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AGM, 111. Report of the Joint Commission on Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM)/Joint Commission on Marine Meteorology and Oceanography (JCOMM) Task Team on Weather, Climate and Fisheries (2014-2018)
This is the summary report of the Joint Task Team of the Commission on Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM)/Joint Commission on Marine Meteorology and Oceanography (JCOMM) on Weather, Climate and Fisheries that was active from 2014-2018. The report focuses on the following themes: Climate variability impacts of selected fisheries: impacts of climate change on fisheries; risk assessment and management evaluation tools for the ecosystem-approach to management of fisheries; weather and climate tools for integrated coastal management of coastal fisheries and marine agriculture; weather and climate too ...
AGM, 110. Commission on Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM) - Expert Team 3.1 ‐ Report on Drought (2014‐2018)
This report is the output from the Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM) Expert Team on Drought (Expert Team 3.1) from 2014 to 2018. The team members addressed several Terms of Reference (TOR) requested by the 16th Session of the WMO CAgM held in Antalya, Turkey in April 2014. These TORs included the following: (a) Review the definition of drought and conduct a comprehensive review of the definitions and phases of drought (onset, duration, recovery and the ‘end point’ of drought in all regions); (b) Identify case studies and conduct a literature review of the socio‐economic impacts ...
AGM, 109. Assessment of Simple Farmer Rain Gauges Used in the WMO METAGRI OPS Project
The purpose of the various METAGRI projects in West Africa was to increase the flow of information from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services to farmers and this included the need for simple rain gauges to be distributed to farmers. The METAGRI OPERATIONAL Project needed technical specifications for the ‘farmer’s rain gauge’ to make it more suitable for the purpose. The former Commission for Instruments and Methods of Observation (CIMO) Lead Centre agreed to cooperate with the involved NMHSs in the evaluation of the rain gauges by technical consultations, laboratory tests and fiel ...
AGM, 108. Manual For Creating a Weather-based Crop Calendar : A Case Study from Senegal
Crop calendars, indicating the optimal time of planting and the time of harvest, can aid both farmers and advisory experts in the field of agriculture to reduce any risks. Existing crop calendars are made available for many countries but the planting and harvest periods are very general and can even comprise a period of two months. Defining the onset of the rainy season for the different regions and providing more detailed information about crop cultivation in relation to the length of the growing season, will help farmers reduce their losses and increase crop yield. This report describex a me ...
Overview of Watershed and Channel Sedimentation
This lesson provides an overview of the primary influences of watershed and channel sedimentation. In a short narrated portion of the lesson, we explore a section of the Rio Grande watershed and channel in New Mexico using Google Earth imagery, river profiles, and graphic animations. We highlight features of the upland catchments, the river channel, and the Elephant Butte Reservoir. We then demonstrate how environmental factors (climate, geography, land use changes, reservoirs) impact the supply and movement of sediments for the Rio Grande and other rivers. The focus is on the three primary pr ...
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Reflections on 20 years of land-related development projects in Central America: 10 things you might not expect, and future directions
Drawing upon several sources of information and types of analysis, including literature reviews, field visits and rapid participatory assessments, this paper provides a critical assessment of land-related development policies and projects over the past two decades in Central America. Reflections on past land-related development policies and projects in Central America are based on their contributions to growth and poverty reduction. The paper calls for future projects to better integrate poverty reduction and development goals, natural resource management, disaster risk management and climate ...
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Low carbon agriculture
UNEP, 2013The change to a green and better fed world depends on the development of low carbon agriculture. Improving food and nutrition security while protecting the earth’s natural resource base will require a smarter, more innovative, better focused and cost-effective approach.
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Interventions for achieving sustainability in tropical forest and agricultural landscapes
The rapid expansion of commodity agriculture in tropical forest landscapes is a key driver of deforestation. To meet the growing demand from a more prosperous and expanding global population, it is imperative to develop sustainable commodity supply chains that support higher agricultural productivity, and that enable improved environmental, economic, and social outcomes. Interventions by community, market, and state actors can enhance the sustainability of supply chains by affecting where and how agricultural production occurs. These interventions—in the form of novel or moderated instit ...
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Climate risk management for sustainable crop production in Uganda: Rakai and Kapchorwa districts
IISD, 2013Uganda has been regarded as a development success story due to its increasing economic growth and declining poverty. Nevertheless, the country’s economic dependence on agriculture makes it very sensitive to climate variability and change. Temperatures in Uganda have been steadily increasing and climate hazards such as floods and droughts have become more frequent and intense, a trend expected to continue. Ugandan smallholder farmers already know and apply various global best practices to reduce climate risks, but much remains to be done to improve these local responses. This report argues that ...
