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ETR, 26. Training Materials and Best Practices for Chemical Weather/Air Quality Forecasting (ETR-26)
ETR, 27. Global Campus Innovations
Workplace changes occurring each day and more rapidly call for significant innovations in the way we educate and train people for their professional careers. The new global and digital economies call for fluidity, resilience, and readiness for rapid reskilling to meet changing demands. The many papers collected in this publication reveal just a small sample of the innovations being explored in education and training around the world. Many of these originated as goals to increase access for learners, to make learning more efficient, or to increase the impacts of training initiatives to ensure t ...
2019 State of Climate Services: Agriculture and Food Security
The report provides case studies, examples and explanations as to the role of climate information and services to support agriculture in the face of climate variability and change, assesses gaps and makes recommendations. This analysis helps highlight both challenges and opportunities for climate service efforts aimed at promoting climate resilient development and adaptation action.
Capstone Project Research Report. Gendered Impacts of Weather and Climate:Evidence from Asia, Pacific and Africa
This publication examines the physical, material and psychological gender-differentiated impacts of weather and climate as well as the gender-specific needs for information and services on the basis of primary data emerging from 18 case studies, including three in-depth studies (Bangladesh, Fiji and Botswana) and other empirical evidence. It explores the experiences of different groups of women and men at the intersection with other social categories like age, economic status, location, disability, or marital status. It also analyzes gender relations and roles in two climate-sensitive sectors: ...
Reducing vulnerability to extreme hydro-meteorological hazards in Mozambique after Cyclone IDAI : WMO mission report following tropical cyclone IDAI (29 April–7 May 2019)
The World Meteorological Organization dispatched an expert mission to Mozambique to assess the requirements and capabilities of the National Institute of Meteorology (INAM) and the National Directorate of Water Resources Management (DNGRH) and their coordination with the National Disaster Management Institute (INGC) for an End-to-End Multi-Hazard Early Warning System in the context of disaster risk management. The results of the mission should inform plans and investments in strengthening the Early Warning System and disaster risk management in the country, particularly during reconstruction t ...
An International Agenda for Education and Training in Meteorology and Hydrology
This publication summarizes the main conclusions and recommendations from SYMET-13 and includes the Statement agreed by the participants on the final day of the Symposium.
Lesson and Group Exercise on Cloud Formation
Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG) ; World Meteorological Organization (WMO) - WMO, 2018
General Summary on Climate Field Schools
Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG) ; World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ; Sekolah Lapang Iklim - WMO, 2018The Climate Field School, CFS, is a program that has a goal to increase farmer's knowledge's and understandings on climate information's with a concept of learning by doing and learning by experiencing to reach a success in farming activity to support the increase in yields of agricultural sectors.
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Des services météorologiques plus avantageux pour les agriculteurs
Bulletin, Vol. 64(1). OMM, 2016Quelque 842 millions de personnes dans le monde n’ont pas les moyens de se nourrir convenablement et souff rent de faim chronique. L’insécurité alimentaire et la pauvreté sont clairement liées. Dans de nombreux pays, l’intégration des informations météorologiques et climatologiques dans la prise de décision en matière d’agriculture a permis d’optimiser la production agricole. Cependant, dans les pays en développement, où la plupart des petits exploitants agricoles dépendent de l’agriculture en sec, l’accès aux informations météorologiques et climatologiques pouvant faciliter la prise de décisi ...
TsunamiReady: Guidelines for Mitigation, Preparedness, and Response
The TsunamiReady® program began in 2001 to promote tsunami hazard preparedness and improve public safety before, during, and after tsunami emergencies. In 2015, the National Weather Service updated the TsunamiReady Guidelines based directly on emergency management principles and with input from the social sciences. This training provides an overview of the 2015 guidelines, which are focused on mitigation, preparedness, and response. The training will equip community officials and others interested in becoming TsunamiReady with strategies for streamlining their implementation of the guidelines. ...
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Making Meteorological Services more Beneficial to Farmers
Bulletin, Vol. 64(1). WMO, 2015Some 842 million people worldwide cannot afford to eat adequately and are chronically hungry. The links between food insecurity and poverty are clear. Factoring weather and climate information into agricultural decision-making has optimized agricultural production in many countries. However, in developing countries – where most smallholder farms are rain-fed – access to weather and climate information to guide decision-making is limited. Governments should view such information, crucial to farmers, as a means of alleviating poverty and hunger.
Introduction to Tropical Cyclone Storm Surge
This lesson introduces forecasters to the physical processes and impacts of tropical cyclone storm surge. It provides an overview of the factors that affect storm surge, how it is measured, and the limitations associated with storm surge data. This online lesson is part of the Tropical Cyclone Storm Surge: Forecasting and Communication course.
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Disaster risk programme to strengthen resilience in the dry corridor in Central America
This document presents an overview on the impact of the Dry Corridor phenomenon in Central America, and the work the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) - in collaboration with its partners - is doing to support countries to increase disaster resilience of households, communities and institutions.
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Agriculture and livelihood flood impact assessment in Myanmar
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MOAI) Myanmar - gov ; Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development (MLFRD) Myanmar - gov ; et al. - FAO, 2015This report assesses the disaster impact of the cyclone Komen on agriculture and rural-based livelihoods of affected populations in Myanmar. The assessment was conducted in the six most-affected regions/states of Ayeyarwady, Bago, Chin, Magway, Rakhine and Sagaing. It was co-led by FAO and WFP under the framework of the Food Security Sector in partnership with UN women, World Vision, CESVI, CARE, JICA and LIFT.
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Climate change in the Fertile Crescent and implications of the recent Syrian drought : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, vol. 112 no. 11, pp. 3241–3246
This paper presents evidence on how the 2007−2010 drought contributed to the conflict in Syria. It was the worst drought in the instrumental record, causing widespread crop failure and a mass migration of farming families to urban centers. Century-long observed trends in precipitation, temperature, and sea-level pressure, supported by climate model results, strongly suggest that anthropogenic forcing has increased the probability of severe and persistent droughts in this region, and made the occurrence of a 3-year drought as severe as that of 2007−2010 2 to 3 times more likely than by natural ...
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ASEAN disaster management reference handbook
This handbook provides decision makers, planners, responders and disaster management practitioners with an overview of the disaster management structure, policies, laws, and plans for ASEAN countries.
The handbook presents an overview of natural and man-made threats most likely to affect ASEAN countries, basic country background information, including cultural, demographic, geographic, infrastructure and other data, as well as endemic conditions such as poverty, water and sanitation, food security and other humanitarian issues. It also provides an overview of the health situatio ...
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Extreme weather and resilience of the global food system
This report examines the resilience of the global food system to extreme weather.
This summary is built on three detailed reports and presents evidence that the global food system is vulnerable to production shocks caused by extreme weather, and that this risk is growing. It highlights evidence that our reliance on increasing volumes of global trade, whilst having many benefits, also creates structural vulnerability via a liability to amplify production shocks in some circumstances. It argues that action is needed to improve the resilience of the global food system to weather-re ...
Human rights, climate change and cross-border displacement : the role of the international human rights community in contributing to effective and just solutions
The Policy Brief is primarily aimed at a human rights audience, and intends to both inform human rights policymakers and provide guidance on how international human rights law, institutions and mechanisms might contribute to more effective, just and sustainable policy responses (at the international and national levels) to climate change and crossborder displacement.
It reflects primary and secondary research; the outcome of a meeting during the 25th session of the Human Rights Council (the Council) on the ‘human rights implications of displacement in the context of disasters’ o ...
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Does adaptation finance invest in disaster risk reduction?
This report argues that there is a gap for disaster risk reduction (DRR) financing, which could be filled by adaptation funds that have the capacity to invest directly in DRR activities and to integrate DRR into their other activities.
It suggests that water and coastal protection are the sectors where DRR is most integrated. DRR investments through adaptation funds appear to be more focused on the poorest countries in comparison to DRR finance from international aid.
This was particularly the case for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). DRR channelled through ...
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The (mis) allocation of public spending in a low income country : Evidence from disaster risk reduction spending in Bangladesh
This paper focuses on the regional allocation of public spending for disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Bangladesh.
The objective is to identify all of the directly observable determinants’ of publicly allocated and realized spending at the local government (sub-district) level. The Heckman two stage selection model is used with detailed public finance and other data from 483 sub-districts (upazilas) across the country. It is found that government does not respond to the sub-district’s risk exposure as a factor affecting the DRR financing mechanism. The DRR regional allocations do ...
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Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction : success or warning sign for Paris?
This report reviews and discusses the agreed commitments and targets, as well as the negotiation leading to the Sendai Framework for DRR (SFDRR).
It discusses briefly its implication for the later UN-led negotiations on sustainable development goals and climate change, including the Conference of Parties taking place in Paris, France at the end of 2015.
SFDRR was adopted by UN Member States in March 2015 and was the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda, with seven targets and four priorities for action: 1) Understanding disaste ...
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Malawi 2015 floods post disaster needs assessment report
Malawi - government, 2015The PDNA report indicates that the Malawi 2015 floods affected 1,101,364 people, displaced 230,000 and killed 106 people. The assessment focuses on medium to long term reconstruction and provides the guiding principles for recovery, including assessment of the damage, losses, and recovery and reconstruction strategies for each sector are provided in detailed sector.
