ADAPTING TO A
CHANGING CLIMATEA Community Manuali© Conservation International 2013
The materials included in this manual and accompanying toolkit may be reproduced for use in training activities
offered by non-profit organizations or other not for profit indigenous peoples organizations or community groups
at no cost to participants. The materials may not be used in training events or activities offered for profit. Materials
and images supplied as part of the toolkit cannot be used for purposes other than as training aids without thewritten permission of Conservation International..
ISBN # 978-1-934151-61-7

Cover photo: Mangroves at Baie D’Ambodi-Vahibe, Madagascar © CI/ photo by Sterling Zumbrunn
The illustrations in the products were done by Olman Bolaños and Luis Enrique Gutiérrez of Parábolas, O.L., San
José, Costa Rica. Additional illustrations courtesy of Corporación Educativa para el Desarrollo Costarricense,
Sociedad Civil (CEDECO) and Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE).
The graphic design and layout of all toolkit components was done by Regina Harlig.

Citation: Conservation International, Social Policy and Practice Department, 2013. Adapting to a Changing
Climate: A Community Manual.
Available online: conservation.org/adaptation_ToT

For more information contact:
Regina Harlig
Senior Manager, Capacity Building and Knowledge Management
Social Policy and PracticeConservation International
01-703-341-2400
rharlig@conservation.org

Conservation International is a non-profit organization founded in 1987 with program offices and partners in over
30 countries. CI’s mission: “Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration,
CI empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity, for the well-beingof humanity.” In 2003, CI established the Indigenous and Traditional Peoples Program to strengthen ourcommitments to indigenous and traditional peoples and support their vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems.

ADAPTING TO A
CHANGING CLIMATEA Community ManualHannah Campbell
Terry Hills
Susan Stone
Mario Chacón León
Regina Harlig
Radhika DaveThis document is part of a package of tools created to support the development of skilled local trainers on thebasics of climate change adaptation. Other components include the Training of Trainers Course Manual and theTraining Toolkit. A team of writers and designers contributed to the authorship of the products, supported byreviewers and editors, who are credited in the acknowledgment. The principal authors and contributors are:
Adapting to a Changing Climate: A Community Manual Hannah Campbell, Terry Hills, Susan Stone, Mario
Chacón León, Regina Harlig, Radhika Dave
Adapting to a Changing Climate: Training Guide

Luis Barquin, Susan Stone, Regina Harlig, Terry Hills

Adapting to a Changing Climate toolkit

Regina Harlig, Hannah Campbell, Terry Hills, Luis
Barquin, Susan Stone

About the team:Hannah Campbell is the former Director for Climate Adaptation Policy and Practice at Conservation International where she
led CI’s work on international climate change adaptation negotiations at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) and climate change adaptation capacity building. Her background includes paleoclimate research in Antarctica with
Rice University, marine resource management education with the School for Field Studies, managing the Regional Integrated
Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program and providing technical support to the US engagement in the UNFCCC in the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Program Office.
Terry Hills is an advisor on climate change for Conservation International in the Asia-Pacific region. . The main focus of
his work is providing technical support and building the capacity of field staff and partners on climate change adaptation,
which has involved the joint preparation of vulnerability assessments with local organizations and academic institutions, thedelivery of training programs and the preparation and implementation of climate change adaptation plans. Terry contributed
to developing the climate change adaption program of the Australian Aid Agency (AusAID). His background and experience
also include environmental engineering and social science.
Susan Stone is the Senior Director of the Social Policy and Practice Department at Conservation International. Susan began her
career at CI in 2000 working in Guyana on conservation enterprise development, participatory methodologies for community
resource use mapping, and the integration of indigenous knowledge into establishing protected areas. Susan now focuses oncommunity engagement and training and on developing courses for local stakeholder audiences, including indigenous peoples
and other local communities on climate mitigation, adaptation and stakeholder engagement. She holds a Masters Degree inInternational and Intercultural Management.
Luis Barquin Valle is the Director of Social Practice and Accountability in the Social Policy and Practice Department at
Conservation International. Luis began his career with CI working in CI-Guatemala on climate change and supporting indigenousorganizations engaged in REDD+. Luis holds a Masters Degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. Luis focuses on
implementing the Training of Trainers methodology for capacity building for local communities and developing accountability
tools and methods for assessing, planning and monitoring stakeholder engagement in natural resources management.
Regina Harlig is the Senior Manager of Capacity Building and Knowledge Management in CI’s Social Policy and PracticeDepartment. She started working on the “Climate Change and the Role of Forests” Training of Trainers toolkit while she wasat CI-Guyana as a Peace Corps volunteer. She has a degree in graphic arts and policy studies.
Mario Chacón León is from Costa Rica and holds a Masters Degree in Tropical Forest Management andConservation of Biodiversity. He has worked as a staff researcher at the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher
Education Center (CATIE) on topics related to forest, agroforestry and ecosystem services. He is a training andcapacity building manager for CI’s Climate Change Initiative.
Radhika Dave is the former Senior Manager, Climate Adaptation Science and Practice at CI’s Global Change
and Ecosystem Services Department in the Science and Knowledge Division. She is currently pursuing a PhD on
environmental governance and flows of ecosystem services at the University of Southampton.

iv

Table of Contents

List of Figures										List of Acronyms 									Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction

vii
viii

Session 1. Understanding ecosystems and the services they provide for human well-being
Part 1.What is the relationship between people and nature?					Part 2. What are ecosystems and what services do they provide?				
Part 3. What are the impacts affecting ecosystem services? 			
		Part 4. What are some approaches and tools for managing ecosystems?			
Important Things to Remember 								Key Terms to Remember 									

3
3
4
7
8
10
10

Session 2. Understanding The Basics Of Climate And Climate Change				Part 1. How is the Earth Formed? 								Part 2. What is Weather and What is Climate? 						Part 3. What is Climate Change and How Do We Know it is Happening?			
Part 4. How Does Nature Regulate Climate?							Part 5. How do Human Activities Cause Climate Change?					Part 6. How does climate change affect the Earth and our lives?				
Important Things to Remember 								Key Terms to Remember 									

11
11
12
15
17
20
22
24
25

Session 3. Climate Change Policies and Action: Working to Solve the Problemof Climate Change 									Part 1. Climate Change Policies: What Is the International Community Doing
to Solve the Problem of Climate Change? 						Part 2. Mitigation and Adaptation Action:
How Can International Policy Help to Reduce Climate Change?			
Part 3. What Resources are Available from the International Community
to Support Adaptation? 								Important Things to Remember 								Key Terms to Remember 									Session 4. Climate Change Adaptation:
Understanding Climate Vulnerability and Climate Resilience 			Part 1. Why do we Need to Change our Behaviors and Adapt?				
Part 2. How Does Climate Change Impact Communities?					Part 3. What are Climate Vulnerability and Climate Resilience?				
Part 4. Vulnerability-Based Planning or Resilience-Based Planning
for Climate Change? 									Part 5. What types of knowledge and tools are importantfor communities who want to adapt?							Important Things to Remember 								Key Terms to Remember 									

27
27
33
36
37
38
39
39
40
41
48
51
56
57

v

vi

Session 5. Maintaining Healthy Ecosystems to Adapt Livelihoods to Climate Change		Part 1. How Can Ecosystem Services Help People Adapt to Climate Change? 			
Part 2. How do Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services Support Human Livelihoods?		
Part 3. How Can People Increase Ecosystem Resilienceto Climate Change and Human Pressure?						Important Things to Remember 								Key Terms to Remember 									

59
59
61

Session 6. How to plan for adaptation and take action						Part 1. What is an adaptation plan and the process to create one? 				Part 2. How can climate change adaptation planning be integrated
with other planning processes?							Important Things to Remember 								Key Terms to Remember 									

73
73Endnotes, References and Resources 								Glossary										

88
91

70
72
72

80
84
85

List of Figures

Session 2
Figure 1. The Main Parts of the Earth
Figure 2. The Climate Components
Figure 3. Global Mean Temperature
Figure 4. Global Mean Sea Level
Figure 5. Rising Sea Levels
Figure 6. The Greenhouse EffectFigure 7. Human Impacts on the Greenhouse EffectFigure 8. The Carbon Cycle
Figure 9. The Natural Carbon Cycle
Figure 10. Human Impacts on the Carbon Cycle
Figure 11. Industrial Processes and Land Use Change Cause CO2 Emissions
and Reduce Carbon Storage
Figure 12. The Impacts of Climate Change
Session 3
Figure 13. Timeline of Important Actions at the UNFCCC
Figure 14. Mitigation Actions in Different Parts of Daily Life
Figure 15. Adaptation Actions in Different Parts of Daily Life
Session 4
Figure 16. Climate Risks and Opportunities

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List of Acronyms

viii

AOSIS			Alliance of Small Island States

CBD			

Convention on Biological Diveristy

DRR			

Disaster Risk Reduction

EbA			

Ecosystem-based Adaptation

FPIC			

Free, Prior, and Informed Consent

GEF			

Global Environmental Facility

GHG			

Greenhouse Gas

ILO			

International Labour Organization

IPCC			

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

LDCs			

Least Developed Countries

LDCF			

Least Developed Countries Fund

LMMA			

Locally Managed Marine Areas

MPA			

Marine Protected Area

NAPA			

National Adaptation Programme of Action

NAP			

National Adaptation Plan

NGO			

Non-governmental Organization

UNDRIP		

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

UNFCCC		United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNPFII		

United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This Training of Trainers course, Adapting to a Changing Climate, is the result of the collaborative efforts andexpertise of many people. The development of this training tool benefited from the advice and expertise of CI
staff and local partners in a two step process of review, feedback and testing to ensure that the course would
meet the needs of local communities and other local groups. The materials were first reviewed by technicalexperts from CI programs around the world, and then tested in collaboration with the CI-Fiji program ina pilot training with participants from government, local NGOs and communities. The authors and the
product development team of the Social Policy and Practice Department at Conservation International
gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the CI technical review team and the CI-Fiji program and pilot
training participants to this training course and manual.
CI staff feedback workshop, June 2012
A group of 20 CI staff members from 12 country programs and CI’s US headquarters office provided
technical advice on the content and structure of the training course, manual and toolkit materials during
a product development workshop in June 2012. Based on their expertise in climate adaptation, science,
policy and their experience working with local communities, this group provided valuable feedback andrecommendations on the training materials and course content. In addition, Angela Andrade, Camila
Donatti, Tiene Gunawan, Ricky Nunez, Candido Pastor, and Jeannicq Randrianarisoa provided the final
technical review of the course and manual. The contributions of the CI staff technical team were essential
to developing a global training tool on climate change adaptation that can be used by local trainers for local
communities around the world.
The participants are listed below:*
CI Staff at June 2012 workshop
Angela Andrade		
Lillian Bago			Free de Koning 			Camila Donatti			Bailey Evans			
Tiene Gunawan			
Lee Hannah			
Sokrith Heng			
Carolyn Hicks			
Lili Ileva			
Bunnara Min			
Ravic Nijbroek			Enrique Nunez			Candido Pastor			
Renata Pereira			
Preeya Rampersaud		
Jeannicq Randrianarisoa
Loraini Sivo			Jeanne Tabangay		
Rossemary Yurivilca		

CI-Colombia
CI-PNG
CI-Ecuador
Science + Knowledge**
Field Program Management
CI-Indonesia
Science + Knowledge**
CI-Cambodia
Center for Conservation and Government***
CI-Guyana (intern)
CI-Cambodia
Global Marine**
CI-Philippines
CI-Bolivia
CI-Brazil
CI-Guyana
CI-Madagascar
CI-Fiji
CI-Philippines
CI-Peru*Divisions or field offices listed represent staff affiliations at the time of the workshop, and may have changed since June 2012.

ix

Fiji Field Pilot, February 2013
Following the technical review by CI staff, the Adapting to a Changing Climate Training of Trainers course
and materials were piloted in Rakiraki, Fiji, in collaboration with CI’s Fiji Program. Loraini Silvo, Marine
Project Manager, organized and facilitated the pilot training with the support of CI-Fiji staff Vaseva Cerala,
Operations Coordinator, and Nemani Vuniwaqa, Ra Province Field Officer.
A group of 25 local participants which included community representatives, provincial environmental
officers, and NGO partners attended the training. These participants applied a wealth of experience fromyears of working with communities throughout Fiji, in areas that included environmental education, natural
resource management, and community development to provide valuable feedback on the course. The groupshared many of their own creative suggestions on how they could teach the material to communities in Fiji.
Their feedback was essential for completing the final version of this manual and toolkit, particularly theirrecommendations on the creation of thoughtful training activities that make new and complex topics
understandable in the local context.
The names and affiliations of the participants are listed below:
Participants at February 2013 Fiji Pilot
Macuata District
Isoa Baleirotuma		Clare Bastable			
Itaukei Affairs Board
Elisheva Efrayim		Lami Town Council
Wame Latitoga			Climate Change Unit, Foreign Affairs
Materiti Mateiwai		Itaukei Affairs Board
Isikeli Naitura			
Integrated Coastal Management, Ra Province
Sipirino Qetaqeta		
National Trust of Fiji
Miriama Tabuarua Qoro
Itaukei Affairs Board
Akuila Turaganiqali		
Bua Yaubula Management Support Team
Sunia Vuniyayawa		
National Trust of Fiji
Vaseva Cerelala			
CI-Fiji
Robert Kafoa			Pacific Conference of Churches
Kolinio Musudroka		
WWF
Timoci Naivalulevu		
Live and Learn
Alumeci Nakeke		
SeaWebStephanie Robinson		
WWF
Maleli Qera			
Community-Centred Conservation (C3)
Akosita Rokomate Nakoro
Community-Centred Conservation (C3)
Isacc Rounds			
CI-Fiji
Peni Seru			Partners in Community Development Fiji
Nemani Vuniwaqa		
CI-Fiji
Vasiti Navuku			GEF-Small Grants Programme
Dan Orcherton			
University of the South PacificBetani Salusalu			
Mamanuca Environment Society
Thomas Tui			Tui Consultancy

2

FOREWORD

In a small island developing country where different communal lifestyles and values predominantly
characterise a person’s identity, we have learnt that it is critical for us to communicate, inform and educate
our people about the subject of climate change in the manner they can easily relate to and understand.
We have also learnt that no matter how real climate change is, if we do not translate it well and involve
our people and our communities in the formulation of respective national strategies and policies, it will be
impossible to effectively address all its adverse impacts.
In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is elated to be part of theformulation of the Training of Trainers Course Manual and the Training Toolkit which addresses basic
information on climate change. Importantly, we are happy to endorse the development of the Manual
because it essentially represents the views of our people and our communities.
I must say that this is indeed a significant tool and having been mandated to coordinate Climate Change
activities in Fiji, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation recognises the invaluable
efforts of Conservation International in linking and translating international and regional climate change
instruments to such a user friendly manual and toolkit. I am certain that these documents are imperativein addressing the challenges that we currently face in informing and educating our communities aboutclimate change.
I truly believe this toolkit is a timely and a very useful production.
Congratulations to the Conservation International team and all those who have worked tirelessly to see
this project through.
Vinaka Vakalevu
Esala Nayasi
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Mr. Esala Nayasi is the Director of the Political and Treaties Division at the Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs andInternational Cooperation, which houses Fiji’s Climate Change Unit.

3

4

INTRODUCTION
As the climate continues to change, it is becoming increasingly important for communities everywhereto plan and take action for climate change adaptation. It is essential for local communities to have thenecessary information to fully and effectively participate in ongoing adaptation planning processes, aswell as to be able to bring their knowledge and experience to these processes. Indigenous peoples andlocal communities have valuable strategies for adapting to changes in climate and other threats, which cancontribute to climate change planning. By contributing to planning processes that are taking place at thenational and international level, community leaders can identify adaptation actions that can be taken at
the community level, as well as how these actions can be linked with efforts taking place at broader scales.
It is equally important to recognize the role of healthy ecosystems in reducing communities’ vulnerability
to climate change, particularly as these ecosystems may be one of their most valuable resources. Because
communities rely on different types of livelihoods that are supported by different ecosystems, communities
need information on how these ecosystems may be impacted by climate change and what actions need tobe taken to maintain ecosystem health.
The Adapting to a Changing Climate Training of Trainers (ToT) course is a community adaptation training
tool which is designed to address the question: how can communities make the best use of their natural
resources in order to reduce their vulnerability to climate change? The course is designed to provide
participants with the information necessary to engage in planning for climate change adaptation, as well as
the skills and tools to organize, design, and lead their own trainings on these topics. It also aims to highlightsome of the various ways that local and traditional knowledge can contribute to communities’ adaptation
strategies. The six-part training manual is built on a foundation of the importance of natural resource
management, and covers the relationship between people and ecosystems, the basics of climate science,
international climate policy, key concepts of climate vulnerability and resilience, the ways ecosystems canhelp to protect human livelihoods from climate change, and planning for adaptation action. The Trainingof Trainers also includes sessions on training design and facilitation skills. Trainers receive the course
manual, a training guide with activities and discussion questions, and a toolkit of training aids.
The course and toolkit are intended to be a global tool, which trainers can adapt for the local context of
their country or region. The materials provide a global context for climate change and key issues related
to adaptation, while giving trainers the flexibility to incorporate their own knowledge and experience
to customize the information for a local audience. The training toolkit offers a variety of methods forpresenting the material, including presentations, visual aids, and activities, and gives the trainer theflexibility to choose the learning method that works best for his or her audience. Trainers are encouraged
to share local examples of both the challenges and successes that communities have had with climatechange adaptation. By asking participants to share their own experiences and expertise, as well as bringing
in guests presenters, the trainings can create valuable opportunities to expand local dialogue on climatechange adaptation and increase the contribution of local communities to national level processes. Bringing
together these multiple sources of information will allow communities to plan for and adapt to climatechange in the way that is best suited to support their livelihoods and well-being .

5

6

© Koulang Chey

Session 1. Understanding ecosystems and theservices they provide for human well-being

LEARNING OBJECTIVESAt the end of the session, participants should be
able to:• Understand the diverse relationships between
people and their environment• Understand the different types of ecosystems
and the services they provide for human wellbeing and livelihoods• Understand the current threats to ecosystems
from natural and human impacts,• Understand how governments and communities
are working to reduce impacts and some approaches used to protect ecosystem health andservices

Session 1

This session will provide an introduction to ecosystems and ecosystem services as basic background. In
the following sessions, understanding ecosystems and their services will be critical for understanding theimpacts of climate change on our world and how to best prepare for them.

Part 1: What is the relationship between people and nature?

Sometimes that relationship to nature is very direct and easy to see. For example, many communities get their main source of protein by fishing in oceans or rivers, or get their drinking
water directly from a river or lake. They may build homes from wood harvested in a nearby forest, or rely on local plants to heal thesick. Rural communities often depend more directly
on nature and have the best understanding of the natural resources intheir region.

© CEDECO 2007

Human beings have always relied on nature to provide the essentials for life, such as water, food, building
materials and medicines.

7

Sometimes the relationship between people and nature may be more indirect and harder to see; the natural
resources may come from areas further from where people live. For example, if the fish is caught in one
country, then packaged and transported to another country, the people who eat the fish do not know thearea where it was taken from. Or, a coastal community that gets drinking water from a river may not beaware that the forest upstream in the mountains collects and filters (or cleans) that water to make it drinkable for them downstream. Urban communities often have more indirect relationships with nature and may
not be aware of the ecosystems in other regions that provide their food, water and other resources.
A good understanding of nature and its ecosystems is necessary to prepare for the possible impacts ofclimate change. Ecosystems provide critical services that, if cared for well, can reduce the impacts of climatechange and help communities maintain the resources they need, despite a changing climate.

Part 2. What are ecosystems and what
services do they provide?

An ecosystem is a group of plants and animals that lives together
in a specific place within a particular environment. The characteristics of the area—its soil, rocks, water—make up the environment. An ecosystem is a delicate balance in which all plants
and animals have a relationship with each other and their environment. Examples of ecosystems include forests, wetlands, coral
reefs, etc.

What are ecosystem services?

Ecosystems provide essential services for people all over the world. Ecosystem services are the resources
and processes that nature provides that benefit people and support their livelihoods (their means of living
and earning income). Every region of the world has different ecosystems that make it unique and provide
distinct services for the communities that live there.

8The following are examples of ecosystem services:• providing food, water, timber and medicines for daily needs• supporting economic development, such as logging, fisheries, tourism, non-timber forest products,
and hydropower• controlling floods, disease, waste, and water quality• supporting natural processes, such as pollination, and climate control• providing nutrients to soil and water systems• providing cultural services, which are a source of beliefs, traditions and enjoyment.
Ecosystems benefit everyone in some way. Consider mountain and forest
ecosystems, for example. They provide clean water for drinking,agriculture, and industry. The forest plants and soil absorb waterand filter out the tiny quantities of metal, dirt and otherthings that people can’t drink, so the water flows into thegroundwater system, streams and rivers much cleaner
than it arrived. The people who benefit may be indigenous
peoples and local communities living in or near theforest ecosystems, or they may be city dwellers who live
far from the water source but still depend on the goodmanagement of those forest ecosystems for fresh water.

