Introduction

Impacts of Climate Change on Chinese Agriculture is a joint initiative between the UK and China to share knowledge and understanding of climate change and its impacts on rural China.

Since 2001 the project has applied cutting-edge regional climate modelling to construct a range of possible climate scenarios for China - with support from the UK Hadley Centre. This has led the way in understanding how the climate can be expected to change in China.

These scenarios are used as input for a suite of regional crop models developed by CAAS (Chinese Academy of Agriculture Science) to determine likely future impacts on crop yields. Similarly, the scenarios underpin project analysis of water resources and land use change.

Researchers from China and the UK have worked closely together, creating effective research collaboration and building on the latest academic knowledge.

In addition to projecting changes in the climate and crop yields for China as a whole, the project developed the first regional climate change adaptation framework for China, in the autonomous region of Ningxia Hui. The framework, which is the product of close consultation with stakeholders, is a generic tool intended to assist policy makers in the formulation of adaptation policy. Although developed specifically for Ningxia, this framework easily be adapted to be applied other jurisdictions and economic sectors.

ICCCA applied the adaptation framework to develop a strategy for adaptation to climate change for Ningxia's agriculture sector. Ningxia's agriculture sector is an interesting case to examine because agriculture in Ningxia suffers from many of the challenges encountered across rural China - including water scarcity, desertification, aridity, and a high dependence on irrigation - and recently (2005-2006) it experienced one of the driest spells in its history.

Stakeholders from farming communities and vital regional government agencies were centrally involved in the formulation of the adaptation strategy. They were briefed on the changes in the climate and crop yields projected by scientific models, and asked to provide their views on the needs and options for adaptation. Subsequently, these options were assessed and prioritised, resulting in a well-articulated strategy for adaptation to climate change, the first regional adaptation strategy in China.

Full details of the project's outcomes and findings can be found in the technical reports and leaflets for policymakers.