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An assessment of the economic impact of climate change on the Agriculture Sector in Guyana

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An assessment of the economic impact of climate change on the Agriculture Sector in Guyana

Autor institucional: NU. CEPAL. Sede Subregional para el Caribe Physical Description: 74 páginas. Editorial: ECLAC, Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean Date: October 2011 ECLAC symbol: LC/CAR/L.323

Description

Climate change is anticipated to have potentially disastrous impacts on the economic viability of the agricultural sector, insomuch as traditional agricultural practices render the agricultural sector climate-dependent. Increased temperatures and increased intensity, timing and occurrence of hydro events are expected to challenge plant and animal viability. Under such circumstances, vector control is expected to become more difficult, which may further prejudice the prosperity of plant, livestock and fisheries growth. The impact is expected to be on the quality of agricultural produce and thereby, indirectly, on human health outcomes. The key threat mechanisms are debilitated plant vitality and increased propagation of pests, as drought periods increase the breeding of vectors through water pooling and soil erosion associated with the increased intensity of hydro events. In addition, climate change is likely to affect crop productivity in specific geographical areas through its impact on growing seasons and crop patterns, to the extent that crop varieties cannot adapt.

Table of contents

.-- I. Introduction.-- II. The impact of climate change on agriculture.-- III. Models used to estimate the impact of climate change on agriculture.-- IV. Guyana: Socio-economic background.--V. Quantifying the projecting climate change impacts.-- VI. Adaptation isues.-- VII. Cost-benefit analysis.-- VIII. Conclusions.