© Robin Moore© Ci/photo by Miguel Ãngel de la Cueva

Below are some important ecosystems and their services:

Forests

Wetlands (swamps, bogs and marshes)

protect against erosion; maintain watersheds by absorbing and storing rainfall; provide habitat for insects andother wildlife that pollinate plants; maintain cloud cover,creating a cooling effect and increasing rainfall; as wellas supporting drinking water and crops. Forests also provide, building materials and food supplies and sources ofincome from timber and non-timber forest products.

absorb rainfall, purify water, and regulate the flow of water to streams and rivers, thereby reducing drought andmaintaining flow for hydro-electric plants. Wetlands also
provide erosion control and are often rich biodiversity
reservoirs.

9© Ci/photo by Miguel Ãngel de la Cueva

protect shorelines from erosion caused by rising sea
level and storms, provide fish habitat, protect against
flooding and keep salt water out of fresh groundwater
systems.

© Paul Nicklen© Keith A. Ellenbogen/iLCP

Mangroves

Coral reefs

protect against storm surge and maintain importantfishery habitat and breeding grounds.

Ecosystem services provide a safety net for many
communities. For example, when a storm destroys
a town’s water system, water may still be available
from a local river or lake. If roads flood, temporarily
making food transport to the region impossible, thecommunity may be able to fish, hunt and gather
foodstuffs from the forest to provide for themselves.
These services can support a community in a time ofneed and give it the opportunity to recover without
extreme losses.

Why is it important to consider
ecosystem services as part of(deserts, grasslands and woodlands)
conservation?
help absorb rainfall, purify water and regulate the

Dryland Ecosystems

The main focus of biodiversity conservation is to en-

flow of water to streams and rivers, provide habitat forsure that no plants or animals disappear or become
insects and other wildlife that pollinate plants, keep
“extinct.” This conservation approach values all plants
the area cooler through plant coverage.

and animals as part of the world’s biodiversity. Ecosystems provide the habitat that supports biodiversity.
But the value of ecosystem services goes beyond biodiversity alone. Governments, decision makers and conservationists also need to understand the value of ecosystem services’ contributions to human livelihoods
and development. They need to consider the value of these services when making decisions on other investments that protect communities, infrastructure and natural resources, such as sea walls, or water-powered(hydro) electric plants. Finding the best balance between protecting ecosystem services and protecting biodiversity is critical for decisions that impact the long-term sustainability of ecosystems, biodiversity, anddevelopment.

10© Trond Larsen© Pete Oxford/iLCP

Grasslands

Páramos (high altitude wetlands)

maintain soil fertility, disperse seeds, reduce flood supply fresh water for drinking, irrigation and hydroand drought damage, and provide erosion control to power by storing water from melting glaciers and reprotect homes and agriculture.
leasing it during the dry season.

Part 3. What are the impacts affecting ecosystem services?
What are the natural and human-caused impacts that harm ecosystems?

Anything that damages the ecosystem to the point where it can no longer sustain its health and provide
services is a harmful impact. Economic, social and natural factors can all harm ecosystems and their services.
Human impacts like over-fishing can damage a fishery and reduce its ability to maintain fish populations
and provide food for communities in both the short and long-term. Similarly, poaching and over-huntingof animals for recreational purposes can harm grassland ecosystems and create an imbalance in the
predator/prey relationship. Agriculture, although an important human activity, is the largest contributor
to deforestation, which means that there are fewer forests to provide ecosystem services. Natural impacts
like earthquakes can cause landslides that destroy entire areas of forest, removing important habitat, killing
animals and polluting water with sediment.

What causes local and regional impacts?

Many impacts to ecosystems are caused by influences that are specific to certain regions or local areas.
Natural events such as volcanic eruptions, storms and earthquakes (mentioned above) can all cause major
impacts to a particular area. Specific economic and social needs of human populations in a region can leadto harmful impacts as well. The need for governments and businesses to supply goods and services to a
country’s population can lead to the use of ecosystems and their services in ways that are not sustainable—that damages their ability to provide services for the long-term. Mining, logging, agriculture, andcommercial fishing, if not regulated and well managed, can harm ecosystem health and reduce the qualityof ecosystem services. Population growth and expanding human settlements and cities can also increasepressure on ecosystems.

11Part 4. What are some approaches and tools for managing
ecosystems?
How can communities manage the impacts on ecosystems?

Each community has different resources, needs and ecosystems. It is important for communities tounderstand an ecosystem’s health, what services it provides, and how those are changing over time in orderto make effective decisions about managing their ecosystems. To understand what their ecosystems are andwhat services they provide, communities, governments and organizations often measure and map them.
Mapping an ecosystem is challenging but can be done through various techniques:• Observations on the ground• Photographs taken from airplanes (aerial photographs)• Satellites• Computer modeling (to be discussed more in Session 4)• Bringing together community members with in-depth knowledge of the ecosystem(s)• Communicating—both outside and within the community—about the ecosystems and the criticalservices they provide

Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) are one example
of community-managed natural resources. Instead of being
managed at a national level, LMMAs rely on long-standing local and traditional practices (such as seasonal bans and temporary no-take areas) to manage coastal resources. In Fiji, many
LMMAs have been established, supported by a commitment
from the Fijian government. These LMMAs have benefitted
from strong links between community management strategies
and scientific research in Fiji that explored the economic, social, and cultural value of marine resources. The findings ofthis research have enabled local resource managers, educators, and conservationists to build broader support for marine
conservation and have helped community managers prioritizeamong management options.

12

Photo by Ron Vave

Communities can then create natural resource management
plans that include these ecosystems and their services as resources to protect. Planning processes can help communities
find ways to fulfill economic and social needs while maintaining ecosystem services, and can lead to increased resources forthe community and to changes in community behavior or regional laws that protect ecosystems and their services.

© Mpingo Conservation ProjectCommunity-managed forests are another way to manage ecosystems. These
have benefits not only for the forest ecosystems, but also for the people in thecommunity. In southeast Tanzania, communities like the village of Kikole havetaken over the ownership of mpingo forests from the government. Mpingo trees
produce a type of black wood often used
for making instruments and sculptures.
Community management allows Kikole
Village to receive payment for its timber
directly instead of through the government. Because it has received international certification to show that its timber
is sustainably harvested, the Kikole forest timber can be sold for a much higher
price. The Mpingo Conservation Project has worked with communities to develop their own management
plans and to provide training on forest monitoring.
There are several approaches and tools to manage ecosystems:• Community/traditional rules for behavior• Establishment and management of protected areas• Decentralized natural resource management; assigning local rights and duties• Planning laws (set and enforced by governments)• Development of safeguards (e.g., set and monitored by project donors)• Clear definition of property rights (communal, individual, etc.)• Sustainability certification, which enables increased prices for sustainably managed and harvested products

13

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:• An ecosystem is a natural group of plants, animals and microorganisms that lives together in a
specific place, dependent on their environment to survive.
• Ecosystems provide many basic resources and needs to support people’s livelihoods.
• Ecosystem services support many aspects of life, including the availability and quality of fresh
water, healthy fisheries, sustainable agriculture, and protection from heavy winds, flooding, erosionand drought.
• Managing ecosystem services requires understanding how ecosystems support livelihoods in aregion, who benefits from the ecosystem services, what impacts affect those ecosystems, and thevalue of the services they provide.

KEY TERMS TO REMEMBER:
Ecosystem: a group of plants, animals (including Nutrients: a substance that provides nourishpeople) and microorganisms that live together ment or food, necessary for growth and life.
in a specific place with a particular environment
Pollination: the transfer of pollen from one partthat enables them to survive.
of a flower to another part of that same flower or
Ecosystem services: the resources and services to another flower to enable seed production andprovided by natural ecosystems.
plant reproduction. Depending on the plant, insects, birds, bats and even the wind can transfer
Environment: the external surroundings in which
the pollen and enable the plant to create seeds.
a plant or animal lives, such as soil, rocks andwater, which provides the means for life and Rural: relating to an area located away from cities
affects behavior.
and/or associated with farming or subsistence
livelihoods.
Livelihood: a person’s means of living or earning
an income to support themselves, such as Urban: relating to a city or town.
fishing, farming and tourism.

14

CI/John Martin

Session 2. Understanding the Basics of Climate and Climate Change

LEARNING OBJECTIVESAt the end of the session, participants should be
able to:• Explain the concepts of climate and weather• Understand what climate change means and why
the climate is changing• Explain the signs of climate change• Understand and explain the greenhouse effectand identify the main greenhouse gases• •Explain how human activities are causing climatechange• Explain how climate change affects people andnature• Understand why we should be concerned aboutclimate change

Session 1

For people to protect themselves and their ecosystems from the threats
presented by climate change, it is important to understandhow the climate is changing and why. This session will coversome of the basic natural processes that make life on Earthpossible, how human behavior is changing these processes,
and how that is changing the climate.

Part 1. How is the Earth Formed?

The Earth is a living planet with natural processes that work
together to provide a good environment for human, plant
and animal life. These processes make life on Earth possible
and affect our climate.

How do the parts of the Earth work together?

The planet Earth is formed by rocks, minerals, soils, water,gases and living organisms. There are three main parts ofthe Earth, each made up of different materials:• The inside, or core, of the Earth is composed mostly of
rocks and other dense or thick materials.
• The surface of the Earth includes both land and water.
Water in oceans, lakes and rivers covers 70 percent—almost three quarters—of the Earth’s surface. The rest15

is land—about 30 percent, or a little less than one-third. More than 10 percent of the total land on Earthis permanently covered in ice.1• The atmosphere, or air, is the area above the Earth’s surface. It is made up of invisible gases such as
nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. The atmosphere begins at the surface of the Earth and extends
upward into outer space in many layers. Most of the processes that affect the Earth’s climate happen in
the lowest layer of the atmosphere, which starts at the surface of the Earth and goes about 10 miles, or 16
kilometers, into space. This layer of the atmosphere contains the air we breathe.
All the different parts of the Earth work together to make life on Earth possible. Conditions in the atmosphereaffect the Earth’s surface, and in turn, the land and water of Earth’s surface affect the atmosphere. For example,
photosynthesis is a natural process in which plants on the earth’s surface take in light and heat from the sunand carbon dioxide from the air, and then release oxygen into the atmosphere. This process makes plants
grow and keeps our air clean.

Part 2. What is Weather and What is Climate?

Climate produces the temperatures and rainfall that make life possible.
Without the right temperature and rainfall, plants and trees could not
grow, animals would not have food to eat, and people could not survive.
Weather is temperature, rainfall, or storms in a specific place on a specificday or over a short period of time, like one season. When someone says,“It is raining a lot today,” or “It has been very rainy this season,” they aretalking about the weather. Weather measures the temperature, rainfall,wind and cloud conditions on a particular day or season. Storms are
extreme weather conditions, such as heavy rain and strong winds.
Climate is the average weather over a long period of time. Whensomeone says, “It always rains here for six months of the year,” or “Itnever snows here,” they are talking about the climate. When climate
is measured, it is measured over several years, many decades or evencenturies. It measures the average temperature, the average rainfall orsnowfall, and how often storms generally happen in an area.

Both climate andweather measure:

The climate is a very complex natural process. It is influenced by theinteraction of the air, the water, and the land surface. The way the air
moves through the atmosphere and the way the water moves throughthe ocean can all affect temperature and rainfall.

16

Both climate andweather measure:
Temperature(Hot or Cold)

Precipitation(Rain or Snow)Wind and Clouds

The figure below shows how climate components work together.

Solar Energy

Wind
Precipitation
Evaporation

Volcanic Eruptions

Ocean Currents

Figure 2. The Climate Components
Climate is influenced by things that happen in nature (like volcanic eruptions, or changes in how muchenergy from the sun reaches the Earth) as well as by human activities. The main natural processes that affectclimate are:

The Sun’s Energy

The amount of solar (or sun) energy that reaches the Earth influences climate. If the amount of solar
energy increases or decreases, it can make the Earth warmer or colder.

Gases in the Atmosphere

Some gases have a strong influence on climate by trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and making
the planet warm. These gases are a natural part of the atmosphere, but, over the past 150 years, humanactivity has increased their amount in the atmosphere, trapping more and more heat. .This results inglobal warming, an increase of the average temperature of the planet, and contributes to climate change.

Ocean Currents

The oceans are a critical part of the climate system because of their ability to absorb gases from theatmosphere and move heat around the world. Ocean water is always moving. When the wind blows, it
moves water over the ocean’s surface in regular patterns, called currents. Colder water, which is heavier

17than warmer water, sinks to the bottom of the ocean at the Earth’s poles. Water also moves up from thecolder, deeper parts of the ocean to the warmer surface. These movements affect the temperature of thesurface of the ocean. The movement of ocean water also moves heat around the globe, so ocean currents
have a big impact on climate change.
Other natural processes that affect climate are:Volcanic Eruptions

When volcanoes erupt they release gas and tiny particles that get into the upper parts of the atmosphereand can affect the Earth’s temperatures. The particles reflect the sun’s energy away from the Earth andhave a cooling effect on the climate—this usually only lasts a few years at most.2

Snow and Ice

Because snow and ice are light in color, they reflect solar energy back to the atmosphere, which keeps
Earth cooler. As Earth’s climate warms and snow and ice melt, less solar energy is reflected back, whichcauses even more warming.

Climate Variability: Natural Changes to Climate

Just as one day may be wetter or hotter than another, one year may be wetter or hotter than the last; even
decades can vary one from another. These differences are not always caused by climate change. Many things
determine this variation.
Some key factors include the rotation of the Earth and the way the heat from the sun interacts with the land
and water on the Earth. These changes can happen in cycles. For example, temperatures are generally higher
at mid-day than in mornings or evenings because the Earth is more exposed to the sun at this time.
El Niño and La Niña are other examples of natural cycles that affect the climate. They happen every 3-7 years
and last for a year or two. Scientists are still trying to understand exactly what causes these cycles, but theyknow it is related to temperature changes in the Pacific Ocean, as well as ocean currents and wind patterns.

El Niño and La Niña are names given to cycles of temporary changes in the winds and water
movement that occur between the east and west sides of the Pacific Ocean. In El Niño, whichhappens every three to five years, the winds and ocean currents in the tropical Pacific Ocean
reverse, moving west to east, and warmer water builds up in the eastern Pacific Ocean. In La Niña,
the opposite happens—the winds over the tropical Pacific move east to west but are stronger thanusual, bringing colder water to the eastern Pacific Ocean. These changes can affect weather all over
the world, including increased rainfall or extreme drought, which in turn affects food production. El
Niño and La Niña are not caused by climate change, but when they happen, they can cause climatechange effects to be more severe, making it difficult to adapt.

18

Part 3. What is Climate Change and How Do We Know it is Happening?

Climate change is the change of the normal weather patterns around the world over an extended period oftime, typically decades or longer. As Earth’s average temperature has slowly increased over the last 100 years,
the term ‘global warming’ is often used when discussing climate change.
Remember that ‘average’ means that scientists are looking at changes in temperature all over the planet. In
some places, the temperature is getting warmer; in other places, it may actually be getting cooler—climatechange is not happening in the same way everywhere. But overall, the Earth is getting warmer.
Signs of climate change are being seen in various ways: Scientists are observing and measuring changes inweather patterns, and people all around the world are experiencing these changes. Changes are happening
much faster than in the past. The major signs of global climate change are:Estimated Actual Global Mean Temperatures (ºC)• Global warming: The average global
Figure 3. Global Mean Temperaturetemperature has increased steadily
during the last 100 years—about
14.6.74 degrees Celsius (1.3 degrees
14.4
Fahrenheit).3
14.2• Temperature increases have occurred in all regions around the
14.0
world.
13.8• Changes in ocean and land surface
13.6
temperatures have caused changes
in rainfall patterns worldwide.
13.4• In many places, the rainy seasons
13.2
are changing. Rain is falling at dif1865 1885 1905 1925 1945 1965 1985 2005
Year
ferent times and for shorter or lonThesetablesareforillustrative
purposes—temperatures
have been
ger periods than in the past.
summarized to simplify the graph image.
• While some regions of the world
are receiving less rainfall and suffering from longer and more droughts, other regions are experiencing much higher levels of rainfall.
• Globally, areas experiencing drought—periods of extremely dry weather—have increased sincethe 1970s.4

Graph data: IPCC 2007/Photo: Mario Chacón León

Increasing global temperatures

Decreasing snow cover and melting ice at the poles• At the Earth’s poles (the most southern and northern parts of the planet) the climate is traditionallyvery cold, and ice covers the Earth’s surface and parts of the sea. These areas of ice, called glaciers, aremelting because of global warming.
• Glaciers are also found on very high mountains. These, too are melting because of warmer
temperatures.

Year

19

Mount Kilimanjaro
Tanzania, Africa

2000
NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org

1993

The glacier on Mount Kilimanjaro is over 12,000 years old, but the ice of this mountain glacier has almost
disappeared. Some scientists think it could be gone by 2020.5

Changing Patterns of Extreme Weather Events• Over the past 50 years, very hot days and nights are happening more often, and very cold days andnights are happening less often.
• Periods of high temperature (heat waves) have become longer and hotter over most land areas.
• Big storms with heavy winds and rain are happening more often, causing more damage.

Figure 4. Global Mean Sea Level+20

The height of ocean’s surface is called
the ‘sea level.’• Sea levels are rising because warm+10
er ocean temperatures cause theoceans to expand. In addition,
warmer air temperatures are melt0
ing ice in the mountains and at
the north and south poles, adding
more water to the oceans.
-10• In the last 100 years, the average
1885
1905
1925
1945
1965
1985
2005
global sea level has risen about 6
Yearinches, or 15 centimeters.6
These tables are for illustrative purposes—sea levels have beensummarized to simplify the graph image.
• Rising sea levels are threatening
communities in coastal areas andon islands, causing flooding and washing away coastal land.
• Higher sea levels bring salt water into rivers and other freshwater sources, affecting the quality ofwater supplies.

20

Graph data: IPCC 2007/Photo: Mario Chacón León

Estimated Actual Global Mean Sea Level (Cm)Changing Ocean Levels
are impacting people andecosystems

Figure 5. Rising Sea Levels

Illustration of normal sea level

Melting glaciers and warmer water temperatures cause sea levels to rise.

Part 4. How Does Nature Regulate Climate?

Most of the increase in global average temperature is due to the increase of certain gases in the atmosphere.
The atmosphere is made up of many different gases—called Greenhouse Gases or GHGs for short—which
occur from natural processes and are also produced by human activities. At their natural levels, these gases
help regulate the temperature of the Earth and keep it at the right level. Producing too much of some of thesegases can cause a change in natural processes that in turn causes the climate to change.

21

What is the Greenhouse Effect?
A greenhouse is a building made of clear glass or clear plastic walls
and roof. This clear glass lets in light and heat from the sun andtraps it inside the building, so plants can stay warm inside and growduring cold weather. The Earth’s atmosphere acts like a greenhouse—trapping the light and warmth from the sun. This is why the process ofwarming the Earth is called the ‘Greenhouse Effect.’

The greenhouse effect is a natural process. It is how the atmosphere keeps the Earth warm. The atmosphereis formed by a layer of invisible gases that hold the sun’s warmth in the atmosphere. Without those gases,
the Earth would be a frozen planet; no life could survive. Both greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effectare good for the Earth in the right amounts. The right amount of GHGs allows the Earth to be just theright temperature to support life. But when human activities add more and more greenhouse gases to theatmosphere, the natural process is disturbed. More heat is trapped, and the Earth gets warmer.
This works just like a blanket: When you are in bed and feel cold, you cover your body with a blanket. The
blanket traps the warmth of your body and keeps the air around you warm, so your body stays warm. With
one blanket, some of the warmth stays close to you, and some of the warm air escapes. If you are still cold,
you add more blankets. But if you add too many blankets, you get too hot because all the warm air is trapped,
and your body gets warmer and warmer.
This is what is happening to the Earth right now. As more and more gases are sent into the atmosphere, they
act like a thick blanket and trap too much heat close to the Earth, making the Earth get warmer.

Figure 6. The Greenhouse EffectThe greenhouse gases that make up the atmospherehave the capacity to retain solar energy (the warmthfrom the sun) and keep the Earth warm enough tomake life possible.

22

Figure 7. Human Impacts on the Greenhouse EffectBut, when there is a higher quantity of these gasesin the atmosphere, the atmosphere retains more
and more solar energy, and the earth gets warmer.

What are the greenhouse gases and how do they affect climate change?

There are many greenhouses gases in the atmosphere. The most important one is carbon dioxide (CO2). This
gas is produced when the substance carbon—found in all things on Earth—joinswith the oxygen in the air. Trees and other WHAT IS CO2?
plants take CO2, out of the atmosphere and CO2 is the result of joining carbon (C) with oxygen (O).
store it. This reduces the amount of CO2 in It takes 1 part of carbon joining with 2 parts of oxygen
the atmosphere. When plants die, or are
to form the gas CO2.
burned, however, they emit that stored CO2
back into the atmosphere. Additionally, human activities, such as burning wood anddriving cars, emit CO2 into the atmosphere.
The carbon cycle is the process by whichcarbon flows in and out of the atmosphere.
This flow of carbon in the carbon cycle is
one way nature regulates climate.

