Najam on Climate Change and Food Security

Prof. Adil Najam, Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, led a research conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, which highlighted the results of a 3-year, multi-institutional, research project on Climate Change Adaptation, Food Security and Water Security in Pakistan.

Prof. Adil Najam was the principal investigator for the project which was funded by the International Development Research Center in Canada and included the following institutional partners in Pakistan: the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), WWF-Pakistan, the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), the Social and Policy Development Center (SPDC) and LEAD-Pakistan.

Held in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Feb. 16, the conference brought together leading scholars and policy makers on climate change in Pakistan to discuss the various studies and findings that emerged from the project. Nearly 20 different papers emerged from this set of projects, including the following from the component that Prof. Najam was the Principal Investigator for: two major studies (one on microeconomic costs of climate adaptation in Pakistan and one on policy implications of such adaptation), a set of 5 working papers on related issues, and a farmers field manual for farmer training. A key finding of this set of work is that over the next 25 years the cost of climate change to the farmer is likely to be up to 8% of productivity but that good adaptation practices could result in a net productivity gain of up to 40+%.

The conference was opened by Pakistan’s Minister of State for Energy and Water and included an address by the country’s former Minister of Environment. The opening session also included a keynote talk by Prof. Adil Najam. Three sessions followed the opening and featured leading researchers and policy-makers. Prof. Adil Najam also led a panel discussion with key media, civil society, policy and research actors on the hurdles to policy implementation on sustainable development issues in Pakistan.