Unit 6 - Adaptation Policies in Development

Question 1

How did thinking about vulnerability change over time?

Answer 1

1. risk and hazard / linked to a place / what is hazard and impact?
2. social factors / linked to (groups of) people / why them more then others impacted? (incl power relations)
3. interlinking social groups and ecosystems (resilience thinking) / how far a system can respond, what process shapes its ability to adapt, if it can recover or not

Question 2

what is resilience thinking?

Answer 2

it tries to understand how social and ecological systems co-evolve and, critically, how they respond to disturbances such as CC.

Question 3

what is adaptive capacity?

IPCC, 2007

Answer 3

the ability of a system to adjust to climate change (incl. climate variability and extremes) to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities or to cope with the consequences.

—this is linked to assets (livelihood framework) and resources people have access to.

Question 4

Most common strategies employed in adaptation projects

Answer 4

1. changing NRM practises
2. building institutions
3. launching planning processes
4. raising awareness
5. promoting technology change
6. establishing monitoring/early warning system
7. changing agri practices
8. empowering people
9. promoting policy change
10. improving infra
11. providing insurance mechanisms
12. other…

Question 5

the continuum of adaptation activities

Answer 5

1. addressing drivers of vulnerability
2. building response capacity (inst. building or tech change)
3. Managing climate risk
4. confronting climate change

Question 6

Strategies involved in community based adaptation (Care, 2009)

Answer 6

1. CLIMATE RESILIENT LIVELIHOODS - promotion of climate-resilient livelihoods strategies & income diversification and capacity building for planning and improved risk management
2. DISASTER RISK REDUCTION - disaster risk reduction strategies to reduce the impact of hazards, particularly (specifically for vulnerable households and individuals)
3. CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT - local capacity development for better support to communities/hh/individuals in their adaptation efforts
4. ADDRESSING UNDERLYING CAUSES OF VULNERABILITY - advocacy and social mobilization to address underlying causes of vulnerability

Question 7

Gender dimensions to CC?

Answer 7

1. limited access to and control over resources (property rights)
2. work responsibility differences
3. women tend to have less voice & influence > power inequalities
4. reduces mobility

Question 8

What is vulnarability to CC?

IPCC, 2007

Answer 8

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 character, magnitude, and rate of climate change to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity and its adaptive capacity.

Question 9

Advantages and disadvantages of recognizing women’s particular expertise in CC adaptation:

Answer 9

Advantages:

• women may useful specific knowledge
• women may gain status (empowerment) from recognition of their skills and roles in CC adaptations
• women may benefit from more resources for their strategies/responses in dealing with CC stress and hazards

Disadvantages:

• potential risk of increased workload
• men may take over particular beneficial activities and responsibilities from women
• gender roles/responsibilities may be reinforced

Question 10

A number of adaptation strategies commonly employed by indigenous people

Answer 10

1. diversified resource base
2. changes in varieties and species
3. changes in the timing of activities
4. changes in techniques
5. changes to locate agri activities and settlements
6. changes in resources and/or life style
7. exchange
8. resource management

Question 11

the 5 pillars of the Bali Action Plan (COP13, 2007)

Answer 11

1. Long term cooperative Action (LCA) to develop an ambitious new CC agreement
2. adaptation
3. mitigation
4. technology
5. climate financing

Question 12

the Cancun Adaptation Framework (COP16, 2010)

Answer 12

adaptation needs to be addressed with the same level of priority as mitigation

no steering towards a particular set of adaptation actions - each country to develop fitting in their context

Question 13

4-step generic approach to planning and assessing adaptation actions:

Answer 13

(OECD, 2009)

1. identify current and future vulnerabilities and climate risks
2. identify adaptation measures
3. evaluate and select adaptation options
4. evaluate the ‘success’ of adaptation

Question 14

Why is adaptation more difficult to undertake?

Tanner, 2014

Answer 14

1) Its objectives cannot be reduced to a common measure (like GHG reductions)
2) Difficulty to distinguish between forms of adaptation and normal development interventions.

Question 15

What is Resilience?

Tanner, 2014

Answer 15

The ability of a system and its components parts to anticipate, absorb, accommodate or recover from the effects of a hazardous event in a timely and efficient manner,

including through ensuring the preservation, restoration, or improvement of its essential basic structures and functions.

Module:
The ability of a system to absorb disturbance and maintain function, structures and feedback processes.

Question 16

The difference between coping and adaptation?

Tanner, 2014

Answer 16

Coping: short-term/immediate, survival, ad hoc, reactive, degrades resource base often, lack of alternatives
COPING = BOUNCING BACK

Adaptation: longer term, continuous, results are sustained, efficient/sustainable use of resources, planning, finding alternatives.
ADAPTATION = BOUNCING BACK BETTER

Question 17

Broad normative principles to evaluate the success of adaptation:

(Tanner, 2014)

Answer 17

1. effectiveness
2. robustness
3. flexibility
4. low-regrets
5. cost-effectiveness
6. equity
7. legitimacy

Question 18

Difference between resilience and vulnerability

Answer 18

Resilience provides the capacity to absorb shocks while maintaining function.

Vulnerability is the flip side:
when a social or ecological system loses resilience it becomes vulnerable to change that previously could be absorbed.

In a resilient system, change has the potential to create opportunity for development, novelty and innovation.
In a vulnerable system even small changes may be devastating.

Question 19

win-win or win-win-win approaches?

Answer 19

Activities that deliver development benefits (1) and enhances adaptive capacity (2) and contribute to mitigation (3).

Question 20

what are no-regret and low-regret options?

Answer 20

no-regret: measures that deal with the adaptation deficit - they are not affected by uncertainties related to future CC

Low-regret: some direct investment for future CC however likely deliver large benefits under relatively low risks.

Question 21

What is disaster risk reduction (DRR)

Answer 21

Action taken to reduce the risk of disasters and the adverse impact of natural hazards.

In includes both policy and strategic/instrumental measures to anticipate future disaster risk, reducing existing exposure, hazards or vulnerability and improve resilience.

Question 22

The focus of the GCF

Answer 22

will be on developing countries in:

• mitigation (incl REDD)
• adaptation
• capacity building
• technology transfer and technology development

Question 23

In what way may the developed countries COP15 pledges (Copenhagen, GCF, 2009) not be so great?

Answer 23

1. compared with the estimated funding requirements (75-100 billion annually) for adaptations it is not sufficient
2. additionallity to development funding not clear
3. the pledges 2010-2012 very low (30m expected, only limited amount really pledged)
4. includes both mitigation and adaptation
5. no timetable for building it up
6. no commitment for funding prior to 2020
7. unclear definition: adaptation funding from 2012 being in the context of meaningful mitigation actions
8. no consideration of dealing with absorptive capacity and macro-economic impacts of large scale funding

Question 24

What does a resilient world look like?

Answer 24

1. diversity
2. ecological variability
3. modularity
4. acknowledging slow variables
5. tight feedbacks
6. social capital
7. innovation
8. overlap in governance
9. ecosystem services

Question 25

Vulnerability
adaptive capacity
resilience
resilience thinking

Answer 25

Vulnerability - degree to which a system is susceptible to and unable to cope with adverse effects of CC

adaptive capacity - the ability to adjust to CC to moderate potential damages to take advantage of opportunities or to cope with the consequences (access & control resources)

resilience - the ability of a system to absorb disturbances, maintain function, structures and feedback processes.

resilience thinking - how social and ecological systems co-evolve and critically how they respond to disturbances