The red C refers to the carbon stored in trees,
plants, animals, and fuels.
This symbol refers to the gas
carbon dioxide.

Carbon moves and flows through the carbon
cycle in many different ways: for example, it
is stored in trees, plants or other living things, then used and released as CO2 into the atmosphere by plants,
trees, animals and humans through respiration or breathing. When a tree is cut down or burned, it also
releases CO2 into the atmosphere. Oceans also play an important role in the carbon cycle by storing carbon.

The movements of carbon in
and out of the atmosphereare called carbon flows.
carbon flow
carbon flow

Figure 8. The Carbon Cycle

The places where carbon is stored
are called carbon reservoirs.
The natural process of carbon moving or flowing between the different places where it is used and stored(reservoirs) is called the carbon cycle.

23

When there is too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, or too few trees to absorb it, this causes an imbalance to Earth’s natural cycles.
The release of CO2 into the atmosphere through human activities is the greatest GHG
contributor to climate change.
Most efforts to stop climatechange focus on reducing theamount of CO2 we emit in theatmosphere.
Other important greenhousegases include:• Methane (CH4): comes fromanimal droppings and wetlands, as well as human activities such as rice cultivation• Nitrous oxide (N2O): comesfrom fertilizers and also
from burning plants.

Figure 9. The Natural Carbon Cycle
Carbon flows in and out of the atmosphere through natural processes
and is stored in reservoirs.

Part 5. How do
Human Activities
Cause Climate
Change?

The main reason the climate ischanging is that human activities are disturbing the balanceof Earth’s natural processes
and cycles—like the greenhouse effect and the carbon
cycle—by putting more andmore CO2 emissions into theatmosphere.
Almost every single humanactivity releases some CO2
into the air, but some activities—such as burning fossil fuels
in industry, the use of motor
vehicles, deforestation andfires—release large amounts:

24

Figure 10. Human Impacts on the Carbon Cycle
Human activities can produce more CO2 in the atmosphere (industry andfires) and can also reduce the amount of CO2 pulled out of the air andstored (cutting down forests). This disturbs the natural process of the
carbon cycle.

Burning of fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas)

Motor vehicles and manufacturing industries use large amounts of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas andcoal). Electricity is also often produced by burning fossil fuels.
These fuels all contain high amounts of carbon that turns into
carbon dioxide and goes straight to the atmosphere when the Fossil fuel is the term for fuel thatis formed inside the earth over afuel is burned.

long time from decaying plants
and other organisms. Examples
Changes in the way land is used affects the amount of greenare oil, coal, and natural gas.
Deforestation and Land-use Change

house gases in the atmosphere. Deforestation—cutting down orburning of forests for commercial timber, agriculture, or livestock grazing—causes 20 to 25 percent of GHG emissions. Changing natural ecosystems into areas for
agriculture or pasture often changes an area of high carbon storage, such as a forest, into a low storage
area, such a pasture, reducing the amount of CO2 pulled out of the atmosphere.

Mining

CI/John Martin

Fires©CI/Russ MittermeierLand Use Change
Deforestation
Greenpeace/Daniel BeltraPeter Van den Bossche
via Wikipedia Commons

Mario Chacón León

Industrial Processes
Burning of Fuels (Petroleum, Gasoline)

Figure 11. Industrial Processes and Land Use Change Cause CO2 Emissions and Reduce Carbon Storage
Reducing the amount of fossil fuels used in industry and motor vehicles and stopping deforestation will
reduce the amount of carbon that is sent into the atmosphere. Planting trees or reforesting areas that havealready been cleared will add new trees to remove and store more carbon from the air. These activities canhelp restore the balance of the Earth’s natural processes and stop climate change.

The Industrial Revolution is called a turning pointin human history. It began in the late 1700s with
the invention of machines that replaced humanmanual labor. By the mid 1800s, the use ofmachines was increasing rapidly. These machines
were powered by coal and other fossil fuels. The
Industrial Revolution brought many benefits
to people’s daily lives, but it also dramaticallychanged the impact of human activities on theworld. With mass production and the increased
use of fossil fuels, more greenhouse gases were released into the atmosphere. The invention ofelectricity and motor vehicles increased greenhouse gas emission even more. Technology must be
used in a sustainable way to avoid increasing the effects of climate change.

25

Part 6. How does climate change affect the Earth and our lives?

Climate change is already affecting the land, the forests, water resources, ocean levels, animal behavior, crop
production, and many other things on Earth and will continue to do so for years to come. If we want tosurvive on this Earth in the future, we need to stop activities that are causing climate change and learn toadapt to new ways of doing things.

Impacts of climate change on the natural world

Nature and ecosystems rely on having the right amount of heat, water, wind and currents to survive andprovide ecosystem services. Ecosystems need dependable seasons to stay healthy and maintain the services
they provide. If it is too hot for too long, plants die, animals go thirsty and eventually entire forests, grasslands,
lakes, and rivers will be affected. If there is no rain for a long period, plants and animals will suffer. If the raincomes too quickly, it can flood an area and kill plants and animals. Over time, if seasons become shorter or
longer, some plants and animals will survive while others will die. For example, a forest in an area that isgetting hotter and drier may stay a forest, but it might have different trees and animals that can survive betterin the new, warmer and dryer climate. Below are some of the impacts that climate change will have on theecosystems and the natural world:• Drought–Forest fires, water scarcity• Floods – Erosion, water contamination• Heat waves and cold spells–Disruptionof pollination cycles, pest outbreaks,
damage to animals and plant life
• Less predictable seasons–Disruptionof pollination cycles, disruption ofmating cycles, changing plant andanimal life able to survive in the ecosystem• Ocean acidification–Oceans become
more acidic as they absorb excess CO2from the atmosphere, making it hardfor marine organisms with shells tosurvive. Since coral reefs are formed bythese types of organisms, ocean acidification destroys both the habitat andfood supply provided by the coral reef
ecosystem.

It is difficult to predict exactly how much of an impact
ocean acidification will have in the long-term, but scientists have already noticed some of its negative effects:
too much acidity can make it hard for marine creatures
such as clams and oysters to grow shells. Ocean acidification also affects the tiny creatures (phytoplankton andzooplankton) eaten by some whales and fish, which can
impact the whole food chain, reducing the amount of fish
available for people to eat and sell. Ocean acidification
makes it hard for coral reefs to grow their skeletons, andthereby reduces their ability to provide food and habitat
to many other marine species, which will also reduce theavailability of fish to eat and sell. This can also have anegative impact on tourism as a source of income, as thevariety and number of fish found in the reefs will decrease.

Impacts of climate change on people

When ecosystem services are harmed by climate change, so are people, who may not able be able to get theservices they need from those ecosystems. Floods, drought and extreme heat or cold also damage agriculture, homes and businesses, and cause health problems and death in human populations. Climate change
can also create new opportunities in some areas. Warmer temperatures or increased rainfall may bring longer growing seasons and higher crop yields that improve the food supply. Climate change affects different
parts of the world in different ways.

26

Below are some of the regional impacts of global change forecast by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC)7:• North America: Decreasing snowpack in the western mountains; 5-20 percent increase in yields of rainfed agriculture in some regions; increased frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves in cities thatcurrently experience them.
• Latin America: Gradual replacement of tropical forest by savannah in eastern Amazonia; risk ofsignificant biodiversity loss through species extinction in many tropical areas; significant changes in water
availability for human consumption, agriculture and energy generation; rising mountain temperatures
causing glaciers to melt glaciers and threatening water supplies.
• Europe: Increased risk of inland flash floods; more frequent coastal flooding and increased erosion fromstorms and sea level rise; glacial melting in mountains; reduced snow cover and winter tourism; extensive
species losses; reduction of crop productivity in southern Europe.
• Africa: Increased scarcity of water that will affect between 75 and 250 million people by 2020; reduced
yields from rain-fed agriculture up to 50 percent in some regions by 2020; severely compromised agricultural production, including access to food.
• Asia: Decreased availability of fresh water in central, south, east and southeast Asia by the 2050s; increased
risk of flooding to coastal areas; increased death rate from disease associated with floods and droughts insome regions.
• Australia and Pacific Islands: Increased risk of death to coral reef organisms (called coral bleaching);
increased risk of flooding in some regions; possible increased pasture productivity.
Water Supply

Biodive
rsity

pply
d Su
Foo

CLIMATE CHANGE
IMPACTS ALL
PARTS OF LIFE

Job

sa

nd

De
vel
o

pm

e nt

He

a lt

h

Figure 12. The Imapcts of Climate Change
27

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:• The Earth is a living planet formed by rocks, minerals, soils, water, gases and living organisms.
• Climate is a complex process that is determined by how the sun, atmosphere, land, water andwinds work together.
• Climate change is the change of normal weather patterns around the world over a long period oftime. The average temperature of the Earth is getting warmer.
• The climate is changing faster than in the past. Climate change is not happening in the sameway everywhere.
• Scientists are observing and measuring climate change, and people are experiencing the effects
of climate change now.
• Climate change impacts all parts of life.
• Greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect are both part of natural processes that support lifeon Earth by keeping it warm.
• CO2 is the most important GHG: When there is too much CO2 in the atmosphere, the Earth gets
warmer and the climate changes.
• Human activities can cause climate change by adding too much CO2 to the atmosphere andupsetting the natural carbon cycle.

28

KEY TERMS TO REMEMBER:
Atmosphere: The atmosphere is the part of Earththat begins at the surface and extends upward
into outer space in many layers. It is composedof a mixture of gases. Most processes that affectlife on Earth happen in the lowest layer of theatmosphere, nearest to the Earth’s surface.

Greenhouse effect: The process of how the atmosphere keeps the Earth warm.
Greenhouse gases: The gases that help regulate
the Earth’s temperature, keeping it warm.

Land-use change: Changes in the way a land
Carbon: One of the most common elements in area is used, for example, changing a forest to a
farm, or changing farms to pasture, or returning
the universe, found in all living things.
pasture to forest by re-planting trees.
Climate: The “average weather” or weather conditions that happen over a long period of time. Ocean currents: Movement of the ocean’s surface water. Water is moved mainly by wind in
Climate change: The change of the normal regular, consistent patterns.
weather patterns around the world over a long
Ocean acidification: The change to the ocean
period of time.
water caused when increasing amounts of carClimate variability: Natural changes within the bon dioxide (CO2) are absorbed from the atmoclimate system that often occur in cycles or in sphere. This combines with the water (H2O) andparticular areas over seasonal or longer time increases the amount of carbonic acid in the
periods.
ocean.
Earth’s poles: Areas at the far north and far south Photosynthesis: Natural process in which plantsof the Earth. Also called the “polar regions.”
take in the light and heat from the sun and carbon dioxide from the air, and release oxygen to
Evaporation: The process in which water is heatmake plants grow and keep our air clean.
ed and changes from a liquid into a gas. The sunheats water in lakes, rivers or oceans, causing Precipitation: Rain, snow, or hail (ice) that forms
it to evaporate or turn into a gas called water from the moisture in the atmosphere and falls tovapor.
the ground.
Fossil fuel: Fuel such as oil or coal that is formed Sea level: The height of the ocean’s surface
inside the earth from decaying plants and other
Volcanic eruptions: Volcanoes are mountains
organisms over a long time.
formed over openings in the Earth’s surface by
Glacier: Layers of permanent ice found in very melted rock that flows out of the Earth’s surface
cold areas, either on land (i.e in the polar re- and hardens. When a volcano erupts, melted
gions) or on mountains at high elevations. Some- rock, called lava, flows out of the mountain, andtimes glaciers extend into the ocean.
ash and gases are forced into the atmosphere.
Global warming: The increase in the average Weather: The temperature, rainfall, or storms intemperature of the Earth’s atmosphere.
a specific place on a specific day or over a very
short period of time, like one season.

29

30

© Robin Moore

Session 3. Climate Change Policies and Action:
Working to Solve the Problem of Climate Change

LEARNING OBJECTIVESAt the end of the session, participants should be
able to:• Understand how international agreements on
climate can support local efforts to adapt toclimate change• Understand how countries are working together tomake polices and take action on climate change
at the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC)• Understand some of the ways indigenous, international and local organizations are working on
climate change• Define mitigation and some of the ways climatechange can be slowed• •Define adaptation and describe some ways communities are adapting to the impacts of climatechange• Understand how funding to help communities
adapt to climate change is being distributed byinternational organizations

This session will cover some of the ways countries are working together in international organizations tosolve the problem of climate change. This information is important because some of the decisions made inthese international organizations can help communities lessen climate change and lessen the ways that it willaffect them and their ecosystems.

PART 1. Climate Change Policies: What Is the International Community
Doing to Solve the Problem of Climate Change?

Climate change is caused by emissions from many countries, and its impacts will be felt by many countries.
Thus, it is a global problem, and the most effective
solutions will come from countries working together
A policy is a guiding principle that directs decision- for a common cause.

making and planning to achieve specific results.
For example, governments around the world aremaking national policies to reduce greenhousegas emissions as a way to slow down climatechange. To achieve this policy, the country may
plan to reduce its use of fossil fuels in industry.

Countries around the world have also formed international organizations to work together on international policies for many important issues, including
climate change. The organization that leads international policy-making is the United Nations (UN),which includes 193 countries—almost every country in the world.

31© CATIEIn 1994, countries within the UN committed to work together
within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) to create climate change
policies. Nearly every country in the UN is alsoa member of the UNFCCC. The UNFCCC
holds important meetings each year. Everycountry that is part of the UNFCCC sendsdelegates—people to represent their country’s concerns—who participate in making decisions on climate change.
Non-governmental organizations(NGOs), private businesses, andgroups with special interest, such as
indigenous peoples’ organizations,also attend UNFCCC meetings as observers
to make their opinions heard and to influence decisions. But only the government delegations make thedecisions at the UNFCCC.
The UNFCCC is working on two important aspects of climate change policy right now:
• Policies to help countries stop or slow down climate change (mitigation)• Policies to help countries adjust to the current and future impacts of climate change in their countries(adaptation)

Within the UNFCCC, countries around the world discuss and take action on solutions for climatechange. Within the UNFCCC, governments
1. Learn and share information on greenhouse gas emissions, national policies and best practices
2. Set up and introduce national strategies for slowing greenhouse gas emissions1
3. Share information and research on how to adapt to the impacts of climate change such as sea
level rise, droughts and flooding2
4. Help countries make plans to adapt to climate change, and provide funds and technologies todeveloping countries to carry out these plans

These policies help governments create plans, encourage research, and provide countries with funds andtechnologies to put these policies and solutions in place.
When people take action to mitigate, they are contributing to a global effort to stop or slow down climatechange. When they take action to adapt, they are working to solve the local impacts of climate change andto prepare for future impacts climate change may have on their community.

32

What progress has been made in the international negotiations?

The most important agreement made by the UNFCCC is the Kyoto Protocol. In this agreement, 37
industrialized countries promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to look for new ways to create
energy that cause less CO2 emissions. These countries also agreed to transfer technology and funds to help
developing countries to mitigate climate change, and to help them adapt to the current and future impactsof climate change.
Countries promised, or made commitments, to take these actions in a specific period of time—a commitment
period. The Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period was 2008 to 2012. The second commitment period is2013 to 2020. There are several important issues under discussion for the next commitment period:• Reducing the amount of CO2 and other gases released into the atmosphere• Stopping deforestation• Improving forest management and forest conservation• Improving agricultural practice• Protecting communities from rising sea levels• Creating national adaptation plans• Supporting developing countries that arefacing impacts too serious for adaptaGroups of countries with common
tion to be effective—such as the possible
interests working on climate change:
relocation of populations of small island• Many small island nations work together through the Alnations threatened by sea level rise.
• Finding ways to provide expertise,
liance of Small Island States (AOSIS).
technology and funding to pay for• Forty-nine of the poorest countries who are also very
these actions.

How Do National Governments
Engage in International Climate
Policy?

Every country has its own unique environmental, social, and economic situationand must consider the ways that climatechange will specifically impact its own
people when it negotiates in the UNFCCC.
With so many different countries involved,
it is a challenge for them all to agree. But inthe UNFCCC, every country must agree
in order for a decision to be made.
Even though each country has its own
views and concerns, some countries sharesimilar interests and often work together toreach a final decision that is in their bestinterest. (See box to the right.)

vulnerable to climate change impacts—called the Least
Developed Countries (LDCs)—,work together to promote
higher mitigation goals to stop or lessen climate change,
and increased resources for adaptation.

• A number of developing countries have formed a loose
coalition called the Group of 77 that frequently works
with China to promote common interests.
• The European Union negotiates as a group.
• Several developed countries, including the US, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and Japan, work together
in the Umbrella Group.
• The Rainforest Coalition, a group of 33 developing countries with tropical rainforests, works to address the impact of carbon emissions from deforestation.

33

Figure 13. Timeline of Important Actions at the UNFCCC

2001

National Adaptation Programmes of Action(NAPAs)—A process established, with limited
financial support, for Least Developed Countries to identify urgent and immediate needs
to adapt to climate change, and limited funds
made available to support those needs.

1992
UNFCCC established

1994

UNFCCC enteredinto force

Adaptation Fund—Set up under the Kyoto Protocol, this fund provides money to finance adaptation projects in developing countries whoare vulnerable to climate change impacts andwho have ratified (made a binding commitment to) the Kyoto Protocol.

2008

Kyoto First Commitment
period begins

1997

Kyoto Protocol adopted

2006

2000

Nairobi Work Programme—Provides aplatform for countries and organizations toshare the work they are doing on adaptation; focuses on impacts, vulnerability andadaptation to climate change. Establishedat the UNFCCC meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.

The concerns often shared by developing countries include:• concerns about the rising impacts of climate change• threat of climate change to their economies• need for significant mitigation action by developed countries• support for adaptation to climate change.

34

200© Ng Swan Ti

1995
Photo courtesy of IISD/ENB-Leila Mead

1990

2007
Bali Action Plan—Creates a new negotiatingprocess to make decisions about what will bein the next major agreement after the Kyoto
Protocol. Adopted at the UNFCCC meeting in
Bali, Indonesia.

Copenhagen Accord—Puts forth important
points for a future agreement and outlines
basic commitments to reduce emissions
and long-term funding plans to stop climatechange. Committed to by countries with major economies and recognized but not adopted by the UNFCCC in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Adaptation Fund Operationalized© UNFCCC© Whitehouse.gov

2009

2012
Kyoto First Commitment period ends, Doha Climate Gateway

2020

Kyoto Second Commitment
period ends

2015

2020

2010
Cancun Agreements—Historic agreements that addresscomprehensive international action on climate change,
including Loss and Damage and National Adaptation
Plans (NAPs), which are more flexible and have a longer-term view on adaptation planning than the NAPAs.
Adopted at the UNFCCC meeting in Cancun, Mexico.

© UNFCCC© UNFCCC

052011

Durban Platform—Agreement by all countries in the
UNFCCC to work toward an international agreementwith commitments by both developed and developing
countries with a tentative deadline of 2015. Enhances
the Bali Action Plan and Cancun Agreements.

The concerns shared by developed countries often include:• the impact of climate mitigation on their economies and trade relationships• how to obtain and distribute funding for adaptation.
Those concerns change over time, so a country’s position in the negotiation can also change. In the UNFCCC,
decisions are made based on continual discussion and negotiation. Developing and developed countries

35know that they need to work harder to come to agreement. Developed countries have agreed that they musttake action on climate change and support developing countries. However, exactly how that will be done isstill being discussed.

What Are Governments Doing in their Own Countries?

Governments around the world are making new national policies that will lessen climate change and also
allow their countries to grow and be strong economically. While much remains to be done, many developed
countries are working to reduce their emissions and lessen the impacts of climate change. Developing
countries are working on development plans that do not increase greenhouse gases and help prepare forthe impacts of climate change. Many countries are assessing the potential impacts of climate change on theirland and people and starting adaptation actions.

Indigenous peoples’ organizations around theworld send representatives to the UNFCCC andother climate meetings to influence decisions. They
work to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples—as defined in the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) andother international agreements—are respected indecisions on climate change. Some countries’ official delegates to the UNFCCC include indigenous
peoples’ representatives.

© UNFCCCHow Are Indigenous Peoples Contributing to International Policy on Climate
Change?

Indigenous peoples also participate in the United
Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues(UNPFII). (A forum is a place where people disMs. Simona Gómez Lopez, indigenous representacuss specific issues.) This forum has the mandate
tive from Mexico, speaks at COP 16 in Cancun.
from the United Nations to discuss economic andsocial development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights as they relate to indigenous peoples.
Indigenous peoples and local communities also make important contributions to climate change policies
and planning in their own countries and communities by sharing their traditional practice and their knowledge of the land, forests and nature. They also help manage forests, fisheries and other natural resources andecosystems, so that these remain healthy over a long time.

