APN Newsletter - Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

APN at Planet Under Pressure 2012, London, UK
29 March 2012, London, UK — The biggest gathering
of global environmental change specialists in
advance of the United Nations Rio+20 Summit, the
Planet Under Pressure conference attracted over
3000 scientists and decision-makers across the world
to discuss global challenges and offer new solutions.
More than 3000 people participated online through
video webcast and various social media platforms.
Scientists issued the State of the Planet Declaration
that summarizes the key messages emerging from
the conference.
The APN, through its funding support to the conference,
facilitated the participation of 26 scientists
from its member countries to present their work
Climate Change, Agriculture and
Food Security (CCAFS) Workshop
Tsukuba Office, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research
Council Secretariat, Japan
22 February 2012
Akio Takemoto
limate change, Agricul-
“C ture and Food Security”
(CCAFS) is a 10-year research initiative
launched by the Consultative
Group on International Agricultural
Research (CGIAR) and the
Earth System Science Partnership
(ESSP). CCAFS is implementing
research activities to address the
threats of climate change on agriculture
and food security, which
will encourage adaptation in
developing countries by reducing
vulnerability in rural communities
(see http://ccafs.cgiar.org/).
A CCAFS Workshop was held in
Tsukuba on 22 February 2012
organized by the Tsukuba Office,
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisher-
ies Research Council Secretariat
(SAFFRC), Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of
Japan. The workshop looked at
how Japanese research contributes
to investigating the interrelations
among climate change,
agriculture and food security
in developing countries. About
30 experts on agriculture, food
and climate participated in the
workshop.
The workshop was opened by Dr.
Takeshi Horie, President of the
National Agriculture and Food
Research Organization (NARO),
which was followed by a presentation
from Dr. Ruben Echeverria,
Director General, and
through oral and poster presentations at the conference.
The APN also hosted an exhibition at the
conference, featuring the latest work undertaken by
APN-funded projects in the Asia-Pacific Region.
International Centre for Tropical
Agriculture (CIAT) and Dr. Lini
Wollenberg, Coordinator, CCAFS
Theme 3 (Pro-poor Climate
Change Mitigation).
Dr. Akio Takemoto, Secretariat
Director of the APN made presentation
to introduce the framework
and some core research activities
of the APN, which attracted considerable
attention among the
audience from the perspective of
capacity development and interaction
with policy-makers.
Representatives from the Japanese
Agricultural Research Institute
introduced their latest research
activities that are effective for mitigation
and adaptation to climate
change in the agricultural sector.
During the discussion session,
participants highlighted the
necessity to further enhance
the role of Japanese institutes in
assisting Asian developing countries
in promoting research on
agriculture, food security and
climate change through collaborating
with CCAFS.
APN at Planet Under Pressure 2012, London, UK •
21
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