Improving adaptive capacity and resilience in Bhutan

Meenawat, Harsha; Sovacool, Benjamin K.

doi:10.1007/s11027-010-9277-3

Cited by 40 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Increasing hazards (GLOFs), low incomes, lack of institutional capacity, remoteness (Meenawat and Sovacool 2011) Himalaya, India State led policy aimed at addressing the requirements of vulnerable areas and groups to enable them to adapt to variability of water supply and risks associated with glacial lake outbursts. Glacial retreat (Furunes and Mykletun 2012) 11 % were implemented and finished.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptation to climate change in glaciated mountain regions

2014

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Understanding of the human dimensions of climate change (HDCC) in glaciated mountain regions is limited by a deficit in systematically collated information on where, to what stressors, by whom, at what scale, and with what effect adaptation is occurring. This paper presents a systematic literature review of the recent English language peer-reviewed scholarship on adaptation in glaciated mountain regions. 4050 potentially relevant articles were examined, with 36 included for full review. Results indicate that scholarly investigation into adaptation in glaciated mountains is presently limited to only 40 % of countries with alpine glaciation. Seventy-four discrete adaptation initiatives were identified, with most occurring in Peru (28 %), Nepal (22 %) and India (17 %). Many documented adaptations were initiated in response to intersecting stressors related to cryospheric change and socioeconomic development; were autonomous and initiated in reaction to experienced climatic stimuli; and were carried out at the individual, family, or community scale. The study contributes to an emerging literature tracking on-the-ground adaptation processes and outcomes, and identifies a need to raise the profile of human adaptation in glaciated mountain regions within the HDCC scholarship. A research agenda for addressing key knowledge gaps and questions is developed, providing a framework for future investigation.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptation to climate change in glaciated mountain regions

2014

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“…Numerous small supra-glacial ponds on the debris-covered terminus were integrated into several large lakes during the second half of the 20th century [5,6]. Because the area is accessible and there is concern over such large supra-glacial lakes, the United Nations Development Programme supported the Government of Bhutan to install a water drainage outlet for this lake [31][32][33]. Since 2009, about 350 local workers, every summer, have attempted to control the water level.…”

Section: Synthesis Of Multiple Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Scale and Potential of GLOF in the Bhutan Himalayas Using a Satellite-Based Integral Glacier–Glacial Lake Inventory

et al. 2017

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Abstract:A comprehensive glacier-glacial lake inventory was developed for the Bhutan Himalayas based on satellite observations between 1987-1990 and 2006-2011. In total, 733 lakes (covering 82.6 km 2 ) were delineated between 4000 and 6000 m a.s.l. and their relationships to associated glaciers were documented. Using this new inventory, the scale and potential for glacial lake outburst flooding (GLOF) based on multiple criteria was examined. This included a history of connectivity characteristics of glacial lakes to mother glaciers, potential flood volumes, and debris-cover of mother glaciers in addition to the conventional criteria of expansion rate and lake size. The majority of the lakes with high expansion rates (more than double in size) and large areas (>0.1 km 2 ) met the conditions of being continuously in contact with a mother debris-covered glacier for nearly 20 years. Based on these multiple criteria, two lakes were identified as having potential for large-scale GLOF. Potentially dangerous glacial lakes listed in the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) study were re-visited, and some overlaps with the glacier-glacial lake inventory were found.

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“…However, in Bhutan, only experts and institutions were reported to have been consulted, and community members were excluded (Meenawat & Sovacool, 2011). Cambodia's project collaborated with community stakeholders in a vulnerability risk assessment prior to project implementation, yet this workshop was held after project design was already completed (ALM, 2010d; D'Agostino & Sovacool, 2011).…”

Section: Stakeholder Engagement In Project Design and Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This project also created a detailed exit strategy to outline future sources of support and actions to continue project aims (ALM, 2010g). Successfully mainstreaming an intervention into local institutions was challenging for ten of the case studies, mainly due to low institutional capacity and lack of interest (ALM, 2008Bekturova, 2011b;Bran, 2011;D'Agostino & Sovacool, 2011;Levin, 2011a;Meenawat & Sovacool, 2011;Rawlani & Sovacool, 2011;UNDP, 2012). B Replicability:…”

Section: B Sustainabilitymentioning

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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Improving adaptive capacity and resilience in Bhutan

Abstract: Bhutan, Adaptive capacity, Climate change adaptation, Resilience,

Cited by 40 publications

References 8 publications

Adaptation to climate change in glaciated mountain regions

Adaptation to climate change in glaciated mountain regions

Evaluating the Scale and Potential of GLOF in the Bhutan Himalayas Using a Satellite-Based Integral Glacier–Glacial Lake Inventory

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

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