What Other International Policy Efforts Are Important for Climate Change
Adaptation?

Although the UNFCCC is the most important group making policies on climate change and adaptation,
several other conventions or groups are important as well:• The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) works to conserve biological diversity (plant andanimal species) to ensure both long-term and equitable benefits. As species and ecosystems can easily beharmed by climate change, this agenda is relevant to adaptation.

36• The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) attempts to reverse and stop land desertification(process of land turning into desert, by becoming drier and losing plant and animal life) and reduce theeconomic and environmental impacts of drought. As droughts caused by climate change may speed up
desertification, this issue is relevant to adaptation.
• The Ramsar Convention works to conserve wetlands and promote their use in a way that keeps theirlong-term economic, scientific and cultural benefits.
• Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) is a group of countries and organizations
that works to bring strategies for reducing the risk of disaster and adapting to climate change together
with development plans.

Part 2. Mitigation and Adaptation Action: How Can International Policy
Help to Reduce Climate Change?
What is Mitigation and Mitigation Action?

Climate change mitigation is the process of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by industrial
activities, forestry and agricultural activities. Reducing GHGs in the atmosphere will require looking at
every aspect of a country’s economy to reduce human activities that cause climate change.
For example, vehicle manufacturers are working to design cars that use less fuel or that can run on electricity.
These cars will emit less CO2 and help reduce the amount of GHGs in the atmosphere. Sustainably managed
forests help reduce deforestation and increase amount of CO2 pulled out of the atmosphere.
Some examples of mitigation actions are:www.re-moto.com

From the Transportation Sector:
Courtesy of Sunlabob Renewable Energy, Ltd

From the Energy Sector:

More efficient electrical equipment like solar
panels to provide electricity

Fewer cars and more public transportation, carsthat use biofuel or electricity instead of gas

Figure 14. Mitigation Actions in Different Parts of Daily Life

37

Avoiding deforestation, or cutting of trees

Improved management of forests

Mario Chacón León

Courtesy of Tropical Forest Foundation

Reforestation—planting new tress

CI/John Martin

Courtesy of UNEP Climate Neutral Network

From the Forestry and Agricultural Sectors:

Improved crop and pasture management to increasecarbon storage in the soil

Figure 14. Mitigation Actions in Different Parts of Daily Life

What is Adaptation and Adaptation Action?
What is adaptation?

Adaptation is changing the way of doing something because of new conditions. As the climate is changing,plants, animals and people will to need to adapt to new weather conditions, rising sea levels and otherimpacts from climate change.
Imagine people who live in cities or villages right next to the ocean. If the sea level rises too much, flooding
will increase, and houses and streets will be under water. One way to adapt is to build houses on poles, so
the water can run underneath them, or to move buildings to higher ground. This is a way of adapting to sea
level rise and more flooding.

38Some examples of adaptation actions are:© CI/Bambi Semroc

From the Transportation Sector:
CI/Haroldo Castro

From the Energy Sector:

From the Fisheries Sector:

From the Fresh Water Sector:

Reducing pollution of coral ecosystems to
make them healthier and better able to survive
temperature increases in sea water.

© Ivana Lamas

Building roads on higher ground and withprotective barriers (mangroves, sea walls, levees)
to avoid flooding and erosion.

© William Crosse

Restoring wetlands in mountain areas to provide
water to run electric plants

Restoring key watershed ecosystems to protect thewater supply for communities and biodiversity.

39

CI/Hari Balasubramanian

From the Agriculture Sector:© Bruce Beehler

From the Forestry Sector:

Creating plans to manage forests that include
Protecting and restoring wetlands to provide water
removal of invasive species and fire management. and keep air temperature cooler for crops. Planting
shrubs and trees along with crops to create shade
and keep moisture in the soil.
Figure 15. Adaptation actions by sector

What Are Countries Doing about Adaptation?

Climate change is already affecting people, and there will be more impacts in the future. Scientists andcommunities in many regions in the world are observing earlier melting of snow in the spring, higher sea
levels, higher temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns. These changes affect how people live.
Governments of the Least Developed Countries most affected by climate change have made plans called
National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA) to help them adapt to these changes. These plans
identify ways of living, and ecosystems in their communities that are the most at risk and develop actions
to increase the community’s ability to deal with, or adapt to, climate change. For example, in Bangladesh (alow-lying coastal country in south Asia) mangroves were restored to protect communities from flooding
due to sea level rise.
At the UNFCCC in 2010, countries around the world agreed to support Least Developed Countries increating National Adaptation Plans. Although similar to NAPAs, National Adaptation Plans have thebenefit of looking at impacts from climate change and adaptation over a longer time period to improveadaptation action. (See Cancun Agreement on page 31.)

Part 3. What Resources are Available from the International
Community to Support Adaptation?

Resources to support adaptation and help countries deal with the impacts of climate change are available
through several sources. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is an independent financial organization
made up of 182 countries who work with international institutions, non-governmental organizations(NGOs), and businesses on environmental issues, including climate change.
The GEF is the organization officially responsible for carrying out decisions made by the UNFCCC. The
GEF collects money promised by developed countries to create financial mechanisms called funds that40

transfer money to developing countries’ governments or organizations working in those countries. The GEF
has several funds that support climate adaptation in developing countries:• The Least Developed Countries Fund
• The Special Climate Change Fund
• The Adaptation Fund—created as part of the Kyoto Protocol. It consists of taxes on mitigation projects
that the GEF collects and gives as grants to developing countries for adaptation projects
The GEF also has a Small Grants Program that can provide resources for adaptation action in communities.
Adaptation funding is also available through grants from other sources, such as developed country governments, private companies and NGOs.
Adaptation has become more important in the UNFCCC, as climate change impacts become more and more
likely to interfere with human development and well-being. The UNFCCC is working to ensure funding isavailable to help communities adapt to climate change and to share lessons learned from adaptation action
across the world. While this international negotiation process may result in funding, technical resources
and information, protecting communities and adapting will require more than international support. It
requires concern, action and the long-term support from national and local governments and from thecommunities themselves.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the internationalorganization that brings countries together to make policies about climate change.
• Only country governments can make decisions about policies at the UNFCCC, but many otherorganizations attend meetings to observe and influence decisions.
• Countries with similar interests often work together to promote policies that are in their bestinterests.
• Countries implement UNFCCC climate change policies and also develop their own national plansto address climate change.
• Indigenous peoples’ organizations, NGOs and businesses work to influence decisions at the
UNFCCC.
• Under the Kyoto Protocol, developed countries agreed to reduce GHG emissions and to help
developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change.
• Mitigation actions help stop or lessen climate change.
• Adaptation actions help countries adjust to current or future changes caused by climate change.
• Funding, mainly from developed countries, is available through the Global Environmental Facility(GEF) and other sources to help mitigation and adaptation action in developing countries.

41

KEY TERMS TO REMEMBER:
Adaptation: A change in the way of doing something. In the case of climate change, it involves
addressing and adjusting to climate impacts.
Because the climate is changing, plants, animals
and people need to adapt to new conditions.

Fossil Fuel: Fuel such as oil or coal that isformed inside the earth over a long time fromdecaying plants and other organisms.

Funds: A financial mechanism to provide resources for activities to achieve goals. For exDelegates: People who represent a government ample, the Adaptation Fund provides money toor organization and have the authority to speak governments to pay for adaptation activities.
or vote for that organization.
Money is contributed to a fund by donations,pledges from country governments, taxes, orConvention: A formal agreement (or treaty) beother sources.
tween the people or groups who have signed it.
It serves as a foundation for further discussions Mitigation: The process of stopping or lessenand treaties on specific issues.
ing climate change by reducing greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions that come from industrial acEcosystem: A group of plants, animals andtivities, forestry and agricultural activities.
microorganisms that live together in a specificplace in a particular environment that enables Observers: People who attend meetings or conthem to survive.
ventions to understand what is being discussed
and to influence decision-makers, but who canEcosystem services: Benefits people obtain fromnot negotiate or vote on proposed actions. Obecosystems such as food, water and timber; serservers to the UNFCCC represent businesses,
vices that control climate, floods, disease, waste,NGOs, indigenous peoples, and other organizaand water quality; cultural services that are ations.
source of spiritual benefits and also enjoyment.
Policy: A guiding principle that directs decisionEnvironment: The external surroundings inmaking and planning to achieve specific results.
which a plant or animal lives (for example soil,
rocks and water) that affects its behavior and Protocol: An agreement that outlines specificability to live.
obligations or actions that countries need to taketo implement the objectives of the convention.3
Emission: A substance discharged into the air.
In climate change, the term refers to Greenhouse Sustainable Development: Development thatGases sent into the atmosphere.
meets the needs of the present while still preserving resources for future generations.
Forum: A place for open discussion on specificissues.

42© CI/Haroldo Castro

Session 4. Climate Change Adaptation: Understanding
Climate Vulnerability and Climate Resilience

LEARNING OBJECTIVESAt the end of the session, participants should be
able to:• Understand adaptation and why communities
need to think about adaptation• Understand how climate change can impact
communities• Understand climate vulnerability and what makesa community vulnerable• Define the exposure, sensitivity and adaptive
capacity—three conditions that influence a community’s vulnerability to climate change• Understand the difference between resiliencebased approaches and vulnerability-based approaches to adaptation• Define the difference between local and external
knowledge• Explain how external and local knowledge canwork together to help communities adapt toclimate change• Identify tools and approaches that communities can use to protect themselves from climate
impacts

This session explains the concepts of climate vulnerability and climate resilience, and how understanding
these concepts can help communities adapt to climate change. It explains what makes a community more
likely to be harmed by the impacts of climate change and how communities can strengthen their ability toadapt. It also describes the type of knowledge, information and tools that help communities strengthen theirability to adapt to climate change.

Part 1. Why Do We Need to Change our Behaviors and Adapt?

Even if all greenhouse gas emissions could be stopped immediately, climate change would continue for many
years because CO2 and other greenhouse gases stay in the atmosphere and the oceans for a very long time.
Climate change mitigation is very important. Reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions in theatmosphere will gradually reduce the change to the Earth’s climate. It will take a long time for the climate toreturn to normal, so until then, both people and ecosystems must adapt to a changing climate.
Adaptation is a change in the way of doing something. Adapting to a changing climate means that people,
communities, businesses and governments will have to make changes to their activities to adjust to changes
happening now and that will continue to happen until the Earth’s natural processes that control climate are
no longer affected by excess GHGs in the atmosphere.

43

Many aspects of daily life are affected by climate change. Some changes are happening slowly;
others are happening more quickly. Many areas of the world with colder climates are already noticing that sea ice is melting and less snow is falling. Closer to the equator, more powerful storms
and longer periods of hotter weather are causing stronger floods and droughts. When changes inclimate happen over a long period of time, people and ecosystems have enough time to adapt
naturally. However, when climate change happens too fast, people, animals and plants cannot
adapt naturally, so people will need to make decisions to change their behavior so that they can
reduce the harm that climate change can cause them and the resources on which they depend.

Although individuals can adjust their own behavior to new conditions, adaptation will be more effective on alarger scale if people work together within their communities and countries, and if countries work together.
Communities have important contributions to make to national and international decision-making about
adapting to climate change. Including their knowledge and priorities is very important for successful
adaptation action.

Part 2. How Does Climate Change Impact Communities?

Communities have a long history of surviving in areas where the climate conditions are difficult and change
often. They have learned over time to prepare and respond to changes from year to year in how they manage
their crops, build their homes and live their lives.
But as climate change happens more quickly, changes to the natural world are happening faster and becoming
harder to predict. To prepare, communities with strong, direct relationships with natural resources must
understand how the climate is changing in their area and in the nearby mountains, lakes and oceans on
which they depend.

Climate Change Risks and Opportunities
When people know that rains come at a certain time, where and when to expect storms, how hot it getsin the dry season, or how high the river usually rises in a storm, they know how to plan their farming,
hunting and other livelihood activities. They know how weather patterns affect their lives. People know fromexperience that there may be differences in the weather each year. They have experience in how to adapt
to minor changes in climate or weather. But when changes become more significant and unpredictable, it
becomes more and more difficult to continue the same approaches to livelihood activities. Climate change iscreating risks to community livelihoods and to the ecosystems that support them.
For example, in India the southwest monsoon typically begins at the start of June on the western coast andcovers the country by mid-July, so communities plant according to this cycle. They are prepared to deal
with slight changes in the weather that season, but if climate change causes the monsoon rains to come very
early, or very late, then planning becomes very difficult. Crops may fail if they are not planted at the righttime, or farmers may miss the time to plant altogether if they are away from the community at seasonal jobs.
Communities are more likely to be harmed if the changes are unpredictable or unforeseen from year to year.

44

Climate change can also make natural hazards worse. A natural hazard is a danger caused by nature, such as
an earthquake, a flood, or a severe storm that causes harm to people. Most communities have experienced
natural hazards and have learned ways to prevent or lessen the harm that they can cause, although sometimes
a natural hazard such as a hurricane or drought is so severe that harm cannot be avoided. Climate change
will increase the severity and frequency of natural hazards in many regions and make it more difficult forcommunities to protect themselves and recover.
Climate change can also create new opportunities. Fish populations may move closer to a community, providing a new food source. In cooler climates, increasing temperatures may provide a better growing season
for agriculture and less need for heating. Climate risks and opportunities will depend on the region and its
climate and resources.

Tuna fisheries are one of the most studied ecosystems in terms of climate change. Scientists areworking to understand how this species—which many people depend on for food and income—willchange and move under new climate conditions. So far, studies suggest that tuna fisheries in the
Pacific Ocean will not remain in the same locations as they are traditionally found. Over time, tuna
will increase in the western area of the Pacific, and decrease in the east. This will present new fishing
opportunities in Papua New Guinea and other areas. But, in the eastern Pacific where the marine
ecosystem may no longer support tuna, people will no longer be able to depend on this fish for income or food. New livelihood options will have to be developed as part of climate change adaptationin these communities.
Remember that any significant change in the natural environment requires people to adapt. Even a positive change requires some adjustment. So adaptation planning is important whether climate change brings
people new risks or new opportunities.

Rivers may dry up.

Flooding may become
more common.

© Cat Holloway© Cat Holloway

Climate opportunities© CI/Jan Schipper

Photo by Gila Brand

Climate Risks

Fish populations may
come closer to land.

Temperatures may increase, providing a betterclimate for agriculture.

Figure 16. Climate Risks and Opportunities

Part 3. What are Climate Vulnerability and Climate Resilience?

Both ecosystems and communities can be vulnerable to climate change. Communities need to understandhow they can be harmed by climate change and how they can protect themselves from harm and recoverwhen harm cannot be avoided.
45

What is Climate Vulnerability?

People, communities and the ecosystem services they depend upon can all be vulnerable to climate change.
Climate vulnerability is a term used to describe how much an ecosystem or a community can be harmed by
the impacts of climate change. Climate vulnerability is defined by three main factors that make a community
or ecosystem vulnerable: climate exposure, climate sensitivity, and adaptive capacity.
Climate Exposure refers to how likely
it is that harmful climate impacts will
happen in a particular region. This includes climate hazards, such as storms
or floods, as well as other changes
such as less rainfall or hotter temperatures. Storms, drought and flooding
all occur from time to time, but when
they occur more often or are more
severe, the community’s exposure topotential harm is increased. Climate
exposure can be measured by collecting information about the region’s
history and past weather conditions
such as temperature, rainfall, flooding
and droughts, to see how the weather
is changing over time. It can also help
to use climate models (described below), which predict how the climate is
likely to change in the future.
Climate Sensitivity describes how
seriously climate change will harm a
community—how much impact it will
have on natural resources, specificlivelihoods, or infrastructure (roads,
houses, communication systems). If
a community depends completely on
farming or fishing for food and income
and builds its houses at ground level,
it is very sensitive, or likely to suffer
damage from an unusually strong
storm that destroys crops and fishinggrounds and floods houses. Sensitivity
can be determined by gathering information about how much a community
depends on specific natural resourcesand ecosystems and how likely they
are to be damaged by climate hazards.

Adaptive Capacity is a community’s
ability to cope with and recover fromthe impact of climate hazards and climate variability and to adapt to futureclimate impacts. Adaptive capacity isaffected by the way a community is
managed and the skills and knowledge available to that community. A
community that is well organized, withstrong skills, access to traditional andscientific knowledge and financial resources, and that manages its natural
resources well and has a variety ofways to produce food and income has
a strong adaptive capacity. It will bebetter able to recover from a strong
storm or decreased rainfall than acommunity without these resources.
Adaptive capacity can be determinedby gathering information on community governance, resource management and livelihood systems, the resources it has, the health of its ecosystems, and how well it has recovered in the past from natural hazards and times of stress.

Table: Examples of Exposure, Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity
Exposure

Sea level rise, number of hot days, annual rainfall, drought

Sensitivity

Drought tolerance of crops, level of flood-proofing of buildings,
diversity of crops

Adaptive Capacity

Amounts of household savings, level of education,access to communications technology

To better understand the three factors defining vulnerability (exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity),
consider the following scenario:
If a community is exposed to large decreases in rainfall but has a healthy watershed and a good reservoir
for storing water, the lack of rainfall might not cause serious problems. Thus, even though the community
is exposed to water shortages, it has less sensitivity to them, so it is less vulnerable. Its ability to manage
its watershed is part of its adaptive capacity, so it will be able to recover quickly from damages. Anothercommunity without water reserves or a healthy watershed might have less exposure to decreased rainfall,
but will still experience serious harm to important crops. Their sensitivity to any decrease in rainfall ishigher which makes them more vulnerable to harm. Their vulnerability is increased because their adaptive
capacity is weak—they do not have a way to manage their natural resources effectively. See the following
page for an illustrated example.
47

Exposure: cyclones

Exposure: sea level rise

Exposure: storm surges

Higher Sensitivity: Houses atground-level are more likely
to be harmed flooding.

Higher Sensitivity: This
community depends on only
one type of crop for food andincome.

48

Higher sensitivity: This community does not have
healthy natural resources to protect them from orhelp them recover from climate impacts.

Exposure: cyclones

Exposure: sea level rise

Exposure: storm surges

Higher Adaptive Capacity:
This community has morethan one sourceof food andincome.

Higher Adaptive Capacity: Having access to stored water makes it
easier for a community to recover when a climate event impacts thewater supply.

Higher Adaptive Capacity:
This community has wellmanaged natural resources,
which can help them torecover from climate impacts.

Lower Sensitivity: Houses
on stilts are less likely to beharmed by flooding.
49What other conditions affect vulnerability?

Non-climate factors can also affect how vulnerable a community is to climate change. Social and economic
conditions, and the community’s general strengths and weaknesses, all affect its vulnerability as shown by
the examples below:• Lack of important services such as health care, transportation, strong community leadership, and strong
government reduces a community’s adaptive capacity, making it more vulnerable.
• Lack of secure water and food supplies also increase vulnerability. If a community depends on one
resource for food and income, it is more vulnerable that a community that has several livelihood options.
For example, a fishing community is already vulnerable to loss of food and income if the health of theirfishing grounds is weakened by pollution or overfishing. The marine ecosystem that supports the fisheries
is more vulnerable to a change in climate, making the community more vulnerable.
• Lack of funding for adaptation planning and action can reduce a community’s adaptive capacity and makeit more vulnerable.
Although communities in many parts of the world are vulnerable to climate change, communities indeveloping countries are often the most vulnerable because they have less money and fewer resources forplanning and protection. They often have limited sources of income, food, or shelter. This means they have
low adaptive capacity. Communities that are vulnerable to climate change are often communities that werealready struggling to maintain their standard of living and vulnerable without climate change. Their adaptive
capacity is already low, and the increased threat of climate change lowers it even further.
It is also important to understand that all of the individuals in the same community are not equallyvulnerable. For example, children and older people may be more sensitive to disease, are less mobile andgenerally require more assistance than others in times of crisis. The sensitivity and adaptive capacity of
individual members of a community is not the same and adaptation plans and actions need to take this
into consideration.
Examples of communities that are vulnerable to climate change include:

Kiribati, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, is made up entirely of small, low-lying islands. Mostof the land is very close to sea level, so the country has high exposure to the impacts of rising sea
levels. The ocean waters are slowly covering their island lands. This also increases the country’s sensitivity to strong storms or the tsunamis, or large waves that can be caused by earthquakes. Also,
the cost of investing in protective barriers such as mangrove reforestation or sea walls is very high,which weakens the country’s adaptive capacity. Communities in Kiribati are considered to be someof the most vulnerable in the world to the impacts of climate change.
The Mbororo people of Western Chad, in West Africa are nomadic—they move across the region
from place to place with their livestock and rely on watering holes and water from Lake Chad. This
makes them very sensitive to changes in water availability. They are also increasingly exposed torising temperatures and reduced rainfall, which are reducing the size of Lake Chad and causing watering holes to dry up. The Mbororo have a weakened adaptive capacity, as they have no alternative
water sources or other sources of income other than the sale of their livestock.

