Book review: Md Saidul Islam and Edson Kieu, Climate Change and Food Security in Asia Pacific: Response and Resilience

AuthorKai Chen
Published date01 August 2022
Date01 August 2022
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/23477970221098512
Book Reviews 353
Md Saidul Islam and Edson Kieu, Climate Change and Food Security in
Asia Pacific: Response and Resilience. Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, 240 pp.,
(hardback). ISBN: 9783030707521.
DOI: 10.1177/23477970221098512
As we have seen in recent years, the climate change and food insecurity issues in
the Asia-Pacific region have transcended national boundaries. What is the current
situation of food security in Asia Pacific? How could the stakeholders address the
complex issues of food insecurity, which are closely related to climate change?
Readers would find the timely answers to these questions in Md Saidul Islam and
Edson Kieu’s recent book Climate Change and Food Security in Asia-Pacific.
The book has 10 chapters. The first two chapters not only clarify the research
objectives, themes, approaches and methods but also explore the ‘interrelated
mechanisms between food security, food production and climate change’ (p. 35).
In other words, any change in one factor would produce corresponding impacts on
the other two factors. The authors argue that regional initiatives in the Asia-Pacific
region could play an essential role in dealing with food insecurity caused by
climate change. From Chapters 3 to 5, this book selectively assesses the cases of
three regional organisations—the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and
the Pacific Island Forum (PIF). It is noteworthy that they have similar weaknesses
when addressing the existential threats of climate change and food insecurity,
including but not limited to ineffective mechanisms and lack of cooperation
among member states. It is evident that regional initiatives are important, but not
enough, especially when food insecurity is a global phenomenon.
The three regional organisations face their own challenges. For instance, when
the authors analyse the case of the SAARC, the authors mainly focus on the cases
of Afghanistan (which is not a member), India and Pakistan rather than the other
five members of the organisation. In doing so, Islam and Keiu state that the clear
imputation is that the region has been suffering from the ongoing conflicts and
tensions, ensuring that regional food stocks and food banks would be urgently
needed. The ASEAN should ‘gain member states’ commitment to pursue proactive
collaborations and implement programs on the ground’ (p. 68). However, the
authors show fewer concerns about most members of the ASEAN, except in the
case of Singapore. With the PIF, the need is to formulate long-term solutions and
legislations and build its capacity and operational mechanisms. Although Australia
is an important member of the PIF, the book fails to highlight its food waste issue,
which has been a significant and costly problem.
Could the individual countries in the Asia-Pacific region address food insecurity
and climate change? In Chapter 6, the author selects the cases of China and India,
which have been managing ‘rising demand for food’ (p. 145). In addition, there
are still several obstacles caused by the knowledge gaps like the understanding of
negative impacts that climate change would produce on the marine ecosystems
and fisheries of the two countries. This chapter should have explored the causes

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