Brief communication: Strengthening coherence between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction

Abstract

Abstract. Reducing disaster risks and adapting to climate change are ever more important policy goals in Europe and worldwide. The commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and complementary multilateral frameworks, including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, has galvanized pursuits for policy coherence. The report Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in Europe: enhancing coherence of the knowledge base, policies and practices of the European Environment Agency identified several ways for how coherence and resilience can be built through knowledge sharing, collaboration and investments.

Who Is Connected with Whom? A Social Network Analysis of Institutional Interactions in the European CCA and DRR Landscape

“…Such an attitude and the position in the network, as indicated by the high betweenness and out-degree centrality, point out these two actors as good candidates for linking other actors in the merged CCA and DRR network. The important and influential role of Climate-ADAPT that was revealed from the SNA in this study agrees with findings from other recent studies that have highlighted the potential of web platforms to support an improved communication and knowledge exchange between the CCA and DRR policy domains [2,19,44]. Climate-ADAPT was launched in 2012 by the European Commission and the European Environment Agency (EEA) in an attempt to facilitate dissemination and use of the produced 'adaptation knowledge' in Europe, and through this to support evidence-based policy-and decision-making, and improve coordination among actors operating in different sectors and at different governance levels [45].…”

“…Climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) are fields of research, policy, and practice relevant for multiple sectors and governance. Although they pursue complementary objectives, they have different structures and different policies [19], and thus are characterised by different norms and value systems. Such formative differences can hardly be bridged by legislation or financial incentives alone.…”

“…the institutions that help us maintain and develop human capital in partnership with others; e.g., families, communities, businesses, trade unions, schools, and voluntary organisations" (https://www.forumforthefuture.org/project/five-capitals/overview)) in such circumstances was lately demonstrated during the post-Hurricane Sandy recovery phase [8,9]. People living in neighbourhoods with more social resources and connections were, and perceived themselves as, more resilient, even in cases where available financial resources were low [10].At the institutional level, recent policy developments, such as the EU Adaptation Strategy [11], the Paris Agreement [12], the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development [13], and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction [14,15] have underlined not only the importance of adaptation and risk reduction, but also the co-benefits that may arise from aligned policies and action [16][17][18][19]. Legal and institutional frameworks undoubtedly play a critical role in creating an enabling or inhibiting environment for developing synergies between relevant policies and cross-references in policy documents represent the first step of integration (see [20]).…”

“…At the institutional level, recent policy developments, such as the EU Adaptation Strategy [11], the Paris Agreement [12], the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development [13], and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction [14,15] have underlined not only the importance of adaptation and risk reduction, but also the co-benefits that may arise from aligned policies and action [16][17][18][19]. Legal and institutional frameworks undoubtedly play a critical role in creating an enabling or inhibiting environment for developing synergies between relevant policies and cross-references in policy documents represent the first step of integration (see [20]).…”

Perceived Adverse Effects of Separating Government Institutions for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Within the Southern African Development Community Member States

“…Despite progress of the discussions on integrating DRR and CCA, less is happening in practice as there are many challenges to integrating DRR and CCA (Dias et al 2018). Mysiak et al (2018) noted that there are few examples of how coherence between DRR and CCA is achieved in practice. One of the challenges to integration is that the concept has been conceptualized across disciplines, and as a result it is understood in various ways (Barki and Pinsonneault 2005).…”