50

What is Climate Resilience?

Climate resilience is the ability of a community or ecosystem to recover quickly from a climate hazard andreturn to normal functioning. Understanding climate vulnerability requires understanding future climate
events (exposure) and their impact on specific local activities (sensitivity). Understanding a community’s
climate resilience requires understanding the overall strengths and weakness of the community’s structure
and resources that help it to recover from any hazard or problem, including those caused by climate change,
and maintain its structure and livelihoods. Climate resilience is about understanding how prepared acommunity is generally, for many different hazards, so it does not require specific information aboutclimate impacts on a region. Understanding how to increase resilience is important for communities
that do not have access to reliable information about expected changes in climate or where changes are
becoming more unpredictable.

51

However, if a community understands how it is vulnerable to climate change, it can plan actions or seek help
to strengthen any weaknesses in its resilience (its ability to recover and return to normal functioning as acommunity).
A community that is healthy, with strong institutions, healthy ecosystems and well-maintained infrastructure
is more resilient to any impact, whether it is the result of a changing climate or a change in social or economic
conditions. In the case of climate resilience, a community with strong leadership, effective resource
management, and access to food and water reserves has a higher resilience than one that does not have theseresources and strengths and skills.1
The example of Andavadoaka, Madagascar, at the bottom of the page, illustrates how understanding
vulnerability helped communities work with local authorities to increase their resilience.

Part 4. Vulnerability-Based Planning or Resilience-Based Planning for
Climate Change?
To increase its adaptive capacity and resilience, a community must:• Understand how it is vulnerable to climate change• Improve its access to resources• Strengthen the skills needed to plan and adapt
Communities can better understand their climate vulnerability by combining local knowledge withinformation and resources on climate change from the international community. In this way, they can makeadaptation plans for key aspects of livelihood and well being, such as fresh water, fisheries, agriculture,
forestry and public health.

© Keith A. Ellenbogen

CASE STUDY: ANDAVADOAKA,MADAGASCAR

sheltered bay surrounded by a coral reef that is partof one of the largest and most diverse reef systems
in the Western Indian Ocean. Traditional fishing is
the main livelihood in the area. Agricultural options
are limited because soil is poor and there is notmuch rainfall. In recent years, fishermen have reliedon catching octopus, sea cucumbers, and shells tosell internationally and for local demand. As a result,these resources from the sea are starting to decline.

Exposure: Andavadoaka is exposed to cyclonesstrong storms with heavy winds and flooding. Cyclone frequency and strength as well as flooding
are likely to increase with climate change, as areseawater temperatures and sea level. Increased sea
Andavadoaka is a town located in south-western water temperature causes the organisms forming
Madagascar, an island nation off the east coast of the coral reefs to die, affecting the productivity of
Africa. The community is located on the coast in a the ecosystem and the fisheries it supports. Coral
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How does a community adapt when they do not have enough information aboutclimate impacts?

There are two approaches to climate change planning: vulnerability-based and resilience-based. A
vulnerability-based approach requires information on current and/or future impacts from climate change
to identify how a community is vulnerable. Often, however, a community doesn’t have information about
how its climate is changing or will change in the future. This is especially true in developing countries
where there are not many weather stations, and governments often don’t have money to invest in the tools
and knowledge that would predict climate change. In these cases, communities can still prepare for climate
hazards using resilience-based planning.

Characteristics of Planning
Context

Stronger Vulnerability Focus

Stronger Resilience Focus

High level of understanding of
future climate and impacts

Low level of understanding of
future climate and impacts

High level of access to knowledge Low level of access to knowledge
relevant to vulnerability
relevant to vulnerability

Approach

Low level of existing viability

High level of existing variability

High certainty

Low certainty

More focused on reducing
sensitivity

More focused on improving
adaptive capacity

reefs also protect the coastline from waves. Sea Education is low, and only half the community speaks
level rise is also likely to affect the freshwater sup- the national language. Local governance and traditional beliefs are strong. Access to resources is reguplies of the areas.
lated by a traditional system that is highly respected.
Sensitivity: People in the community rely almost People have a good understanding of the reef ecocompletely on the sea and traditional fishing for system and the importance of reefs for protection
food and income—primarily the octopus industry. from storms, but they are not always aware of how
Andavadoaka is difficult to reach—particularly dur- their activities affect the health of the ecosystems.
ing the storm season when roads cannot be used.
There is little communication and no electricity. Peo- Building Resilience: To increase the community’s
ple move up and down the coast fishing along the resilience, several marine protected areas (MPAs)
were formed. These MPAs help the community manwhole reef system.
age its fisheries and marine resources better and
Adaptive Capacity: Because people in Andavado- will reduce biodiversity loss and prevent further reefaka spend all their time on activities for daily surviv- damage. A healthier reef will recover from storm
al, they have little time to plan for the future. People damage and other climate impacts more rapidly. The
in Andavadoaka are poor, with three-fourths of their impact of the MPAs on the community’s resilience
to climate change is being monitored and observed.
income spent on food.
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What is a vulnerability-based approach to adaptation planning?

A vulnerability-based approach focuses on understanding how a community’s resources and livelihoods arevulnerable to current and future impacts of climate change. It looks at a community’s exposure, sensitivity
and adaptive capacity. It identifies the specific impacts a community may face, and the management skills
and livelihood resources the community has—or doesn’t have—to deal with these impacts.
In a vulnerability-based approach to adaptation planning, the community asks the question, ‘What are thelivelihood activities and natural resources most likely to be harmed by climate events and climate change, andwhat should be done to protect them?’
An example of a community taking a vulnerability-based approach comes from the Verde Island Passage in
the Philippines:© CI/Lynn TangIn the Verde Island Passage, communities worked with scientists and the government to do vulnerability assessments. These
showed that climate change could impact the community’s fisheries, so the community developed fishing regulations and marine protected areas (MPAs) to better manage their use of thefisheries and protect them. They established sustainable fishingcertificates, implementing no-take zones during certain seasons,and established programs to increase the population of certain
important fish species by growing newly hatched fish. They looked at several impacts, including pollution and overfishing, that made their fisheries more sensitive and focused on climate impacts asa major element of the planning process.

What is a resilience-based approach to planning?

A resilience-based approach to adaptation planning examines the strengths and weaknesses of thecommunity that will determine how well it can protect itself and recover from the impacts of climate change.
The resilience-based approach builds on the characteristics of a community that are strong and will enable
it to recover, and tries to strengthen those characteristics that are weak.
The resilience-based approach asks the question, ‘What are the characteristics of a community that will helpthat community be strong given any kind of climate event or change?’
When a community uses a resilience-based approach instead of a vulnerability-based approach, they do notneed as much information about what is likely to happen from climate change in the future (their exposure).
Instead they look more at how different climate events could impact them (their sensitivity) and how wellthey will be able to strengthen the resources that will increase their resilience against the impacts of climatechange. This approach is useful when there is not enough usable information about how climate will change
in the future.
One approach to resilience-based planning is diversification—making sure that the community does notrely on only one source for food or income (such as growing coffee or fishing). A community that is totally54

dependent on a single crop is more sensitive to harm from a new threat (such as a pest or big storm) than acommunity that relies on two or more crops. A community is more resilient when it has several sources offood and income.
An example of resilience-based adaptation planning is occurring in South Africa:© Indigo Development and Change

Communities in the Suid Bokkeveld in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa have created a cooperative to manage andsell their Rooibos tea. They are working with a local NGO, the government and universities to create adaptive management plansso that their wild, organic tea will grow sustainably even though
they are experiencing less rain and increasing temperatures. The
communities did not know how much their rainfall was decreasing from year to year. To protect their tea crops from possible decreases in the water supply and other climate hazards, the communities are planting windbreaks toprotect crops from soil erosion and wind damage, and removing invasive plants which use a lot of
the water supply. This frees water for their crops during times of low rainfall.

Communities may find that focusing on both vulnerability and resilience works best. As more information
becomes available to a community, the approach they take to adaptation can change. For example, thecommunities in the Suid Bokkeveld, South Africa, discussed above, began recording weather information sothat they would know more about what is happening on their lands. They increased their understanding of
the patterns of droughts and how droughts could affect their crops more severely due to climate change. They
also share the information they gather with other members of the cooperative to create potential adaptation
strategies. The community is combining both a focus on vulnerability with a focus on building resilience.

Part 5. What types of knowledge and tools are important forcommunities who want to adapt?

Knowledge, information and tools can help decision makers in government and communities plan forand adapt to climate change. Both local knowledge (knowledge from inside the community) and external
knowledge (knowledge from outside the community) have benefits and limitations. Effective adaptation
planning should ideally make use of both types of knowledge to meet the needs of communities anddecision-makers.

Local Knowledge

Local knowledge comes from within the community. It can come from local communities, indigenous
peoples and local scientists:• Traditional knowledge—Indigenous peoples living in tropical forests, coastal fishing areas and otherecosystems have their own wisdom, practices and traditions for managing natural resources that allow
them to survive. This traditional knowledge has been learned over time and passed on from generation
to generation.

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• Shared Experience—Sharing successes and failures of different adaptation actions is very important foradaptation. The best solutions may not always be delivered in formal training.
• Local scientific research—Scientific research done in the region itself, or information from the region
collected by the government is often more directly related to the community than research done outside
the region. Local government officials often have access to the best weather information for their town,
state or region. Local universities often do the best job combining science with traditional knowledge tounderstand how climate is changing in their region.
People living in tropical forests, coastal fishing areas, and other ecosystems have their own cultures, goals,
and interests. Indigenous peoples and local communities have local knowledge, practices and traditions for
managing the natural resources that allow them to survive. Indigenous peoples and other communities who
depend on the forests or on fishing grounds are skilled at adapting to changes in natural conditions.
Below are three adaptation actions that indigenous peoples and local communities have taken in SouthAmerica, the Asia-Pacific and Africa using local knowledge:
1. The Aymara peoples of Bolivia have problems getting enough water for their needs. They have developed
a new way to collect water in the mountains by placing small dams along the mountain rivers. These dams
have helped supply water for human needs, and also for livestock, especially in times of drought.5
2. In 1997, the gardens of many people in Papua New Guinea failed due to droughts and freezing weather,so the people used a number of traditional survival techniques. These included eating ‘emergency foods’
such as the part of banana plants closest to the ground, self-sown pueraria tubers and wild yam tubers.
3. In Burkina Faso, a country in Africa where drought has been increasing, farmers dig holes during the dry
season to collect leaves, dead plants and manure. This decaying matter attracts termites, and when therainy season begins, water collects in the tunnels that the termites create. This stores water and improves
the soil for farming.6

External Knowledge

External knowledge is knowledge that comes from outside the community. Examples of external knowledge
include:• scientific studies conducted in other regions• information from experts or advisors from other countries, regions or communities.
External knowledge provides important information—data on expected changes to the climate, what impacts
a community should expect, and what livelihood approaches will be most vulnerable to climate change.
External knowledge can be necessary to solve a specific problem, but this outside knowledge needs to bebrought together with local knowledge in order to be useful to the community.

How Can Local and External Knowledge Work Together?

External knowledge must be applied carefully in local communities. External information is importantbecause it can show communities changes they may not have seen before, and it can help them understandwhat those changes mean for their well-being.
However, many times outside solutions are unsuccessful if local knowledge about the area is not also
considered and respected. Even if the solution seems to be perfectly suited, it may not be successful if people56

in the community do not participate in making the decisions and agree that the activities will meet theirown needs and priorities.
Communities, scientists and governments need to work together, share information and create new ideas
to observe and learn about how changes in climate will affect communities. Local knowledge combinedwith external knowledge and good planning can increase adaptive capacity and help communities be more
resilient to the impacts of climate change. It is important that communities have access to information fromoutside of their communities. This information can allow them to look at changes they may not have seen
before and discuss what these changes mean for their well-being.
There are many examples where external and local knowledge have been used together for adaptation
planning and action:

CI/Olaf Zerbock

Bogota Conservation Corridor
reforestation project

Ethiopia• In the Bagamoyo-Pangani and Menai Bay Seascapes of Tanzania in eastern Africa, outside experts worked with a coastal community to improve the health of their ecosystems andimprove their resilience by improving coastal governanceand restoring and building up natural resources. They restored coastal dunes, mangroves, wetlands and increased
plants along rivers. These changes provided the community with diverse income and food options by strengthening fisheries and protecting the coast, thus improving theirsocioeconomic health as well as making them more resilientto the impacts of temperature changes.

© Robin Moore/ iLCP• In Ethiopia, farmers use their radios to get seasonal updates
on the timing and intensity of the rainy season. These updates
are based on climate models and regional weather information from experts and help the farmers to determine when toplant and which crops to plant depending on how much rain
they think will fall that season.

Menai Bay, Tanzania© Robin Moore/ iLCP

• Scientists from universities, the Colombian government,
and conservation NGOs worked with community members to understand the current and potential future impacts of changing rainfall and temperature on the availability of fresh water in the mountains and for the capital
city of Bogota. After studying local knowledge and the best
available climate models, they made an improved management plan for protected areas to restore the high mountainecosystems that collect and absorb water and are necessary
for a healthy watershed. Healthier grasslands and forests
help protect and strengthen the watershed, even though it
is being impacted by climate change. Thus it is better able
to provide the freshwater flow needed for other ecosystems
and human development.

57

DFID/IDRC/Thomas Omondi• In East Africa, scientists from Kenya’s national weather department are working with a family of traditional “rainmakers” in western Kenya to make weather forecasts for local
farmers that combine both satellite technology and traditional forecasting methods. The forecasts are broadcast over theradio in the local Luhya language.2

Tools that help to understandVulnerability and Resilience

Many different tools and approaches can help increase a community’s adaptive capacity. Some of the most important include
climate monitoring, climate models, early warning systems andvulnerability assessments (a tool that will be discussed more in
Session 6).

A senior rainmaker in the Nganyi community instructs an apprentice on a forecasting method.

Climate Monitoring
Climate monitoring is observing different aspects of climate (rainfall,temperature, storms) to understand a community’s past and current
exposure to climate hazards.
Cultures all over the world have been monitoring and keeping trackof climate information (rain, temperature, storms and sea level) fora very long time. In the last 60 years, scientists and many communities
have been monitoring information about climate change, especiallytemperature and rainfall. Scientists are working on systems to collectthis information that are consistent, reliable, and accurate, and canbe used all around the world. Some climate monitoring is done bysatellites, machines that circle around the Earth in space and collect information about large areasof the Earth. Some information comes from measuring devices in the ocean (called buoys) that record
the temperature and height of the sea, as well as its currents. There are also monitoring stations in key
locations, such as a famous CO2 monitoring station in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, in the Pacific Ocean. Scientists
began measuring the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere there in 1958.
Some communities monitor their local climate by setting up rain gauges and thermometers and recording
daily readings, both for their own use and to share with the scientific community.
Scientists share data to bring together historical climate information for the entire planet. This data helps
us understand what our climate was like in the past, how it is changing now, and what it will look like inthe future.

Climate Models
Climate models are used to predict future exposure to climate change. Scientists take the data they collecton the atmosphere, greenhouse gases, oceans, land and ice and put it into computers to create different
pictures, or climate models, showing what will happen to the climate in the future.

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Different models are based on different predictions of how much greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions there
will be and temperature changes caused by the levels of GHG in the atmosphere. Climate models show
how rain patterns, temperature, sea level and storms might change in the future and how these changes
will impact people and the environment.
Some of the more complicated models can take a long time to complete—models predicting climate
scenarios for the next 30 - 50 years can take up to a year to run on large and costly computers. There are
only a few specialized research centers in the world that create these models, and it is challenging to get thebest models to countries, regions, and especially communities to use in their decision-making processes.
Climate models are useful for governments and groups involved in water management, farming andfisheries management to help them make adaptation plans for climate change and to understand thechanges they are already seeing. One agricultural group, for example, uses climate models to predict
regional yield for five crops: rice, wheat, maize, soybeans and groundnuts.
The quality of climate models is always improving, but these tools do have limitations. A climate model isan estimate of what is likely to happen in the future, but it does not predict exactly what will happen. To
use models in adaptation planning, it is necessary to have a good record of the weather, scientific expertise
and, in many cases, access to sophisticated computer equipment. One of the goals of the international
climate policy discussions is to ensure that climate monitoring and models are available to more countries
and communities around the world.

Early Warning Systems
Just like a weather forecast will provide information about expected rainfall, storms, or very high temperatures, early warning systems inform people of likely flooding, heavy winds, and other weather events, sothat they can prepare. In the case of climate change, early warning systems can warn communities about
expected drought, increased exposure to malaria, forest fires, storms and floods. Information on expected
weather patterns and rainfall helps farmers decide what crops to plant and helps communities know ifthey need to invest in mosquito nets and additional medicine, or in fire prevention. Early warning systems
can be an important tool in climate adaptation by alerting communities and giving them enough time to
put their planning into action.

Vulnerability Assessments
A vulnerability assessment is a tool that helps a community analyze its adaptive capacity, identify potential
risks from hazards (i.e. sensitivity), and develop plans to reduce their vulnerability to these risks. Climate
vulnerability assessments are becoming more common, and involve both local and external knowledge
to help communities determine their vulnerability to climate change and design a plan to reduce thisvulnerability. Vulnerability assessments will be discussed in more detail in Session 6.

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IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:• The climate is changing, and communities must be able to adapt to both the negative impacts
and new opportunities that these changes bring.
• Communities should try to understand their vulnerability to climate change by assessing their
exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity.
• Communities that are strong and and manage their resources well are more resilient to climatechange.
• Communities can improve their resilience to climate change by diversifying livelihoods strategies,
and protecting and strengthening the health of their natural resources.
• With enough information on likely climate impacts in their region, communities can take avulnerability-based approach to adaptation• With limited information on potential climate change impacts in their region, communities cantake a resilience-based approach to climate adaptation• Local knowledge should be used together with external knowledge to help a community prepare
for climate change.
• There are a variety of tools available to communities to help them do adaptation planningand action.

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KEY TERMS TO REMEMBER:
Adaptive Capacity: The ability to adjust to current and future changes caused by climatechange and to acquire the skills and manage theresources needed to recover from the impacts ofclimate change.

Climate Sensitivity: How much a community
depends on natural resources, particularly livelihoods and infrastructure systems that are likely
to be harmed by climate events and climatechange.

Climate Exposure: The likelihood that naturally occurring climate events (such as storms or
floods), or changes to climate conditions (suchas less rainfall, or hotter temperatures) will harma community’s natural resources, livelihoods
and infrastructure (roads, houses, communications systems.

Climate Vulnerability: The degree to which climate changes can cause harm to a community
or ecosystem.
Disaster: A hazard can become a disaster when
it seriously disrupts a community’s ability to lead
their daily lives, causing major human, economicand environmental loss.

Climate Hazard: Climate events that cause
damage or harm to a community or its surround- Early Warning System: Systems that alert coming environment, including hurricanes, cyclones, munities to prepare for a climate hazard or event.
drought, and extreme flooding.
External Knowledge: Knowledge that comes
Climate Models: Computer studies that predict from outside a system or community.
future exposure to climate change. Scientists
take the data they collect on the atmosphere,
greenhouse gases, oceans, land and ice and put
it into computers to create different scenariosor pictures, showing what will happen to the climate in the future.

Local Knowledge: Knowledge that comes frominside a system or community.
Resilience-based approach: Examines the strengths
and weaknesses of the community that will determine how well it can protect itself and recoverfrom the impacts of climate change.

Climate Monitoring: Observing different aspects of climate (rainfall, temperature, storms) Traditional Knowledge: The wisdom, knowledge
to understand a community’s past and current and practices of indigenous peoples and local
exposure to climate hazards.
communities gained over time through experiClimate Resilience: The ability of a community ence and orally passed on from generation toand its natural resources to recover from the generation.
damage or harm suffered because of climate Vulnerability-based approach: focuses on unhazards or climate variability and to return to derstanding how a community’s resources andnormal functioning.
livelihoods can be harmed by current and future
Climate Risk: The risk that climate and/or impacts of climate change. It looks at a community’s exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity.
weather will negatively affect human life.3

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62

© CI/Haroldo Castro

Session 5. Maintaining Healthy Ecosystems to Adapt
Livelihoods to Climate Change

LEARNING OBJECTIVESAt the end of the session, participants should be
able to:• Understand how ecosystems and their services
help communities build resilience and adapt toclimate change• Understand how ecosystem services support different livelihoods• Understand how ecosystem services are impacted by climate change• Explain how ecosystem services support threeimportant livelihoods—fisheries, agriculture andpastoralism• Discuss examples of adaptation strategies forfisheries, agriculture and pastoralism• Understand how people can improve the resilience of ecosystems and their livelihood services
to protect themselves from climate change
impacts.

This session builds on the information from Session 1 (on the importance of ecosystems and ecosystem services) and the information from Session 4 (on how communities and ecosystems are vulnerable to climatechange). It brings these two ideas together to show how ecosystems support people and livelihoods and how
adaptation plans can be made to protect ecosystems and their services.

