Expert views of climate change adaptation in least developed Asia

Sovacool, Benjamin K.; D’Agostino, Anthony; Meenawat, Harsha; Rawlani, Amireeta

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2011.11.005

Cited by 67 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The need for adaptation has been widely recognized among developing countries since UN-FCCC negotiations began in the early 1990s and has received renewed impetus in light of recognition of the now inevitable changes in climate. Herein, significant advances in adaptation have been made over the last decade, including the establishment and disbursement of adaptation funds through the UNFCCC, completion of National Adaptation Programs of Action (NAPAs), initiation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), mainstreaming of adaptation into development projects, and the emergence of a large body of scholarship examining vulnerability to help direct adaptation efforts Biagini et al 2014;Fankhauser and Burton 2011;Mannke 2011;Sovacool 2012;Sovacool et al 2012a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the increasing importance of adaptation, we have limited and fragmented understanding of if and how adaptation is currently taking place, with the majority of adaptation research and debate identifying adaptation needs, characterizing vulnerability, and developing methodological frameworks Sovacool 2012;Sovacool et al 2012a;Surminski 2013). A number of studies have begun to examine the status of adaptation actions and indicate that while adaptation has appeared on the political agenda, implementation is lacking, with policies often labeled as 'adaptation' having limited concrete effects on reducing vulnerability or reflecting rebranding of existing policies focused on risk reduction , Biesbroek et al 2010Dupuis and Biesbroek 2013;Ford and King in press;Ford et al 2011;Gagnon-Lebrun and Agrawala 2007;Hanger et al 2013;Lesnikowski et al 2011Lesnikowski et al , 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The status of climate change adaptation in Africa and Asia

et al. 2014

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Adaptation is a key component of climate policy, yet we have limited and fragmented understanding of if and how adaptation is currently taking place. In this paper, we document and characterize the current status of adaptation in 47 vulnerable 'hotspot' nations in Asia and Africa, based on a systematic review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature, as well as policy documents, to extract evidence of adaptation initiatives. In total, 100 peerreviewed articles, 161 grey literature documents, and 27 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change National Communications were reviewed, constituting 760 adaptation initiatives. Results indicate a significant increase in reported adaptations since 2006. Adaptations are primarily being reported from African and low-income countries, particularly those nations receiving adaptation funds, involve a combination of groundwork and more concrete adaptations to reduce vulnerability, and are primarily being driven by national governments, NGOs, and international institutions, with minimal involvement of lower levels of government or collaboration across nations. Gaps in our knowledge of adaptation policy and practice are particularly notable in North Africa and Central Asia, and there is limited evidence of adaptation initiatives being targeted at vulnerable populations including socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, children, indigenous peoples, and the elderly.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The status of climate change adaptation in Africa and Asia

et al. 2014

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“…Given the inevitability of some degree of climate change and already observed impacts, adaptation has been prioritized for climate policy in SSA. To this end, significant advances in adaptation have been made over the last decade, including the establishment and disbursement of adaptation funds through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), completion of National Adaptation Programs of Action (NAPAs), initiation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), mainstreaming of adaptation into development projects and the emergence of a large body of scholarship examining vulnerability to help direct adaptation efforts [8][9][10][11][12][13]. A variety of adaptations have been identified, evaluated and in some case implemented, ranging from those explicitly designed to reduce vulnerability to projected change, to interventions that address the underlying determinants of climate vulnerability [11,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing the Effectiveness of the “Great Green Wall” as an Adaptation to the Effects of Climate Change and Desertification in the Sahel

O’Connor

Ford

2014

Sustainability

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Abstract:The Great Green Wall (GGW) has been advocated as a means of reducing desertification in the Sahel through the planting of a broad continuous band of trees from Senegal to Djibouti. Initially proposed in the 1980s, the plan has received renewed impetus in light of the potential of climate change to accelerate desertification, although the implementation has been lacking in all but two of 11 countries in the region. In this paper, we argue that the GGW needs modifying if it is to be effective, obtain the support of local communities and leverage international support. Specifically, we propose a shift from planting trees in the GGW to utilizing shrubs (e.g., Leptospermum scoparium, Boscia senegalensis, Grewia flava, Euclea undulata or Diospyros lycioides), which would have multiple benefits, including having a faster growth rate and proving the basis for silvo-pastoral livelihoods based on bee-keeping and honey production.

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“…The importance of baseline institutional capacity in adaptation interventions is thus a key theme in both this review and the existing literature (Fazey et al, 2010;Leary et al, 2008;Preston et al, 2011;Sovacool, D'Agostino, Meenawat, & Rawlani, 2012). Institutional capacity is needed to provide the resources, organization, technical skill, determination, and coordination that are crucial for the effective implementation of an adaptation project (ALM, 2009(ALM, , 2010a(ALM, , 2010b(ALM, , 2010c(ALM, , 2010d(ALM, , 2010e, 2010g, 2011a(ALM, , 2011b(ALM, , 2011cGupta et al, 2010;Leary et al, 2008;Smith, Vogel, & Cromwell, 2009;Termeer, Biesbrook, & Van den Brink, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stakeholder engagement in adaptation interventions: an evaluation of projects in developing nations

2013

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Institution-oriented, top-down and community-oriented, bottom-up stakeholder approaches are evaluated for their ability to enable or constrain the implementation of adaptation in developing nations. A systematic review approach is used evaluate the project performance of 18 adaptation projects by three of the Global Environment Facility's (GEF) adaptation programmes (the Strategic Priority for Adaptation (SPA), the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), and the National Adaptation Programs of Action (NAPA)) according to effectiveness, efficiency, equity, legitimacy, flexibility, sustainability, and replicability. The ten SPA projects reviewed performed highest overall, especially with regards to efficiency, legitimacy, and replicability. The five SCCF projects performed the highest in equity, flexibility, and sustainability, and the three NAPA-related projects were the highestperforming projects with regards to effectiveness. A comparison of top-down and bottom-up approaches revealed that community stakeholder engagement in project design and implementation led to higher effectiveness, efficiency, equity, flexibility, legitimacy, sustainability, and replicability. Although low institutional capacity constrained both project success and effective community participation, projects that hired international staff to assist in implementation experienced higher overall performance. These case studies also illustrate how participatory methods can fail to genuinely empower or involve communities in adaptation interventions in both top-down and bottom-up approaches. It is thus crucial to carefully consider stakeholder engagement strategies in adaptation interventions. Policy relevanceWhile adaptation is now firmly on the policy and research agenda, actual interventions to reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience remain in their infancy, and there is limited information on the factors that influence the successful implementation of adaptation in developing areas. Engaging stakeholders in assessing vulnerability and implementing adaptation interventions is widely regarded to be an important factor for adaptation implementation and success. However, no study has evaluated the effects of stakeholder engagement in the actual implementation of adaptation initiatives. Effective stakeholder engagement is challenging, especially in a developing nation setting, due to high levels of poverty, inadequate knowledge on adaptation options, weak institutions, and competing interests to address more immediate problems related to poverty and underdevelopment. In this context, this article documents and characterizes stakeholder engagement in adaptation interventions supported through the GEF, examining how top-down or bottom-up stakeholder approaches enable or constrain project performance.

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Expert views of climate change adaptation in least developed Asia

Cited by 67 publications

References 25 publications

The status of climate change adaptation in Africa and Asia

The status of climate change adaptation in Africa and Asia

Increasing the Effectiveness of the “Great Green Wall” as an Adaptation to the Effects of Climate Change and Desertification in the Sahel

Stakeholder engagement in adaptation interventions: an evaluation of projects in developing nations

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