CLIMATE CHANGE THREAT IS VERY REAL

In a recent interview to The Hindu,(www.thehindu.com) Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said that the fund has evidence to the effect that by 2025 crop yields will decrease by 20 to 40 % in several parts of the world due to global warming. Large parts of land will become useless for agriculture, and new diseases and pests will come up. He waned that unless we develop new varieties of crops that can withstand extremes of weather, we will have difficulty in feeding the world population. Scarcity of water resources will be another eventuality of the climate change.

Dr. Nwanze hoped that at least a ‘political accord’ will be reached at the climate meet at Copenhagen in December. Because countries like Brazil, India and China have started raising their voice for the poorer countries, the developed nations will be forced to contribute more to mitigation of climate change and assistance to developing countries in adaptation mechanisms.

(Source: ‘Climate change threat is very real, says IFAD Chief’ Gargi Parsai, The Hindu, November 30, 2009)