United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

CLIMATE CHANGE:IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESAND ADAPTATION
IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESUNFCCC

UN FCCC
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS,
VULNERABILITIES AND ADAPTATION
IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

1UN FCCC

CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESAND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESTABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

5II. CLIMATE CHANGE AND ADAPTATION

8

2.1 The need for adaptation
2.2 Adaptation and the UNFCCC

10III. ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF, AND VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION TO, CLIMATE CHANGE

IV.

13

3.1 Information gathering – data, systematic observation and monitoring
3.2 Information analysis – reporting of impacts, vulnerability and adaptation

13

REGIONAL IMPACTS OF AND VULNERABILITIES TO CLIMATE CHANGE

18

4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
V.

8

AfricaAsia
Latin America
Small island developing States

15

18
20
22
24

ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

29

5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7

29

Adaptation strategies, plans and programmes
Local coping strategies
Funding for adaptation
Insurance
Sustainable development planning and practices
Adaptation integration into policy
Capacity-building, education and training and public awareness5.7.1 Capacity-building
5.7.2 Education and training
5.7.3 Public awareness5.8 Cooperation and synergies
5.9 Implementing adaptation

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36
39
42
44
46
46
47
48
48
49

VI. LOOKING FORWARD

52

VII. REFERENCES

55

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESAND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

I. INTRODUCTIONThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) secretariat has produced this book tohighlight the concerns and needs of developing countries
in adapting to the effects of climate change. This bookoutlines the impact of climate change in four developing
country regions: Africa, Asia, Latin America and small
island developing States; the vulnerability of these regions
to future climate change; current adaptation plans,
strategies and actions; and future adaptation options
and needs.
The book draws heavily on information provided byParties to the UNFCCC, particularly that provided at three
regional workshops held in Africa, Asia and Latin America
and one expert meeting held in small island developing
States during 2006 – 20071, as mandated by the Buenos
Aires programme of work on adaptation and response
measures (decision 1/CP.10 of the Conference of theParties to the UNFCCC)2, as well as information in national
communications3 and national adaptation programmesof action4 submitted to the UNFCCC, reports from theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007)
and other sources, as referenced.
Over the next decades, it is predicted that billions ofpeople, particularly those in developing countries, faceshortages of water and food and greater risks to healthand life as a result of climate change Concerted global
action is needed to enable developing countries toadapt to the effects of climate change that are happening
now and will worsen in the future.
The urgency for adaptation is highlighted by projections
from the three reports produced by the IPCC in 2007
(IPCC 2007). Under a business as usual scenario, greenhousegas emissions could rise by 25 – 90 per cent by 2030
relative to 2000 and the Earth could warm by 3°C thiscentury. Even with a temperature rise of 1– 2.5°C the
IPCC predict serious effects including reduced crop yields
in tropical areas leading to increased risk of hunger,
spread of climate sensitive diseases such as malaria, andan increased risk of extinction of 20 – 30 per cent of allplant and animal species. By 2020, up to 250 million
people in Africa could be exposed to greater risk of water
stress. Over the course of this century, millions of people
living in the catchment areas of the Himalayas and Andes
face increased risk of floods as glaciers retreat followed bydrought and water scarcity as the once extensive glacierson these mountain ranges disappear. Sea level rise willlead to inundation of coasts worldwide with some small
island States possibly facing complete inundation andpeople living with the constant threat of tropical cyclones
now face increased severity and possibly increased
frequency of these events with all associated risks to lifeand livelihoods.
The UNFCCC secretariat, using current information
available on existing and projected investment flows andfinancing relevant to the development of an effective
and appropriate international response to climate change,
has estimated that by 2030 developing countries will
require USD 28 – 67 billion in funds to enable adaptation
to climate change.5 This corresponds to 0.2 – 0.8 per centof global investment flows, or just 0.06 – 0.21 per cent ofprojected global GDP, in 2030. Current global funding
for adaptation is a fraction of this figure and access tothese funds for developing countries is often lengthy
and complex.
Developing countries are the most vulnerable to climatechange impacts because they have fewer resources toadapt: socially, technologically and financially. Climatechange is anticipated to have far reaching effects on thesustainable development of developing countries including
their ability to attain the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals by 2015 (UN 2007). Many developing
countries’ governments have given adaptation action ahigh, even urgent, priority.

