The impact of climate change on the future of Solomon Islands’ food security.

Abstract

This study has two primary purposes: to determine the food security of the Solomon Islands and to project the possible impact of climate change on the global food system, and how it will affect food availability in Solomon Islands. This study develops a mixed model methodology to calculate the food security in urban areas and rural areas in Malaita province, Guadalcanal and Western province in the Solomon Islands. The mixed method utilizes data obtained from questionnaires, and customs data in the Solomon Islands to analyse the local food system. The essential information obtained includes household food demand, house food supply, house food self-sufficiency and top ten importer of food to Solomon Islands.

Using GIS the distance from the top ten food producers to the Solomon Islands was determined. The distance was deployed into the mixed methodology to calculate the food security in rural areas and urban areas. Using the distance that food travelled as an indicator to food security, the study shows that the food system in the rural areas of the Solomon Islands are more secure than urban areas.

Finally, the study uses projection from the International Panel on Climate Change 2014 report to project possible impact of climate change to food production in Asia and Australasia and its impact on the availability of food in the Solomon Islands. The study shows that food availability in urban areas will be massively affected if food production in Asia and Australasia is negatively affected by climate change.