About TREPSEA 2021

Abstract

In the last half century, Asia has experienced the fastest economic growth and rapid increase of human prosperity, compared to other continents. However, ecological risks due to significant land use changes, global environmental change and climate change-related disasters have also occurred rapidly in Asia. The global deterioration of soils and landscape poses a significant threat to poverty reduction, sustainable food production, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. A recent study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has estimated that the annual cost of land degradation due to “land use and cover change” (LUCC) and the use of land-degrading management practices on static crop and grazing land is about $300 billion. This does not include the costs related to deterioration of ecosystem services, which may increase the estimates significantly. However, global hunger also increases, reaching 815 million people in 2017, where about 2 billion people suffer from micronutrient-deficiencies.In Indonesia, agriculture grows at 3.87 percent per year, which is not very low, although it does not contribute much to poverty reduction and job creation in the country. The poverty level in September 2019 was 24.79 (9.22 percent of total population), where the majority (14.93 million or 12.60 percent) of them are living in rural area, and the rest 9.86 million (6.56 percent) are living in urban area. Income inequality in Indonesia is considered high, where the Gini coefficient generally has increased in the past decade or so, from 0.32 in 1998 to 0.38 in 2007, increasing to 0.41 in 2012 and started to decrease in recent years to 0.382 in September of 2019 (BPS, 15 January 2020). The hunger level in Indonesia has also decreased significantly from 44.1 million in 2004-2006 to 22.0 million in 2016-2018. Interestingly, the hunger level in urban area is 8.2 percent of total population, whereas that in rural area is 7.57 percent. The level of stunting among children has also decreased from 32.9 percent in 2013 to 29.9 percent in 2018, whereas the level of anemia among pregnant women has increased from 37.1 percent in 2013 to 48.9 percent in 2018.Higher ecological risks and more severe climate change-related disasters have more serious consequences on food and nutritional security in Indonesia and other parts of Asia. Hunger and malnutrition have multiple causes, and in facts many of these challenges transcend national borders. Thus, sustainable, integrated and trans-disciplinary innovative solutions to such problems require a more holistic approach in formulating the development strategies to diversify agricultural and food production, increase productivity, hence generating income and employment. Tran-disciplinary approach in mitigating and adapting the climate change related disaster are also required for more sustainable development strategies, coupled with better strategies for disaster risk reduction and management, workable and effective programs to sustainable development and environmental conservation, and better access to food and improved nutritional security.List of Objectives, Topics of TREPSEA 2021, TREPSEA 2021 Organizers, Supporting Organization / Institution, General Committee, Scientific Committee, Local Committee, Conference Secretariat are available in this pdf.