Showing posts with label Climate Adaptation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Climate Adaptation. Show all posts

Friday, July 12, 2013

New Books: Managing Adaptation to Climate Risk Beyond Fragmented Responses By Geoff O'Brien, Phil O'Keefe (8 Jul 2013)

Managing Adaptation to Climate Risk

Beyond Fragmented Responses

By Geoff O'BrienPhil O'Keefe

Published 8th July 2013 by Routledge – 218 pages
Descriptions:
Climate change is the single largest threat to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sustainable development. Addressing climate risk is a challenge for all. This book calls for greater collaboration between climate communities and disaster development communities. In discussing this, the book will evaluate the approaches used by each community to reduce the adverse effects of climate change. One area that offers some promise for bringing together these communities is through the concept of resilience. This term is increasingly used in each community to describe a process that embeds capacity to respond to and cope with disruptive events. This emphasizes an approach that is more focused on pre-event planning and using strategies to build resilience to hazards in an adaptation framework. The book will conclude by evaluating the scope for a holistic approach where these communities can effectively contribute to building communities that are resilient to climate driven risks.

Contents:
Introduction
1. The Sustainability Problem
2. The Climate Journey
3. Climate Extremes - Does a Post-normal Approach Make Sense?
4. Disaster Management
5. Adaptation
6. The Concept of Resilience
7. Development
8. Social Capital and Social Learning
9. Conclusion

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

New Books: Successful Adaptation to Climate Change Linking Science and Policy in a Rapidly Changing World Edited by Susanne Moser, Maxwell Boykoff (7 Jun 2013)

Successful Adaptation to Climate Change

Linking Science and Policy in a Rapidly Changing World

Edited by Susanne MoserMaxwell Boykoff

Published 7th June 2013 by Routledge – 336 pages

Descriptions:
What does successful adaptation look like? This is a question we are frequently asked by planners, policy makers and other professionals charged with the task of developing and implementing adaptation strategies. While adaptation is increasingly recognized as an important climate risk management strategy, and on-the-ground adaptation planning activity is becoming more common-place, there is no clear guidance as to what success would look like, what to aim for and how to judge progress.
This edited volume makes significant progress toward unpacking the question of successful adaptation, offering both scientifically informed and practice-relevant answers from various sectors and regions of the world. It brings together 18 chapters from leading experts within the field to present careful analyses of different cases and situations, questioning throughout commonly avowed truisms and unspoken assumptions that have pervaded climate adaptation science and practice to date. This book offers not one answer but demonstrates how the question of success in important ways is normative and context specific. It identifies the various dimensions of success, such as economic, political, institutional, ecological, and social, explores the tensions between them, and compiles encouraging evidence that resolutions can be found. The book appraises how climatic and non-climatic stressors play a role, what role science does and can play in adaptation decision making, and how trade-offs and other concerns and priorities shape adaptation planning and implementation on the ground.
This is timely interdisciplinary text sheds light on key issues that arise in on-the-ground adaptation to climate change. It bridges the gap between science and practical application of successful adaptation strategies and will be of interest to both students, academics and practitioners.

Contents:
1. Climate Change and Adaptation Success: The Scope of the Challenge Susanne C. Moser and Maxwell T. Boykoff 
Section I: Changing Goals, Trade-offs and Synergies 2. Reducing the Risk of Maladaptation in Response to Sea-Level Rise and Urban Water Scarcity Jon Barnett, Saffron O’Neill, Steve Waller and Sarah Rogers 3. Biodiversity Conservation for a Climate-Altered Future Bruce A. Stein and M. Rebecca Shaw 4. Climate Adaptation, Moral Reparation, and the Baseline Problem Benjamin Hale, Adam Pérou Hermans, and Alex Lee 5. REDD+ and Social Justice: Adaptation by Way of Mitigation? Heike Schroeder and Chukwumerije Okereke 
Section II: Institutional Arrangements, Interplay and Alignment 6. Institutions as Key Element to Successful Adaptation Processes: Results from the San Francisco Bay Area Julia A. Ekstrom and Susanne C. Moser 7. Rapid Transformation of the Us Electric Power System: Prospects and Impediments Roger E. Kasperson and Bonnie Ram 8. Towards a Binding Adaptation Regime: Three Levers and Instruments Mizan R. Khan and J. Timmons Roberts 
Section III: Science-Practice Interactions, Decision Support and Supporting Norms 9. Waters, Seas and Wine: Science for Successful Climate AdaptationBenjamin L. Preston, Lauren Rickards, Suraje Dessai and Ryan Meyer 10. Promoting Adaptation Success in Natural Resource Management Through Decision Support: Lessons from the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain Regions Lisa Dilling and Rebecca Romsdahl 11. Climate Risk Management: Laying the Groundwork for Successful Adaptation Anthony Patt 12. Building Climate Resilience: Lessons of Early Warning in Africa Emily Boyd and Rosalind J. Cornforth 13. Engaging Science and Managing Scientific Uncertainty in Urban Climate Adaptation Planning JoAnn Carmin and David Dodman 
Section IV: Effective Communication and Engagement 14. Media Coverage of Discourse on Adaptation: Competing Visions of "Success" in the Indian Context Maxwell T. Boykoff, Aditya Ghosh and Kanmani Venkateswaran 15. Risk Communication and Adaptation in Settlements on the Coast and Deltas of the Mekong Region Louis Lebel, Bach Tan Sinh, Ngo Cong Chinh, Sakaradhorn Boontaveeyuwat and Ham Kimkong 16. Climate Change Visioning: Effective Processes for Advancing the Policy and Practice of Local Adaptation Sarah Burch, Stephen Sheppard, Ellen pond and Olav Schroth 
Section V: Motivations, Identities, Reflexivity and Personal Change 17. Navigating the Political and Emotional Terrain of Adaptation: Community Engagement When Climate Change Comes Home Susanne C. Moser 18. The Courage to Change: Adaptation from the Inside-Out Karen O’Brien