Part 1. How Can Ecosystem Services Help People Adapt to Climate
Change?

Ecosystem services are the resources and processes provided by natural ecosystems that support human
livelihoods, safeguard biodiversity and help control climate. Healthy ecosystems are essential to life onearth. Whether it is a wetland that absorbs and filters fresh water for crops, or coral reefs that provide
habitats for fish populations, ecosystems provide essential services to keep humans, plants and animals aliveand healthy and are a key part of adaptation efforts.
Ecosystem services can also protect communities from the impacts of climate change and reduce theirvulnerability, especially in rural places where people depend closely on nature.
Not all of the ecosystem services described in Session 1 will be relevant to local adaptation. Communities
must identify the specific ecosystem services that they depend upon to decrease their sensitivity to climatechange and increase their adaptive capacity.

63Healthy ecosystems can reduce the sensitivity of communities by:• Maintaining the health of other ecosystem services: Climate change hazards may severely harm thequality of some ecosystem services, but other ecosystems can supply this service. For example, planting
shade trees in coffee plantations may help to keep moisture in soil and maintain coffee yields throughtimes of drought;• Protecting resources from exposure to climate events: Some ecosystems protect property from theimpacts of climate change. For example, plants next to a river may reduce and delay flooding, so thatpeople downstream have more time to prepare.
Healthy ecosystems can also increase the adaptive capacity of communities:• Providing options for human well-being: Ecosystems provide a diverse range of services. Protecting thisdiversity improves the likelihood that people will have alternative food, fresh water and other services
available if a climate hazard affects a community’s main water system or food source.
Keeping ecosystems healthy reduces the stress on natural resources and makes sure that the ecosystem cancontinue to provide its basic services, even if other resources fail. For example, if rains arrive during big
storms and not seasonally, as expected, a community with an intact forest that absorbs and filters the waterfor rivers and streams may have a better chance of avoiding drought, flood, and erosion damage than one inwhich there are no healthy forests to clean and maintain the water flow.
The following examples show how services provided by specific ecosystems may reduce community
vulnerability to climate change.
Terrestrial Ecosystems:• Forests• Protect humans, infrastructure (roads, houses), agriculture, and other resourcesfrom erosion and landslides• Ensure water availability by absorbing and storing rainfall and regulatingwater flow
• Maintain water quality by filtering sediment and pollutants• Keep crops healthy by providing habitat for insects and other wildlife thatpollinate plants• Protect communities by reducing and slowing flood peaks• Provide diverse sources of livelihood and food for communities• Protect humans and ecosystems from extreme heat by maintaining a cloud cover, whichcools the air and increases rainfall• Grasslands• Keep soils fertile (for agriculture)• Maintain crop yields and biodiversity by spreading seeds• Maintain water quality and provide erosion control

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Freshwater ecosystems:• Wetlands (swamps, bogs and marshes)• Protect communities from coastal flooding caused by storm waves and heavy rainfall• Keep water quality high by filtering out dirt, and other pollutants• Store ground water to maintain flow for water-powered electric plants• Protect coasts and coral reefs by providing erosion control,• Provide fish habitat and breeding grounds for human
livelihoods• Protect water supply by keeping salt
water out of fresh groundwater
systems• Provide habitat for biodiversity,
keeping natural resources strong.
Marine (Saltwater) Ecosystems:• Mangroves• Protect shorelines from erosion caused by sea level rise and storms• Provide fish habitat and breeding grounds for human food and livelihood• Protect against flooding• Protect water supply by keeping salt water out of fresh
groundwater systems.
• Coral Reefs• Protect against flooding due to storm surge• Provide important fishery habitat andbreeding grounds• Provide income as tourist destinations.

Part 2. How do Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services Support Human
Livelihoods?

Ecosystems and their services support many human livelihoods—fisheries, agriculture and pastoralism arethree of the most important. The following section explores how specific ecosystem services impact these
livelihood options, how they are impacted by climate change, and what adaptation action communities
can take to protect the ecosystem services that support their livelihoods. Case study examples discuss how
communities are adapting behaviors to protect fisheries, agriculture and pastoralism.

Fisheries
How do ecosystems support fisheries?

Fisheries provide food, tourism and cultural resources for many communities. Several important ecosystems, both land and water, keep fisheries healthy:• Marine ecosystems (coral reefs, mangroves, sea grass beds and salt marshes)—provide habitat, breeding
grounds, and food for finfish, shellfish, small organisms and marine mammals.

65• Freshwater ecosystems(wetlands)—keep waterclean, regulate waterflow and control erosion, provide breeding
grounds for fish that
require fresh water orbrackish (mixed salt
and fresh water) habitats to breed.
• Terrestrial ecosystems(coastal and upland forests)—provide erosion
control that keeps soil
and runoff from collecting in river and coastal
fish habitats, maintainwater quality and water flows that support freshwater and marine fish populations.

How does climate change impact ecosystem services that support fisheries?
Climate change impacts many of the ecosystem services which keep fisheries healthy:• Increasing sea surface temperatures can weaken and kill coral reefs (coral bleaching), which in turndestroys this habitat and food sources for many important fish.
• Rising sea temperature may also cause entire fish species to move to a different area, making them unavailable as a food and income source for communities who traditionally depend on them. The warmer
temperatures may, however, provide a new opportunity for fishing in other communities.
• Increased temperatures and changing rainfall can damage or kill mangroves, sea grass and plants in salt
marshes as well as forests, reducing the ability of these ecosystems to provide habitats and other services
that support healthy fisheries.
• Sea level rise is a gradual climate change impact that affects coastal fisheries. In some places the sea isrising faster than the mangrove ecosystem can move towards the land. Or the mangroves are blockedfrom moving inland by roads, houses,
or commercial fishponds. In these cases the mangrove ecosystem will not be Vulnerability of specific fish populations to climate change
able to provide the services that sup- is difficult to predict. To know the vulnerability of a specificspecies we must know how much habitat change affects its
port fisheries.
• In the longer term, ocean acidification, normal breeding behaviors (sensitivity), and how much it(a change in the chemistry or make-up can adapt to changes before it can no longer survive in itsof sea water when the ocean absorbs usual locations (adaptive capacity). Both local knowledge
excess CO2 from the atmosphere) andand scientific research are needed to understand how
sea level rise could cause entire ecosystems, such as coral reefs, to collapse, se- changing conditions affect specific fish populations.
verely reducing fisheries’ habitat. These
effects will probably be felt first in the
far northern or the far southern areas of the planet. But now is the time to change human activities andcreate plans to adapt to the changes that are already happening—before they cause severe impacts.

66

What are some examples of adaptation strategies for fisheries?

Adaptation in fisheries can be difficult because it is harder to reduce the sensitivity of fish and their habitats
to changing conditions than it is for species that live on land. However, good management of marine
ecosystems can maintain the productivity of fisheries in a changing climate. Healthy ecosystems are more
resilient to both climate and non-climate related impacts. The following strategies give fisheries the best
chance of continued productivity and reduce the risk of losing this important source of livelihood:
1. Manage and protect key habitats at
critical times in the life cycle of fish
species (particularly breeding grounds
and habitats for younger fish).
2. Reduce human pollution, such as
sediments, pesticide and agricultural
fertilizers that damage ocean and river
ecosystems.
3. Reduce pressure on fish populations by
developing alternatives to overfishing.
4. Introduce Marine Protected Areas(MPAs) and Locally Managed Marine
Areas (LMMAs) to restore and protect
key habitats that have been damaged orchanged by human activity.

In the Pacific Islands, freshwater aquaculture (fish farming)is being proposed as an adaptation action for fishingcommunities along the coast. These communities arelikely to become vulnerable to climate change as tuna
populations become unavailable. Aquaculture will help
these communities protect their livelihoods and reducepressure on the natural fish stocks. However, aquaculture(both freshwater and marine) must be established ina way that doesn’t harm the health and functioning of
ecosystems. It must be located in a place where it will
support fish farming over the long term and not cause
damage to the surrounding area.

These actions will help keep fisheries healthy in general and will also help them stay resilient in the face ofclimate change.

© Conservation International

Traditional Knowledge and LMMAs
In Fiji, Locally Managed Marine Areas (LLMAs) have alreadybegun to include climate change concerns within training
and monitoring activities. The approach is being used
to raise awareness and adopt locally-based adaptation
options against sea level rise, warming temperatures, andextreme weather patterns. These options include temporary“tabu” or no-take zones and locally developed resource
management plans which have resulted in increased fish
catch in the surrounding areas and healthier coral reefs.
“Tabu” areas were traditionally set aside for 100 days as a sign of respect when the chief of a village
died. Today, communities are setting aside small areas of their fishing grounds as tabu areas forlonger periods of time, leading to an increase in the fish catch of the open areas. Traditions suchas formal declarations, marking the closed areas, and notifying others who use the fishing grounds
are still practiced for these no-take zones.1

67© CI/Giuseppe Di Carlo

CASE STUDY: FISHERIES ADAPTATION IN
THE PHILIPPINESThe Verde Island Passage in the Philippines is part ofan area that is considered the center of the world’s

Agriculture
How do ecosystems
support agriculture?

Agriculture provides basic foodand income for many communities. On a large scale, agriculture
produces much of the food for theworld’s population. Ecosystems
play a critical role in adaptation
strategies for agriculture. Healthy
crops require a healthy watershed,
healthy soil with rich nutrients,
and good management of ecosystems to reduce the risk of damage
from flooding or drought. Several
ecosystems contribute their ecosystem services to healthy agriculture:• Freshwater ecosystems (including wetlands): support the watershed, regulate the flow offresh water to protect crops fromflooding and droughts, control
erosion, and bring nutrients tothe soil for healthier crops.

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marine biodiversity. The coastal marine ecosystems
here support the livelihood and well-being of over 7
million people.
Exposure: The Verde Island Passage is already experiencing impacts from climate change: increased
sea surface temperature, rising sea level, increased
storms and increased erosion and sediment fromheavy rainfall.
Sensitivity: A vulnerability assessment conductedby the community, scientists and the government
identified ecological and human impacts to several
ecosystems due to climate change. First, the fishthemselves, including their eggs, were threatenedbecause rising temperatures and storms affected
mangrove, coral and sea grass ecosystem habitats. The fishing and tourism infrastructure (boats,
docks) were also sensitive to damage by increased
storms. Traditional hunting areas were being affected as forest was lost to sea level rise and flooding.
Adaptation Actions: Several adaptation actions
were developed:• Marine protected areas were established (Improved Adaptive Capacity)• Mangroves systems were rehabilitated to protect
against sea level rise, storm surge and to keepsalt water out of freshwater systems (Reduced
Sensitivity)• Aquaculture (fish farming) practices were established using practices that are good for the longterm health of the environment. These include
low-density finfish pens and no-chemical shrimp
ponds (Reduced Sensitivity)• Best management practices for fishing on coral
reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove forests were
established (Increased Adaptive Capacity)• New markets were opened up for fishing communities (raising and selling sea cucumbers)
and new livelihoods were created through ecotourism by building elevated bamboo walkways
in the rehabilitated mangrove ecosystems.) (Improved Adaptive Capacity)• Terrestrial ecosystems (coastal and upland forests)—create a healthy watershed, delivering water andnutrients to crops, provide erosion control and windbreaks, provide habitat for pollinating insects,
birds and mammals.
• Coastal ecosystems—protect crops from storms and sea level rise, keep salt water out of ground and surface water.

How Does Climate Change Impact ecosystem services that support agriculture?

Ecosystem services that support agriculture are exposed to climate hazards such as floods, droughts, extreme
heat and freezing events in different parts of the world. When climate change increases the severity of these
events, ecosystem services and agricultural livelihoods also become more sensitive to impacts:• Freshwater ecosystems, such as wetlands and lakes, can dry up, limiting or destroying water availability
and the flow of water and nutrients to agriculture.
• Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns can cause drought and impact traditional planting
cycles for staple crops such as rice, maize and cassava.
• Rising temperature and changing rainfall
can also increase the spread of diseases tocrops, and increase insect infestations andforest fires.
• Loss of forest can cause increased erosion,
reduce the quality and availability of fresh
water, and destroy habitat for pollinators, affecting crop yields.
• Flooding or drought can affect the availability of freshwater, introduce saltwater into
freshwater systems, and reduce the healthof mangrove ecosystems, making them lessable to protect farmland and crops fromstorms, heavy winds and sea level rise.

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What are some agricultural adaptation strategies?

Farmers need to look at all of the factors that influence their harvest quantity and quality when making
adaptation plans.
In addition to protecting the necessary ecosystem services, the following adaptation techniques can increase
climate resilience for crops:

Annual Crops

For annual crops, adaptation
strategies for climate change Small-scale farmers commonly have more flexibility to make midusually are based on manageseason changes or incorporate traditional practices into how they
ment decisions that farmers
manage their farms. If they have or expect to have a drier year thanmake throughout the year.
For example, some farmers in normal, they can plant a crop that is more resistant to drought
India have learned to be flex- to reduce their sensitivity. However, large-scale industrial farmers
ible about what crops they often do not have the same flexibility to make rapid changes toplant. They make the decision adapt to climate hazards. To increase their resilience to climatebased on the weather patterns changes, both large agricultural operations and small scale farmthey see or expect. If the moners can evaluate the ecosystem services they need to increase
soon rains are delayed, they
their resilience and include the protection and sustainable mancan plant crops with shorter
growing seasons to ensure a agement of these ecosystems in their adaptation strategies.
successful harvest despite thereduced availability of water. The mid-season adjustments for changes in the weather vary from place© CI/John Tidwell

CASE STUDY: AGRICULTURALADAPATION IN COSTA RICA

Exposure: In Costa Rica, temperatures have been
rising, and scientists expect continued increases intemperature, temperature extremes (unusual heat70

waves and cold spells) and changes in rainfall patterns (increased heavy rainstorms and dry spells).
These changes are likely to affect coffee production.
Sensitivity: Costa Rican coffee depends on temperatures that are neither too high nor too low andon consistent wet and dry seasons. When plants do
not have these conditions, they can flower too soonand miss the necessary rainy season to produce. Or
they dry up before becoming productive. Costa Rica
has many microclimates (small areas with their own
distinct climate) that communities have relied upon
for years, knowing where it is best to grow different
crops, like coffee. With climate change, those microclimates are changing. This reduces the reliability of
local knowledge and decreases the adaptive capacity of farmers.

to place, depending on the rainfall pattern, soil type and choice of crop. Farmers can take a number ofpossible actions:• Thinning the plant population to reduce competition for available moisture• Thinning crop stands during the growing season as the intensity and duration of rainfall becomes
more obvious• Providing supplemental irrigation• Changing crop varieties, or planting a mix of different crops instead of just one crop

Perennial Crops

For plants that take several years to reach maturity and then yield regularly (such as coffee), a different
approach is required, since it is more difficult for farmers to react to changes during the year. Several
ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation can help reduce the climate vulnerability of these crops:• Integrated pest management (monitoring pest levels, using natural predators and adjusting pesticide use)
• Mulching to retain moisture• Fire management• Planting rows of trees or shrubs to shelter crops from wind and protect soil from erosion• Shade management, such as planting trees among the crops in agroforestry.

Agroforestry

Agroforestry is the practice of planting trees or shrubs together with crops and/or within livestock
pastures. Agroforestry increases resilience, as the trees provide shade to keep the crops cooler and add
to soil nutrients. Live fences—lines of trees, shrubs or other plants that keep animals in or out andprotect crops from wind—also can be planted.. They provide an adaptation option that costs less money

Adaptation Actions:ing forestry and grazing areas, fodder banks (use
• Agroforestry: Coffee farmers in Costa Rica haveof specific trees to provide shoots for grazing tobeen using agroforestry for a long time to reduceincrease fodder for animals) and live fences (fruit
the impacts from heat—they understand the protrees or other trees that provide natural windtection that shade trees, alley cropping (planting
breaks, reduce the cutting of wood for fencing,coffee between trees or between rows of otherand provide additional food sources for people
crops) and live fences can provide. The ability toand animals). These new methods address theuse these existing and accepted technologies canneeds of both agriculture and livestock rearing at
help to reduce the impacts of increased temperathe same time (Improved Adaptive Capacity)tures (Reduced Sensitivity).
• Improved social networking: Farmers in Costa Rica
• Diversification: Many coffee farmers have been
have recognized the value of discussing and sharwilling and able to diversify their income bying vulnerabilities and adaptation methods amongchanging to timber harvesting, horse farming andthemselves, as well as with the government andother activities when their land is no longer ablescientists, as an important element of their adto grow coffee (Improved Adaptive Capacity).
aptation planning (Improved Adaptive Capacity).
• Applying new methods: Farmers are also apply- • Address the needs of both agriculture and liveing new methods, such as silvopasture (combinstock rearing at the same time.

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than traditional fencing. Live fences planted with fruit trees can provide additional food and income oranimal fodder.

Crop Diversification

With increasingly variable climates, another popular form of adaptation for farmers is to plant several
different types of crops, thus reducing their sensitivity to a single event, such as a pest attack or drought.
This requires new skills that increase adaptive capacity. For example, a farmer that diversifies into a
new crop will need to learn new growing practices, and possibly how to participate in a completely
new market.

Traditional and local knowledge

Traditional knowledge can also provide solutions for adapting agricultural practices. In Bolivia, theQuechua and Aymara peoples use the differences in temperature and moisture at different altitudes in
the mountains to plant different crops—such as potatoes in the highlands and corn in the low valleys.
This practice is known as ancestral vertical control. Understanding the best environment in whichcrops can thrive and having a system that is flexible enough to move them around makes the crops more
resilient to climate impacts.
Sharing new technology and practices is also important for successful agricultural adaptation. Forming
cooperatives, farmer groups and self-help groups, or making connections with producers, government
experts or NGOs,2 can help farmers learn new methods and the best ways to apply these methods intheir own areas. These social networks, combined with the skills of individual farmers, are important toagricultural adaptation in smaller communities. Farmers can learn together how to develop and sharenew technologies and practices, thus increasing their adaptive capacity.

Pastoralism
How do ecosystems
support pastoralism?

Pastoralism is the practice of raising livestock, also called animalhusbandry. It is done differently in
different parts of the world, but generally pastoralists travel with theirherds to where they know they canfind resources like water and pasture. Their lifestyles are often well
adapted to their environment. Pastoralism generally occurs in areas
where there is low population, highmobility, and high dependence on
traditional knowledge. It has evolved
as a result of climate, as traditional
agriculture and livestock rearing
are not possible in certain climates.
While pastoralism may be a simpler

72system than fisheries and agriculture, it is a critical way of life for many people. Pastoralism is closely
linked to ecosystem services and vulnerable to climate change. Several ecosystems support pastoralism:• Grassland ecosystems—provide food for livestock and erosion control.
• Forests—provide critical water storage and absorption for ground and surface water.
• Freshwater ecosystems (wetlands and freshwater fisheries in lakes)—provide water and additional sources of food and income.

How does climate change impact ecosystem services that support pastoral
livelihoods?

Pastoralists have developed livestock and crops that are adapted to survive in difficult terrain and overlong traveling distances. While pastoral communities may have more flexibility than some communities,
since they move to where the water or pasture is, their livelihood depends on knowing where the natural
resources are located. However, climate change is increasing the vulnerability of the ecosystems they relyon and making it difficult for them to find the resources they need.
• Grasslands may dry up as temperatures rise, making pasture harder to find. This changes the land into
desert, as there is no grass to hold onto the soil.
• Increasing temperature and decreased rainfall can cause forest fires and weaken forest ecosystems, harming the watersheds which support the water supply on pastoral lands.
• Increased heat causes lakes to dry up, which limits water availability and reduces fish populations that
communities depend on for food and income during dry seasons, or short periods of drought.
• Climate change is changing the land pastoralists know and making their traditional knowledge less reliable. Rains come at different times, temperatures change more than in the past, and resources are nolonger located where and when they are expected.
All these changes can also affect other, non-pastoral, communities and cause greater competition forland and resources. In some places where pastoralism has had a long tradition, such as the Sahel inAfrica, the increased use of irrigation for farming has created additional tensions between pastoralists
and farmers, as agriculture moves into areas formerly used for grazing animals and competes for alimited water supply.

What are some pastoral adaptation strategies?

Pastoralists often have a long historical knowledge of the land—over thousands of years—that canhelp the community and others better understand the impacts of climate change. Even though theirknowledge is changing, they still have valuable information about biodiversity, ecosystem services andthe changes that are occurring to those ecosystems. This knowledge is critical for understanding thoseecosystems and can help the community’s adaptive capacity. However, as changes happen and traditional
knowledge becomes less reliable, pastoralists will need to work together, have better access to climate
science and weather forecasts, and options for alternative livelihoods. The locally adapted crops andlivestock they have developed increase their resilience to climate impacts and could be helpful for theadaptation strategies of non-pastoralists as well.
Many species and ecosystems also rely on grazing pastures. Some birds need open lands to nest,
and livestock helps spread and fertilize plants in many regions and contributes to plant diversity.
Thus, if pastoralists have to change their livelihoods, ecosystems may be harmed by the loss of
pastoralist activity.