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Adaptation strategies after cyclone in southwest coastal Bangladesh, pro poor policy choices: In American Journal of Rural Development, Vol. 3, No. 2
This research paper explores the ‘atlas of the locally adopted strategies’ to cope with adverse effects of cyclone Aila in southwest coastal Bangladesh. Particularly, this research has explored the community level practices in agriculture, housing, water resources, communication and employment generations. An empirical survey was undertaken with 145 respondents by using semi-structured interviews with selected social groups and their households’ assistants. Besides face-to-face interviews, this survey applied group level qualitative assessment methods i.e. FGD (focus group discussion), Social ...
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A guide to measuring urban risk resilience : Principles, tools and practice of urban indicators
This guidebook describes the principles, tools and practice of developing and implementing urban disaster risk and resilience indicators.
It focuses on the application of three indicator systems of urban risk and resilience which have been developed as complementary tools to communicate risk and promote discussion around appropriate local level risk and resilience strategies at city level: the Urban Disaster Risk Index (UDRi), the Risk Management Index (RMI) and the Disaster Resilience Index (DRI).
The authors present their collective experience and findings in th ...
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The Disaster-Knowledge Matrix – Reframing and evaluating the knowledge challenges in disaster risk reduction: In International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Volume 13, September 2015
Elsevier, 2015This study identifies and addresses key challenges concerning monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for climate change adaptation (CCA).
It documents good practices and good practice principles on the development, selection, and use of indicators used in the M&E of adaptation interventions. The study also looks at the steps and contexts M&E personnel should consider when formulating, selecting, adjusting, and/or using indicators. The study also identifies common themes in the literature and gaps in data – including the role of learning in an adaptation M&E system and the identificatio ...
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Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 outlines seven clear targets and four priorities for action to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks: (i) Understanding disaster risk; (ii) Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk; (iii) Investing in disaster reduction for resilience and; (iv) Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response, and to "Build Back Better" in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. It aims to achieve the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physica ...
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Nepal earthquake 2015 : post disaster needs assessment
Nepal - Government, 2015The report presents a comprehensive post disaster needs assessment exercise, launched simultaneously with response and relief efforts at the request of the Government of Nepal, with the objective to estimate damages and losses caused by the earthquake and to help identify recovery needs as well as strategy required for its implementation. The assessment exercise was led by the National Planning Commission (NPC) with assistance of more than 250 national and international experts who worked round the clock to produce this assessment covering 23 sectors in less than one month.
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Promoting ecosystems for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation : Opportunities for Integration
This discussion paper examines differences and similarities between ecosystem-based approaches to disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) and ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation (EBA).
It suggests key integration points at the project level through examining a number of Eco-DRR, EBA and hybrid (Eco-DRR/CCA) projects. A total of 38 (Eco-DRR, EBA and hybrid Eco-DRR/CCA) projects are examined in terms of their aims, assessments, implementation, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and policy and institutional contexts to understand how in practice these approaches differ and overlap and ...
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Planned relocations in the context of natural disasters and climate change : a review of the literature
This paper provides an overview of the literature on case studies on planned relocations. For that purpose, it reviews 38 documents, which present case studies on planned relocations.
The main focus of the study lies on case studies focusing on the first and second category of relocations (1. in anticipation of disasters, environmental change, and/or the effects of climate change, and 2. as a response to disasters, environmental change, and/or the effects of climate change), which this paper will call anticipatory and reactive relocations.
The paper provides an ov ...
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Impact of climate change on food production: options for importing countries
This policy brief identifies possible implications of climate change disturbances on crops and livestock in world production centers by 2030, 2050 and 2080. Most of the studies on food systems under climate change are producer-centric, while this brief looks at options for importing countries, and discusses some recommendations.
The imperative of climate change adaptation for a resilient food system requires institutional, technological and economic transformation not only in food exporting but also food importing countries. Furthermore, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in ...
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Climate change-related disasters and human displacement : towards an effective management system
Sciaccaluga Giovanni; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) - IFRC, 2015The book offers a critique of the dominant trends in thinking about adaptation and climate change, particularly social dimensions.
It presents a framework for making sense of choices around resilience (stability), transition (incremental social change and the exercising of existing rights) and transformation (new rights claims and changes in political regimes).
The resilience– transition–transformation framework is supported by three detailed case study chapters. These also illustrate the diversity of contexts in which adaption is unfolding, from organisations to ...
World risk report 2014: focus - the city as a risk area
Alliance Development Works ; United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) - UNU, 2014This WorldRiskReport (WRR) consists of an index, a priority topic and case studies. The index describes the disaster risk for various countries and regions. The WorldRiskReport was developed in close cooperation between scientists and practitioners. Combined expertise, i.e. scientific structure and procedure and practical competence distinguish this report from comparable academic studies.
Turn down the heat: confronting the new climate normal
World Bank the - World Bank, 2014This report focuses on the risks of climate change to development in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and parts of Europe and Central Asia. For each region, the report addresses the regional patterns of climate change, such as heat extremes, extreme precipitation, droughts, tropical cyclones/hurricanes, and sea-level rise.
Building on earlier Turn Down the Heat reports, this new scientific analysis examines the likely impacts of present day (0.8°C), 2°C and 4°C warming above pre-industrial temperatures on agricultural production, water resource ...
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Climate change and conflict: findings and lessons learned from five case studies in seven countries
This report distills the main findings of five case studies, with the goal of emphasizing key institutions and the interactions of non-climate and climate factors in each country or city. The case studies focused on four basic research questions: 1. Does (or could) climate change/variability contribute to the conditions for organized, political violence? 2. Does climate change/variability contribute to circumstances with high-conflict potential linked to the access and use of natural (or economic) resources by specific livelihood groups, identity groups, or urban dwellers? If so, how and why? ...
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Climate change in Mali: expected impacts on pests and diseases afflicting livestock
This report presents a series of tables which analyse the potential impact of a changed climate on the most common diseases afflicting cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, pigs, and chickens in Mali. For each livestock disease identified, the disease status under current climate was assessed, including the geographical range of the endemic zone, the rate of disease outbreaks within endemic zones, the mode of pathogen transmission, and the relative economic importance to livestock owners. These served as the baseline for an assessment of the likely change in risk of infection under climate sc ...
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The right climate for development: why the SDGs must act on climate change
This report argues that tackling climate change, poverty eradication and sustainable development has to be integrating and cannot be approached as spate issues.
This report argues that if action is not taken to cut emissions and to support communities to adapt to the changes that they are already experiencing, its impacts will only increase. The new UN Post-2015 development Framework, to be agreed in September 2015, will include a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report argues that this offers a ‘crucial opportunity’ to ensure the threat to poverty reduction from climate ...
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Islands of the future: building resilience in a changing world
UNESCO, 2014This booklet outlines UNESCO's activities in small island developing States (SIDS), covering the period from 2006-2013. It features chapters on: (i) promoting quality education in islands; (ii) building island resilience; (iii) valuing and sharing island heritage and identities; (iv) building knowledge societies in islands; (v) enabling island cohesion and social well-being; (vi) managing natural resources for a sustainable future; and (vii) the UNESCO participation programme in SIDS.
On resilience, the booklet underlines the particular vulnerability of SIDS to disasters, which ...
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Climate change, crop production and child under nutrition in Ethiopia; a longitudinal panel study: In BMC Public Health, 14:884
2014Background: The amount and distribution of rainfall and temperature influences household food availability, thus increasing the risk of child under nutrition. However, few studies examined the local spatial variability and the impact of temperature and rainfall on child under nutrition at a smaller scale (resolution). We conducted this study to evaluate the effect of weather variables on child under nutrition and the variations in effects across the three agro ecologies of Ethiopia.
Methods: A longitudinal panel study was conducted. We used crop productions (cereals and oilseeds), lives ...
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Meta-analysis of crop responses to conservation agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa
The aim of this study is to compare and combine the results from different conservation agriculture experiments using meta-analysis in the hope of identifying patterns among study results, sources of disagreement among those results, or interesting relationships that may come to light in the context of the different studies.
Conservation agriculture involves reduced or no-tillage, permanent soil cover and crop rotations to enhance soil fertility and crop yields. Conservation agriculture practices are increasingly promoted on smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa as a means to overcome ...
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Facing Uncertainty : the value of climate information for adaptation, risk reduction and resilience in Africa
This report puts participatory scenario planning (PSP - a multi-stakeholder platform for making seasonal climate forecasts useful) into the broader context of climate communication, with a focus on Africa.
It is aimed at new users and intermediaries interested in integrating climate information into adaptation, resilience, disaster risk reduction (DRR), early warning, agriculture and other sector-based development programmes and related work. It explains why and how climate information is a valuable resource for informing responses to climate variability and change. Based on lessons fro ...
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Climate change in Central and South America : recent trends, future projections, and impacts on regional agriculture
Central and South America. The report assesses the implications of climate change for agriculture, with a particular focus on those aspects of climate change that will have greatest impact on the crops currently grown in each region. The study investigated the ability of General Circulation Models (GCMs) and downscaled climate change scenarios to reproduce already observed climates, to establish the reliability of future climate projections, as well as projections of how associated crops might grow under future conditions.
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The Vulnerability Sourcebook : concept and guidelines for standardised vulnerability assessments
The Vulnerability Sourcebook sourcebook provides a standardised approach to vulnerability assessments covering a broad range of sectors and topics (e.g. water sector, agriculture, fisheries, different ecosystems) as well as different spatial levels (community, sub-national, national) and time horizons (e.g. current vulnerability or vulnerability in the medium- to long-term). It refers to vulnerability as ‘the degree to which a system is susceptible to, and unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change, including climate variability and extremes. Vulnerability is a function of the char ...
