IFAD and GEF partnership on climate change - Fighting a global challenge at the local level

There is a general consensus that rural areas and rural livelihood systems will bear the brunt of climate change across the globe. More frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves and intense precipitation are likely to place the livelihoods of many rural people at risk. Africa is expected to be the most vulnerable continent to climate change, and will face a decline in both food security and agricultural activity, particularly in relation to subsistence farming. The impact of climate change on agriculture is expected to be devastating in many parts of the developing world. Especially in the least developed countries, declining crop productivity and livestock deaths associated with further global warming pose a serious threat to food security and national economies. Nonetheless, vulnerability to climate change can be exacerbated by poverty, marginality and low adaptive capacity. An integrated approach is therefore needed to bridge the gap between local development and the global challenge of climate change.