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Although each pastoral community has different resources and needs that must be considered, there areseveral adaptation strategies that pastoralists can use to protect the ecosystem services they rely on andadapt to climate change:• Protect key watershed ecosystems• Increase access to alternative and expanded pasture areas• Increase information sharing and relationships among pastoralists, scientists and decision makers

Part 3. How Can People Increase Ecosystem Resilience to Climate
Change and Human Pressure?

A rural community’s climate vulnerability is closely connected to its local ecosystems. And, in turn, an
ecosystem’s vulnerability is influenced by the communities that use its services. Floods, droughts, storms,
sea level rise and extreme changes in temperature affect the availability of water, food, shelter and manyother critical resources that healthy ecosystems provide, but they may not always be the most immediate or
biggest threat to these ecosystems. Human activities, such as development and new roads, can also weaken
ecosystems.

Understanding an Ecosystem’s Vulnerability

To determine the vulnerability of ecosystems and develop adaptation plans to protect them, communities
need to:• Understand how their local ecosystems are exposed to impacts from climate change and human activities• Determine how sensitive the ecosystems are to those impacts• Manage the resources and develop livelihood options that increase the resilience of both the ecosystems
and the people who depend upon their services

Photo courtesy of Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim

CASE STUDY: PASTORAL ADAPTATION IN
WESTERN AFRICA

In Tchad (Chad), a country in western Africa, theMbororo pastoralists move across the land with
their livestock to survive in the dry Sahel region
where limited rainfall is still sufficient to maintain thegrassland ecosystem. Moving from place to placeenables Mbororo people to cope with the scarcity ofwater and maintain a sustainable relationship withthe ecosystems on which they rely.
Exposure: Higher temperatures and longer periodsof drought are threatening the health of the community, their livestock and the grasslands.
Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity: Pastoralists areseeing large impacts to their livestock as lakes and74

Communities can use both local and external knowledge to identify the vulnerability of their ecosystems toclimate change and human activities, such as development planning and new roads. Communities can also
identify other resources and livelihoods to reduce their dependence on specific ecosystems.

Diversifying Livelihood Strategies

Although it is important to develop adaptation plans for existing livelihoods, it may also be wise to
introduce additional options for how community members can make a living (diversify). Diversifying
makes communities more resilient. For example, in Aceh, on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, the Aceh
Coffee Forum now suggests that the climate change strategy for coffee farmers should include livestock
management. Diversifying to include livestock will increase the farmers’ resilience to climate change impacts
by reducing their over-all risk: Even if a pest destroys one year’s entire coffee crop, for example, the farmers
will have other sources of income. Depending on only one livelihood option also creates high pressure on
the area’s ecosystem services, so diversifying will also increase the health and resilience of the ecosystems.

Taking action for Adaptation Planning

Adaptation planning for climate change is increasingly focusing on ecosystems as well as infrastructure,public services, and communication systems. Climate change adaptation planning that focuses on actions
to increasing the resilience of ecosystems and ecosystem services is often referred to as Ecosystem-based
Adaptation (EbA) Planning.
By working together to use both local and external knowledge and resources to design and implement
effective and sustainable adaptation and development planning, governments and communities can takeactions that make ecosystems more resilient to climate change. If ecosystems are more resilient, people andcommunities will be more resilient as well.

watering holes dry up. Longer warmer seasons increase insect populations that attack the animals
and change the growing season, and damage thegrazing land ecosystems. The Mbororo have a long
history of living in a climate that has limited waterand poor soil. They have developed strategies tocope with this by moving to different regions during
different times of the year and spending dry spells
near established water sources. However,the water in
Lake Tchad is so shallow in many places that the fish
they depend upon for additional food and income
are not available, and they must sell or eat their livestock to survive. Their adaptive capacity is limited
when climate changes so much that their knowledgeof alternative livelihoods and areas that are normallyresilient is no longer reliable.

Adaptation Actions:• Moving from lake areas to areas with springs thatflow all year and to river banks (Reduced Sensitivity),• Taking their animals to graze earlier in the day to
avoid overheating and to reduce the amount ofwater they need (Reduced Sensitivity),• Sharing information on traditional medicine totreat insect bites and diseases caused by insects(Reduced Sensitivity),75

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:• Ecosystem services provide many basic resources to support people’s livelihoods.
• Climate change will impact ecosystem services (such as access to water, food, protection fromstorms, flooding and drought)• Adaptation strategies must consider each community’s local knowledge and specificenvironmental situation.
• Important livelihood options depend on ecosystems services—understanding how climate change
impacts these services will help communities create effective adaptation plans to protect livelihoods.
• Healthy ecosystems that are managed well are more resilient than ecosystems that are weakened
from overuse and poor management• Diversifying livelihoods is an adaptation strategy that increases a community’s resilience toclimate impacts and takes pressure off of ecosystems that are heavily used.
• Adaptation strategies that include ecosystems ensure that ecosystem services, communities andtheir livelihoods are resilient.

KEY TERMS TO REMEMBER:
Agroforesty: An approach to agriculture and a plant or animal lives that impacts its behavior
livestock raising that incorporates trees and/or and ability to live.
shrubs together with agriculture to produce inMarine Protected Areas (MPA): Areas of thecreased productivity and sustainability.
coast and/or ocean that have been established
Aquaculture: The cultivation, or “farming” of as “protected” and given rules about access andfreshwater and saltwater fish species, such as use. MPAs are designed to conserve fish andfinfish or shellfish, in pens and other enclosed other species and maintain healthy fisheries forareas under controlled conditions.
long-term use.
Coral Bleaching: Death of the small colorful organisms that live inside the tissue of coral.

Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs):
MPAs that are managed largely or wholly by local communities including near-shore waters
Ecosystem: A group of plants, animals (including
and coastal resources.
people) and microorganisms that live together
in a specific place with a particular environment Ocean Acidification: Process in which oceansthat enables them to survive.
absorb excess CO2 from the atmosphere andbecome more acidic. Ocean acidification is inEcosystem Services: The resources and serviccreasing with climate change.
es provided by natural ecosystems.
Pastoralism: The raising of livestock that inEnvironment: The external surroundings (for exvolves moving herds from place to place to findample soil, rocks and water availability) in which
pasture and water.

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CI/John Martin© CI/Mike Matarasso

Session 6. How to plan for adaptation andtake action

LEARNING OBJECTIVESAt the end of the session, participants should be
able to:• Understand what an adaptation plan is and why
it’s important to have one• Understand the steps for creating an adaptation
plan and putting it into action• Understand what a vulnerability assessment isand why it’s an important foundation of an adaptation plan

• Explain the importance of community participation in adaptation planning• Understand the importance of measuring success and revising actions• Understand why adaptation is a continual process of learning and acting• Explain how adaptation planning can be joinedwith other planning processes

Session 1

This session covers the steps and considerations needed to design an effective adaptation plan and put it
into action. It also provides general information on how to conduct vulnerability assessments and othertools that can help communities with adaptation planning. The session builds on the information about
ecosystem services and assessing climate vulnerability that were presented in earlier sessions and discusses
the importance of combining adaptation planning with other planning processes.

Part 1: What is an adaptation plan and what is the process to create one?

An adaptation plan is a set of actions that a group decides to take to reduce their vulnerability to climatechange. Adaptation plans can be made for whole countries (remember the National Adaptation Plans
and National Adaptation Programs of Action discussed in Session 3), or for individual communities. A
community can make an adaptation plan for different livelihoods and ecosystem services that are importantto the community or for one key resource or activity, such as fresh water or fisheries. What the plan covers
and the size of the area included will determine how much and what type of technical, human and financial
resources the community needs to complete the adaptation plan.
The following page has a model showing the adaptation planning process. While not every community or
government group makes its plans in the same way, this cycle shows some steps or components that arecommon to most adaptation planning processes.

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The Adaptation Planning Cycle
1. Organize the Planning Process
Identify the leadership, partners,
resources, and comunication needs
for the Adaptation Planning process.

2. Assess Vulnerability
Conduct a Vulnerability
Assessment tounderstand the exposureand sensitivy to climate
and non-climate threats.

6.Review and Update the Adaptation Plan
Regularly review and update based on theevaluation of results, new conditions andinformation.

5. Monitor and Evaluate Results
Develop a method to monitor theaction plan and evaluate how
well those actions worked.

Steps

3. Develop a Strategy& Action Plan
Define and prioitize the approachand areas of work, the goals
and the actions required todecrease vulnerability andincrease resilience.

4. Implement the Adaptation Action Plan
Define the roles, responsibilities and any
additional partners or resources required to
implement and undertake the actions.

1. Organizing the Adaptation Planning Process

Each community has different ways that they make decisions, so each community must decide how they willorganize their planning process. NGOs or government agencies may be available to work with communities
to help them access funding, information and other resources for planning and also to help them put theadaptation plan into action. However, the community leadership should provide guidance and direction to78

developing the plan and putting it into action. Some important steps to consider
when organizing the adaptation planning process are discussed below:

Understand all parts of the adaptation planning process:Communities should decide exactly what he adaptation planning process
is intended to do, so that they can identify how much time and resources
the process will require, both from within and from outside the community.
Seeking the advice of outside organizations, government agencies, or othercommunities in the area that have already done adaptation planning can be
helpful for understanding the process.

Identify the resources needed to complete the adaptation planning process:Before starting the planning process, communities should review information and resourcesthat can help with the planning. They should identify what financial, human and technical help is available,both from within the community and from outside (government, local and international organizations).

Identify the adaptation planning team and team leader:Community leadership should decide if they will lead the adaptation planning process, or choose to
assign that duty to other community members or outside partners, under their supervision. Whatever
approach is taken, clearly identify what each person will be responsible for doing, and work within thecommunity’s existing decision-making processes to help the planning run smoothly.

Design a participatory communication and community engagement process:
Design a process for informing and seeking input from the whole community and from any other people
or groups who may have an interest in the plan or be affected by the actions taken. Sharing information andseeking input will make people more aware of the need for climate change adaptation and provide a way
for all community members to understand the planning process and how they can contribute. Community
members and other interested people should know what activities will happen in the community, when
they will happen, and who will be involved from both inside and outside the community. Community
meetings or other functions can provide an opportunity to provide regular updates on the activities andtheir results. This will help everyone in the community understand and participate in the planning process.

2. Assessing Vulnerability

After the planning process has been organized, a climate vulnerability
assessment (VA) is usually the next step in the adaptation planning. A
vulnerability assessment involves gathering information to identify anarea’s exposure to climate hazards and how ecosystems and communities
are sensitive to harm from climate hazards and climate change. For
example, are crops threatened by flooding? Are freshwater supplies
threatened by drought from decreasing rainfall? Doing a vulnerability
assessment is commonly the first step in designing an adaptation plan.

At what level are vulnerability assessments done?
A vulnerability assessment can be done for an entire region, country,
province, district or community. It can be done for one sector, such as
tourism or agriculture, or for all of the areas and sectors important to acommunity, including ecosystems, livelihoods and infrastructure. Even if

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the assessment is done for a specific community, changes that are happening to ecosystems outside thecommunity—such as a watershed, or an important fishing ground used by many—should be considered,particularly if the community depends on the services from those ecosystems.
Information in national or regional vulnerability assessments can help communities understand how theirown resources are affected by the other communities and countries that depend upon the same ecosystems.

Sometimes countries work together to assess the vulnerability of ecosystems that they share. The
Amazon Basin in South America, for example, is a very large and important forest ecosystem thatprovides direct ecosystem services to eight different countries and many communities. In 2011, avulnerability assessment on tropical fisheries and aquaculture in the Pacific Ocean involved input
from 22 Pacific Island countries and territories.
Who is involved in doing a vulnerability assessment?
To be successful, all people or groups who have information important for the vulnerability assessment
should be consulted. This can include:• Community members• Community leadership• Community experts (women, elders, hunters, fishermen)• Local and external scientists• Development and conservation experts or organizations• Government agents
All of these people will have knowledge to share and need to have a voice in the assessment. For
example, in the Verde Islands in the Philippines, local leaders, fishermen, representatives of women’sgroups, government officials, and local and international scientists all worked together on a vulnerability
assessment of an important fishing area. Information from all of these groups was needed to make theadaptation plan effective at reducing the vulnerability of the area to climate change impacts.

Organizing the vulnerability assessment
Many steps for organizing the vulnerability assessment are the same as for organizing the overall adaptation
planning process. First, it is necessary to select an assessment team and team leader, gather backgroundinformation, identify all people and groups that need to participate in the assessment, and develop a
process for doing the assessments.
Before starting the assessment, it is also important to review national and local planning documents that
may contribute important information. These can include territorial plans, development plans, national
climate and adaptation plans, and plans to manage water and electricity supplies.

Conducting the vulnerability assessment
Each vulnerability assessment will be different, but some common things should be in every assessment
to make sure that communities understand their exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity to climatechange and other non-climate threats. These elements include:80• Consider threats that are not from climate hazards or climate change—communities need to
identify all the ways they are vulnerable, not just to climate change. The vulnerability of ecosystems(forests or coral reefs), infrastructure (roads or water systems), institutions (schools or hospitals),and social networks (churches or community groups) may also be due to natural non-climate events
such as earthquakes or tsunamis (large waves sometimes caused by earthquakes) or to changes in theeconomy, weak management of natural resources, overpopulation or deforestation. Human activities
such as agriculture or mining and logging may be bigger and more immediate threats to ecosystemservices than climate change. Identifying these threats shows communities which resources arehealthy and which are already weakened and need help.
• Develop a picture of local climate—knowledge from local and external experts and scientific studies
can help the assessment team create a picture of past and future climate.
• Assess the community’s vulnerability—after identifying both climate and non-climate threats to
its resources, and creating a picture of the likely impacts to the community based on these expectedchanges, communities can assess what important resources are vulnerable to climate change anddetermine the community’s vulnerability.

Example: Non-climate threats and climate threats to natural resourcesin the Verde Island Passage
Non-climate threats• Pollution, including disposal of solid waste (plastics), and industrial waste• Removal of mangroves and upland forests due to quarries and sand mining,which increases sediment runoff and kills coral and sea grasses• Illegal fishing practices (dynamite fishing, shark fin fishing)• Natural disasters—earthquakes and tsunamis• Overfishing

Climate threats• Increased storm frequency and intensity• Increased sea surface temperature• Ocean acidification• Increased rainfall• Sea level rise81

What tools can help a community conduct a vulnerability assessment?
In addition to external information from government agencies and other organizations, communities
can bring together their members to share local knowledge about changes they are observing in the
climate, in resources and in the ecosystem services they rely on in their daily lives. The following are someresearch tools based on community participation that can help communities record and make use of thisknowledge:• Community Resource Mapping: This tool helps communities map and identify where their mostimportant resources are located—where people hunt, fish, farm, herd livestock and gather wood andother natural products.
• Climate Risk Mapping: This map builds on the community resource map by collecting information
about how climate impacts the areas that a community lives in and these impacts can be recorded on
the community resource map, so that the community can study the resources and climate impacts
together. This activity can also indicate
January February March
May
June
April
where the risk is highest.
• Seasonal Calendars: Using this tool,communities can record recent weather patterns—when rainy and dry seasons occur, or when storms, flooding,or changes in temperature occur. They
can also record when livelihood activities, such as crop planting, depend
upon ecosystem services and weather.
Records can be made for current andpast conditions—10 years or even 20
years ago—so a community can study
how weather patterns have changed
and if their livelihood activities havebeen adapted successfully to meet these changes. They can also look at how they need to adapt theircurrent activities and discuss what changes may need to happen in the future.

3. Developing an Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan

After completing the vulnerability assessment, sharing the results with thecommunity and other groups, and receiving additional feedback, the community can use the information to decide what actions are most important
to help reduce vulnerability and increase resilience, when they should betaken and what group or organization will lead the implementationof the activities in the adaptation plan.
Before finalizing the adaptation action plan, the community should
determine what additional funding, materials, information andother resources will be necessary and determine if these additional
resources are available.

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Steps

4. IMPLEMENTING THE aDAPTATION Action Plan

Once a community has gone through the steps of conducting avulnerability assessment and has identified actions to take and found
the required funds and other resources, it is time to put the plan into
action. Some examples of actions in an adaptation plan include:• Establishing an early warning system to increase access to information on possible flooding or prediction of heat waves or drought.
that will help communities.
• Moving homes to higher ground or building water and food storage
facilities to improve infrastructure and provide reserves.
• Planting mangroves or protecting watershed areas to strengthen
ecosystem services.
The community should be kept informed about how the work is going and the results of the actions, just as
they were kept informed during the vulnerability assessment. This communication is especially importantfor people or groups who will need to adapt their own actions. The rights of all groups involved must be
respected, and consent must be obtained before any actions are carried out that will impact their lands andlivelihoods (see sidebar below).

Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC)
The principle of FPIC refers to the right of indigenous peoples to give or withhold their consent for
any action that would affect their lands, territories or rights, as recognized in the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the International Labour Organization Convention 169 (ILO 169). UNDRIP has been adopted by the UN General Assembly, but
it is not legally binding. However, ILO 169 is legally binding, and has been ratified by 22 countries.
In the context of FPIC, “free” means that indigenous peoples’ consent cannot be given under force
or threat. “Prior” indicates that indigenous groups must receive information on the activity and haveenough time to review it before the activity begins. “Informed” means that the information provided
is detailed, emphasizes both the potential positive and negative impacts of the activity, and is presented in a language and format understood by the community. Finally, “consent” refers to the rightof the community to agree or not agree to the project before it begins.
While FPIC is the right of indigenous peoples alone under international law, the principles underlying
it are generally considered to be a good practice for engaging any community or group in decisions
about actions that affect their lives and lands. It is important to understand how FPIC is understoodand recognized in a particular country from the perspectives of communities and government, andhow national laws and international law may impact how FPIC is applied.

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5. Monitoring and evaluating the results of the
Adaptation Plan

Communities and their leaders will need to carefully monitor theeffectiveness of their adaptation actions and consider new information
as it arises, so that they can make sure the plan is taking the best possible
approach. Progress and results will need to be recorded to evaluate changes
in behavior and attitudes. Monitoring and evaluation tools include thefollowing:• Periodic reporting (reporting during the time period required tocomplete activities)• Individual or group interviews• Feedback from regular community meetings• Measuring the benefits of the activities versus their costs• Measuring changes in the health of important ecosystems
Monitoring and evaluation should be repeated regularly, so community leaders will know how well theadaptation plan is working and that it is continuing to meet the needs of the community.

6.Reviewing and Updating the Adaptation Plan

Adaptation planning and action are continual processes, or cycles, much like managing daily life—growing crops, raising children, and managing household income.
There is always new information, new impacts, and new opportunities to consider.
Political priorities can change quickly, for example, such as when new officials areelected. Or financial resources are often available only for short periods of time,such as the length of a project.
An important part of adaptation planning and action is to look regularly at theresults of the actions taken and study new information, so the adaptation plancan be adjusted or new activities added when necessary. Adaptation is about
adjusting to change. Because change always happens, adaptation plans must beable to change and adjust as well.

As part of the adaptation strategy, community leaders should plan when and how they will review the resultsof the adaptation action plan, based on the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the results. Wherever
possible, the review of an adaptation plan should be ongoing, and those working on it should meet regularly.
Reviews should include all relevant groups and individuals. The time between reviews will depend on thecommunity’s needs and can be done within the community’s regular process for development and natural
resource management planning. Using the Adaptation Planning Cycle as a guide, community leaders can, on
their own or with partners, review new conditions and information, re-assess the community’s vulnerability,
revise the adaptation strategy and action plan, and continue to monitor, evaluate and update as needed.

PART 2. How can climate change adaptation planning be integrated
with other planning processes?

Many communities, governments and organizations are already involved in ongoing planning processes.
Combining or integrating climate change adaptation planning with planning for economic development,84

water management, or conservation planning makes sense because climate change impacts all of these issues.
Including ecosystems in all areas of planning is also important, since ecosystem services support humandevelopment in so many ways. Combing these planning processes is called integrated adaptation planning,which means adaptation planning is done in combination with one or more other planning processes.
Although integrating climate change adaptation planning with other planning processes can be a challenge,
it makes adaptation more effective over the long term and allows communities to address issues that areimportant to them, such as food security or economic development, in the adaptation plan. Below are
examples of how climate change and ecosystems can be linked with other planning processes.

Integrating climate change adaptation and ecosystem services
into development planning

CASE STUDY: MALAWI
Background: The Malawian economy relies heavily on agriculture; about 80% of its people work in farming. Thus,
it is very dependent on rainfall. However, due to irregular
rainfall and limited ability to store water, Malawi is very
sensitive to droughts and floods.