1
2
3
4
5

<http://unfccc.int/3582.php><http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/cop10/10a01.pdf#page=2><http://unfccc.int/2979.php><http://unfccc.int/2719.php><http://unfccc.int/4053.php>

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESINTRODUCTION

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Developing countries need international assistance tosupport adaptation in the context of national planningfor sustainable development, more capacity-building andtransfer of technology and funds. Systematic planningand capacity-building are also needed to reduce the riskof disasters and raise the resilience of communities toincreasing extreme events such as droughts, floods andtropical cyclones. Funding for adaptation in developing
countries must be sufficient and sustained. Least developed
countries (LDCs) and small island developing States(SIDS) in particular need special consideration due totheir extreme vulnerability.
In this book, background information on climate change
and why adaptation is needed in developing countries isprovided in chapter II. The chapter also explains how theUNFCCC, which provides the basis for international
action on climate change, is helping adaptation efforts
in developing countries.
A large amount of work has already been carried out bymany countries on assessing impacts and vulnerabilities
to climate change, as well as considering possible adaptation
options. Chapter III covers how assessments on climatechange are made by countries, including the gaps and needsof developing countries in information collection andanalysis. Although there is still much work to be done, it
was emphasised at all the UNFCCC-organized workshops
and expert meeting that this should not be an obstacle toprogress being made on implementing adaptation.
Developing countries have very different individual
circumstances and the specific impacts of climate change
on a country depend on the climate it experiences aswell as its geographical, social, cultural, economic andpolitical situations. As a result, countries require adiversity of adaptation measures very much depending
on individual circumstances. However there are crosscutting issues which apply across countries and regions.
The same sectors are affected by climate change, albeit todiffering degrees. These main sectors include: agriculture,
water resources, human health, terrestrial ecosystems
and biodiversity and coastal zones. Chapter IV looks at thecurrent and future impacts and vulnerabilities acrossthese sectors in developing countries.
Although knowledge of how best to do adaptation is stillin its infancy, the Parties of the UNFCCC are increasing
their support for action on adaptation. This includes thedevelopment of national adaptation programmes by somedeveloping countries including least developed countries,
and their integration into national strategies. Climatechange solutions need to identify and exploit synergy, as

6well as seek to balance trade-offs, among the multiple
objectives of sustainable development, disaster risk reduction
and adaptation policies. Such initiatives also require newand sustained funding sources. Chapter V highlights theadaptation needs and responses of developing countries
to climate change and how the work of the UNFCCC canhelp catalyse more work on adaptation in these countries.
This chapter also highlights the need to plan and implement
adaptation in the context of sustainable development
and integrate adaptation into policy at all levels.
Recommendations from the workshops and meeting on
how to cross the gap between planning and implementing
adaptation options are highlighted.
Finally, chapter VI looks forward to give an indicationof possible next steps for the UNFCCC, including withina future climate regime beyond 2012, in addressing
adaptation options for the threats posed by climate change.

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESAND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

II. CLIMATE CHANGE
AND ADAPTATION

Human beings have been adapting to the variable climate
around them for centuries. Worldwide local climate
variability can influence peoples’ decisions withconsequences for their social, economic, political andpersonal conditions, and effects on their lives andlivelihoods. The effects of climate change imply that the
local climate variability that people have previously
experienced and have adapted to is changing and changing
at relatively great speed.

