A/70/287 change makes it very difficult to combat hunger, especially in regions that are already under serious threat from both climate change and food shortage. 28. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change further notes that in Central America, north-east Brazil and parts of the Andean region, increases in temperature and decreases in rainfall could lower productivity by 2030, aggravating food security among the poorest members of society. IV. Effects on vulnerable populations and their livelihoods 29. Understanding the specific impacts of climate change on food security is challenging because vulnerabilities are unevenly spread across the world and depend ultimately on the ability of communities to manage risks and develop resilience. Moreover, climate change is undermining the right to food, having disproportionate impacts on those who have contributed least to global warming. 30. Developing countries are likely to be the hardest hit by climate change not only because of their geographical location but also because of the way people earn their livelihoods. The majority of people living in poverty in developing countries dwell in rural areas and many of them depend on agricultural activitie s to provide food for their families and generate income. Both aspects have implications for non-farm rural households, either through the availability of food, which can cause fluctuations in local prices, or as an indirect source of employment. 20 31. Ensuring sustainable livelihoods is a crucial aspect of food security and one that is also threatened by climate change. FAO notes the dual role played by agricultural production in relation to food security: it not only produces the food that people eat, but also provides the primary source of employment for 36 per cent of the world’s workforce. In some regions, including Asia and the Pacific, 40 -50 per cent of the workforce is engaged in agriculture; in sub -Saharan Africa; two thirds of the working population is employed in agricultural labour. 21 Thus, if agricultural production is adversely affected by climate change, so too are the livelihoods of significant numbers of rural workers. 22 32. While more affluent countries are better able to cope with the effects of climate change, nations with a higher proportion of people living in poverty may not have access to necessary infrastructure and resources and their populations have fewer opportunities to diversify their livelihoods and reduce their dependence on agriculture. 23 Within this group of vulnerable populations, small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples, particularly women who depend on climate -sensitive natural systems for their food and livelihoods, are expected to be particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change on their food security. __________________ 20 21 22 23 8/25 Marcus Kaplan, Chinwe Ifejika-Speranza and Imme Scholz, “Commentary VII: promoting resilient agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa as a major priority in climate change adaptation”, in Trade and Environment Review 2013: Wake up Before it is Too Late: Make Agri culture Truly Sustainable Now for Food Security in a Changing Climate (Geneva, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2013). FAO, Climate Change and Food Security: A Framework Document (Rome, 2008). High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, “Food security and climate change”, June 2012. Available from www.fao.org/3/a-me421e.pdf. Kaplan, Ifejika-Speranza and Scholz, “Commentary VII”. 15-10041