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836. Adaptation to Climate Change
Adaptation to climate change requires not only financial resources, but also social infrastructure, information, and administrative capacity. On August 4th, in an article in Nature Climate Change, it was argued that just as the impacts of climate change vary globally, there is also significant variability in society's ability to adapt, and it called for increased support for vulnerable communities.
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835. July 2023 World Food Price Index
On August 4, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released its World Food Price Index for July 2023, which averaged 123.9 points, up 1.5 points (1.3%) from the previous month, but 16.6 points (11.8%) below the level recorded in the same month last year. The combination of events that increased uncertainty in the global food market in July, including Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grains Initiative and India's restrictions on certain rice exports, continues to raise concerns about food security.
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834. Fingerprints of Climate Change in July 2023 Heat Wave
July 2023 was the hottest month on record, and on August 2, Climate Central, a nonprofit organization dedicated to communicating the science of climate change, announced that the Climate Shift Index, a measure of human-induced climate change in the heat waves observed in July, showed clear evidence of human-induced climate change affecting 6.5 billion people, or 81% of the world's population.
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833. Towards a Definition of the Anthropocene
The Anthropocene is a hypothetical geological epoch proposed as the starting point for humanity's significant impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems. While researchers have not yet agreed on a definition of the Anthropocene, it was announced in mid-July that the sedimentary layers at the bottom of Crawford Lake in Ontario, Canada, have been selected as a candidate site for the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) representing the Anthropocene.
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832. Magnesium Fertilization Reduces Iron Toxicity-induced Leaf Bronzing in Rice
Iron toxicity, which occurs in many rice paddy regions in Asia and Africa, has long been recognized as having a negative impact on rice growth and yield. However, many of the key factors responsible for its tolerance remain unclear. One of the responses induced by excess iron is leaf bronzing symptom. Based on field experiments in iron toxic plots in Madagascar and greenhouse experiments in Japan, JIRCAS has shown that fertilization with magnesium, one of the essential plant elements, is effective in reducing bronzing and has proposed a mechanism for its reduction. The balance between minerals is important for iron toxicity tolerance and is expected to provide important clues for promoting breeding for iron toxicity tolerance in rice.
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831. Actions to Build a Sustainable Food System
In September 2021, the UN Food System Summit was held based on the idea of UN Secretary-General Guterres that the transition to a sustainable food system is essential to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The follow-up meeting, the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+2), was held this week at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.
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830. Uncertainty in the Global Food Market
With Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17, there is growing uncertainty about the disruption of food supplies from Russia and Ukraine. Both countries are major producers and exporters of grains such as wheat, corn, and sunflower oil, and these trends in global food prices are cause for concern. Recently, India, the world's leading exporter of rice, another major staple, has reportedly imposed export restrictions. Geopolitical factors, developments in major exporting countries, the impact of extreme weather events, and the responses of exporting and importing countries to these factors have a major impact on world food prices and global food security.
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829. July 2023 World Weather and 2022 Asian Climate
On July 27, the United Nations announced that July 2023 is likely to set a record for the hottest month on record, signaling the end of the global warming era and the arrival of global boiling. On the same day, the World Meteorological Organization released the State of the Climate in Asia 2022, which noted that the impact of extreme events and climate change has increased in recent years. The report also mentioned that agriculture will continue to be significantly affected, emphasizing the urgency of climate change adaptation to build a resilient food system.
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828. Development of a Simple Method for Monitoring Pesticide Susceptibility of Fall Armyworm
Fall armyworm, a globally invasive pest that damages crops such as corn, requires international cooperation among neighboring countries for effective pest management due to its high mobility. The Plant Protection Research and Development Office, Department of Agriculture, Thailand, in collaboration with JIRCAS, has published a research paper on a simple method for monitoring pesticide susceptibility of fall armyworm and sharing information among different countries in Southeast Asia.
