Academic: Climate Change a Multidimensional Challenge to Food Security

Medan (ANTARA) - The Dean of the Faculty of Forestry at the University of North Sumatra (USU), Professor Arida Susilowati, stated that climate change is a multidimensional challenge that can directly impact food security, ecosystem sustainability, and the provision of environmental services.

“Rising global temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, extreme weather events, droughts, floods, forest and land fires, as well as ecosystem degradation, have affected the productivity of the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors, while simultaneously increasing community vulnerability to food crises and ecological disasters,” she said in Medan on Tuesday.

She noted that in the context of food security, climate change does not only impact the decline in food commodity productivity due to disrupted planting seasons and increased pest and disease attacks, but also threatens the stability of food supply, distribution, and public access to safe and nutritious food.

Referring to the recently held National Seminar on Science, Technology, and Industry (KSTI) 2026, she emphasised that forest ecosystems play a central role in maintaining climate stability and supporting food security through the various environmental services they provide.

Forests function as carbon absorbers and storages, regulators of the hydrological cycle, protectors of watersheds, guardians of soil fertility, controllers of erosion, habitats for biodiversity, and providers of non-timber forest products that serve as sources of food, medicine, and community livelihoods.

Forest degradation and land-use conversion not only increase greenhouse gas emissions but also reduce the capacity of ecosystems to provide environmental services that are vital for the sustainability of life.

The seminar also highlighted the importance of Nature-based Solutions as an approach capable of addressing climate change challenges simultaneously.

Sustainable forest management, the rehabilitation of critical lands, the restoration of peatlands and mangroves, biodiversity conservation, and the development of agroforestry systems are considered capable of increasing carbon sequestration, improving environmental quality, maintaining water availability, and simultaneously enhancing land productivity and community welfare.

This approach is a crucial part of supporting low-carbon development and strengthening socio-ecological resilience at both local and national levels.

From an academic perspective, she stated that climate change must be viewed as an opportunity to transform the direction of research, education, and community service.

Universities need to strengthen transdisciplinary research that integrates forestry, agriculture, environment, economy, technology, and public policy to produce applicable solutions.

Research should not only be directed towards scientific publications but also towards innovations that can be adopted by the government, the business world, and the community, such as adaptive agroforestry models, community-based landscape rehabilitation, forest fire early warning systems, carbon monitoring technology, and the development of a bioeconomy based on non-timber forest products.

In addition to producing innovation, universities must play a role as providers of science-based policy to support the formulation of national policies regarding food security, forest management, and climate change adaptation.