Environmental Food Crisis
suffi ciency in food production with the projected decline the undernourished on a worldwide basis. Elevated
in water availability. Indeed, with the projections of food prices have had dramatic impacts on lives and
population growth, water availability per person per livelihoods, including increased infant and child
year in Pakistan is likely to be reduced by 50 to 70% mortality, and on those already undernourished or living
by 2050 – without assuming any climate change. If, in poverty who are spending 70 to 80% of their daily
as some projections indicate, water production due income on food. Key causes of the current food crisis
to disappearing glaciers and snow in the sources of were the combined effects of speculation in food stocks,
the Indus declines by up to 50 to 80% beyond 2050, extreme weather events, low cereal stocks, growth in
Pakistan would face a potential decline in water biofuels competing for cropland, and high oil prices.
availability of up to 80 to 90% per capita compared to
today – with devastating effects on food production.
Greater price volatility ahead unless challenged
In addition to this, the disappearance of much of the Decreased agricultural productivity and high demand
low-lying snow, so important to rangelands at higher could result in increased prices, create price volatility,
altitudes, will severely impact pastoralists, for whom and subsequently lead to hunger. Indeed, based on
livestock is central for their livelihoods, economy, and estimates from the World Bank, FAO, and the UN
culture. Environment Programme, coupled with scenarios of the
environmental food crisis, food prices may increase
After a long period with declining food prices,
by 30 to 50% on average – in addition to greater
the surge in food prices in the last years was the
volatility. Large numbers of the world’s small-scale farmers,
largest and most extreme in more than a century.
particularly in Bangladesh, China, India, Nepal, and
The ensuing crisis resulted in a 50 to 200% increase
Pakistan, are constrained by access to markets and the
in selected commodity prices, drove 110 million
high price of inputs such as fertilisers and seed. With
people into poverty, and added 44 million more to
Farmers in Bhutan planting rice (below) and showing their strawberry harvest (right)
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