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827. Climate Change Significantly Increased the Occurrence of Extreme Heatwaves in July 2023
In July of this year, record-high temperatures have been surpassed in various parts of the world. On July 16th, the temperatures exceeded 50℃ in Death Valley, USA, and in northwestern China. On July 25th, the World Weather Attribution, an organization that analyzes extreme events and their connection to climate change, reported that extreme heatwaves similar to those observed in North America, Southern Europe, and China during July 2023 are becoming more likely due to climate change.
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826. Climate Change and Climate Justice
The impacts of climate change extend beyond the countries and regions that have been the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Late developing countries and regions, often referred to as the Global South, which have historically contributed relatively little to emissions, are also suffering significant negative impacts. Recent papers have argued that the private wealth of today's wealthy countries has been built on "climate wealth borrowing," essentially borrowing from the world's total wealth, and emphasize the need to retrospectively assess historical responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions. Another paper suggests that the discourse on responsibility for climate change should shift from normative and ethical concepts to a focus on practical considerations in specific contexts.
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825. UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment Side Event
The United Nations Food System Summit was held in September 2021. Following that, a meeting for stocktaking is scheduled to take place every two years. The first of these meetings, known as the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+2), is being held for three days starting today, July 24th, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and JIRCAS will host an official UNFSS+2 side event on July 24.
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824. Food Production and Ecosystem
Geopolitical factors such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and extreme weather conditions, as evidenced by the daily heat waves, bring uncertainty to food security. It is at times like these that we must consider the need for ecosystem restoration that will lead to a strengthening of the food production base.
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823. Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) have released the 2023 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report.
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822. Russian Withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative
Over the past year, since its conclusion last July, the Black Sea Grain Initiative has contributed to global food security with three extensions. However, on July 17, as the attack on the Crimean bridge was reported, it was announced that Russia would withdraw from the grain agreement, risking a resurgence of rising food prices.
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821. Catastrophic Heat Waves Around the World
Recent heat waves of unprecedented intensity in the Northern Hemisphere have caused damage to human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, and energy and water supplies. Against this backdrop, it has been reported that John Kerry, the U.S. President's Special Envoy on Climate Issues, is visiting Beijing, China, where the world's two largest emitters will resume negotiations to coordinate action on climate change. The world is watching to see if the unprecedented pace of record high temperatures will move the major powers to take action on climate change.
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820. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023: Global Hunger Still Far Above Pre-Pandemic Levels
On July 12, five UN agencies (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, WHO) jointly released the 2023 edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI). This year's report focuses on urbanization.
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819. World Hunger Status and Outlook
According to Hunger Hotspots, a report jointly published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations, 18 hunger hotspots covering 22 countries are feared to emerge in the period June-November 2023, and people in these areas could face severe food insecurity. The State of the World's Food Security and Nutrition (SOFI) 2023, released by the UN agency on July 12, also estimated that 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, 122 million more than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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818. Rice Seeds High in Phytic Acid can Improve Early Growth
In recent years, in addition to the situation in Ukraine and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been concern about the depletion of phosphorus ore, the raw material for fertilizers, and the price of phosphorus fertilizers continues to rise. In the tropical developing regions where JIRCAS conducts research, weathered soils with phosphorus deficiencies are widespread, but sufficient phosphorus fertilizers cannot be purchased and applied for economic reasons. For this reason, JIRCAS has been engaged in various studies to overcome phosphorus deficiency. The results of a study on the early growth of rice plants using seeds with different amounts of phytic acid, which serves as a phosphorus reservoir in the seeds, showed that the use of seeds with high amounts of phytic acid can improve the early growth of rice plants not only in phosphorus-deficient soils but also in phosphorus-rich soils.
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817. World Population Day 2023
July 11 is World Population Day. Understanding the possible patterns of future population levels and the demographics of individual countries and regions is critical to maintaining food and nutrition security, as well as addressing international development issues and climate change solutions.