December 2012: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has released two new products on climate change that document its work across the adaptation realm, as well as an animation of climate change impacts in mountain environments.

In “Adaptation in Action,” the FAO underscores the relationship between its vision for global food security and climate change impacts. It provides an overview of the FAO-Adapt programme that consolidates the FAO’s multidisciplinary expertise on adaptation. The report outlines FAO-Adapt’s core principles of: reducing climate change vulnerability; mainstreaming climate change into development planning; supporting country-driven processes; building synergies between adaptation and mitigation; promoting an ecosystem approach; designing participatory, gender sensitive and location-specific activities; delivering through partnerships; supporting international, regional and national collaboration; and developing a long-term programmatic approach.

It notes the priority themes of: data and knowledge; institutions, policies and financing; sustainable management of resources; technologies, practices and processes; and disaster risk reduction (DRR). The report subsequently describes projects related to each of these areas of interest.

In the video on Mountains and Climate Change, FAO provides evidence of vulnerability of mountain regions to climate change and efforts underway to adapt. It highlights the inherent vulnerability and food insecurity of mountain populations. [Publication: Adaptation in Action] [Video: Mountains and Climate Change: A Global Concern] [FAO Adapt Website]