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Climate Risk Management
IISD, 2013Climate-related hazards, including drought, floods, cyclones, sea-level rise and extreme temperatures, have enormous impact on the socio-economic development of a society. The frequency, magnitude and duration of damaging climate conditions are changing. It is now widely understood that efforts to address the impacts of adverse climatic conditions on human development must be undertaken within the context of a longerterm vision of development. UNDP is supporting a wide range of countries to manage risks related to climate variability and change through the Climate Risk Management Technical Ass ...
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Climate Risk Management for Agriculture in Peru: Focus on the Regions of Junín and Piura
IISD, 2013This report is a product of the Climate Risk Management – Technical Assistance Support Project, which is supported by UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery and Bureau for Development Policy. This is one in a series of reports that examines high-risk countries and focusses on a specific socio-economic sector in each country. The series illustrates how people in different communities and across a range of socio-economic sectors may have to make adaptations to the way they generate income and cultivate livelihoods in the face of a changing climate. These reports present an evidence ...
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Climate Risk Management for Smallholder Agriculture In Honduras
IISD, 2013This report is a product of the Climate Risk Management – Technical Assistance Support Project, which is supported by UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery and Bureau for Development Policy. This is one in a series of reports that examines high-risk countries and focusses on a specific socio-economic sector in each country. The series illustrates how people in different communities and across a range of socio-economic sectors may have to make adaptations to the way they generate income and cultivate livelihoods in the face of a changing climate. These reports present an evidence ...
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Climate resilient sustainable agriculture: a real alternative to false solutions
This document illustrates the relationship between climate change and agriculture; reviews and demonstrates how current climate change policy responses fall short of addressing the realities of poor rural farmers who are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; and paints an alternative way forward by defining Climate Resilient Sustainable Agriculture (CRSA) and suggesting recommendations to national governments. CRSA prioritises the right to food, environmental conservation, and long-term community resilience in order to reduce food insecurity at the local level, and contribute t ...
The year that shook the rich: a review of natural disasters in 2011
This review analyses some of the major events and trends related to natural disasters and humanitarian disaster response and looks at the experience of developed countries with natural disasters in 2011. Highlighting evidences from the Japanese earthquake-tsunami-nuclear accident, the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, floods in Australia, and tornadoes, hurricanes and drought in the United States, it reminds that natural hazards affect all regions of the world and even rich countries have much to learn about both disaster risk reduction and disaster response.
The review ...
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Farmers' adaptation initiatives to the impact of climate change on agriculture in northern Nigeria: In Journal of Agricultural Extension, Vol. 16 (1), June 2012
This study examines the innovative adaptive measures used by farmers in northern Nigeria to respond to the effects of climate change. Quantitative and qualitative approaches (rapid rural appraisal, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews) were used to gather information from 500 farmers. The findings indicate that 84 per cent and 79 per cent of the farmers were aware and knowledgeable of climate change issues, respectively, while 81 per cent of them noted that they had experienced climate change incidences. The paper highlights adaptive measures used by the farmers in northern N ...
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Earthquake preparedness guide
India Government, 2012This bilingual guide book highlights that we can't avoid future earthquakes, but preparedness and safe building construction practices can certainly reduce the extend of damage and loss. To take necessary action it is mandatory for every citizen to have elementary knowledge of earthquake, forces acting on structures, remedial measures to be taken for structural safety and knowledge of do's and don'ts before, during and after an earthquake.
This guide will serve as a reference tools to sensitize citizens about the issues of concerning preparedness measures for an earthquake.
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The state of food and agriculture: investing in agriculture for a better future
FAO, 2012Recent food crises and growing concerns about global climate change have placed agriculture on top of the international agenda. Decision-makers have recognised the strong link between the dual goals of eradicating hunger and making agriculture sustainable. Achieving these goals will require a significant increase in agricultural investment but, more importantly, it will require improving the quality of this investment. This annual flagship report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reviews the economic and social rationale for agricultural investment, examines the causes of underinv ...
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Potential effects of climate change on crop pollination
Crop production must meet the demands of feeding a growing population in an increasingly degraded environment amid uncertainties resulting from climate change. there is a pressing need to adapt farming systems to meet these challenges. one of agriculture’s greatest assets in meeting them is nature itself: many of the ecosystem services provided by nature – such as nutrient cycling, pest regulation and pollination – directly contribute to agricultural production. the healthy functioning of these ecosystem services ensures the sustainability of agriculture as it intensifies to meet growing deman ...