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Agriculture and disaster risk : a contribution by the United Nations to the consultation leading to the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR)
United Nations (UN) - United Nations, 2014This document provides some recommendations for addressing disaster risk in agriculture in the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction. It presents: (i) the status of mainstreaming disaster risk in agriculture, reporting on the progresses and highlighting some emerging trends; (ii) the drivers for mainstreaming disaster risk into agriculture; (iii) the regional/international policy frameworks and initiatives within agriculture to be targeted; (iv) measuring disaster risk in agriculture; (v) a list of agencies contributing and description of institutional commitment; and (vi) key docume ...
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Climate variability, adaptation strategies and food security in Malawi
This study has a focus on climate adaptation strategies for farmers in Malawi.
This paper assesses farmers’ incentives and conditioning factors that hinder or promote adaptation strategies and evaluates its impact on crop productivity by utilizing household level data collected in 2011 from nationally representative sample households in Malawi. The study distinguishes between (i) exposure to climatic disruptions, (ii) bio-physical sensitivity to such disruptions, (iii) household adaptive capacity in terms of farmers’ ability to prepare and adjust to the resulting stress, and, finally, ( ...
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Policy Research Working Paper, 6916. Climate change, conflict, and cooperation : global analysis of the resilience of international river treaties to increased water variability
World Bank, 2014Although water variability has already been observed across river basins, climate change is predicted to increase variability. Such environmental changes may aggravate political tensions, especially in regions that are not equipped with an appropriate institutional apparatus. Increased variability is also likely to challenge regions with existing institutional capacity. This paper argues that the best attempts to assess the ability of states to deal with variability in the future rest with considering how agreements have fared in the past. The paper investigates to what extent particular mecha ...
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Integrating urban agriculture and forestry into climate change action plans: Lessons from Sri Lanka
This case study aims to illustrate how the Western Province in Sri Lanka is promoting urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry as a strategy to reduce vulnerability to climate change, while at the same time enhancing urban liveability and livelihoods. Key messages include that the province is promoting the rehabilitation of flood zones through their productive use as a strategy to improve storm water infiltration and mitigate flood risks. It is recommended that future upscaling of these interventions will need new urban design concepts and the development of a provincial climate change ...
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United Nations World Water Development Report 2014: Water and Energy, Volume 1
This report provides an overview of major and emerging trends from around the world, with examples of how some of the trend-related challenges have been addressed, their implications for policy-makers, and further actions that can be taken by stakeholders and the international community. It argues that water and energy are closely interconnected and highly interdependent. Choices made and actions taken in one domain can greatly affect the other, positively or negatively. Trade-offs need to be managed to limit negative impacts and foster opportunities for synergy. The argument is given that wat ...
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What climate change means for farmers in Africa: A triptych review middle panel: Introductional matters and consequences of global warming for African farmers: In African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (Vol. 14 No. 1)
This paper deals with the consequences of climate change for farmers in Africa, including increasing temperatures and changing rainfall, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide content and impacts on agricultural production. The paper attempts to illustrate local conditions that must be taken into account to understand the impacts/consequences of climate change for African farmers and how they may cope with them. The review is in three parts; climate change is approached by dealing with the three sides from which the danger comes: (i) global warming, (ii) increasing climate variability, (iii) mo ...
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Impact of climate change on agriculture and food crops: options for climate smart agriculture and local adaptation in East NusaTenggara, Indonesia
This paper highlights the impact of climate change on agriculture. It argues that the erratic climate of the region has strongly impacted the local food system especially the seed availability and therefore food security in general. This paper identifies some of the innovation in water use efficiency, water management at crop levels, and proposes some agriculture interventions in order to achieve a sustainable local seed systems, participatory breeding, livestock adaptation measures and improvement of existing agroforestry as well as knowledge management.
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Establishing links between disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in the context of loss and damage : policies and approaches in Bangladesh
The aim of this paper is to examine the challenges of addressing loss and damage through national institutional arrangements that integrate disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) in Bangladesh. Published as part of the Germanwatch Loss and Damage Initiative, it analyses DRR and CCA policies, strategies, institutions and approaches, and identifies areas where greater synergy may be achieved.
The paper recommends that the following steps be undertaken: develop a comprehensive policy on the integration of DRR and CCA to address loss and damage; establish policy a ...
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Cities in developing countries and their development in response to climate change and resource scarcity
Johannessen L.M. - Evidence on Demand, 2013Future Fit is a DFID Executive Management Committee initiative, to produce a vision and strategy for the department’s response to the challenges and opportunities that climate change and resource scarcity pose for poverty reduction and development. The Future Fit strategy asks the question what strategic shifts in front line sectors - Food, Water, Energy, and Cities - are needed to protect development gains and respond to the challenge of climate change and resource scarcity. Answers to this question will feed into the review of the DFID business model and resource allocation. As part of this ...
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The year of recurring disasters: a review of natural disasters in 2012
This report examines four topics: (i) disasters in 2012, with a focus on recurring disasters; (ii) the role of regional organizations in disaster risk management; (iii) wildfires; and (iv) the important role of women in disaster risk management. It highlights the value given by governments and other actors in working together to prevent disasters and, to a lesser extent, to respond to disasters occurring in the region. It also features the development of strong regional initiatives and different mechanisms for encouraging collaboration, including frameworks for disaster risk reduction, regiona ...
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Urban poverty, food security and climate change
This paper argues that the high and volatile food prices that triggered a renewed interest in food security since the 2008–09 crisis are expected to continue due to the impacts of climate change. It notes that current policy is focused on food production; however, a broader approach based on food systems would be more appropriate as it encompasses all aspects of food production, storage, distribution and consumption. As most low-income groups in both rural and urban areas are net buyers of food, access and affordability are central concerns. There is also a need for more attention to urban foo ...
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The role of conservation programs in drought risk adaptation
This report evaluates the extent to which farms facing higher levels of drought risk are more likely to participate in conservation programs, and finds a strong link between drought risk and program participation. It examines drought risk adaptation, defined as the choices that farmers make in response to drought risk exposure, and addresses the policy uncertainty by examining the role of drought risk within agricultural conservation programs and considering potential changes in conservation program design, such as adjustments in contract ranking criteria or changes in eligibility requirements ...
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Uganda climate change vulnerability assessment report
This assessment was conducted in 2012. Field research focused on Gulu, Lira, Luweero, Mbale, Isingiro, and Kasese, USAID/Feed the Future priority districts that include important cropping systems, represent different agro-ecological zones, and are near weather stations that have collected consistent rainfall and temperature data for a long period of time.
The research and analysis show how current climate patterns shape – and how future climate patterns may influence – key crop value chains and the livelihoods of households that depend on them.
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Conflict management and disaster risk reduction: a case study of Kenya
2013This report explores the links between disaster risk reduction and conflict prevention, with a specific focus on Kenya. The overall objective is to develop a livelihoods approach to understanding and reducing the risk of households and communities who have been, or are likely to be, affected by disasters. Conflict is linked to livelihoods through both cause and effect pathways, but the linkages between conflict mitigation and disaster risk reduction at the level of policy and program are limited. This study seeks to understand those linkages at the community level, and strengthen the policy co ...
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Using climate information to support adaptation planning and policy-making: A practical case study in Bagamoyo District, coastal Tanzania
This case study is designed to provide a practical example of how to use climate information to support adaptation planning and policy-making. The paper focuses on the Bagamoyo district in coastal Tanzania. Local livelihoods are mostly based on natural resources, including small-scale agriculture, seaweed farming, traditional fishing and small-scale eco-tourism. People living on the coast report that climate variability and climate change are affecting their lives due to factors such as unreliable timing and intensity of rainfall, major flooding and sea-level rise. These impacts have increased ...
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Tackling climate change through livestock: A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities
According to this report, the global livestock sector contributes a significant share to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, but it can also deliver a significant share of the necessary mitigation effort. The authors call for urgent, concerted and collective action from all sector stakeholders to ensure that existing and promising mitigation strategies are implemented. They also highlight a need to reduce the sector’s emissions and its environmental footprint, especially in view of its continuing expansion to ensure food security and feed a growing, richer and more urbanized world populati ...
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Mapping the regional variation in potential vulnerability in Indian agriculture to climate change: An exercise through constructing vulnerability index: In African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
The anticipated changes in water availability, temperature rise, soil degradation and the suggested increase in extreme weather events are likely to greatly affect agriculture in India. This paper aims to develop the vulnerability profile of agricultural systems of the Indian states to the changing climate scenarios. It develops two sub indices: Bio-Physical vulnerability index and Socio-Economic vulnerability index to develop the final overall vulnerability index.
The contribution of agriculture to India’s GDP has been declining over recent years, but agriculture still provides employm ...
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Impact of climate change on ASEAN food security: downscaling analysis and response
This Issues Brief is based on the proceedings of the Expert Group Meeting on the Impact of Climate Change on ASEAN Food Security held in June 2013. This meeting called for higher priority to be given to research on climate shifts, a greater focus on agricultural research and development and also highlighted the need for resource and knowledge inputs from those involved in food value chains across Southeast Asia.