Rising fossil fuel burning and land use changes haveemitted, and are continuing to emit, increasing quantities
of greenhouse gases into the Earth’s atmosphere. These
greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane(CH4) and nitrogen dioxide (N2O), and a rise in thesegases has caused a rise in the amount of heat from thesun withheld in the Earth’s atmosphere, heat that would
normally be radiated back into space. This increase in heat
has led to the greenhouse effect, resulting in climatechange. The main characteristics of climate change are
increases in average global temperature (global warming);changes in cloud cover and precipitation particularly overland; melting of ice caps and glaciers and reduced snow
cover; and increases in ocean temperatures and ocean
acidity – due to seawater absorbing heat and carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere (Figure II-1).

2.1

The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007) dispelled many
uncertainties about climate change. Warming of theclimate system is now unequivocal. It is now clear that
global warming is mostly due to man-made emissions ofgreenhouse gases (mostly CO2). Over the last century,
atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide increased
from a pre-industrial value of 278 parts per million to379 parts per million in 2005, and the average global
temperature rose by 0.74° C. According to scientists,
this is the largest and fastest warming trend that they
have been able to discern in the history of the Earth.
An increasing rate of warming has particularly taken placeover the last 25 years, and 11 of the 12 warmest years
on record have occurred in the past 12 years. The IPCC
Report gives detailed projections for the 21st century
and these show that global warming will continue andaccelerate. The best estimates indicate that the Earthcould warm by 3° C by 2100. Even if countries reduce
their greenhouse gas emissions, the Earth will continue towarm. Predictions by 2100 range from a minimum of
1.8° C to as much as 4° C rise in global average temperatures.

As a result of global warming, the type, frequency andintensity of extreme events, such as tropical cyclones(including hurricanes and typhoons), floods, droughts andheavy precipitation events, are expected to rise even withrelatively small average temperature increases. Changes
in some types of extreme events have already been
observed, for example, increases in the frequency andintensity of heat waves and heavy precipitation events(Meehl et al. 2007).

8

THE NEED FOR ADAPTATION

The major impacts and threats of global warming arewidespread (Figure II-1). Increasing ocean temperaturescause thermal expansion of the oceans and in combination
with meltwater from land-based ice this is causing sea
level rise. Sea levels rose during the 20th century by 0.17
metres. By 2100, sea level is expected to rise between
0.18 and 0.59 metres. There are uncertainties in thisestimate mostly due to uncertainty about how muchwater will be lost from ice sheets (Bindoff et al. 2007),for example Greenland is showing rising loss of massin recent years (UNEP 2007). Increased melting of sea ice
and freshwater influx from melting glaciers and ice
sheets also has the potential to influence global patternsof ocean circulation.

Climate change will have wide-ranging effects on theenvironment, and on socio-economic and related sectors,
including water resources, agriculture and food security,
human health, terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity andcoastal zones. Changes in rainfall pattern are likely tolead to severe water shortages and/or flooding. Melting ofglaciers can cause flooding and soil erosion. Risingtemperatures will cause shifts in crop growing seasons which
affects food security and changes in the distribution of
disease vectors putting more people at risk from diseases
such as malaria and dengue fever. Temperature increases
will potentially severely increase rates of extinction for many
habitats and species (up to 30 per cent with a 2° C rise intemperature). Particularly affected will be coral reefs, boreal

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESCLIMATE CHANGE AND ADAPTATION

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESClimate change: processes, characteristics and threats

Figure II-1.

Main climate characteristics

water
temperature

Changes inprecipitation
salinity

Ocean
circulation
upheavel

CloudsIce cap
melting

Climate change processes

Increase inimpermeablesurface

Gulf Stream
modification
AbruptclimateChangeAveragetemperature rise
“global warming”

Carbon cycle
disturbances

Europecooling(enhanced)
GreenhouseeffectUrbanization

Land usechangesDeforestation

Greenhousegas emissions

Sea level
rise

CO2

Cyclones
CH4

N2O

FloodsHeat
waves
Loss oftraditional
lifestyles

Droughts
DiseasesspreadTransport

Agriculture
Disasters
Fossil fuelburning

Biodiversity
lossesCasualities

HeatingIndustry

Famines

Human activities

EconomiclossesMajor threats

Source: UNEP/GRID–Arendal, 'Climate change: processes, characteristics and threats', designed by Philippe Rekacewicz, UNEP/GRID–Arendal Maps and Graphics Library, 2005,<http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/climate_change_processes_characteristics_and_threats> (Last accessed 10 October 2007)

