Identifi cation of national priority areas for adaptation to climate change in China

The problem of global warming has been identif ied as the f irst in the list of the top ten environmental prob-lems in the world.As climate change will seriously affect the social and natural world that people live in,so it may lay serious repercussions on economic progress,social improvement,and sustainable development.International bodies everywhere and many of the countries' governments are responding urgently to this call.In recent years,climate change has affected different regions in China in different ways.In its national agenda,the Chinese government should address the problem of climate change and its negative impact on socio-economic development.In this endeavor the nation should introduce policies which will help its people and economy to adapt to these effects and changes.Priorityf ields of adaptation to climate change are the sensitive areas or departments which are more vulnerable to the negative influences of climate change.The negative impacts of climate change in some parts of China are considered to be very serious indeed as they affect the whole economy and community.As a result,priority should be given to these more affected regions for the limited state f inancing.This paper def ines adaptation and discusses the basic principles and programs in the identif ication of national priority areas where adaptation should be exercised.Based on the past studies,four priority areas in China are identif ied,namely,disaster prevention and mitigation,water resources,agriculture,and ecosystem.An analysis on the identifi cation procedures,and the reasons and tasks involved are given for each.