Food security and climate change in the South Pacific / Jon Barnett

Abstract

Pacific Islanders traditionally have enjoyed diverse ways to achieve food security, through gardening, fishing, hunting, and selling products or labour for cash, reports JON BARNETT. But robust local food production has significantly been eroded with urbanisation and cheap, poor quality food imports. Climate change will increase threats to food security, through its impacts on food production, health, infrastructure, the ability of countries to import food, and the ability of households to purchase food. Commercial agriculture, fisheries and tourism are also likely to be badly affected as will the ability of the regions governments to cope with increasing climate-related disasters.