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Pounds of prevention, a disaster risk reduction story: focus on Afghanistan
This edition focuses on the potato as a targeted disaster risk reduction effort in western Afghanistan. By helping farmers adapting how they handle the potatoes, it describes how the USAID program is enabling farmers to grow more food to last through the cold winter months and even have a chance to sell surplus produce when prices are favorable to them. It demonstrates that a more resilient livelihood means less vulnerability to weather-related and economic shocks.
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Climate change and agriculture: can market governance mechanisms reduce emissions from the food system fairly and effectively?
Agriculture accounts for 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. How agriculture is practised, therefore, has significant potential for mitigating climate change, providing food security and improving the livelihoods of food producers worldwide. There is growing interest in the use of market governance mechanisms for tackling climate change by giving the financial incentives to make the required changes. The key messages emerging from this study are that economic measures have a vital part to play, but to be effective, emissions from food production and consumption must be addressed to ...
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Developing a climate-smart agriculture strategy at the country level: lessons from recent experience
Since the Global Conference on Climate Change, Food Security and Agriculture held at the Hague in 2010, the concept of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has gained increasing attention at international and national levels, with several countries initiating related activities. The objective of this paper is to highlight recent experiences with country-level implementation of CSA to identify some key lessons to incorporate in ongoing efforts to expand the use of the approach in developing countries. Section 1 describes the evolution of the concept of CSA since the Hague conference. Section 2 i ...
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Greening the economy with climate-smart agriculture
Agriculture has to address simultaneously three intertwined challenges: ensuring food security through increased productivity and income, adapting to climate change and contributing to climate change mitigation. To accomplish this, food systems have to become, at the same time, more efficient and resilient, at every scale from the farm level to the global level. Radical changes are needed in agricultural and food systems. These changes can play an essential role in greening the economy and contributing to sustainable development. This paper considers the intertwined challenges of food sec ...
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Crop yield response to water
Steduto Pasquale; Hsiao Theodore C.; Fereres Elias; et al. - FAO, 2012 (FAO irrigation and drainage paper-No. 66)Food production and water use are inextricably linked. Water has always been the main factor limiting crop production in much of the world where rainfall is insufficient to meet crop demand. With the ever-increasing competition for finite water resources worldwide and the steadily rising demand for agricultural commodities, the call to improve the efficiency and productivity of water use for crop production, to ensure future food security and address the uncertainties associated with climate change, has never been more urgent.
Feeding a thirsty world: challenges and opportunities for a water and food secure future
This report provides input into the discussions at the 2012 World Water Week in Stockholm and its special focus on water and food security. This report presents the latest thinking and new approaches to emerging and persistent challenges to achieve food security in the 21st century, including the use of early warning systems to bolster food security by reducing damages caused to agriculture by water scarcity and drought. It focuses on critical issues that have received less attention in the literature to date, such as: food waste, land acquisitions, gender aspects of agriculture, and early war ...
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Noragric Report, 66. Management for adaptation to climate change : Mid-term review of a project implemented by Total Land Care, Malawi
The Management for Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) project in Malawi is implemented by Total Land Care (TLC) with funding from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Malawi and a 5 years time frame from 2008 to mid 2013. The key objectives of the project are to reduce deforestation, to improve household food security and incomes, and to develop rural-based enterprises. The review team found the project in line with Malawian as well as Norwegian development policy. TLC also has an extensive and good cooperation with Malawian NGOs as well as with international organisations, both in Malawi and abroa ...
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Agricultural GHGs in East and West Africa baseline emissions and mitigation potential
Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from agriculture are substantial. This paper looks into how can agricultural greenhouse gas emissions be reduced or sequestration enhanced while maintaining and even increasing food supply. The paper relies on a research undertaken in nine chosen African countries.
The authors reveal that croplands and grazing lands cover more than half of the East African countries’ lands and about 40% of the West African countries’ lands. In the nine African countries, the largest amount of GHG emissions is from the livestock sector, followed by emissions f ...
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Climate Change and Food Security – New E-learning Course
FAO, 2012Starting with an overview of the concept of climate change, the course then looks at its impact on food security. After examining strategies for mitigating or adapting to the effects of climate change, it suggests concrete ways to make sure agriculture is “climate smart”.
The course is aimed at policy makers and people working in development agencies, who need to better understand how climate change affects agriculture and food systems, and what concrete actions can be taken.