© Swathi SridharanDevelopment planning (such as a poverty reduction strategy) helps governments decide how to spend
resources on infrastructure, services and natural resources. Development planning often involves strategies
for many separate sectors, such as water and sanitation, energy, education and agriculture. The environment
is typically considered through environmental safeguards, or measures put in place to avoid harming theenvironment; however, protecting ecosystem services is also key to a good development strategy, and climate
adaptation planning provides an opportunity to make this link.

Originally, climate change in Malawi was seen as an increased disaster risk, and Malawi’s National Adaptation
Program of Action (NAPA) focused on addressing urgent
adaptation needs from these risks. Later, however, people saw that climate change would also hurt
Malawi’s economy (affecting food security, energy and water supply, and health). Malawi’s NAPA
needed to be integrated with Malawi’s development strategy. With support from several multilateralorganizations, the Government of Malawi developed a framework to bring the adaptation plan forclimate change together with ongoing planning for agriculture, land management, and health.
Integrating climate change adaptation into conservation planning

Conservation efforts and efforts to protect ecosystem services need to be included in adaptation planning.
Solutions to climate impacts need to address the long-term health of the human population and theenvironment on which they depend. Conservation planning (focused on protecting species and biodiversity
rather than ecosystem services) should also consider climate adaptation. While many conservation-focused
approaches, like community managed marine protected areas, and agroforestry can be very effective, natural85

resources are best protected when the communities know what climate impacts are likely to affect them inthe future. Some examples of integrating conservation, ecosystem and climate adaptation priorities include:• If a community wants to protect wetlands, and information from scientists predicts sea level is likely torise, they can consider moving homes, roads or farm locations further inland to ensure that the wetlands
have room to move inland when the sea rises.
• If a community that depends on fishing for their livelihoods knows that climate events are likely tonegatively impact the fish populations that they rely on, they can establish temporary fishing bans or
establish protected areas for the mangroves or coral reefs that can help to protect these fish.
• In Colombia, the government, NGOs and universities are studying how water flows will change due toclimate change. As they make their adaptation plans and look at which areas to conserve, they are working
to ensure that the high altitude grasslands they protect contribute as much as possible to increased waterflow and regulation to avoid water-shortages and flooding.

© Jialiang Gao

CASE STUDY: MALI
Background: The Youwarou flood forest ecosystem in northern Mali in Africa offers many ecosystem services. It is a breeding ground for pollinators and birds that help spread seeds. It provides
cattle with shade during the dry season, and is also
home to much aquatic biodiversity. Local communities
fish and harvest aquatic grasses from the flood forests
for their livelihoods. However, as a result of both humanactivities and climate change, the flood forest has been
threatened by steadily declining rainfall since 1970. As aresult, drought, reduced flooding, and extreme heat havecaused crop damage and loss, water scarcity, income
loss and social conflict.
An international conservation organization worked with communities to develop projects to restore
and protect the flood forest and reduce poverty. The conservation group and local community members held consultations to understand how the project could reduce their vulnerability to climatechange. Community members suggested small-scale improvements to improve their adaptive capacity and climate resilience, including constructing small footpaths and bridges across flood channels, increasing the area of land to be restored, creating maps of endangered species habitats (toreduce human-wildlife conflicts), and improving safety and early warning systems on fishing boats.
Integrating climate change adaptation and ecosystems into disaster planning

Climate change can increase the risk of natural hazards, including hurricanes, storms, drought and extreme
flooding. A hazard becomes a disaster when it seriously disrupts a community’s daily life and causes major
human, economic and environmental loss. Recovering from a disaster usually requires outside help, but acommunity can reduce the risk of harm by planning what to do if disaster strikes.1
Disaster Risk Reduction Planning (DRR) is a way to reduce the risk of disasters by planning ahead—
reducing exposure or vulnerability to hazards, and improving resilience to potential hazards.2 This can86include creating an early warning system, for example, to warn people when severe flooding is expected andgive them time to leave their homes and go to a community shelter on a hill. It can also involve planningreserves of fresh water, or changing how or where a community builds its houses.

CASE STUDY: TONGA
Background: Tonga has been exposed to a variety of natural and climate-related hazards, including drought, flooding, cyclones, and tsunamis. These disasters have caused
severe damage to crops, drinking water supplies, housing,
infrastructure and the economy.
© Tau’olunga

At first, disaster management and climate change adaptation were done by two separate government ministries in
Tonga, and each of them was responsible for writing theirown planning documents. However, a task force joining the two groups was formed to write and put
into action an integrated plan. This plan combined the resources of both ministries and allowed
them to hold talks together with people and groups affected by the plan.
Integrating national and local climate change adaptation planning

Planning done by national governments—for adaptation, development, disasters and conservation—can
be a way to share information, highlight important needs and identify and fund key activities. Local plans
should be linked to national plans in order to be truly effective. Ideally, national planning will involve detailed
consultation with all communities or groups involved. Some countries have been particularly good at doing
consultations with a wide variety of stakeholders as they created their National Adaptation Programmes of
Action (NAPA).
Local governments are increasingly considering climate change adaptation in their own planning processes.
This is important, as local governments are usually the ones responsible for approving local development
projects, including urban development plans. Often, the community’s assessment and adaptation planning
can help the government and other groups with their ongoing policy and planning efforts.

Integrating planning through an Ecosystem-based Adaptation Approach

One common link across these planning processes is Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), which was
described in Session 5. Through the EbA approach, communities can connect planning processes that areoften separate, combining ecosystem services management and biodiversity protection to support humandevelopment, risk management, and conservation for more effective and integrated results.

87© CI/Peter Stonier

CASE STUDY: KIRIBATI
When the government of Kiribati wanted to integrate climate change adaptation into its national development
strategy, it gathered the input of representatives from eachof the major inhabited islands for national meetings.
At the first consultation, these representatives identified
recent major hazards and proposed strategies for copingwith them. At the second consultation, the representatives
divided the adaptation options into four categories:••••

Urgent options that communities could implement themselves
Urgent options that communities would need help from the government to implement
Less urgent options
Options that were not needed/wanted

The adaptation options were prioritized, taking into account the results of the national discussions, aswell as factors like urgency, likely degree of environmental impact, cultural acceptability, and overlap
with poverty reduction efforts. They were then circulated to government ministries where they wereidentified for funding under specific government programs and matched with 50% external funding.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:• Adaptation planning requires:• good organization;• using all available information;• assessing climate and non-climate risks
and threats;• defining and implementing a strategy andaction plan;• and identifying the necessary resources for
implementation;• Communities should define an Adaptation
Planning process that works best for theircommunity and that involves the whole com-88

munity and other groups or individuals whowill be affected by the actions.
• Vulnerability Assessments help communities
understand the threats they might face (theirvulnerability) from climate change and enable
them to develop effective adaptation strategies.
• It is important to continually monitor, evaluate, and revise the adaptation plan.
• Adaptation planning needs to be evaluatedand updated on a continual basis, incorporating lessons learned and new conditions
and information.

KEY TERMS TO REMEMBER:
Adaptation Planning: A continual process thata community or group undertakes to assess its
vulnerability to climate change and identify actions to reduce that vulnerability. Also involves
implementing the actions, monitoring and evaluating the results, and revising and updating theaction plan.

and respects their legitimate authority to requirethat third parties enter into an equal and respectful relationship with them, based on theprinciple of informed consent.”3

Integrated adaptation planning: Brings together adaptation planning for climate change withother planning processes— such as planning for
Adaptation Strategy: The approach, areas of development, or disaster risk reduction, or water
focus, and goals that an adaptation plan takes. utility management. (To integrate means to combine two or more things.)
Adaptation Plan: A plan made by a group of people (a country or a community) that describes Monitoring and Evaluation: Assessing the effecthe actions they will take to reduce their vulner- tiveness of an action, activity, policy or program.
ability to climate change. Activities can include
creating new management policies, building a Participatory Processes: Method for making
storm shelter, creating an early warning system, decisions that involves the active participationby all members of a group.
or rotating crops, among many other things.
Ecosystem-based Adaptation: Using ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment: A process that gathservices as part of an overall plan to help people ers information to identify areas where a community is exposed or sensitive to climate andadapt to climate change.
non-climate hazards, or where and how their
FPIC: “Free, prior and informed consent recog- ecosystems and resources or livelihoods could
nizes indigenous peoples’ consent (FPIC) inher- be damaged.
ent and prior rights to their lands and resources

89© CI/Sterling Zumbrunn

ENDNOTES, REFERENCES AND RESOURCES

91

Session 1
RESOURCES• “Benefits of Wetlands.” Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Accessed February 2013.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/wetlands/benefits.html

Session 2
ENDNOTES

1. “Windows to the Universe,” NESTA, accessed February, 2013, http://www.windows.ucar.edu
2. “Volcanos, gases and climate change overview,” USGS, accessed February, 2013, http://volcanoes.usgs.
gov/hazards/gas/climate.php
3. IPCC, Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis, IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4),4. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, ed. Solomon, S., D. et al. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), Accessed
February, 2013, http://www.ipcc.ch
5. “AR4”, IPCC, accessed February, 2014, http://www.ipcc.ch
6. “COM/ENV/EPOC/DCD/DAC(2003)5/FINAL , OECD, accessed February, 2013, www.oecd.org/
dataoecd/47/0/21058838.pdf
7. Church, J. A., & White, N. J. (2006). A 20th century acceleration in global sea-level rise. Geophysicalresearch letters, 33(1), L01602.
8. “The current and future consequences of global change,” NASA, accessed February, 2013, http://climate.
nasa.gov/effects/

Session 3
ENDNOTES

1. UNFCCC, accessed February, 2013, http://unfccc.int
2. UNPFII, accessed February, 2013, http://social.un.org/index/IndigenousPeoples.aspx
3. CBD, accessed February, 2013, http://www.cbd.int/
4. UNCCD, accessed February, 2013, http://www.unccd.int/en/Pages/default.aspx
5. RAMSAR, accessed February, 2013, http://www.ramsar.org
6. GFDRR, accessed February, 2013, https://www.gfdrr.org/

92Session 4ENDNOTES

1. Adapted from: Marshall, N. A., Marshall, P. A., Tamelander, J., Obura, D., Malleret-King, D., & Cinner, J.
E. (2009). A Framework for social adaptation to climate change: sustaining tropical coastal communitites
and industries. IUCN.
2. Traditional weather prediction incorporated into Kenyan forecasts,” Alertnert, Accessed February, 2013,
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/traditional-weather-prediction-incorporated-into-kenyan-forecasts.
3. “Climate risk glossary,” Mudelsee, Accessed February, 2013, http://www.climate-risk-analysis.com/
glossary/index.html

Session 5
ENDNOTES

1. “Tabu in Fiji,” LMMA Network, Accessed February, 2013, http://lmmanetwork.dreamhosters.com/
whatwedo/tabuinfiji
2. Full Name, Conroy, Title, in Snapp and Pound, (Publication Information,2008) pp.

Session 6
ENDNOTES

1. Adapted from U.N. Office of Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) definition for disaster: http://www.
unisdr.org/we/inform/terminology
2. “SREX,” IPCC, Accessed February, 2013. http://ipcc-wg2.gov/SREX/
3. IPCC (2012) Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation,
A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, 582 p
4. Commission on Human Rights, Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights,
Working Group on Indigenous Populations, Twenty-second session, 19 -13 July 2004, p.5.

REFERENCES• Climate Change Adaptation Toolkit For Coastal Communities In The Coral Triangle: Tool 4 - Guide
to Vulnerability Assessment and Local Early Action Planning (VA-LEAP). http://climatechange-asiapac.
com/sites/default/files/Tool_4_VA-LEAP_Guide_US_CTI_CCA_Toolkit_Version_1.pdf

93

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GLOSSARY
Adaptation			
				
				

A change in the way of doing something. In the case of climate change, it
involves addressing and adjusting to climate impacts. Because the climate
is changing, plants, animals and people need to adapt to new conditions.

Adaptation Plan		
				
				
				
				

A plan made by a group of people (a country or a community) that
describes the actions they will take to reduce their vulnerability to climatechange. Activities can include creating new management policies,
building a storm shelter, creating an early warning system, or rotating
crops, among many other things.

Adaptive Capacity		
				
				

The ability to adjust to current and future changes caused by climatechange and to acquire the skills and manage the resources needed torecover from the impacts of climate change.

Agroforesty			
				
				

An approach to agriculture and livestock raising that incorporates
trees and/or shrubs together with agriculture to produce increased
productivity and sustainability.

Aquaculture			
				
				

The cultivation, or “farming” of freshwater and saltwater fish species, suchas fin fish or shell fish, in pens and other enclosed areas under controlled
conditions.

Atmosphere			
				
				
				

The atmosphere is the part of Earth that begins at the surface and extends
upward into outer space in many layers. It is composed of a mixture ofgases. Most processes that affect life on Earth happen in the lowest layerof the atmosphere, nearest to the Earth’s surface

Carbon								

One of the most common elements in the universe, found in all living
things.

Climate							The “average weather” or weather conditions that happen over a long
period of time.

Climate change 						

The change of the normal weather patterns around the world over a long
period of time

Climate Exposure		
				
				
				

The likelihood that naturally occurring climate events (such as storms
or floods), or changes to climate conditions (such as less rainfall, 		or hotter temperatures) will harm a community’s natural resources,
livelihoods and infrastructure (roads, houses, communications systems.

Climate Hazard		
				
				

Climate events that cause damage or harm to a community or its 		surrounding environment, including hurricanes, cyclones, drought, andextreme flooding.

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Climate Models		
				
				
				

Computer studies that predict future exposure to climate change. 		
Scientists take the data they collect on the atmosphere, greenhousegases, oceans, land and ice and put it into computers to create different
scenarios or pictures, showing what will happen to the climate in the future.

Climate Monitoring						

Observing different aspects of climate (rainfall, temperature, storms) to 		
understand a community’s past and current exposure to climate hazards.

Climate Resilience		
				
				

The ability of a community and its natural resources to recover from 		
the damage or harm suffered because of climate hazards or climate 		variability and to return to normal functioning.

Climate Risk1			

The risk that climate and/or weather will negatively affect human life.

Climate Sensitivity		
				
				

How much a community depends on natural resources, particularly 		
livelihoods and infrastructure systems that are likely to be harmed by 		climate events and climate change.

Climate variability						

Natural changes within the climate system that often occur in cycles or in 		
particular areas over seasonal or longer time periods.

Climate Vulnerability						

The degree to which climate changes can cause harm to a community or 		
ecosystem.

Convention			
				
				

A formal agreement (or treaty) between the people or groups who have 		
signed it. It serves as a foundation for further discussions and treaties on 		
specific issues.

Coral Bleaching

Death of the small colorful organisms that live inside the tissue of coral.

Delegates							

People who represent a government or organization and have the 			authority to speak or vote for that organization.

Disaster			
				
				

A hazard can become a disaster when it seriously disrupts a community’s 		
ability to lead their daily lives, causing major human, economic 			and environmental loss.

Early Warning System		Systems that alert communities to prepare for a climate hazard or event.

Earth’s poles							

Areas at the far north and far south of the Earth. Also called the “polar 		
regions.”

Ecosystem			
				
				

A group of plants, animals (including people) and microorganisms that 		
live together in a specific place with a particular environment that 		enables them to survive.

Ecosystem services		
				
				
				

The resources and services provided by natural ecosystems, such as food, 		water and timber; services that control climate, floods, disease, waste, andwater quality; cultural services that are a source of spiritual benefits and 		also enjoyment.

Ecosystem-based Adaptation
				Using ecosystem services as part of an overall plan to help people adapt toclimate change.

Emission							A substance discharged into the air. In climate change, the term refers to 		
Greenhouse Gases sent into the atmosphere.

Environment							The external surroundings (for example soil, rocks and water availability) 		
in which a plant or animal lives that impacts its behavior and ability to live.

Evaporation			
				
				

The process in which water is heated and changes from a liquid into a gas.
The sun heats water in lakes, rivers or oceans, causing it to evaporate or 		
turn into a gas called water vapor.

External Knowledge		Knowledge that comes from outside a system or community.

Forum				A place for open discussion on specific issues.

Fossil Fuel							

Fuel such as oil or coal that is formed inside the earth over a long time 		from decaying plants and other organisms

FPIC2				
				
				
				
				

“Free, prior and informed consent recognizes indigenous peoples’ 		
consent (FPIC) inherent and prior rights to their lands and resources and 		
respects their legitimate authority to require that third parties 			enter into an equal and respectful relationship with them, 			
based on the principle of informed consent.” )Funds				
				
				
				

A financial mechanism to provide resources for activities to achieve goals.
For example, the Adaptation Fund provides money to governments to pay
for adaptation activities. Money is contributed to a fund by donations, 		pledges from country governments, taxes, or other sources.

Glacier				
				
				

Layers of permanent ice found in very cold areas, either on land (in the 		polar regions, for example) or on mountains at high elevations. 			
Sometimes glaciers extend into the ocean.

Global warming

The increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Greenhouse effect		The process of how the atmosphere keeps the Earth warm.

Greenhouse gases		

The gases that help regulate the Earth’s temperature, keeping it warm.

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Integrated adaptation		planning			
				
				

Bringing together adaptation planning for climate change with otherplanning processes— such as planning for development, or disaster risk 		
reduction, or water utility management .To integrate means to combine 		
two or more things.

Land-use change		
				
				

Changes in the way a land area is used, for example, changing a forest to 		a farm, or changing farms to pasture, or returning pasture to forest 		by re-planting trees.

Livelihood							

A person’s means of living or earning an income to support themselves, 		such as fishing, farming and tourism.

Local Knowledge		Knowledge that comes from inside a system or community.

Locally Managed		Marine Areas (LMMAs)

MPAs that are managed largely or wholly by local communities including 		near-shore waters and coastal resources.

Marine Protected 		Areas (MPAs) 			
				

Areas of the coast and/or ocean that have been established as “protected”
and given rules about access and use. MPAs are designed to conserve fish
and other species and maintain healthy fisheries for long-term use.

Mitigation			
				
				

The process of stopping or lessening climate change by reducing 			greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that come from industrial activities, 		forestry and agricultural activities.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Assessing the effectiveness of an action, activity, policy or program.

Nutrients							

A substance that provides nourishment, or food, necessary for growth andlife.

Observers 			
				
				
				

People who attend meetings or conventions to understand what is being 		
discussed and to influence decision-makers, but who cannot negotiate or 		vote on proposed actions. Observers to the UNFCCC represent 			businesses, NGOs, indigenous peoples, and other organizations.

Ocean Acidification						Process in which oceans absorb excess CO2 from the atmosphere and 		
become more acidic. Ocean acidification is increasing with climate change.

Ocean currents 						

Movement of the ocean’s surface water. Water is moved mainly by wind in
regular, consistent patterns.

Participatory Processes4
				Method for making decisions that involves the active participation by all 		members of a group.

Pastoralism							The raising of livestock that involves moving herds from place to place to 		find pasture and water.

Photosynthesis 		
				
				

Natural process in which plants take in the light and heat from the sun 		and carbon dioxide from the air, and release oxygen to make plants grow 		and keep our air clean.

Policy								A guiding principle that directs decision-making and planning to achieve 		
specific results.

Pollination			
				
				
				

The transfer of pollen from one part of a flower to another part of that 		same flower or to another flower to enable seed production and plant 		
reproduction. Depending on the plant, insects, birds, bats and even the 		wind can transfer the pollen and enable the plant to create seeds.

Precipitation							Rain, snow, or hail (ice) that forms from the moisture in the atmosphere 		and falls to the ground.

Protocol3							

An agreement that outlines specific obligations or actions that countries 		need to take to implement the objectives of the convention.

Rural								Relating to an area located away from cities and/or associated with 		farming or subsistence livelihoods.

Sea level			The height of the ocean’s surface

Sustainable Development
				

Development that meets the needs of the present while still preserving 		resources for future generations.

Traditional Knowledge		
				
				

The wisdom, knowledge and practices of indigenous people and local 		
communities gained over time through experience and orally passed on 		from generation to generation.

Urban				Relating to a city or town.

Volcanic eruptions		
				
				
				

Volcanoes are mountains formed over openings in the Earth’s surface by 		
melted rock that flows out of the Earth’s surface and hardens. When a 		volcano erupts, melted rock, called lava, flows out of the mountain, and 		
ash and gases are forced into the atmosphere.

Vulnerability Assessment
				
				
				

A process that gathers information to identify an areas where a 			community is exposed or sensitive to climate and non-climate hazards, orwhere and how their ecosystems and resources or livelihoods could be 		
damaged.

Weather							

The temperature, rainfall, or storms in a specific place on a specific day orover a very short period of time, like one season.

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ENDNOTES

1. http://www.climate-risk-analysis.com/glossary/index.html
2. Commission on Human Rights, Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights,
Working Group on Indigenous Populations, Twenty-second session, 19 - 13 July 2004, p.5.
3. http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Overview.aspx?path=overview/definition/page1_en.xml#conventions
4. http://world-changers.org/participatory-process-methods#guidelines

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Conservation International
2011 Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA, USA 22202(01-703-341-2400)
www.conservation.org