The impacts of climate variability and change are already visible in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
Central and South America are characterised by increasingly unpredictable rainfall, delayed onset of rainy seasons, increased frequency and intensity of droughts, excessive rains, severe flooding and landslides. Water scarcity erodes soils upon which rural communities depend for food production and their ability to meet basic food and nutritional needs. These impacts further exacerbate poverty and capacities of communities and governments to adapt to changing weather patterns, with people having to resort to negative coping strategies such as skipping meals, selling productive livelihood assets, and in some cases migrating out of areas affected by climate variability and change. In the Caribbean, small island states are experiencing more intense hurricanes, the risk of sea level rise in low-lying coastal areas, and losses to ecosystem services that impact people’s livelihoods.
WFP is focused on building the capacities of communities and governments across LAC to adapt to the impacts of climate variability and climate change to end hunger.
WFP aims to ensure that vulnerable households, communities, their livelihoods and the ecosystems they depend on become more resilient to climate-related shocks and stressors, and with a view towards scalable and sustainable transformation.
This includes climate risk management and adaptation interventions such as:
• Community and nature-based solutions
• Climate information services
• Anticipatory action and forecast-based financing
• Inclusive risk finance instruments such as insurance, savings and credit financial services.