The course also includes face to face training materials, such as exercises, trainer’s no ...
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Report of the Secretary-General of UNCTAD to UNCTAD XIII - Development-led globalization : towards sustainable and inclusive development paths
UNCTAD, 2012"The report, titled "Development-led Globalization: Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Development Paths," suggests that FDG has led to uneven, unstable and unfair outcomes. It outlines an agenda for DLG based on three pillars: enabling developing countries to mobilize domestic resources, strengthen productive capacities and share the gains in an equitable manner; creating more robust multilateral structures for collective responses to upcoming challenges, such as taming finance and promoting investment-led responses to climate change; and strengthening regional ties, including through South–So ...
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Gases com efeito de estufa, redução das emissões
Esporo, N° 151. CTA, 2011De acordo com um estudo realizado, seria possível diminuir o total das emissões relacionadas com o gado, em cerca de 12%, mediante simples melhoramentos na produção.
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Greenhouse gases, curbing emissions
Spore: the magazine for agricultural and rural development in ACP countries, N° 151. CTA, 2011Some 12% of total livestock-related emissions could be cut with simple improvements in production, says a study.
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Gaz à effet de serre, résorber les émissions
Spore: le magazine du développement agricole et rural des pays ACP, N°151. CTA, 2011D’après une étude, quelque 12 % des émissions totales imputables au bétail pourraient être supprimés grâce à de simples améliorations de la production, incluant l’adoption de pâtures plus nutritives et l’ajout de faibles quantités de résidus de récoltes ou de céréales.
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Agriculture and food systems in sub-Saharan Africa in a 4°C+ world
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 369. N° 1934. Thornton Philip K.; Jones Peter G.; Ericksen Polly J.; et al. - The Royal Society, 2011Agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa faces daunting challenges, which climate change and increasing climate variability will compound in vulnerable areas. The impacts of a changing climate on agricultural production in a world that warms by 4°C or more are likely to be severe in places. The livelihoods of many croppers and livestock keepers in Africa are associated with diversity of options. The changes in crop and livestock production that are likely to result in a 4°C+ world will diminish the options available to most smallholders. In such a world, current crop and livestock variet ...
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Hydroponie: cultiver hors-sol
Spore: le magazine du développement agricole et rural des pays ACP, N°150. CTA, 2011Faire pousser les plantes dans des solutions nutritives : le procédé intéresse de plus en plus certains pays ACP. Les légumes hydroponiques sont prolifiques et toujours fiables, et ils ont besoin de moins de terre et d’eau. La culture hors-sol a néanmoins un coût.
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Dennis Garrity: cultiver sous la canopée
Spore: le magazine du développement agricole et rural des pays ACP, N°150. CTA, 2011Depuis des générations, les agriculteurs africains cultivent sous les arbres. Cette forme d’agroforesterie appelée agriculture persistante procure de meilleurs rendements, des revenus issus des produits forestiers et, potentiellement, des marchés du carbone.
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Agriculture and climate change: a scoping report
This scoping report provides context and analysis for addressing agriculture in international climate negotiations with the aim of informing climate negotiators and other stakeholders of different options and unpacking issues of interest. It observes that agriculture is characterised by a number of special features that distinguish it from other sectors, like producing food and meeting basic survival needs. Its context and site-specific nature makes uniform strategies and solutions ineffective and, unlike other sectors, it is directly affected by climate change. Therefore, it has adaptation ne ...
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Agriculture and the clean development mechanism
Many experts believe that low-cost mitigation opportunities in agriculture are abundant and comparable in scale to those found in the energy sector. They are mostly located in developing countries and have to do with how land is used. By investing in projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), countries can tap these opportunities to meet their own Kyoto Protocol obligations. The CDM has been successful in financing some types of agricultural projects, including projects that capture methane or use agricultural by-products as an energy source. But agricultural land-use projects are s ...
Towards a Green Economy: pathways to sustainable and poverty eradication (water chapter)
UNEP, 2011This chapter has three broad aims. First, it highlights the need for providing all households with sufficient and affordable access to clean water supplies as well as adequate sanitation. Second, it makes a case for early investment in water management and infrastructure, including ecological infrastructure. The potential to make greater use of biodiversity and ecosystem services in reducing water treatment costs and increasing productivity is emphasised. Third, the chapter provides guidance on the suite of governance arrangements and policy reforms, which, if implemented, can sustain and incr ...
