Climate change and food security: a Sri Lankan perspective

Esham, M; Jacobs, B; Rosairo, HSR; Siddighi, BB

Climate change and food security: a Sri Lankan perspective

Esham, M

Jacobs, B

Rosairo, HSR Siddighi, BB

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2018, 20 (3), pp. 1017 - 1036
Issue Date:: 2018-06-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Esham, M https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4498-9274	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Jacobs, B https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3147-341X	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Rosairo, HSR	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Siddighi, BB	en_US
dc.date.issued	2018-06-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2018, 20 (3), pp. 1017 - 1036	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1387-585X	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/91309
dc.description.abstract	© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. There is growing concern in Sri Lanka over the impact of climate change, variability and extreme weather events on food production, food security and livelihoods. The link between climate change and food security has been mostly explored in relation to impacts on crop production or food availability aspects of food security, with little focus on other key dimensions, namely food access and food utilization. This review, based on available literature, adopted a food system approach to gain a wider perspective on food security issues in Sri Lanka. It points to several climate-induced issues posing challenges for food security. These issues include declining agriculture productivity, food loss along supply chains, low livelihood resilience of the rural poor and prevalence of high levels of undernourishment and child malnutrition. Our review suggests that achieving food security necessitates action beyond building climate resilient food production systems to a holistic approach that is able to ensure climate resilience of the entire food system while addressing nutritional concerns arising from impacts of climate change. Therefore, there is a pressing need to work towards a climate-smart agriculture system that will address all dimensions of food security. With the exception of productivity of a few crop species, our review demonstrates the dearth of research into climate change impacts on Sri Lanka’s food system. Further research is required to understand how changes in climate may affect other components of the food system including productivity of a wider range of food crops, livestock and fisheries, and shed light on the causal pathways of climate-induced nutritional insecurity.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Environment, Development and Sustainability	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s10668-017-9945-5	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Ecology	en_US
dc.title	Climate change and food security: a Sri Lankan perspective	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	3	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	20	en_US
utslib.for	0502 Environmental Science and Management	en_US
utslib.for	0701 Agriculture, Land and Farm Management	en_US
utslib.for	1604 Human Geography	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)/Institute For Sustainable Futures
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - ISF - Institute for Sustainable Futures
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	3	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	20	en_US

Abstract:

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. There is growing concern in Sri Lanka over the impact of climate change, variability and extreme weather events on food production, food security and livelihoods. The link between climate change and food security has been mostly explored in relation to impacts on crop production or food availability aspects of food security, with little focus on other key dimensions, namely food access and food utilization. This review, based on available literature, adopted a food system approach to gain a wider perspective on food security issues in Sri Lanka. It points to several climate-induced issues posing challenges for food security. These issues include declining agriculture productivity, food loss along supply chains, low livelihood resilience of the rural poor and prevalence of high levels of undernourishment and child malnutrition. Our review suggests that achieving food security necessitates action beyond building climate resilient food production systems to a holistic approach that is able to ensure climate resilience of the entire food system while addressing nutritional concerns arising from impacts of climate change. Therefore, there is a pressing need to work towards a climate-smart agriculture system that will address all dimensions of food security. With the exception of productivity of a few crop species, our review demonstrates the dearth of research into climate change impacts on Sri Lanka’s food system. Further research is required to understand how changes in climate may affect other components of the food system including productivity of a wider range of food crops, livestock and fisheries, and shed light on the causal pathways of climate-induced nutritional insecurity.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/91309