Monday, June 10, 2013

Publications: Climate change adaptation for coral triangle communities: a guide for vulnerability assessment and local early action planning (LEAP guide) (Jun 2013)

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Climate change adaptation for coral triangle communities: a guide for vulnerability assessment and local early action planning (LEAP guide)


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This comprehensive set of scientific and social instruments helps local governments and communities to assess their vulnerability to climate change and form their own climate change adaptation plans to address local conditions. So far it has been adopted in pilot sites in the Coral Triangle, such as the Nino Konis Santana National Park in Timor-Leste, Verde Island Passage in the Philippines, Kei Islands in Indonesia, the proposed Tun Mustapha Park in Malaysia, Kimbe Bay in Papua New Guinea, and Western Province in the Solomon Islands.

The guide is one of the key tools that Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) has developed to reduce the decline of the region's marine resources and increase the social and economic resilience of coastal communities.  It aims to bring the policies that have been adopted at the regional and national level to the communities who are at the front lines of climate change.


For more information: 

New Books: Lessons for Climate Change Adaptation from Better Management of Rivers Edited by Jamie Pittock (1 Jun 2013)

Lessons for Climate Change Adaptation from Better Management of Rivers

Edited by Jamie Pittock

Published 1st June 2013 by Routledge – 96 pages
Descriptions:
Climate change is dramatically affecting freshwater supplies, particularly in the developing world. The papers in this volume present a powerful case for and exploration of different freshwater adaptation strategies in the face of global climatic change. The volume centres on six detailed case studies, from India, China, Mexico, Brazil, the lower Danube basin and Tanzania, written by experienced local academics and practitioners. They assess autonomous adaptation in the freshwater sector, drawing out key lessons about what motivated these societies to change, which factors led to more successful adaptation, and how interventions may best be sustained. The volume also contains a global overview of the lessons derived from these experiences. It sheds light on two key theories: that vulnerability to climate change is best reduced by reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development first, or by reducing bio-physical risks from climate change. The publication also highlights the need to ensure that access to more precise climate change impact data is not used as an excuse to delay implementation of no regrets adaptation measures.

Contents:
1. Water and Climate Change Adaptation
2. Lessons for Climate Change from Better Management of Rivers
3. Floodplain Restoration Along the Lower Danube: A Climate Change Adaptation Case Study
4. Freshwater Management and Climate Change Adaptation: Experiences from the Great Ruaha River Catchment in Tanzania
5. Restoration of Traditional Water Storage Systems: An Effective Strategy to Meet the Water Demand and Adopt to the Uncertainties of Climate Change while Improving the Livelihoods and Ecosystems - a Case Study of Maner Sub-Basin, Godavari River, India
6. Freshwater Management and Climate Change Adaptation - Experiences from the Central Yangtze Region in China
7. Integrated River Basin Management in the Conchos River Basin, Mexico: A Freshwater Climate Change Adaptation Study
8. The Basis for Climate Change Adaptation Under a Successful Participatory Process, Sao Joao Basin, Brazil
9. Embracing Uncertainty in Freshwater Climate Change Adaptation: A Natural History Approach

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Publication: A holistic approach to climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment: pilot study in Thailand by S.Chinvanno (Apr 2013)


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A holistic approach to climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment: pilot study in Thailand by S.Chinvanno


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Climate change vulnerability and adaptation planning can be taken into consideration across many sectors and at different levels and scales. However, different scales have different contexts, which require different approaches. In a landscape context, inter-linkages between sectors form the context of adaptation planning, as the response of any one sector may have consequences for others. Moreover, climate change is not the only change that may affect the sector; adaptation will have to address future socioeconomic change as well. This report argues that this calls for new foundation for climate change adaptation assessments: a holistic view of the landscape as a complex system with multiple livelihoods or sectors under multiple pressures. The paper points out gaps in using sectoral vulnerability and adaptation assessment for landscape adaptation planning, and proposes instead an extended framework for climate change vulnerability and adaptation with a holistic view of the landscape.