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESCLIMATE CHANGE AND ADAPTATION

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

forests, Mediterranean and mountain habitats. Increasing
sea levels mean greater risk of storm surge, inundation
and wave damage to coastlines, particularly in small
island States and countries with low lying deltas. A risein extreme events will have effects on health and lives
as well as associated environmental and economic impacts.
Adaptation is a process through which societies makethemselves better able to cope with an uncertain future.
Adapting to climate change entails taking the rightmeasures to reduce the negative effects of climate change(or exploit the positive ones) by making the appropriate
adjustments and changes. There are many options andopportunities to adapt. These range from technologicaloptions such as increased sea defenses or flood-proof houses
on stilts, to behaviour change at the individual level,such as reducing water use in times of drought and using
insecticide-sprayed mosquito nets. Other strategies
include early warning systems for extreme events, better
water management, improved risk management, various
insurance options and biodiversity conservation.
Because of the speed at which change is happening
due to global temperature rise, it is urgent that thevulnerability of developing countries to climate change
is reduced and their capacity to adapt is increased andnational adaptation plans are implemented. Future
vulnerability depends not only on climate change but
also on the type of development path that is pursued.
Thus adaptation should be implemented in the context
of national and global sustainable development efforts.
The international community is identifying resources,
tools and approaches to support this effort.

2.2

ADAPTATION AND THE UNFCCC

At the centre of efforts to address climate change on theinternational stage is the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “The UNFCCC
provides the basis for concerted international action
to mitigate climate change and to adapt to its impacts.
Its provisions are far-sighted, innovative and firmly
embedded in the concept of sustainable development”(UNFCCC 2006a). The UNFCCC entered into force on
21st March 1994 and there are now 191 Parties (member
countries) to the Convention, an almost global
membership.6 These members are committed to: launchnational strategies for adapting to expected impacts,
including the provision of financial and technologicalsupport to developing countries, and to cooperate inpreparing for adaptation to the impacts of climate change.

10

The Convention refers to adaptation in several of its
articles (Box II-1), and the Conference of the Parties tothe UNFCCC has made several decisions in regards toadaptation to climate change. The Convention’s Subsidiary
Body for Implementation addresses agenda items onvulnerability and adaptation in the context of climatechange negotiations. Particular attention has so far
been given to issues relating to Article 4.8 and 4.9. Throughthe Subsidiary Body for Implementation, decisions havebeen made related to support and funding by Parties toassist developing countries with impact, vulnerability
and adaptation assessment; capacity-building, training,education and public awareness; implementing
concrete adaptation activities; promoting technology
transfer; and exchanging experience through regional
workshops. Attention has also been given to the scientificand technical aspects of adaptation and technology
transfer, by the Convention’s Subsidiary Body for Scientificand Technological Advice. This includes the Nairobi
work programme on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation
to climate change (Nairobi work programme).7 The
Programme was adopted by the Conference of the Parties
to the UNFCCC in 2005 and renamed in 2006 and its
objective is twofold: to assist countries, in particulardeveloping countries, including the least developed
countries and small island developing States, to improvetheir understanding and assessment of impacts,
vulnerability and adaptation; and to assist countries tomake informed decisions on practical adaptation
actions and measures to respond to climate change ona sound, scientific, technical and socio-economic basis,taking into account current and future climate change
and variability.
By its decision 1/CP.10, paragraph 8, the Conference of theParties requested the UNFCCC secretariat to organize three
regional workshops for Africa, Asia and Latin America
and one expert meeting for small island developing States(SIDS).8 These workshops and meetings were mandated
in order to enable Parties and other experts from these four
regions to reflect on their regional priorities; to facilitate
information exchange and integrated assessments within
and between regions; and to help identify specificadaptation needs and concerns.
Part of the mandate from the Conference of the Parties
was for the UNFCCC secretariat to prepare reports, including
a synthesis report, on the outcome of these workshops
in order for the Subsidiary Body for Implementation toconsider what further actions may be required on theinternational stage to promote adaptation in developing
countries.

