UPSC Civil Services 2018 Prelims General Studies Paper II

Passage- 2
A diversity of natural assets will be needed to cope with climate change and ensure productive agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. For example, crop varieties are needed that perform well under drought, heat, and enhanced CO2 , But the private-sector and farmer-led process of choosing crops favours homogeneity adapted to past or current conditions, not varieties capable of producing consistently high yields in warmer, wetter, or drier conditions. Accelerated breeding programmes are needed to conserve a wider pool of genetic resources of existing crops, breeds and their wild relatives. Relatively intact ecosystems, such as forested catchments, mangroves, wetlands, can buffer the Impacts of climate change. Under a changing climate, these ecosystems are themselves at risk, and management approaches will need to be more proactive and adaptive. Connections between natural areas, such as migration corridors, may be needed to facilitate species movements to keep up with the change in climate.