border areas
• Rural areas
• Land not apt for agricultural production,
  limited access to water and livelihoods
• Marginal areas in cities

Geographic Areas

• Boys and girls younger than 36 months
• Fertile women
• Older adults

Life Cycle

• SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
• Salaried agricultural workers without access to
  land
• Limited or no land possession
• Migrants
• Limited or no access to basic quality services
  in health, water, sanitation, education, and
  agriculture
• Income of less than 1.00 US/day

Functional Groups
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GROUPS AT RISK HOW MANY?
37 million Central Americans100
10 million Extremely poor (26) Income less than
US 1.
World Bank, 2004
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The state in which all people enjoy, in an
opportune and permanent manner, access to the
food that they need, in the quantity and quality
necessary for their adequate consumption and
biological utilization, guaranteeing them a
wellbeing that contributes to their human
development.
Adaptation The adjustments that natural or human
systems make in response to climate stimuli or
their effects, moderating the danger and taking
advantage of positive opportunities.
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Prevalence of Anemia at Pre-School Age
Sources 1. Diagnostic of the nutritional
situation and characterization of food and
nutrition programs directed towards children 6-36
months in Central America and Panama. Final
Report. WFP. 2005. 2. Most recent survey available
Note Cut-off Point Hb lt 11 g/dL Population
ages 6 to 59 months Preschool population (0 to
6 years) Population ages 12 to 36 months
Unit for Surveillance, monitoring and evaluation,
INCAP/OPS 2007
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Problem Tree related to Food-Nutritional
Insecurity
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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL INSECURITY AND
HUMAN INSECURITY
Human Insecurity
Environmental Insecurity