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Climate change, water conflicts and human security
UNU, 2013This report presents a comprehensive regional assessment of the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Sahel in terms of climate change impacts, vulnerabilities, conflict/cooperation and human security at various scales and in a variety of contexts. The Climate Change, Hydro Conflicts and Human Security (CLICO) project builds on interdisciplinary and cross-comparative research covering a variety of geographical scales and historical contexts to unravel social, political, environmental/ ecological and economic conditions in relation to the environment.
Increasing resilience to climate change in the agricultural sector in the Middle East: the cases of Jordan and Lebanon
Verner Dorte - World Bank, 2013This report aims to assist decision-makers in Jordan and Lebanon in understanding the specific challenges and opportunities posed by climate change in the agricultural sector and to develop local-level priorities, informed by stakeholder input, in order to build agricultural resilience in the two countries. The report is divided into four chapters: (i) chapter one introduces the background of the study and the structure of the report; (ii) chapter two provides a synthesis of evidence of climate variability and change in Jordan and Lebanon; (iii) chapter three explains the methodology of the st ...
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Disquiet on the weather front : the welfare impacts of climatic variability in the rural Philippines
World Bank, 2013Three recent rounds (2003, 2006, and 2009) of the Family Income and Expenditure Survey are matched to rainfall data from 43 rainfall stations in the Philippines to quantify the extent to which unusual weather has any negative effects on the consumption of Filipino households. It is found that negative rainfall shocks decrease consumption, in particular food consumption. Rainfall below one standard deviation of its long-run average causes food consumption to decrease by about 4 percent, when compared with rainfall within one standard deviation. Positive deviations above one standard deviation h ...
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Nationally appropriate mitigation actions for grassland and livestock management in Mongolia
This policy brief by the Asian Development Bank argues that, given the negative impact of climate change on Mongolia, it is crucial to select mitigation actions that reduce vulnerability to climate change, support the achievement of national development goals, and are feasible given local constraints.
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The climate and development challenge for Latin America and the Caribbean : options for climate-resilient, low-carbon development
Climate change is already affecting the foundations on which Latin American societies rely for sustenance and welfare. Addressing these impacts, this report was prepared by a task force of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC).
Although the carbon footprint of Latin America and the Caribbean is modest and appears to be decreasing, efforts to further reduce that footprint are required if global climate stabilization goals are to be achieved. A substantial contribution of this r ...
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Climate & environment assessment: Building an evidence base in Yemen
Venton C.C. - Evidence on Demand, 2013Evidence on Demand was requested by DFID to carry out a climate and environmental assessment. This was for part of the Business Case for building an evidence base in Yemen by gathering high quality, nationally representative data on key poverty indicators and living conditions.
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Fourth session of the global platform for disaster risk reduction proceedings
UN/ISDR, 2013The proceedings of the Fourth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction highlight the four days of deliberations, discussions and presentations via various forums, which called for a shared vision and commitment for the next 30 years – a trans-generational compact for the sustainability of development. This Session generated critical and substantive advice for the preparation of the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction, commonly called “HFA2”, and for the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which will take place Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture in March ...
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Report on school based awareness and simulation exercise in Dhaka and other locations
Ibne Habib; Khan Md.Muzahid; Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID) ; et al. - CMDRR Forum, 2013This document reports on four school based simulation programmes aimed at raising public awareness and developing capacity on disaster risk reduction (DRR) that were organized in Babugonj, Chittagong, Kurigram and Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh between February and April 2013. It concludes that simulation programmes create a good positive learning for the community in the management of pre, during and post disaster situation. It provides lessons learned and recommendations intended to help the agencies working with disaster risk reduction and these types of campaigning programmes.
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The poverty impact of climate change in Mexico
This paper examines the effects of climate change on poverty through the relationship between indicators of climate change (temperature and rainfall change) and municipal level gross domestic product, and subsequently between gross domestic product and poverty. The evidence suggests that climate change could have a negative impact on poverty by 2030. The paper proposes a two-stage least squares regression where it first regresses temperature and rainfall (along with geographic controls and state and year fixed effects) on municipal gross domestic product per capita for 2000 and 2005 The result ...
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New pathways to resistance: outcomes of the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa research and capacity building program 2006-2012
This report presents a brief and interactive summary of the Climate Change in Africa research and capacity program’s chief contributions. It provides a guided tour of the program’s efforts and legacy – its aims and means, the principal outcomes of the funding and mentoring it provided to African researchers, and the lessons it offers for future adaptation efforts in Africa and elsewhere. Throughout this report, there are links to programme and project resources, and directions for delving further into its scientific findings.
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Feeding an urban world: a call to action
This report focuses on the specific issue of urban food security, describing the demographic and environmental trends as well as food production and infrastructure challenges that impact supply and demand for food in urban areas. Before providing specific examples of the food security challenges faced by cities around the world, the authors propose a framework, or matrix, of issues for policymakers to use in developing and assessing urban food security strategies. The report focuses on case studies in the United States before looking in depth at Chicago, highlighting the city’s challenges as w ...
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Unlocking the power of local knowledge : a novel framework to cost community-based adaptation to climate change
Current approaches to identify the costs and benefits of adaptation are primarily quantitative, using top-down methodologies that may grossly underestimate the true costs. This policy brief argues that global policies require credible evidence from the local level. Given that a single generic adaptation model is unworkable, the policy brief introduces a new analytical costing framework – Participatory Social Return on Investment (PSROI) – which has been piloted successfully in subsistence farming communities in East and West Africa.
Although the Kenyan example is very specific, the PSRO ...
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Background paper: issues of vulnerability with specific reference to gender in the Asia Pacific - post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction consultations
UN/ISDR, 2013This post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction background paper is being developed based on five sub-regional studies conducted by UNISDR on this issues of vulnerability with specific reference to gender in the Asia Pacific Region, and the consultations conducted by the Stakeholder Group on Gender and Women’s Issues, UNISDR Asia Partnership (IAP).
The paper was reviewed by the Asia Pacific Regional Coordination Mechanism Thematic Working Group on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (RCM TWG-GEEW), and shared with the UN Gender Group in the Pacific and the Pacific ...
Resilient livelihoods: disaster risk reduction for food and nutrition security - 2013 edition
FAO, 2013This framework explains the Disaster Risk Reduction for Food and Nutrition Security Framework Programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) which has been undertaken with the goal of enhancing the resilience of livelihoods against threats and emergencies to ensure the food and nutrition security of vulnerable farmers, fishers, herders, foresters and other at risk groups. The framework presents four thematic pillars which mirror the priorities outlined in the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA): (i) enable the environment, emphasizing good governance and effective ...
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Large-scale implementation of adaptation and mitigation actions in agriculture
This paper identifies sixteen cases of large-scale actions in the agriculture and forestry sectors that have adaptation and/or mitigation outcomes, and distils lessons from the cases. The cases cover policy and strategy development (including where climate-smart objectives were not the initial aim), climate risk management through insurance, weather information services and social protection, and agricultural initiatives that have a strong link to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Guidelines for Applying for a WMO Fellowship
This guide is intended to help Permanent Representatives of WMO (hereafter referred to as PRs) and potential candidates understand the purpose and benefits of the WMO Fellowship Programme. It will familiarize them with the application procedure, requirements, entitlements and available fellowship opportunities. It builds upon the Manual on Policies and Procedures for WMO Fellowships (WMO/TD-No. 1356, ETR-18) but takes into account the funding situation for the current financial period, identifying which elements of support can be offered within the available funding.
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Sierra Leone youth-led community-based disaster risk reduction
YCI, 2013This report summarizes lessons learnt from the Y Care International supported Sierra Leone YMCA project to carry out a disaster risk reduction (DRR) pilot project in two urban slum communities of Freetown in 2012. The project is a good example of youth participation in DRR, collaboration with other agencies, and learning through research on youth volunteerism. The aim of this pilot project was to learn the best ways of reducing the risk of disasters such as flooding and cholera in urban slum communities of Freetown through involving young people in preparing for, carrying out activities to red ...
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Building resilience to climate change through indigenous knowledge: the case of Bolivia
This case study asserts that indigenous knowledge plays an important role in the way communities interact with their climate in many countries, particularly in Bolivia. It contributes to weather forecasting at the community level, and to the preservation of vital ecosystem functions that help to buffer communities against climate change impacts. However, the increasing incidence of extreme weather events and disasters is taking a toll. This situation calls for new partnerships between indigenous people and the scientific community – an area where Bolivia could lead the way.
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Flood risk management in Europe: an exploration of governance challenges
Utrecht University, 2013This report explores the need for a shift in flood risk management strategies (FRMSs), such as risk prevention, flood defense, mitigation, preparation and recovery, in order to create a more resilient Europe, and the governance challenges which such a shift in FRMSs may pose to society. The aim of this report is to identify questions for further research.
This report is the second in a series of four which were compiled by the STAR-FLOOD project.
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Approaches to Economic Empowerment of Rural Women for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: Implications for Policy: In Journal of Agricultural Extension, Vol. 17 (1), June 2013
There are several ways of promoting women’s economic participation while also counteracting climate change. One approach in the field of climate mitigation is the promotion of renewable energies that can help avoid greenhouse gas emissions. It is observed that less attention is paid to the potential that lies in the combination of climate mitigation/ adaptation and the economic empowerment of rural women; yet mitigation or adaptation activities offer opportunities to advance the economic empowerment of women. In particular, this applies to work that is already being undertaken by women or acti ...
