CIESIN Thematic Guides
Public Policies and Farm Programs
Public policy and farm programs implemented as a result of climate change vary around the world. In "The Effects of Climatic Variations on Agriculture" Gadgil et al. (1988) describe the system in India, where public policies and programs are often undertaken by establishing inquiry commissions. These commissions formulate both short-term relief schemes and long-term strategies to counter the impact of droughts. Table 1.5 of "The Effects of Climatic Variations on Agriculture" summarizes the character of public interventions in drought-prone areas in India.
In "Policy Responses to Climate Change in Southeast Asia," Toth (1992) provides strategies with a view to how societies in Southeast Asia might respond to the potential impacts of climate change to protect the environmental and natural resource base. The author links the impacts of climate change to four major issues in policymaking:
- current problems and strategies to solve them;
- whether the objectives remain valid if climate is changing, and whether the strategies can withstand such changes;
- long-term objectives for overall socioeconomic development, including components that might be threatened by the impacts of climate change; and
- potential new economic or social problems arising as a result of climate change.
Lewis, Rains, and Kennedy (1991) emphasize that public policies create an environment conducive to certain cropping systems and promote development of infrastructure in "Global Climate Change and California Agriculture." They argue that wise and timely policies can reduce uncertainty and risk in farming, while less advantageous ones create inefficiencies.