Ecological footprints of food systems in South Asia

Food systems in South Asia exert considerable pressure on climate systems, water systems, and biodiversity. Quantifying these impacts and is crucial for steering food systems transitions. However, approaches and assessments for environmental footprints of food systems remain largely fragmented in So...

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Main Authors: Urfels, Anton, Raghu, Prabhakaran T., Chakraborty, Shreya, Shahrin, Sumona, Krupnik, Timothy J., Mukherji, Aditi
Format: Informe técnico
Language:Inglés
Published: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/128153
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author Urfels, Anton
Raghu, Prabhakaran T.
Chakraborty, Shreya
Shahrin, Sumona
Krupnik, Timothy J.
Mukherji, Aditi
author_browse Chakraborty, Shreya
Krupnik, Timothy J.
Mukherji, Aditi
Raghu, Prabhakaran T.
Shahrin, Sumona
Urfels, Anton
author_facet Urfels, Anton
Raghu, Prabhakaran T.
Chakraborty, Shreya
Shahrin, Sumona
Krupnik, Timothy J.
Mukherji, Aditi
author_sort Urfels, Anton
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Food systems in South Asia exert considerable pressure on climate systems, water systems, and biodiversity. Quantifying these impacts and is crucial for steering food systems transitions. However, approaches and assessments for environmental footprints of food systems remain largely fragmented in South Asia, especially for low-income and data-scarce regions. We address this knowledge gap with systematic scoping review of peer-reviewed literature to identify existing methods and datasets applicable for assessing the environmental footprints and planetary boundaries of food systems in South Asia. We find that such assessments have started to become more common, although many remain narrowly focused on reliant on Tier 1 type of approaches. Others are singular case studies or describe experiments. For example, most studies look either at carbon and/or water footprints of national dietary or production patterns and their relationship to ecosystem functioning. We also find a concentration of studies on specific crops or food products in select ecological boundaries. We consequent suggest two avenues for future research: First, consolidating a meso-scale overview of environmental impacts of food systems exercises and strategy development. Second, research is needed to generate sub-regional diagnostic datasets. These could be helpful in developing context-specific, data-driven, and socially desirable solutions to address the most actionable environmental impacts of food systems in South Asia.
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publishDate 2022
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spelling CGSpace1281532025-11-06T17:24:44Z Ecological footprints of food systems in South Asia Urfels, Anton Raghu, Prabhakaran T. Chakraborty, Shreya Shahrin, Sumona Krupnik, Timothy J. Mukherji, Aditi ecological footprint food systems boundaries Food systems in South Asia exert considerable pressure on climate systems, water systems, and biodiversity. Quantifying these impacts and is crucial for steering food systems transitions. However, approaches and assessments for environmental footprints of food systems remain largely fragmented in South Asia, especially for low-income and data-scarce regions. We address this knowledge gap with systematic scoping review of peer-reviewed literature to identify existing methods and datasets applicable for assessing the environmental footprints and planetary boundaries of food systems in South Asia. We find that such assessments have started to become more common, although many remain narrowly focused on reliant on Tier 1 type of approaches. Others are singular case studies or describe experiments. For example, most studies look either at carbon and/or water footprints of national dietary or production patterns and their relationship to ecosystem functioning. We also find a concentration of studies on specific crops or food products in select ecological boundaries. We consequent suggest two avenues for future research: First, consolidating a meso-scale overview of environmental impacts of food systems exercises and strategy development. Second, research is needed to generate sub-regional diagnostic datasets. These could be helpful in developing context-specific, data-driven, and socially desirable solutions to address the most actionable environmental impacts of food systems in South Asia. 2022-12-30 2023-01-25T07:52:30Z 2023-01-25T07:52:30Z Report https://hdl.handle.net/10568/128153 en Open Access application/pdf International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center Urfels, A., Raghu, T.P., Chakraborty, S., Shahrin, S., Krupnik, T.J. and Mukherji, A. 2022. Ecological footprints of food systems in South Asia. Work Package 5, Research Note 6. CGIAR research initia-tive on Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA). Dhaka, Bangladesh: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. https://hdl.handle.net/10883/22460
spellingShingle ecological footprint
food systems
boundaries
Urfels, Anton
Raghu, Prabhakaran T.
Chakraborty, Shreya
Shahrin, Sumona
Krupnik, Timothy J.
Mukherji, Aditi
Ecological footprints of food systems in South Asia
title Ecological footprints of food systems in South Asia
title_full Ecological footprints of food systems in South Asia
title_fullStr Ecological footprints of food systems in South Asia
title_full_unstemmed Ecological footprints of food systems in South Asia
title_short Ecological footprints of food systems in South Asia
title_sort ecological footprints of food systems in south asia
topic ecological footprint
food systems
boundaries
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/128153
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AT shahrinsumona ecologicalfootprintsoffoodsystemsinsouthasia
AT krupniktimothyj ecologicalfootprintsoffoodsystemsinsouthasia
AT mukherjiaditi ecologicalfootprintsoffoodsystemsinsouthasia