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Strengthening responses to climate variability in South Asia
This executive summary is based on the findings from desk and field research conducted by International Alert and the South Asia Network for Security and Climate Change (SANSaC) in nine sub-national locations across Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. The research looks at the root causes of vulnerability and non-adaptation in fragile contexts and at the opportunities for strengthening resilience to combined risks of climate change and conflict. The academic literature on climate change and security is still characterised by the drive to establish or refute direct causality between climate ...
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FAO disaster risk reduction brief: West Bank and Gaza Strip
FAO, 2013This brief focuses on the key disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) carries out in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (WBGS). It seeks to give an overview of FAO's DRR strategy and briefly describe their activities in WBGS to protect livelihoods from shocks, to make food production systems more resilient and more capable of absorbing the impact of, and recovering from, disruptive events, such as floods, droughts, earthquakes, animal and plants pests and diseases.
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Latin American experience in combining Disaster Risk Management with poverty reduction
Watanabe Masahiro - ELLA, 2013Extreme weather events have a direct impact on households' welfare, and in particular, the poorest, most socially excluded populations. Increasing frequency and intensity of disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and flooding, is closely linked to the growing vulnerability of households and communities. Thus, the impacts of extreme events on poverty, income, consumption, health and education present a serious challenge to the well-being of these populations, and also produce negative long-term consequences for economic and social development across the region. In order to reduce the impact ...
Turn down the heat: climate extremes, regional impacts, and the case for resilience
This report focuses on the risks of climate change to development in Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and South Asia. Building on the 2012 report, Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided, this new scientific analysis gives a more detailed look at how the negative impacts of climate change already in motion could create devastating conditions especially for those least able to adapt. It asserts that the case for resilience has never been stronger. This report demands action. It reinforces the fact that climate change is a fundamental threat to economic development and the ...
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Key questions on the post 2015 framework for disaster risk reduction
ACT, 2013This paper presents ACT Alliance's position on the post 2015 framework for disaster risk reduction. Asserting that disaster risk reduction can only be effective through participatory and coordinated action by the affected people, civil society organizations and governments, it introduces some questions that need to be discussed: (i) recognising the impact of everyday disasters on lives, livelihoods and assets; (ii) prioritising the most at risk, poorest and marginalised people; (iii) tackling the underlying cause of people’s vulnerability to disasters; (iv) mobilising political commitment by f ...
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Climate-smart agriculture sourcebook
FAO, 2013Climate-smart interventions are highly location-specific and knowledge-intensive. Therefore, considerable efforts are required to develop the knowledge and capacities to make climate-smart agriculture (CSA) a reality. The purpose of this sourcebook is to further elaborate the concept of CSA and demonstrate its potential, as well as its limitations. It is aimed as a reference tool for planners, practitioners and policymakers working in agriculture, forestry and fisheries at national and subnational levels, dealing with the effects of climate change.
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Shaping post 2015 development (HFA) agenda bottom-up: AIDMI statement of contributions to HFA during 2012-13
AIDMI, 2013This statement offers a brief overview of how All India Disaster Mitigation Institute’s (AIDMI) humanitarian and risk reduction initiatives and their results have contributed to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) goals and how they can help shape the post-2015 development agenda from the bottom-up.
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Disaster response and climate change in the Pacific: country reports
Gero Anna; National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF); University of Technology - NCCARF, 2013This research paper examines the nexus between disasters, human health, and climate change in the Pacific in order determine methods of effective disaster response in a changing climate to enhance long term adaptive capacity. The aim of this paper is to identify gaps in post-disaster support and to disseminate information regarding those gaps among policy-makers so as to establish a society more resilient to disaster.
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Disaster response and climate change in the Pacific
Gero Anna; National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF); University of Technology - NCCARF, 2013This research paper examines the nexus between disasters, human health, and climate change in the Pacific in order determine methods of effective disaster response in a changing climate to enhance long term adaptive capacity. The aim of this paper is to identify gaps in post-disaster support and to disseminate information regarding those gaps among policy-makers so as to establish a society more resilient to disaster.
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Exploring innovations in disaster education in Kesennuma 1
This report shows the relationship of specific activities to the five priorities for action of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) and the strategic objectives governing them. It reveals the overall connection of national efforts to the expectations of the HFA and makes clear the significance of the progress that has been made since 2005, as described in voluntary self-reporting from countries and regional organizations. The report: (i) highlights some catalysts that engender progress in disaster risk reduction (DRR); (ii) presents an overview provided by individual countries regarding progre ...
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Climate Change Fuelling Resource-Based Conflicts in the Asia-Pacific
UNDP, 2013This paper aims to present a background to resource-based conflicts and how they may be influenced by climate change in the Asia Pacific region. In so doing, this paper first examines the relationship between security, natural resources, and climate change. Second, this paper looks specifically at this issue in the Asia-Pacific region, presenting case studies from South and West Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific. The paper also presents an appraisal of existing address of this issue and explores options for future action that may underpin peace and security in a climate change context at local ...
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Adaptation inspiration book: 22 implemented cases of local climate change adaptation to inspire European citizens
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The National Adaptation Plan Process: a brief overview
UNFCCC, 2013Adapting to climate change is becoming a routine and necessary component of planning at all levels. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established the national adaptation plan (NAP) process as a way to facilitate adaptation planning in least developed countries (LDCs) and other developing countries.
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Climate Risk Management for Water And Agriculture in The Dominican Republic: Focus on the Yaque del Sur Basin
IISD, 2013This report is a product of the Climate Risk Management – Technical Assistance Support Project, which is supported by UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery and Bureau for Development Policy. This is one in a series of reports that examines high-risk countries and focusses on a specific socio-economic sector in each country. The series illustrates how people in different communities and across a range of socio-economic sectors may have to make adaptations to the way they generate income and cultivate livelihoods in the face of a changing climate. These reports present an evidence ...
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IRGSC policy brief, 02. Indonesia can achieve food security through crop loss mitigation and risk reduction
This policy brief addresses the high agricultural loss due to natural hazards in agricultural sectors in Indonesia, and the lack of adequate ex-ante risk management policy to guide risk reduction in the sector, which will affect the country's food security. The research examines the impact of disasters and climate hazards on Indonesian agricultural and food crops. The findings firmly conclude that natural catastrophes have already caused a great deal of loss in agricultural sectors in particular food crops. Loss accumulation over the last decade has caused significant leakage of central govern ...
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Best practices and lessons learned in addressing adaptation in the least developped countries
UNFCCC, 2013This publication was prepared by the Least Developed Countries Expert Group with support from the UNFCCC secretariat Adaptation Programme. In carrying out this task, valuable assistance and advice was received from members of the teams working on national adaptation programmes of action in least developed countries, and representatives of the Global Environment Facility and its agencies.
Руководящие принципы для подачи заявки на получение стипендии ВМО
Настоящее руководство предназначено для того, чтобы помочь постоянным представителям при ВМО (далее именуемым «ПП») и потенциальным кандидатам понять цель и преимущества программы стипендий ВМО. Оно позволит им ознакомиться с процедурой подачи заявок, требованиями, правами и имеющимися возможностями в области получения стипендий. Оно опирается на Наставление по правилам и процедурам, касающимся стипендий ВМО (ВМО/ТД-№ 1356, ETR-18), но учитывает ситуацию с финансированием на текущий финансовый период, определяя, какие элементы поддержки могут быть предложены в рамках имеющегося финансирования. ...
Directrices para solicitar una beca de la OMM
El objetivo de la presente guía es facilitar a los Representantes Permanentes de la Organización Meteorológica Mundial (OMM) y a candidatos potenciales una comprensión más cabal de la finalidad y las ventajas del Programa de becas de la OMM, con objeto de que se familiaricen con el procedimiento de solicitud, los requisitos, las prestaciones y las ofertas en materia de becas. Si bien se basa en el Manual de políticas y procedimientos para la concesión de becas de la OMM (OMM DT-Nº 1356, ETR-18), en ella se tiene en cuenta la situación del actual período financiero, y se establecen los elemento ...
Directives concernant les demandes de bourses d’études de l’OMM
Le présent guide est destiné à aider les représentants permanents auprès de l’Organisation météorologique mondiale (OMM) et les candidats potentiels à comprendre les objectifs et avantages du Programme de bourses d’études de l’OMM. Il leur permettra de se familiariser avec les modalités d’inscription, les conditions à remplir, les prestations et les offres de bourses d’études. Il se fonde sur le Manuel des principes et procédures applicables aux bourses d’études de l’OMM (OMM/DT-N° 1356, ETR-N° 18), tout en prenant en compte la situation financière pour la période financière en cours, et préci ...
Efectos del cambio climatico en la costa de América Latina y el Caribe: vulnerabilidad y exposición
CEPAL, 2012Este documento es el primero de una serie de textos que se han elaborado en el marco del Estudio regional de los efectos del cambio climático en la costa de América Latina y el Caribe. La zona de estudio comprende una longitud total de costa de aproximadamente 72.182 km distribuidos en cuatro zonas geográficas: Norteamérica, Centroamérica, Sudamérica y las Islas del Caribe. En el dominio de estudio se han analizado los cambios detectados en las dinámicas costeras, la influencia de la variabilidad climática, información diversa sobre la vulnerabilidad presente en las costas de la región, abarca ...
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Climate resilient sustainable agriculture: a real alternative to false solutions
This document illustrates the relationship between climate change and agriculture; reviews and demonstrates how current climate change policy responses fall short of addressing the realities of poor rural farmers who are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; and paints an alternative way forward by defining Climate Resilient Sustainable Agriculture (CRSA) and suggesting recommendations to national governments. CRSA prioritises the right to food, environmental conservation, and long-term community resilience in order to reduce food insecurity at the local level, and contribute t ...