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Publication: The demography of adaptation to climate change by G. Martine (9 Mar 2013)


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The demography of adaptation to climate change

By G. Martine

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Understanding and reducing climate vulnerability are at the centre of effective adaptation. According to this publication, a broader understanding of the drivers of social change is essential in order to avoid superficial, overly general and deterministic perspectives. Politics and an oversimplified understanding of demographic dynamics have long kept population issues out of climate negotiations. Therefore, this publication aims to provide a framework for bringing demographic considerations into the debate and to facilitate more evidence-based adaptation planning and actions. It presents key concepts linking demography and adaptation, data foundations and techniques for analysing climate vulnerability, as well as case studies where these concepts have been used to analyse vulnerability and resilience. The publication also includes case studies on the planning and practice of adaptation, with a particular emphasis on urbanisation and social inclusion.

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Friday, March 8, 2013

Publication: Mitigation Co-Benefits Of Adaptation Actions In Agriculture: An Opportunity For Promoting Climate Smart Agriculture In Indonesia by Prabhakar, SVRK (Feb 2013)


Co-benefits

Mitigation Co-Benefits Of Adaptation Actions In Agriculture: An Opportunity For Promoting Climate Smart Agriculture In Indonesia



Mitigation Co-Benefits of Adaptation Actions in Agriculture: An Opportunity for Promoting Climate Smart Agriculture in IndonesiaAuthor: Prabhakar, SVRK|2013/02|In Asian Journal of Environment and Disaster Management, 4 (4). 1-16.|Publisher: Research Publishing(Singapore)
Language: English|Publication Type: Peer reviewed articles|Copyright: AJEDM. |Contributor: S. Suryahadi, I. Las, A. Unadi and P. Setyanto


The government of Indonesia has been promoting the system of rice intensification with emphasis on resource use efficiency and climate change adaptation benefits. One question remained to be seen is how the system of rice intensification compares with other technologies such as zero tillage, composting, and leaf color charts which have also been advocated for resource conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation benefits. In this paper, we made an attempt to quantify the mitigation co-benefits of various agriculture technologies and compared them with the system of rice intensification through marginal abatement costs and cost benefit analysis. The analysis has indicated higher mitigation potential for the system of rice intensification compared to other technologies in question. However, zero tillage provides least marginal abatement cost and higher returns per dollar invested and hence could be a better choice.When assessed for the nationwide mitigation potential, system of rice intensification provides greater mitigation potential compared to other technologies.

Keywords:
Geographic area:
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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Events: 7th International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) to Climate Change organized by IIED and BCAS on 18th to 25th April, 2013


7th International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) to Climate Change

Theme: Mainstreaming CBA into national and local planning
Date: 18th to 25th April, 2013
Place: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Conference organizers: Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)

Aims and Objectives

The conference aims to:
Share the latest developments in mainstreaming community-based adaptation into international, national and local planning and processes.
Specific objectives include:
  • Bringing together climate scientists, policy makers, practitioners and other stakeholders to share knowledge in relation to mainstreaming community-based adaptation into international, national and local planning and processes.
  • Ultimately to enhance the capacity of the most vulnerable groups and people, improve their livelihoods and integrate lessons learnt on CBA into local, national and international planning for development and climate change.
  • Disseminating lessons learnt at the conference through immediate online event coverage and ensuing conference proceedings.

How to participate

The workshop is open to anyone interested in community-based adaptation: particularly policymakers, non-governmental organisations, research and policy institutes, academics, and practitioners with a particular focus on grassroots adaptation work.

Attendance is limited to 250 participants, all of whom must complete an online application form (accessed at: www.iied.org). For those who can fund themselves, applications are due by 28 February 2013. Participants requiring funding (from developing countries only) should make this clear on their application form and must ensure their application form reaches conference organizers by 31 January 2013.
More information: www.iied.org/cba7

Source: 
http://www.apn-gcr.org/2013/02/12/7th-international-conference-on-community-based-adaptation-cba-to-climate-change/

Saturday, February 2, 2013

New Book: CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION BEST PRACTICES IN THE PHILIPPINES (24 Jan 2013)

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION BEST PRACTICES IN THE PHILIPPINES
24 January 2012

This book (Climate Change Adaptation Best Practices in the Philippines) presents a compendium of climate change measures and practices, plus new initiatives that are specifically focused on climate change adaptation, the process of coping with the variability and consequences of climate change.

