It’s little surprise that climate change could continue to have an impact on agriculture, but it may shock some to hear the terrible effect it’s already had. This is clear with the recent heatwaves in India — among floods in other countries — which have caused a decline in wheat yields and an increase in livestock deaths, reports Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Livestock is impacted in more ways than some may understand. “As temperatures rise, on average, animals eat three to five percent less per additional degree of warming, harming their productivity and fertility,” notes a recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.
Research by the IPCC also shows that if predicted increases in temperature hold true, nearly 35 percent of land for crops and livestock production won’t be viable by the end of the century.
At Children Believe, we’re seeing the effects of climate change in the countries where we have sponsored children, and we conduct frequent assessments to address the rapidly changing situation, identifying and addressing needs.
We’re working with youth to plant trees, develop home and school gardens and clean up their neighbourhoods. In India, as part of a project supported though The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, we’re helping address carbon emission targets through tree planting in “Oxy Parks” and education on building lower-carbon lifestyles.
We’re also working with our partners at the ChildFund Alliance to make greater impact through joint actions and policy influencing to find nature-based solutions to climate-change challenges.
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