The year that shook the rich: a review of natural disasters in 2011
This review analyses some of the major events and trends related to natural disasters and humanitarian disaster response and looks at the experience of developed countries with natural disasters in 2011. Highlighting evidences from the Japanese earthquake-tsunami-nuclear accident, the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, floods in Australia, and tornadoes, hurricanes and drought in the United States, it reminds that natural hazards affect all regions of the world and even rich countries have much to learn about both disaster risk reduction and disaster response.
The review ...
WorldRiskReport 2012: focus - environmental degradation and disasters
UNU, 2012The WorldRiskIndex seeks answers to the following questions: How probable is an extreme natural event, and will it affect people?
How vulnerable are the people to the natural hazards? To what extent can societies cope with acute disasters? Is a society taking preventive measures to face natural hazards to be reckoned with in the future?
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Strengthening capacities for climate change adaptation in mountain ecosystems: the Latin American response
This document presents a range of experiences, publications and organisations involved in the strategies used to build capacities for climate change adaptation in the Latin American region, by: (i) improving natural resource conservation; (ii) providing access to new technologies; (iii) capturing traditional knowledge and practices; and (iv) maintaining water resources and agrobiodiversity. It concludes with lessons that could prove useful to other mountain regions of the world.
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Where the rain falls: climate change, food and livelihood security, and migration
Warner Koko; CARE France ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN); et al. - UNU, 2012This report explores the interrelationships among rainfall variability, food and livelihood security, and human mobility in a diverse set of research sites in eight countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. While climate change affects nearly all aspects of food security – from production and availability, to the stability of food supplies, access to food, and food utilization – the Rainfalls research focuses on linkages between shifting rainfall patterns and food production and the stability of food supplies.
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Making cities resilient assessment: Dar es Salaam
This report, part of the Making Cities Resilient Campaign by UNISDR, provides an in-depth analysis showing how the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is resilient to disasters. The information was generated by the city council using the HFA-LGSAT self-assessment tool, which uses a ‘ten essentials’ thematic framework focused on improving cities disaster resilience. The paper begins with the background and aims of the study, and an overall assessment of the city council. A literature review then explores the geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic profiles of the city, as well as the potential ...
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Adapting to climate change: assessing World Bank Group experience phase III
World Bank, 2012This report presents an extensive review of the World Bank’s experience dealing with climate variability and climate change, offering valuable lessons on adaptation efforts worldwide. It answers questions in three areas: (i) dealing with climate variability; (ii) factoring climate change risks into investment projects; and (iii) anticipating climate change. In addition to this learning-focused agenda, the evaluation also asks how the Bank Group has performed against climate adaptation goals of the Bank Group’s Strategic Framework for Development and Climate Change (FY09-11).
The evalua ...
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Linkages between population dynamics, urbanization processes and disaster risks: a regional vision of Latin America / Vínculos entre las dinámicas demográficas, los procesos de urbanización y los riesgos de desastres: una visión regional de América Latina
Fernandez Rogelio; Sanahuj Haris; United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT); et al. - UN/ISDR, 2012This document presents an analysis of the connections among population dynamics, urbanization processes and disaster risk reduction. Amongst the main findings are that public policies should increase governance and guide urban sustainable development in order to anticipate future levels of exposure, by enhancing land-use plans, climate change adaptation strategies and considering disaster risk management.
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Climate change and agriculture in the United States: effects and adaptation
The report analyses the effects of climate change on U.S. agriculture on the basis of research needs categorized within a vulnerability framework addressing specific actions that would improve understanding of the exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity to: (i) improve projections of future climate conditions, including extreme temperatures, precipitation, and related variables; (ii) evaluate and develop process-level understanding of the sensitivity of plant and animal production systems; and (iii) develop and extend the knowledge, management strategies and tools needed by U.S. agricultur ...
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Long road to resilience: impact and cost-benefit analysis of community-based disaster risk reduction in Bangladesh
This report presents the activities to reduce disaster risk as implemented under the Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) programme between 2005 and 2011 by the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society. It is structured in three sections: (i) Section A reviews the background of the programme and the evaluation; (ii) section B includes the key findings, relating to relevance, effectiveness, impact, efficiency and sustainability; and (iii) section C presents the implications of those findings.
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The state of food and agriculture: investing in agriculture for a better future
FAO, 2012Recent food crises and growing concerns about global climate change have placed agriculture on top of the international agenda. Decision-makers have recognised the strong link between the dual goals of eradicating hunger and making agriculture sustainable. Achieving these goals will require a significant increase in agricultural investment but, more importantly, it will require improving the quality of this investment. This annual flagship report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reviews the economic and social rationale for agricultural investment, examines the causes of underinv ...
Using scenarios to improve understanding of environment and security issues
EEA, 2012Analysing the security risks resulting from climate change is essential for effective policy-making. The Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Environment Agency (EEA) is running the joint project 'Security implications of climate change in the OSCE regions' with the aim of improving understanding of the links between global megatrends and environment, and the security of food, fuel and water in different regions. It also aims to enhance cooperation and networking among the main institutions addressing climate security issues. A participatory-based scenario-bu ...
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Fragile States 2013: Resource flows and trends in fragile states
By 2015, half of the world’s people living on less than USD 1.25 a day will be in fragile states. While poverty has decreased globally, progress on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1 is slower in fragile states than in other developing countries. Fragile states are also off-track to meet the rest of the MDGs by 2015.
Fragile situations became a central concern of the international development and security agenda in the 1990s. Since then, powerful forces have been influencing the causes and manifestations of fragility, including the combination of democratic aspirations, new te ...
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The demand for micro-insurance: a literature review
Why are demand and renewal rates for micro-insurance so low despite the important protection against disasters it may offer? To address the puzzle this paper provides a selective overview of the current state of research on demand from farmers for risk micro-insurance mostly associated to lack and excess of rainfall (drought and flood). It first looks at the theoretical research and then reviews the empirical evidence on the factors influencing risk attitude and demand for disaster insurance from low-income farmers.
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Disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change: experience from German development cooperation
German Government, 2012This publication aims to pinpoint commonalities between disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change. It describes the experience gathered from German development cooperation’s work in seven countries, which we see as a stimulus to aim for more effective and efficient interaction between the two fields and to work towards a significant reduction of risk in our partner countries by implementing risk management measures adapted to the respective conditions.
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Adaptation to climate change with a focus on rural areas in India
The publication provides an overview of the main issues in current adaptation discussions and suggests adaptation options in six different fields related to rural areas: (i) agriculture; (ii) forests; (iii) biodiversity; (iv) water resources; (v) coastal zones; and (vi) disaster risk management. It describes concepts and approaches for adaptation and its integration into development planning using examples from India, as well as other parts of the world, to illustrate how existing theory can be put into practice.
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Climate Security Report
ASP, 2012One of the most significant challenges to the global security system in the 21st Century will be a changing climate; the effects of these changes are already being felt all over the world. Climate change poses a clear and present danger to the United States through its effects on our global allies as well as its direct effects on our agriculture, infrastructure, economy and public health.
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Recalibrating Food Production in the Developing World: Global Warming Will Change More Than Just the Climate
Thornton Philip K.; CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) - CCAFS, 2012
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Pounds of prevention, a disaster risk reduction story: focus on Brazil
This issue travels to Ceará State in northeastern Brazil, an area that faced increasingly frequent drought conditions, and the efforts of community organizations to develop strategies to minimize the negative impacts from droughts and adapt their livelihoods in such a way that makes families more resilient. It describes how the residents, using techniques to conserve water, enhance agricultural practices, and diversify income sources, have managed to mitigate the risk of drought.
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Pounds of prevention, a disaster risk reduction story: focus on locusts
This issue examines the desert locust, a pest that affects the lives of millions of people in more than 65 countries throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia, an area that represents about 20 percent of the earth’s surface. It presents the case of Mauritania, one of several countries in West Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Middle East to benefit from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s locust prevention system known as the EMPRES Program, to which USAID and other donors contribute.
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Pounds of prevention, a disaster risk reduction story: focus on Afghanistan
This edition focuses on the potato as a targeted disaster risk reduction effort in western Afghanistan. By helping farmers adapting how they handle the potatoes, it describes how the USAID program is enabling farmers to grow more food to last through the cold winter months and even have a chance to sell surplus produce when prices are favorable to them. It demonstrates that a more resilient livelihood means less vulnerability to weather-related and economic shocks.
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CCAFS Policy Briefs, 06. Recalibrating Food Production in the Developing World
Thornton P.; CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) - CCAFS, 2012^An analysis of the effects of climate change on 22 critical agricultural commodities and three important natural resources in the developing world reveals a number of cross-cutting themes: The world’s agricultural systems face an uphill struggle in feeding a projected nine to ten billion people by 2050. Climate change introduces a significant hurdle in this struggle.
- Securing and maintaining necessary levels of calories, protein and nutrients for populations around the world will be an exceptional challenge.
- Recalibrating agriculture in the face of climate change is more t ...
