Meat drying, Nepal
By 2050, as projected by FAO, global cereal production needs to be around 3000 million tonnes in order to meet demand. However, some estimates suggest that due to environmental degradation in the watersheds, floods, and reduced water flow due to climate change in the Hindu KushHimalayas, cereal production in Asia could become 10% to 30% lower than projected demand, corresponding to a 1.7–5% global reduction in cereal production (Nellemann and Kaltenborn, 2009; UNEP, 2009). While we do not at this stage have any good projections, the numbers do reveal how important irrigation water and flood control is in the Hindu Kush Himalayas region for global food security (UNEP, 2009).
Year: 2012
From album: Glacial melt in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas
Photographer: Lawrence Hislop