29 August 2008: The International Symposium on Climate
Change and Food Security in South Asia, which met from 25-30 August 2008, in
Dhaka, Bangladesh, and was co-sponsored by Ohio State University, the World
Meteorological Organization, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the University of
Dhaka and the Government of Bangladesh, adopted a Declaration and
recommendations towards minimizing the short- and long-term vulnerability of
the South Asian region to climate change.

The Declaration recognizes that
agriculture is both suffering from and contributing to climate change and
recalls that small-scale subsistence farming is particularly vulnerable to the
impacts of climate change. Key recommendations include: creating a Climate
Change and Food Security network in South Asia and establishing a South Asia
Climate Outlook Forum; stimulating multi-disciplinary research and identifying
effective mitigation and adaptation options; strengthening cooperation among
academic and research institutions, international organizations, and
non-governmental organizations to boost human resource development and capacity
building; innovative financial mechanisms to scale up support for adaptation
efforts; promoting mitigation and adaptation through payments for ecosystem
services such as carbon trading; and strengthening regional mechanisms for
implementation of location-specific adaptation and mitigation practices. The
declaration further urges development partners and the private sector to fund
programs that reflect these recommendations and advance food security in South
Asia. [The
declaration] [Symposium
recommendations]