Recognise the strength of women and girls in reducing disaster risks: stories from Viet Nam
This publication aims to raise awareness on the importance of gender equality and women’s empowerment. It aims to tell the story behind the larger issues and show the visible force behind lasting change. For example, how a girl saved her father’s life from drowning; how a woman is devoting all her time and energy into teaching ethnic minority children how to better protect themselves; how girls express their concerns for an uncertain future in their own innovative way; how working with women in disaster preparedness and response can achieve better results, and through many more truly inspirati ...
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The poverty and welfare impacts of climate change quantifying the effects, identifying the adaptation strategies
Although poverty remains widespread in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, substantial progress has been made especially in the past three decades. Nevertheless, this report stresses that climate change is likely to reduce agricultural productivity, which will directly affect poor people's livelihood assets including health, access to water and other natural resources, homes and infrastructure. Increasing climatic variability will make poor households even more vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, which could in turn exacerbate the incidence, severity and persistence of poverty in developi ...
Tortillas on the roaster: Central American maize-bean systems and the changing climate
This study predicts the potential impacts that climate change will have on the production of maize and beans, the two most important food crops in Central America. Using state-of-the-art climate models and GIS tools, agronomic research and socio-economic analyses, it makes recommendations to climate change adaptation strategies tailored to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The results of the study are intended to fill a critical gap in the knowledge of the impacts of climate change on maize/bean production in Central America, in order for stakeholders to shift from a position of ...
Reducing vulnerability and exposure to disasters: Asia-Pacific disaster report 2012
The primary conviction of this report is driven by a concern that people’s exposure and vulnerability, experienced individually and collectively, continue to be twin challenges for the Asia-Pacific region. Faced with growing economic losses and increasingly vulnerable populations, this report has analyzed the drivers of risks and the strategies that are in place to deal with the growing risks.
The report has pursued three primary questions that all dedicated collaborators in the region need to join, “How do they and the people with whom they work understand the disaster risks in ...
Gender equality in emergencies programme insights
To mark International day for Disaster Risk reduction (IDDR) 2012, Oxfam has published a new collection of programme insights papers bringing together experiences, lessons and good practice from Oxfam and its partners work in emergencies and on disaster risk reduction (DRR). As the number and complexity of hazards and disasters are increasing rapidly, and with the ample evidence that women and girls are often more vulnerable to disasters than men and boys, the series features five case studies on gender and DRR or humanitarian programming in DR Congo, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Kenya. Th ...
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Climate change and agriculture: can market governance mechanisms reduce emissions from the food system fairly and effectively?
Agriculture accounts for 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. How agriculture is practised, therefore, has significant potential for mitigating climate change, providing food security and improving the livelihoods of food producers worldwide. There is growing interest in the use of market governance mechanisms for tackling climate change by giving the financial incentives to make the required changes. The key messages emerging from this study are that economic measures have a vital part to play, but to be effective, emissions from food production and consumption must be addressed to ...
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Extreme weather events and crop price spikes in a changing climate: illustrative global simulation scenarios
Willenbockel D. - Oxfam, 2012Agriculture is highly sensitive to climate variability and weather extremes. Various impact studies have considered the effects of projected long-run trends in temperature, precipitation and carbon dioxide concentrations caused by climate change on global food production and prices. However, according to this study, an area that remains underexplored is the food price impacts that may result from an expected increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The study uses a global dynamic multi-region computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to explore the potential food pri ...
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CGIAR Working paper, 23. Impacts of climate change on the agricultural and aquatic systems and natural resources within the CGIAR’s mandate
CCAFS, 2012The document attempts to distil what is currently known about the likely impacts of climate change on the commodities and natural resources that comprise the mandate of CGIAR and its 15 Centres. It was designed as one background document for a review carried out by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) at the behest of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) on what is known about the likely effects of climate change on food security and nutrition, with a focus on the most affected and vulnerable regions and populations. A total of 25 summaries covering 22 ...
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Climate change, water stress, conflict and migration
UNESCO, 2012This collection of papers, presented at the symposium ‘Climate change, water stress, conflict and migration’ held on 21 September 2011 in the Netherlands, highlight how climate change, water stress and other environmental problems threaten human security. For example, the paper by Muniruzzaman ilustrates how water ignores political and community boundaries, and how decisions in one place can significantly affect water use elsewhere. India’s plans to build more dams could, for instance, have devastating affects for Pakistan’s agricultural productivity which is highly dependent on water supply f ...
Options for including disaster resilience in post-2015 development goals
ODI, 2012This Background Note discusses potential indicators and targets for including a specific goal on disaster resilience in the post-2015 development framework, as well as considering the opportunities for building disaster resilience into indicators for other sector goals, and what these might be.
It looks at how to measure these, what baselines exist and whether data are available. It also examines some of the opportunities and challenges, such as options for including humanitarian assistance within a new framework.
It concludes by setting out criteria that can be u ...
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Mediterranean ecological footprint trends
Global Footprint Network, 2012The Mediterranean’s ever-widening ecological deficit and its economic implications is the main theme of the new Mediterranean Ecological Footprint Trends report, the result of a two-year study by Global Footprint Network and the focus of the conference.
Feeling the heat: the human cost of poor preparation for disasters
Islamic Relief Worldwide, 2012This report shows the positive difference Islamic Relief Worldwide is beginning to make in the area of disaster risk reduction (DRR) by highlighting how village disaster committees and earthworks to raise people’s houses have reduced the impact of seasonal flooding in north-western Bangladesh. It shows how irrigated vegetable growing and microfinance loans for small businesses are helping former pastoralists to build new livelihoods in north-eastern Kenya that are less vulnerable to drought. It provides evidence that being better prepared can save money as well as lives and shows that it can b ...
Climate vulnerability monitor
DARA, 2012The Climate Vulnerability Monitor 2nd Edition reveals that climate change has already held back global development and inaction is a leading global cause of death. Harm is most acute for poor and vulnerable groups but no country is spared either the costs of inaction or the benefits of an alternative path.
Commissioned by the world’s most vulnerable countries and backed by high-level and technical panels, the new Monitor estimates human and economic impacts of climate change and the carbon economy for 184 countries in 2010 and 2030, across 34 indicators.
Ocean-Based Food Security Threatened in a High CO2 World : a Ranking of Nations’ Vulnerability to Climate Change and Ocean Acidification
Emissions from human activities are changing the ocean’s chemistry and temperature in ways that threaten the livelihoods of those who depend on fish and seafood for all or part of their diets. The changes may reduce the amount of wild caught seafood that can be supplied by the oceans and also redistribute species, changing the locations at which seafood can be caught and creating instability for ocean-based food security, or seafood security. This report ranks nations based on the seafood security hardships they may experience by the middle of this century due to changing ocean conditions from ...
State of the world’s cities 2012/2013: the prosperity of cities
This Report focuses on the notion of prosperity and its realisation in urban areas. It calls for a new type of city – one that: (i) is more 'people-centred;' (ii) includes vital dimensions such as quality of life, adequate infrastructures, equity and environmental sustainability; (iii) reduces disaster risks and vulnerabilities for the poor; (iv) builds resilience; (v) creates harmony; and (vi) promotes prosperity; and stimulates local job creation and social diversity. It recommends that those engaged in development work need to explore a more inclusive notion of prosperity and development.
Managing drought risk on the ranch: a planning guide for great plains ranchers
National Drought Mitigation Center ; United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) - University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), 2012This guide is designed to help rangeland managers to better prepare for and manage drought. For ranchers in the United States, drought can be defined as too little soil moisture to meet the needs of dominant forage species during their rapid growth windows. The longer you wait to make decisions, the fewer options you will have available to you and producers who focus on increasing flexibility and maximizing the health of resources are more likely to find solutions during drought that minimize painful decisions with limited resources. Accordingly, having a plan will help producers get through a ...
Good Practices in Building Innovative Rural Institutions to Increase Food Security
Continued population growth, urbanization and rising incomes are likely to continue to put pressure on food demand. International prices for most agricultural commodities are set to remain at 2010 levels or higher, at least for the next decade (OECD-FAO, 2010). Small-scale producers in many developing countries were not able to reap the benefits of high food prices during the 2007-2008 food price crises. Yet, this upward food price trend could have been an opportunity for them to increase their incomes and food security. The opportunity that high food prices could have provided as a pat ...
The Global Water Crisis: Addressing an Urgent Security Issue
Bigas Harriet; Axworthy Thomas S.; UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH); et al. - UNU, 2012In March 2011, high-level experts from around the world were invited to Toronto, Canada, to meet with members of the InterAction Council about the status of the world’s freshwater supply as it relates to global security issues (see List of Participants in this volume). These experts reported that that the global water crisis is real and that there is urgency in addressing the growing number of security risks associated with threatened water supply and quality. They also, however, expressed hope and identified opportunities that can be realized by the timely triggering of change in policies, in ...
Water for wealth and food security: supporting farmer-driven investments in agricultural water management
IWMI, 2012This report addresses the effective use of available water as a way to help to improve productivity and reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. It combines the practical improved water management systems and approaches, including the reduction of risks associated with climate variability through environmental risks monitoring. It documents the benefits of irrigation already been invested by farmers in small-scale irrigation, and provides practical recommendations and tools for governments, the private sector, donors and organizations to effectively support these farmer-led initiatives to improve ...
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Climate change, agriculture and food security in Tanzania
The consequences of climate change for agriculture and food security in developing countries are of serious concern. Due to their reliance on rain-fed agriculture, both as a source of income and consumption, many low-income countries are considered to be the most vulnerable to climate change. This paper estimates the impact of climate change on food security in Tanzania. Representative climate projections are used in calibrated crop models to predict crop yield changes for 110 districts in the country. The results are in turn imposed on a highly-disaggregated, recursive dynamic economy-wide mo ...
