The Impact of Climate Change on

Nutritional and Food Security

Ana Victoria Román, PhD

October, 2009

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.

• 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

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.

• 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.

Continuation

Central America• 20 biological reserves and 8% of the planet’s 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 planet’s GEI emissions.

SICA

• Border areas• Rural areas• Land not apt for agricultural production, limited access to water and livelihoods• Marginal areas in cities• Boys and girls younger than 36

months• Fertile women• Older adults

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

VULNERABLE GROUPS: Who and where are they?

Geographic Areas

Life Cycle

Functional Groups

26 million poor (70%)26 million poor (70%)Income less than US $ 2.Income less than US $ 2.

10 million Extremely poor

(26%)Income less than US $ 1.

GROUPS AT RISK: HOW MANY?

37 million Central Americans100%

World Bank, 2004 World Bank, 2004

“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.

Prevalence of Anemia at Pre-School Age

Country Prevalence (%)Guatemala1 37.5El Salvador1 16.5Honduras1 33.7Nicaragua2 33.4*Costa Rica1 26**Panamá2 22.05***Dominican Republic2 30.7*

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 < 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

Problem Tree related to Food-Nutritional Insecurity

Low Output Learning difficultiesDelayed Growth

Weight lossSevere Morbidity High Mortality

HUMAN SUBDEVELOPMENT

FOOD-NUTRITIONALINSECURITY

Inadequate diet inquality and quantity

High vulnerability to infections

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT

Insufficient-unstablefood availability

Low acquisitive capacity

Inadequate Food Behavior Insufficient

sanitary conditions

High external dependence

Inadequate internal trade

Low productionand output

Low or no revenue

Elevated IPC ofgoods and services

Deficient food

education

Inadequate Food

Culture

LimitedSanitation

Infrastructure

Limited accessTo health

services

Environmental Insecurity

Human Insecurity

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL INSECURITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL INSECURITY AND

HUMAN INSECURITYHUMAN INSECURITY