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Adapting to climate change
Humankind will have to learn to live with climate change. Even the most effective mitigation measures will no longer be sufficient to avert climate change resulting from carbon emissions in the past, hence measures to adapt to climate change have to be developed and will be needed for a long time to come.
Agricultural smallholders and pastoralists whose livelihoods depend on natural resource bases that are already severely stressed and degraded are among the groups most affected by the unpredictable impacts of climate change. However, even within these communities the capacity to cope with change is unevenly distributed. The better-off individuals and groups with more livelihood options (such as salaried employment and good links to markets) tend to be more resilient to the impacts of climate change. By contrast, the poorest and most marginalized groups require support if they are to survive.
Building on Capacity.org Issue 45 (June 2012) this page provides links to useful resources for organizations that work with vulnerable communities to strengthen their resilience to climate change and other external factors that they may have little control over. We focus in particular on resources related to the two core questions discussed in Issue 45:
1. Adaptation to what? The global effects of climate change may be clear in terms of increase in temperature and rising sea levels but the local effects are far less predictable to the extent that some regions may even benefit from the consequences of climate change. Are there reliable sources for communities find out what type of changes to expect?
2. Which factors determine a community’s adaptation capacity? What can be done to enhance the resilience of local communities to the effects of climate change? How can actors including local governments and NGOs intervene to enhance the resilience of communities?
We welcome additional input from our readers on relevant case studies and publications as well as news, events and networking opportunities for enhancing the capacity of individuals and organizations that provide support to vulnerable communities.
Featured Article
Training on landscape approaches to spatial planning and decision making: Deadline for scholarship applications
Dates: 18-29 November 2013 (NB: Deadline for applying for NFP scholarchip is 7
Mayl)
Type of event: Training course
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Organization: Centre for Development Innovation, Wageningen University/ RECOFTC
Centre for Forests and People, Bangkok
More information:
http://www.recoftc.org/site/resources/Landscape-Functions-and-People.php
Adopting a landscape perspective to spatial planning and decision making offers new space for negotiation and collaboration, taking into account the needs of local resource users, and of the global community. Spatial planners and natural resources managers are increasingly operating as facilitators of such negotiation processes on the ground. During this course we will help them to examine landscape dynamics, and analyse conflicts arising from overlapping land use. Moreover, we will enhance their ability to mediate in conflict, facilitate negotiation processes, and create space for multi-stakeholder collaboration within forested landscapes.
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Recent Articles
Sustainable intensification: A new paradigm for food security and community resilience in Africa
08 May 2013
While the concept of "sustainable intensification" is viewed by some as a cynical attempt to
promote industrial-scale agriculture, there is a growing international counter-movement that aims
to demonstrate that intensification can also be driven by small-scale and sustainable farming
systems. Falling squarely in the second camp is the Montpellier Panel, an international group of
experts whose latest report aims to offer "a practical pathway towards the goal of producing more
food with less impact on the environment."
Building local capacity for ecosystem-based adaptation
08 May 2013
Many Strong Voices (MSV) is an initiative to reduce the vulnerability of coastal
communities to climate change. Based on case studies in Belize and Seychelles the project is
working to formalize a methodology that combines evidence-based, scientific data with community
knowledge and experiences.
Mainstreaming climate change into community development processes
25 April 2013
Drawing on a district-level planning process in Thailand that aimed to mainstream climate
change into local development plans, the authors of this paper argue that the current process of ‘
predict-then-act’ climate change adaptation is inherently flawed. The uncertain nature of climate
change predictions can lead to dilemmas in selecting proper measures, whilst the long timeframes
involved hinders investment and distances stakeholders’ priorities. Furthermore, this sequential
process often overlooks the role of socioeconomic dynamics in changing countries' risk profiles
over time.
Scaling up climate information services for smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia
24 April 2013
This
white
paper summarizes the lessons learnt from across cases, projects and research experiments in
effectively developing and providing climate information and advisory services for smallholder
farmers. The case studies were presented at an international workshop in Senegal in December 2012,
co-organized by CGIAR's Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)
and its partners. The workshop discussions focused on two projects that are attempting to reaching
farmers at scale: Integrated Agrometeorological Advisory Services (IAAS) in India (which recently
announced in 2012 plans to scale up to 10-12 million farmers) and Mali’s Projet d’A ssistance
Agrometeorologique au Monde Rural (which has provided innovative services to farmers since
1982).
Tool for monitoring performance of smallscale farming systems
20 March 2013
An updated basic version of the
MonQI Toolbox - an instrument for monitoring and
analysing the management and performance of small-scale agricultural enterprises - will be launched
in June 2013. The tool enhances users' ability to systematically describe and analyse elements such
as farm households, assets, land, livestock, crops and inputs and outputs. As part of the launch,
the project team will conduct a training course at Alterra, Wageningen University &
Research Centre in Wageningen, The Netherlands, from 17 - 21 June.
The governance of scaling up: Identifying key elements in successful sustainability practices
06 March 2013
This report by the
Global Network of National Councils for Sustainable
Development (NCSDs) explores some factors that affect the transferability of successful
sustainable development practices. The authors note the need for 'mindful governance' - taking into
account what works where and why (or why not) - when designing national sustainable development
policies.
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