#theme:cc_adaptation

This policy brief examines mechanisms to change land use patterns in order to reduce carbon emissions, or promote carbon capture and storage in the light of new research on smallholder coffee agroforestry, recent evidence on sustainable forest management, and experiences with reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation, forest conservation, sustainable management of forests, and the enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+). In Mesoamerica, it is becoming increasingly clear that smallholder coffee farmers and forest communities can contribute significantly to mitigate climate change, yet existing mechanisms have offered few avenues for benefitting these actors, and in some cases even threaten to undermine their livelihoods. This work examines these challenges and proposes alternative approaches to climate change mechanisms that could generate opportunities to more meaningfully incorporate and benefit local actors.

El objetivo de esta estrategia es promover, con el apoyo financiero del sector de las microfinanzas, actividades que contribuyan a combatir la degradación de la tierra, la desertificación y promuevan la adaptación al cambio climático. Con este mecanismo se espera que pequeños productores, principalmente aquellos que habitan en áreas degradadas o vulnerables pueden fortalecer actividades y microemprendimientos rurales que mejoren el manejo y brinden mayor sosteniblidad ambiental. La propuesta se basa en un mecanismo de financiamiento para combatir la degradación de la tierra, y mitigar y adaptarnos al cambio climático a través del sector microfinanciero, lo que permitirá a los países promover acciones de lucha contra la desertificación, y a los pequeños productores emprender actividades y microemprendimientos rurales que mejoren el manejo sostenible de la tierra y brinden mayor sosteniblidad ambiental de sus fincas.

There is a consensus among scientists, policy makers and development practitioners that climate change poses complex challenges to the development of countries in Africa. The adequate response to these challenges needs to be aligned with national and regional strategies for development, poverty alleviation, economic growth and the enhancement of human wellbeing, while increasing resilience to the physical impacts of climate change. Relying heavily on insights from UN agencies, national governments and African scholars, this guidebook will inform on climate change matters including science, governance, technological, financial and capacity building needs as well as opportunities for effective actions towards sustainable development.

This article is the first in a three-part series whose overall aim is to more precisely define the terms 'additionality' and 'baseline' in the context of environmental policy and propose a conceptual framework for applying these concepts within offset programmes. Precise and theoretically well-grounded definitions of these terms is a necessary precursor to their application in real world offset programmes in a way that allows them to operate with both greater credibility and effectiveness. Definitions of 'additionality' and 'baseline' are proposed that can be applied to offset policies and programmes addressing public goods issues at any scale, from traditional project-based initiatives to those transcending traditional offset projects.

With as many as 17 000 islands, Indonesia harbours nearly a quarter of the world’s mangroves. Yet over half of these coastal forests have been lost in the past three decades, shrinking from 4.2 Mha in 1982 to 2 Mha in 2000. The extent of tropical wetlands, the magnitude of loss, and associated socio-economic ramifications for Indonesia’s wetlands are of global significance. The carbon density and rates of land cover change in these ecosystems are amongst the highest of any forest type on Earth. Therefore, addressing climate change and land use in wetland ecosystems could generate valuable new options for managing mangroves and peatlands. The workshop described here included in-depth discussions on greenhouse gas flux processes in tropical wetlands, land use, land cover and stock changes in tropical wetlands, IPCC guidelines in relation to tropical wetlands, and the adaptation of wetlands to climate change.

Change is a constant in the lives of rural people in Africa. People have always had to cope with sudden shocks such as war, rain failures or food price spikes, and with longer-term stresses such as population increases, the degradation of natural resources and long-term decline in their terms of trade. But for most developing countries, climate change adds another layer of complexity to already existing development challenges, such as high levels of poverty and inequality, rapid population growth, underdeveloped markets, poor infrastructure and service provision, and weak governance. This paper seeks to address the issue of adaptive capacity by looking at ways in which interventions can be employed which are suitable to constantly changing circumstances in developing countries, such as Mozambique, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

This paper considers the needed adaptation and mitigation agenda for cities in India – where the urban population is likely to grow by around 500 million over the next 50 years. It considers the likely changes that climate change will bring in temperature, precipitation and extreme rainfall, drought, river and inland flooding, storms/storm surges/coastal fl ooding, sea-level rise and environmental health risks, and who within urban populations are most at risk. It notes the importance for urban areas of an effective rural adaptation agenda – especially in maintaining the productivity and functioning of rural systems. The paper ends by describing a possible urban climate change adaptation framework, including changes needed at the national, state, city and neighbourhood levels, and linkages to mitigation.

The failure of the Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December 2009 emphasized the limitations of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation as a singular policy response to climate change and highlighted the urgent need to design effective adaptation strategies. Current GHG mitigation efforts seek to limit the global average temperature rise to 2 degrees centigrade. There is some scientific evidence that suggests that this may not lead to catastrophic climate change impacts, but will still have significant effects on vulnerable populations. However, in the absence of any consensus on GHG mitigation plans, the target of limiting global average temperature rise to 2oC appears difficult to achieve. Given the possibility of significantly adverse impacts of moderate as well as catastrophic climate change on developing countries, adaptation as a policy option requires careful attention.