Climate Change Impacts on Food Security from Marine Resources

Commercial, municipal, and aquaculture fisheries, and the marine ecosystem as a whole, are expected to experience climate change impacts in the coming decades. This is alarming, as marine resources contribute a significant portion (19-36%) to the food supply of the Philippines. Projections reveal that the Philippines shall experience increases in sea surface temperature, more intense storms, locally prolonged droughts, and intense episodic rainfalls. The country is also likely to experience effects of ocean acidification, and sea level rise is projected to be higher than the global estimates for the Philippines. These impacts are additional pressure on top of the many, and mostly anthropogenic pressures which the marine ecosystem is already experiencing. Although the Philippines’ high biodiversity can help reduce overall vulnerability, urgent actions are needed to build marine food resiliency.

Keywords: