Climate Change vulnerability assessment in highland Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities

Highland agriculture is fraught with several challenges that are related to tough agroclimatic conditions, poor agricultural institutions and socio-economic conditions. Overlaid with these challenges is the rapid climate change that is projected in the highlands as the world highlands will experience more rapid warming than the rest of the world. Since highlands play an important role in the hydrology and economy of regions beyond highlands, the sustainability of highland ecosystems and highlands needs to be preserved while meeting the agricultural and food security needs of these regions. Keeping this in view, this presentation provides an overview of world highlands, characteristics of highland agriculture, the challenges faced in Thai highlands and in particular presents the household survey results from Nan province in Thailand. This presentation helps to understand the challenges and opportunities in assessing the vulnerabilities of highland agriculture.