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESCLIMATE CHANGE AND ADAPTATION

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESBox II-1.

Convention articles referring to adaptation

All Parties are to “formulate, implement, publish and regularly update“The developed country Parties … shall also assist the developing

national and, where appropriate, regional programmes containing

country Parties that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse

measures to … facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change”.

effects of climate change in meeting costs of adaptation to those

Article 4.1(b)adverse effects”. Article 4.4

All Parties shall “Cooperate in preparing for adaptation to the“The Parties shall give full consideration to what actions are

impacts of climate change; develop and elaborate appropriate andnecessary under the Convention, including actions related tointegrated plans for coastal zone management, water resources

funding, insurance and the transfer of technology, to meetand agriculture, and for the protection and rehabilitation of areas,

the specific needs and concerns of developing country Parties

particularly in Africa, affected by drought and desertification, as

arising from the adverse effects of climate change and/or thewell as floods”. Article 4.1(e)impact of the implentation of response measures”. Article 4.8

All Parties shall “Take climate change considerations into account,“The Parties shall take full account of the specific needs andto the extent feasible, in their relevant social, economic andspecial situations of the least developed countries in their actions

environmental policies and actions, and employ appropriate methods,

with regard to funding and transfer of technology”. Article 4.9

for example impact assessments, formulated and determinednationally, with a view to minimizing adverse effects on the economy,on public health and on the quality of the environment, ofprojects or measures undertaken by them to mitigate or adapt toclimate change”. Article 4.1(f)The UNFCCC secretariat produced background papers
for each of the workshops: Africa (UNFCCC 2006c), Asia
(UNFCCC 2007b), Latin America (UNFCCC 2006b) andthe SIDS expert meeting (UNFCCC 2007a). Following theworkshops and meetings, summary reports were produced:
Africa (UNFCCC 2007c), Asia (UNFCCC2007e), Latin
America (UNFCCC 2006d) and SIDS (UNFCCC 2007d).
The synthesis report of these workshops and meetingsummarizes the identified adaptation needs and concerns,
particularly those for which there was common interest
across the regions (UNFCCC 2007f). The report includes
recommendations by the Chair of the Subsidiary Body
for Implementation on possible next steps by Parties. Thispublication draws upon the proceedings and outcomesof these workshops and meeting. The work of the regional
workshops, mandated by the Subsidiary Body for
Implementation, is complemented by ongoing work on
the Nairobi work programme organized under theSubsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice.

6
7
8<http://unfccc.int/2631.php><http://unfccc.int/3633.php>
Decision 1.CP/10, see <http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/cop10/10a01.pdf#page=2>

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESAND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

III. ASSESSING THE
IMPACTS OF, AND
VULNERABILITY AND
ADAPTATION TO,
CLIMATE CHANGE
Assessing the impacts of and vulnerability to climatechange and subsequently working out adaptation needs
requires good quality information. This information
includes climate data, such as temperature, rainfall andthe frequency of extreme events, and non-climatic data,such as the current situation on the ground for different
sectors including water resources, agriculture andfood security, human health, terrestrial ecosystems andbiodiversity, and coastal zones (see chapter IV).
This chapter describes what information is collected toassess climate variability and change, and the tools used
for assessing the impacts and vulnerability of developing
countries to climate change. If the capacity for assessing
climate change is not there, countries are limited in theirability to plan adaptation measures and adapt effectively.