This book project is part of a bigger program to help the Philippines in working for the achievement of its Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), especially MDG 7 on environmental sustainability. It is addressing mainly the lack of information on “technological adaptation and sustainable development options for addressing the impacts of climate change.”

A total of 100 organizations in government, business, and civil society submitted cases on their best practices for this book project, which is part of the DENR Component of the MDG-F 1656 Joint Programme (JP) on Strengthening Philippine Institutional Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change. Funding assistance for the JP came from the Spanish Government through the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme.

By preparing this publication with the help of its donors and partners, the contributors of cases, and other organizations and individuals, the DENR hopes to inspire the readers of this book--from students to policy and decision makers--to take new or additional initiatives on climate change adaptation that consider the fundamental rights and the aspirations of the Filipino people and the sustainable development of the country.

cca best practices


For more information: http://climatechange.denr.gov.ph/

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Publication:Climate in Asia and the Pacific: A Synthesis of APN Activities by APN


Climate in Asia and the Pacific: A Synthesis of APN Activities

Title

Climate in Asia and the Pacific: A Synthesis of APN Activities

Subject

Climate, adaptation, mitigation, vulnerability, gaps, research, capacity development

Description

The synthesis report is part of the APN’s larger aim to contribute, from the science perspective, to the development of policy options for appropriate responses to climate vulnerability and impacts, including adaptation and mitigation, which in turn will contribute to sustainable development. The timing of this publication also leads into three major activities of the “Planet Under Pressure: New Knowledge Towards Solutions Conference” and the “Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development,” both taking place in the first half of 2012, and the work of the current IPCC fifth assessment with the report scheduled for release in 2014.

The synthesis report indicates that, while there is much activity at the global level, there is a great need to intensify investigative research of climate change and climate variability and trends at the regional level, as these are still poorly understood. Consistent socio-economic data collection is needed, as is the need for an interdisciplinary approach to solving complex climate change problems. The increasing frequency and severity of floods, droughts and extreme temperatures requires the use of appropriate indices to improve monitoring and prediction of extreme events.

...

Contributor

Wenjie DONG (China)
Lance HEATH (Australia)
Srikantha HERATH (Japan)
Kanayathu KOSHY (Malaysia)
Won-Tae KWON (Republic of Korea)
Rodel LASCO (Philippines)
AILIKUN (China)
Michael J MANTON (Australia)
James SALINGER (New Zealand)
Madan Lall SHRESTHA (Nepal)
Linda Anne STEVENSON (Japan)

Language

English


For more information: http://www.apn-gcr.org/resources/items/show/1745

Sunday, November 11, 2012

A Policy Brief: Networking Beyond Rio+20: Climate Adaptation Partnerships for Sustainable Development


Networking Beyond Rio+20: Climate Adaptation Partnerships for Sustainable Development — A Policy Brief

Title

Networking Beyond Rio+20: Climate Adaptation Partnerships for Sustainable Development — A Policy Brief

Description

The need for climate change adaptation is increasingly being recognized by communities, with an initial focus on assessing vulnerabilities and identifying adaptation options. The complexity of adaptation due to the multidisciplinary nature of the required solutions and the lack of long-term data pose a great challenge, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Approaches at the grassroots levels that involve communities and local governments to incorporate climate change adaptation practices into development planning will be needed, and Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) will need to be customized for local to regional and sectoral levels.

In the lead-up to the Rio+20 conference, the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change (APN) organized a session at the Climate “Adaptation Futures” Conference held on 29–31 May 2012 at The University of Arizona, USA. The session focused on the importance of partnerships and networking to facilitate the adoption of local, national and regional adaptation strategies. The present policy brief builds on the collective messages that arose from the session, and is published to convey these messages at Rio+20 and beyond.

Publisher

Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN)

Contributor

Nobuo Mimura, Md. Mafizur Rahman, Juan Pulhin, Chuluun Togtohyn, Do Minh Duc, Kashif Majeed Salik, S.V.R.K. Prabhakar, Akio Takemoto, Kristine Garcia, Linda Anne Stevenson

Language

English

Citation

“Networking Beyond Rio+20: Climate Adaptation Partnerships for Sustainable Development — A Policy Brief,” APN E-Lib, accessed November 10, 2012, http://www.apn-gcr.org/resources/items/show/1835.

http://www.apn-gcr.org/resources/items/show/1835