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Climate Change and Price Volatility: Can We Count on the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve?
ADB, 2012On 12 July 2012, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three intergovernmental agreement establishing the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) entered into force. In this paper, lead author Roehlano Briones, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, assesses the effectiveness of APTERR as a mechanism for addressing food security in light of the rising challenges of climate change and price volatility. Using Riceflow, a model of the global rice economy, he studies the possible impacts of APTERR releases on the rice market by simu ...
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Green Accounting and Data Improvement for Water Resources
Winpenny James; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - UNESCO, 2012 (UNESCO Side publications series-No. 02)Water makes a critical contribution to all aspects of personal welfare and economic life. However, global water resources are coming under increasing pressure. It is widely recognized that over the next few decades global drivers such as climate change, population growth and improving living standards will increase pressure on the availability, quality and distribution of water resources. Managing the impacts of these drivers to maximize social and economic welfare will require intelligent policy and management responses at all levels of collection, production and distribution of water. The go ...
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Crop yield response to water
Steduto Pasquale; Hsiao Theodore C.; Fereres Elias; et al. - FAO, 2012 (FAO irrigation and drainage paper-No. 66)Food production and water use are inextricably linked. Water has always been the main factor limiting crop production in much of the world where rainfall is insufficient to meet crop demand. With the ever-increasing competition for finite water resources worldwide and the steadily rising demand for agricultural commodities, the call to improve the efficiency and productivity of water use for crop production, to ensure future food security and address the uncertainties associated with climate change, has never been more urgent.
Feeding a thirsty world: challenges and opportunities for a water and food secure future
This report provides input into the discussions at the 2012 World Water Week in Stockholm and its special focus on water and food security. This report presents the latest thinking and new approaches to emerging and persistent challenges to achieve food security in the 21st century, including the use of early warning systems to bolster food security by reducing damages caused to agriculture by water scarcity and drought. It focuses on critical issues that have received less attention in the literature to date, such as: food waste, land acquisitions, gender aspects of agriculture, and early war ...
Community managed disaster risk reduction in high altitude regions: In Southasiadisasters.net issue no. 85, June 2012
AIDMI, 2012This document evaluates the design of the eight missions of India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), which were created to advance India's development and define its approach to climate mitigation and adaptation: (i) National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture; (ii) National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency; (iii) National Mission for a Green India; (iv) National Mission on Sustainable Habitat; (v) National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem; (vi) National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change; (vii) National Solar Mission; and (viii) National Wate ...
Disaster risk and poverty trends in Jordan, Syria, Yemen: key findings and policy recommendations
UN/ISDR, 2012This paper discusses a project in the Arab region aimed at enabling national and regional institutions to develop system wide capacities to monitor, archive and disseminate data on key hazards and vulnerabilities, and periodically assess emerging risk such as national poverty trends. It shows that systematically recording data on disaster loss represents a low cost, high impact strategy for visualizing risk patterns and trends over space and time. This paper focuses on the findings of national disaster loss databases in three of the project's pilot countries: Jordan, Syria, and Yemen.
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Disaster risk reduction in school curricula: case studies from thirty countries
Selby David; Kagawa Fumiyo; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); et al. - UNESCO, 2012This publication captures key national experiences in the integration of disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the curriculum, identifying good practice, noting issues addressed or still lacking, and reviewing learning outcomes. The study researched DRR related curriculum development and integration, pedagogy, student assessment, teacher professional development and guidance, learning outcomes and policy development, planning and implementation aspects covering thirty countries.
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Noragric Report, 66. Management for adaptation to climate change : Mid-term review of a project implemented by Total Land Care, Malawi
The Management for Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) project in Malawi is implemented by Total Land Care (TLC) with funding from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Malawi and a 5 years time frame from 2008 to mid 2013. The key objectives of the project are to reduce deforestation, to improve household food security and incomes, and to develop rural-based enterprises. The review team found the project in line with Malawian as well as Norwegian development policy. TLC also has an extensive and good cooperation with Malawian NGOs as well as with international organisations, both in Malawi and abroa ...
Socially just adaptation to climate change
This study explores how far social justice is considered in local adaptations to climate change impacts across the UK. It was undertaken just as the UK Government increased its commitment to the adaptation agenda – at the same time as public-sector funding cuts reduced the scope and scale of climate change activities at the local level. Its findings are relevant for all bodies operating at this level whose climate change adaptation activities impact on vulnerable communities. The study provides a wealth of insights into how social justice can be incorporated into adaptation planning. It was in ...
Ending the everyday emergency: resilience and children in the Sahel
This report demonstrates that shortage of food is only part of the severe and life-threatening crisis facing children in the Sahel region of west Africa in 2012. It focuses in particular on the experience of children, and makes detailed recommendations around disaster risk reduction, nutrition, and social protection to build resilience. The report also addresses the urgent need for political ambition to change the international system and end the everyday emergencies.
Disaster risk reduction and young children : assessing needs at the community level
Hayden Jacqueline; Cologon Kathy; Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC); et al. - ARNEC, 2012This guidebook provides background information on Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), and sets out processes for assessing the capacity and needs at community levels to further identify future steps to improve ECD in DRR. Furthermore, it addresses the vulnerability faced by children and the efforts to mitigate underlying causes of these vulnerabilities. Beyond national and international, policy and political issues, DRR occurs within communities and at the programme level. DRR processes and activities have the potential to address the special needs of young chi ...
Climate change education for sustainable development in Small Island Developing States : report and recommendations
UNESCO, 2012This report summarizes the key outcomes of a three-day meeting which discussed and reflected on the challenges that climate change poses to education systems in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and on the role that education must play in adaptation to climate change. Acknowledging that SIDS are already confronted with the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels and changes in weather and climate extremes such as droughts, floods and tropical cyclones/hurricanes, it considers the need for them to reduce their vulnerability to climate change by strengthening their adaptive c ...
Bangladesh: a sustainable and disaster resilient future
This document addresses how people in disaster prone areas of Bangladesh are at risk to lose their lives, land, and livelihoods due to floods, cyclones, earthquakes and drought, and how sustainable development and effective risk reduction can help prevent these risks. It also discusses how disasters in Bangladesh hamper the country's long-term ability to effectively tackle poverty. The document acknowledges the growing awareness among citizens that disaster risk reduction (DRR) is necessary to assist vulnerable communities; and that there needs to be a coordinated effort to undertake intensive ...
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Food security and climate change: a report by the high level panel of experts on food security and nutrition of the committee on world food security
FAO, 2012This report analyses the connected problem of food security and climate change. It observes that a social vulnerability lens is essential to understand why certain individuals, households or communities experience differences in food insecurity risks, even when they are in the same geographic region. Examples of strategies for community-based adaptation include improving water management practices, adopting practices to conserving soil moisture, organic matter and nutrients, and setting up community-based seeds and grain banks. The report includes the following recommendations: integrate food ...
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CDP Background Paper, 15. Climate change vulnerability and the identification of least developed countries
This paper reviews the role of climate change vulnerability in identifying least developed countries (LDCs). Taking a sustainable development perspective, it argues that climate change should be seen as an aggravating factor of existing handicaps and many indicators used to identify LDCs already capture relevant structural vulnerabilities to climate change. However, the paper proposes some refinements in the LDC criteria to better capture vulnerabilities from natural disasters and in coastal areas. These refinements affected the vulnerability ranking in the recent triennial review, but had no ...
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Rainfall variability, occupational choice, and welfare in rural Bangladesh
This study investigates the choice of occupational focus versus diversification between household members in rural Bangladesh as an autonomous and proactive adaptation strategy against ex ante local rainfall variability risks. The analysis combines nationally representative household level survey data with historical climate variability information at the Upazila level. The authors note that flood prone Upazilas may face reduced risks from local rainfall variability as compared with non-flood prone Upazilas. They find that two members of the same household are less likely to be self-employed i ...
The Millennium Development Goals Report 2012
United Nations, 2012Three important targets on poverty, slums and water have been met three years ahead of 2015, says this year’s Report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Meeting the remaining targets, while challenging, is possible ─ but only if Governments do not waiver from their commitments made over a decade ago.
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Municipal ICT Capacity and its Impact on the Climate-Change Affected Urban Poor: the case of Mozambique
World Bank, 2012
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Climate change, vulnerability and human mobility: perspectives of refugees from the east and Horn of Africa
This study aims to understand the extent to which refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) have perceived, experienced and responded to climatic variability and long-term negative climatic change in the east and Horn of Africa. The report is based on discussions with 150 IDPs and refugees from Ethiopia and Uganda, many of whom were farmers and pastoralists from Eritrea, Somalia and eastern Sudan. Key findings include: many of the refugees interviewed had perceived discernible shifts in weather in their home countries over the past 10 to 15 years; where movement away from homelands was ...
Sustainable development: Perspective of the World Meteorological Organization
This position paper outlines how, through the Global Framework for Climate Services experts from various disciplines and regions will work together to develop science-based climate and environmental information tailored to end-users’ needs for the purpose of increasing agricultural productivity to improve food security and reduce hunger; Improving and optimizing management of water resources to provide sustainable access to freshwater for drinking, irrigation and household use; Reducing the risk of disasters and other climate hazards, the cost of which often burdens developing and least develo ...
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