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2015 ICCFSA
First International Conference on Climate and Food Security in Asia
Linking Climate
Change to Food
Security
5 June 2015
9am - 5pm
Create Theatrette Level 2
Create Tower, UTown
National University of Singapore
Organisers:
Partners:
Center for
Environmental
Sensing and
Modelling
the event
With strong population growth, changes in
food consumption, stagnating agriculture
yields and impacts of adverse weather
conditions, food security in Southeast Asia
is increasingly important, particularly for
rice importing countries. Weather extremes
like droughts and floods can lead to severe
production shortfalls and are seen as key
contributors to food price volatility and
shortages.
The latest assessment report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) suggests increases in rainfall
extremes in most regions of the world,
especially in Southeast Asia.
New advances in climate and crop modelling
make food security crises more predictable
and reveal insights to the impact of extreme
events, which in turn can be used as a basis
for policy making. This conference brings
together experts from the domains of climate
change, crop modelling and food security to
discuss approaches to manage food security
issues in Southeast Asia at early stages.
ICCFSA 2015 is organised by the Tropical
Marine Science Institute (TMSI) of National
University of Singapore (NUS) and Asia Risk
Centre (ARC). TMSI has been commissioned
to conduct climate change projections for SE
Asia and has undertaken various studies to
relate these projections to flood and drought
occurrence and impacts on agriculture.
ARC is the leading provider of agriculture
risk quantification models and has been
collaborating with the Consultative Group of
International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) to
develop a yield forecasting tool kit for food
security in South Asia.
Attendance is by invitation only.
conference outline
Opening Address
Guest of Honour
Prof Low Teck Seng, Chief Executive Officer, National Research Foundation, Singapore
Session 1: Climate Change and Impacts on Agriculture in Asia
This session focuses on trends in precipitation and temperature in Asia and provides an outlook
of climate change under different scenarios. Impacts of adverse weather conditions and climate
change are specifically discussed for Asia.
Chairperson
Dr Liong Shie-Yui, Deputy Director, Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore,
Singapore
Projecting Climate Responses to Anthropogenic Influences: A Closer Look
at Southeast Asia
Dr Chien Wang, Senior Research Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Climate Change Impact on Water for Agriculture Production
Prof Xin-Zhong Liang, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, USA
What do Climate Models Project for Southeast Asia?
Dr Srivatsan Raghavan, Senior Research Fellow, Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of
Singapore, Singapore
Ensuring Food Security in Southeast Asia under Climate Change: CCAFS Agenda
Dr Leocadio Sebastian, Regional Program Leader for Southeast Asia, CGIAR Research Program for Climate
Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Hanoi, Vietnam
Session 2: Crop Models and Food Security
This session looks at the concepts of early warning systems through physical crop models and
remote sensing technologies. Examples are shown from different countries.
Chairperson
Dr Leocadio Sebastian, Regional Program Leader for Southeast Asia, CGIAR Research Program for Climate
Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Hanoi, Vietnam
Accessing and Predicting Yield with Physical Crop Models
Dr Tom Osborne, Principal Modeller Agriculture, Asia Risk Centre, California, USA
Projecting Adaptation Gains in Crop Productivity in Changing Climates in India
Dr Soora Naresh Kumar, Principal Scientist, Climate Change & Crop Modelling, Indian Agricultural Research
Institute, New Delhi, India
Making Sense of Remotely Sensed Crop and Land-Surface Properties in Southeast Asia More Crops, but of Potential Lesser Quality
Dr Jason Blake Cohen, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National
University of Singapore, Singapore
Session 3: Risk Management Strategies for Food Security
This session reveals different strategies and approaches to manage food security situations. Future
food demand and supply is discussed for Southeast Asia and key considerations for policy making
are presented. The case of Singapore as a food importing country is specifically addressed.
Chairperson
Dr Roman Hohl, Chief Executive, Asia Risk Centre and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Tropical Marine Science
Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Field experiments and simulations to evaluate agro-adaptations to climate change for rice
production in sub-tropical India
Dr Dillip Swain, Associate Professor, Agricultural and Food Engineering Department, Indian Institute of
Technology, Kharagpur, India
Risk Management Approaches for Food Security
Vijayasekar Kalavakonda, International Finance Corporation (World Bank), Jakarta, Indonesia
Key Considerations for Policy Makers in Terms of Food Security
Dr Jonatan A. Lassa, Research Fellow, NTS RSIS, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Panel Discussion
The panel discussion brings together the concepts and examples from the Sessions to
discuss different approaches and needs to mitigate food security situations.
Chairperson
Dr Liong Shie-Yui, Deputy Director, Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore,
Singapore
Concluding Key Notes
Summarizes the key findings, recommendations and next steps towards a mitigation of food security
situations using climate and agriculture science.
To register for the event, please visit:
http://goo.gl/forms/4rwtWddYBV
getting here
Conference: 9am - 5pm
Venue: Create Theatrette Level 2, Create Tower, UTown
National University of Singapore
Registration: 8:15am
Map Credit: National Research Foundation
Conference Dinner (Speakers and Panel Members): 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Venue: To be advised
TMSI/NUS:
Dr Liong Shie-Yui
Asia Risk Centre: Dr Roman Hohl
+65 9277 6493
+65 9451 5635
tmslsy@nus.edu.sg
roman.hohl@asiariskcentre.com