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Too little too late: Welfare impacts of rainfall shocks in rural Indonesia
The authors use regression analysis to assess the potential welfare impact of rainfall shocks in rural Indonesia. In particular, they consider two shocks: (i) a delay in the onset of monsoon and (ii) a significant shortfall in the amount of rain in the 90 day post-onset period. Focusing on households with family farm businesses, the analysis finds that a delay in the monsoon onset does not have a significant impact on the welfare of rice farmers. However, rice farm households located in areas exposed to low rainfall following the monsoon are negatively affected. Rice farm households appear to ...
Volcanic Ash: Impacts to Aviation, Climate, Maritime Operations, and Society
This module is the third in the four-part Volcanic Ash series. It provides information on the impacts of an explosive volcanic eruption to aviation, climate, maritime operations and society. The threats, or impacts, from an eruption vary depending on the eruption style, duration and proximity--both in distance and altitude--to the volcano. As you learned earlier, an eruption may bring multiple hazards to urban and rural areas through: Lahars (mudflows) and floods Lava-flow inundation Pyroclastic flows and surge Volcanic ash and bomb fallout Volcanic gases In this module, we'll take a closer lo ...
Volcanic Ash: Introduction
Provides a concise introduction to volcanic ash through the examples of the Mt. Pinatubo and Eyjafjallajökull eruptions. This is the introduction to a four-part series on Volcanic Ash.
Volcanic Ash: Volcanism
This module is the second in the four-part Volcanic Ash series. It provides information about the geological, and geophysical processes related to volcanic activity and volcanic ash in the atmosphere and on the ground. It discusses four types of volcanic eruptions and describes six major volcanic hazards: Tephra Pyroclastic flow Lahar Lava flow Volcanic gas Tsunami
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Climate change, water and food security
This report summarises current knowledge of the anticipated impacts of climate change on water availability for agriculture. It examines the implications for local and national food security and the methods and approaches for assessing climate change impacts on water and agriculture. It emphasises the need for a closer alignment between water and agricultural policies and makes the case for immediate implementation of ‘no-regrets’ strategies which have both positive development outcomes and make agricultural systems resilient to future impacts.
Global Action on Climate Change in Agriculture: Linkages to Food Security, Markets and Trade Policies in Developing Countries
The objective of this report is to catalyse thinking about the ways in which agriculture – which has a vital role in global food security, development and natural resources use – can and must be fully integrated into national strategies and a consensus-based multilateral framework to address the challenges of climate change. The report brings forth questions that will occupy the world community over the next decade or more regarding the role of agriculture in climate change adaptation and mitigation. The report offers some answers and concrete proposals – while recognizing that much more needs ...
Climate Change Mitigation Finance for Smallholder Agriculture : a guide book to harvesting soil carbon sequestration benefits
FAO, 2011This FAO publication focuses on climate change mitigation financing for smallholders. The Organization, however, fully recognizes that adaptation may be the imperative and priority over the short and medium term for many smallholders in circumstances where climate change may adversely impact their efforts to overcome poverty and food insecurity. In many cases, most countries will need to deal with both adaptation and mitigation. FAO is supporting national efforts on CSA which seek to enhance the capacity of the agricultural sector to sustainably support food security, livelihoods and growth un ...
Climate change, water and food security
FAO, 2011The impacts of climate change on the global hydrological cycle are expected to vary the patterns of demand and supply of water for agriculture – the dominant user of freshwater. The extent and productivity of both irrigated and rainfed agriculture can be expected to change. As a result, the livelihoods of rural communities and the food security of a predominantly urban population are at risk from water-related impacts linked primarily to climate variability. The rural poor, who are the most vulnerable, are likely to be disproportionately affected. Adaptation measures that build upon improved l ...
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Building Resilience, the future for rural livelihoods in the face of climate change : (Cambodia Human Development Report 2011)
UNDP, 2011The Cambodia Human Development Report is about people’s well-being. This is an in-depth, national policy analysis document. This report will inform Cambodia’s responses to the development challenges of climate change at all levels, changing people’s perceptions of what this will mean for their futures.
Agricultural Meteorology Programme (AgMP). Climate Change: Impacts on Global Agriculture
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ; International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) - WMO, 2011At the simplest level, weather is what is happening to the atmosphere at any given time. Climate is a measure of what to expect in any month, season or year, and is arrived at using statistics built up from observations over many years. All aspects of the Earth’s climate – the wind, rain, clouds and temperature – are the result of energy transfers and transformations within the atmosphere, at the Earth’s surface and in the oceans.
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