1. The document discusses adaptation and mitigation strategies to reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts in communities and agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry sectors. 2. It identifies key threats from climate change facing different regions, including tropical storms, flooding, drought, and temperature increases. 3. Main areas of action promoted include improving data and knowledge, disaster risk management, sustainable land and resource management, and policies/financing for adaptation. Regional cooperation, governance, and climate-smart agriculture are emphasized.

1. LARC 12/03
ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION TO CLIMATE
CHANGE TO REDUCE THE VULNERABILITY OF
COMMUNITIES AND THE AGRICULTURE
LIVESTOCK, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY SECTORS

2. VULNERABILITY
“The degree to which a system or society is susceptible to, and
unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change, including
climate variability and extremes”.
MITIGATION
Interventions reducing the sources or
enhancing the sinks of greenhouse
, gases.
ADAPTATION
Adjustments to current or expected
climate change variability and
changing average climate conditions.
Source: FAO,2011

3. Threats and impacts in the Subregion: Vulnerability Assessment
CARIBBEAN: TROPICAL STORMS AND HURRICANES
-Rising sea levels;
-Coastal erosion;
-Limited land resources;
-Hydrology and scarce Water Resources;
-Decrease in fishery resources.
CENTRAL AMERICA: FEQUENCY OF
EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS
-Excessive rains in the Caribbean coast and
drought in the Pacific coast;
-High vulnerability to extreme weather
events (high proportion of subsistence
farming on hillsides).
ANDEAN REGION: THE EL NIÑO
PHENOMENON SOUTHERN CONE: DROUGHT
-Drought; -Increment of average temperature ;
-Biodiversity loss; -Longer period of crop growth (due to higher
-Frost; temperatures);
-Glacier retreat affecting future water -Extensive natural ecosystems and the impact
supply. of climate variability on natural resources.

4. Vulnerability to Climate Change: Agroclimatic risk
Fuente: Maplecroft, 2012

5. Global level
Food Security and Global Warming
DOUBLE CHALLENGE
Increase production to Addressing the impacts of climate
meet food demand of a growing change
population (9.1 billion in 2050)
MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE
CHANGE

6. Main areas of action for adaptation promoted by FAO
Key topics for Adaptation to Climate Change
Data and Knowledge on Disaster Risk
impacts, vulnerabilities and Management
adaptation assessment
Institution, Policies and Technologies, pract
Financing to stengthen ices and processes
the capacity of adaptation for adaptation
Sustainable and
Climate-Smart
Management of
land, water and
biodiversity

7. POLICY AGENDAS OF REGIONAL ORGANISMS
Central American Agriculture Council (CAC);
Southern Agriculture Council (CAS);
Climate Change Working Group in the policies network in CAS (REDPA);
The Andean Community and its Andean Strategy for Climate Change (EACC), with
includes specific actions for agriculture;
Latin American and Caribbean Initiative for Sustainable Development (ILAC);
The Mesoamerican Biological Corridor;
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC);
The Latin American Carbon Programme (PLAC).

8. XXIII REGIONAL CONFERENCE
Topics of Action in the Region
Mitigation and Adaptation to
Climate Change

9. 1. REGIONAL COOPERATION TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE
Cooperation and Knowledge Sharing on Climate Change among the LAC
countries
• Promote regional meetings to define common
positions on Food Production and Climate Change.
• Develop a Knowledge Sharing Platform for the
agricultural, livestock, fisheries and forestry sectors.
• Seize the opportunity of the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20,
20-22 June 2012).

10. 2. GOVERNANCE AND INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING
TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Improve capacities to develop policy options and technical solutions
• Encourage capacity building to
develop frameworks and sectoral plans on climate
change mitigation and adaptation;
• Support the economic and social
assessment of the impacts of climate variability and
climate change on agriculture, livestock, fisheries
and forestry;
• Implement a Financing Platform which includes a
wide range of options, beyond the purely climate
change financing;
• Design Research and Innovation Programmes
on climate change adaptation
for agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries.

11. 3. PROMOTE CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURE
Agriculture that sustainably increases productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes
GHGs (mitigation), and enhances achievement of national food security and development goals.
Rescue and implement field practices for the sustainable
intensification while being climate-smart
• Promote sustainable practices for the use and
management of natural resources and reduce climate risk.
Examples:
Alternative sources of water for irrigation (reuse
and harvesting)
 Agroforestry systems.
• Ensure greater energy efficiency and reduce
emissions of GHG in the agricultural sectors.

12. IN SHORT, IN THE REGION, WE SHOULD…
Promote regional
cooperation to Strengthen
address Climate governance and
Change institutional
Agriculture as a whole capacities to meet
must undertake a significant the challenges of
transformation to meet the Climate Change
challenges of Food Security
demands and Climate Change
impacts.
Promote Climate Smart
Agriculture