A/70/287 climate-induced impacts on the sustainability of groundwater sources have a tremendous impact on the potential for food production. 23. Water is also an important aspect of transportation, which affects the distribution of food and income generation. This in turn has an impact on the livelihoods of individuals and therefore their ability to purchase food. Climate change puts additional pressure on water resources on the supply side. 14 It also increases demand for water to sustain crop and livestock production increases in a progressively warming climate as well as having a tremendous impact on fisheries as a result of changes to water flows and temperatures. 15 24. Communities can reduce food insecurity risks by complementing their traditional knowledge and practices with information and support from Governments and others, including rapid response systems and capacity -building for disaster preparedness, mitigation and management. Supporting local communities helps to maintain resilience and should be encouraged. III. Regions affected by food insecurity resulting from climate change 25. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has expressed with high confidence that, despite regional variabilities, climate change is likely to have an overall negative effect on yields of major cereal crops across Africa. Climate change is expected to interact with non-climate drivers and stressors to exacerbate vulnerability of agricultural systems on the continent, particularly in semi -arid areas. Global projections suggest that the number of people at risk of hunger will increase by 10-20 per cent by 2050 and that 65 per cent of them will be in sub-Saharan Africa. 16 Sub-Saharan Africa is often cited as the most impoverished region in the world because hunger is most prevalent there, affecting 25 per cent of the population. 17 Other African nations, including the Central African Republic and South Sudan, are similarly vulnerable to food insecurity, with the latter currently on the brink of famine. 18 26. In Southern Africa, it is estimated that yields from rain-fed agriculture could decrease by up to 50 per cent between 2000 and 2020 (A/HRC/16/49). The Middle East and North Africa is expected to be the region most affected by climate change after sub-Saharan Africa. Average temperatures in that region are forecast to increase by 3°-4°C by the end of the century, faster than the global average. 19 27. World hunger is not limited to Africa. The largest population of hungry people — 500 million — live in Asia and 98 per cent of the people living with food insecurity are in developing countries around the world. The impact of climate __________________ 14 15 16 17 18 19 15-10041 High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, “Water for food security and nutrition”, May 2015. Available from www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/hlpe/hlpe_documents/ HLPE_Reports/HLPE-Report-9_EN.pdf. Ibid. WFP and Met Office Hadley Centre, “Climate impacts on food security and nutrition”, chap. II, note 7. FAO, IFAD and WFP, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015, chap. I, note 1. FAO, Regional Overview of Food Insecurity. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Fifth Assessment Report. 7/25