Bhutan is least developed, mountainous and landlocked country in the eastern Himalayan range with a population of over 600,000. However its population and ecosystems are vulnerable to climate change. Despite a high level of environmental protection and awareness, Bhutan has become a victim of the global impacts of climate change caused by emissions in other countries. There is little historical climate data available in Bhutan; current records date back only to 1994. Consequently, the future climate scenario for Bhutan is uncertain.

Given limited resources, adaptation strategies must target those populations most vulnerable to global change and equip those unable to adapt—generally the poorest—with the tools and incentives that will enable them to do so. ASARECA has recently carried out a study to enhance the understanding of climate change in the 10 ASARECA member countries. This report profiles the available climate change–related datasets and their accessibility and procurement details in the 10 ASARECA member countries.

Climate change is a hazard to the food security of a growing world population since it affects agriculture and likewise, agriculture and natural resource management affect the climate system. The relationships between all these factors including polices, political conditions, economical management and pest and diseases, and how they interact are not currently well-understood, nor are the advantages and disadvantages of different responses to climate change.

This report addresses the economic, environmental and social dimensions of agricultural development, with the objective of ensuring food and nutrition security, in terms of availability, access, utilization and stability. It focuses on the livestock component of agricultural systems, given the role of livestock as an engine for the development of the agriculture and food sector, and as a driver of major economic, social and environmental changes in food systems worldwide.

There is an ongoing debate on what constitutes sustainable intensification of agriculture (SIA). In this paper, we propose that a paradigm for sustainable intensification can be defined and translated into an operational framework for agricultural development. We argue that this paradigm must now be defined—at all scales—in the context of rapidly rising global environmental changes in the Anthropocene, while focusing on eradicating poverty and hunger and contributing to human wellbeing.

This chapter spells out the theoretical framework for the discussion and case studies of the book. First, it provides precise definitions of technological change and classify technological change into different types based on their factor intensities. The discussion starts off with a single farm household. Two key concepts for understanding how that household will respond to technological changes are economic incentives and constraints. The former relates to how new technologies influence the economic return of different activities.

Interannual variation in rainfall throughout Tamil Nadu has been causing frequent and noticeable land use changes despite the rapid development in groundwater irrigation. Identifying periodically water-stressed areas is the first and crucial step to minimizing negative effects on crop production. Such analysis must be conducted at the basin level as it is an independent water accounting unit.

Looks at the allocation of resources to livestock research in Africa. Assesses the role of agricultural research and its value to national governments. Investigates the appropriate criteria to use for decision making by comparing three kinds of decision-making models. Presents conclusions for policy-making.