3.1

INFORMATION GATHERING – DATA, SYSTEMATIC
OBSERVATION AND MONITORING

For countries to understand their local climate better andthus be able to predict local climate change, they musthave adequate operational national systematic observing
networks, and access to the data available from otherglobal and regional networks. Systematic observationsof the climate system are usually carried out by national
meteorological centres and other specialised centres. They
take observations at standard preset times and places,
and monitor atmosphere, ocean and terrestrial systems.
The major climate variables measured include temperature,
rainfall, sea surface temperature, sea level rise, wind speeds,
tropical cyclones (including hurricanes and typhoons),snow and ice cover.
A sure knowledge base from systematic observation andforecasting services is essential to monitor climate; detectand attribute climatic change; improve the understandingof the dynamics of the climate system and its naturalvariability; provide input for climate models; and thus plan
adaptation options. For example, monitoring trends ofsea surface temperature and sea level are essential in order

to assess their impacts on the increased intensity of tropical
cyclones and storm surge; monitoring events relating to
the phenomenon of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
is important in helping determining its effects on
reducing or increasing precipitation in different regions
leading to both floods and drought.
Article 5 of the UNFCCC refers to the need for theinternational community to support and further develop
climate research and systematic observation systems,
taking into account the concerns and needs of developing
countries. As part of this recognition, the COP invitedthe Global Climate Observing System (GCOS)9 to launcha regional workshop programme in 2000 to identify thepriority capacity-building needs and identify gaps inregional systematic observation (see FCCC/SBSTA/2006/
MISC.13, UNFCCC 2006f). Action Plans were subsequently
developed and are now being implemented for developing
country regions including Eastern and Southern Africa,
Western and Central Africa, East and Southeast Asia,
Central Asia, South and Southwest Asia, South America,
Central America and the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands.
The plans highlight the need for a better knowledge
base, better forecasting and climate services and a needto improve observations at all levels to enhance countries’
ability to adapt. They emphasise that effective adaptation
planning requires improved observations; improved
regional, national and global data, as well as denser
networks; the recovery of historical data; building of
support among the user communities that have a demandfor climate information; and promoting greater collaboration between the providers and users of climate information.
At all the UNFCCC workshops and meeting, participants
reported that observations and data availability still need
to be improved in all regions. At the Africa workshop,
participants agreed that systematic observation networks
in Africa are inadequate because there is a lack of stations
and lack of maintenance. Participants reiterated thatmissing and scattered observational climate data in Africa
is a constraint to understanding current and futureclimate variability. If data exist, there are difficulties in
obtaining it. Participants underlined the importanceof implementing the GCOS Action Plan for Africa, the“Climate Information for Development Needs: An
Action Plan for Africa”, to improve the situation. Launchedin 2007, the plan aims to improve the inadequate anddeteriorating observing systems through an integrated
programme that includes not only observations, but also
climate services and climate risk management and policy.

9<http://www.wmo.ch/pages/prog/gcos/index.php>

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In most countries of Asia, the meteorological or hydrometeorological department of the government is
responsible for collecting, processing and supplying data
as well as maintaining infrastructure of the systematic
observation system. Participants at the Asia workshop
highlighted the need to improve observations and data
availability, including in islands, mountainous, and coastal
ecosystems, at the national, regional and global levels.
Efforts regarding the harmonization and consistency of data
should be enhanced through improved coordination
between data providers from different sectors. For example,
China reported at the workshop on the improvements it
is making to its systematic observation network under theframework of the China GCOS programme. China ismonitoring atmospheric composition, energy balance,water and carbon cycles, ecosystems, land use, ice andsnow, and regularly submits real-time observation data ofChina GCOS stations and historical data records fromnational stations to the World Data Center for Meteorology.
The country has an operational system of short-term climatic
monitoring, prediction and assessment, established in the
Beijing Climate Centre, and has some regional cooperative
climate programmes with other Asian developing
countries such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nepal, Sri
Lanka and Uzbekistan.
In Latin America, workshop participants reported
that climate information is either unavailable or sparse,
and it is difficult to use it for modelling and scenario
development. According to the GCOS February 2005 report,
another reason for large gaps in observational coveragelies in the fact that the network of national correspondents
works only on a voluntary basis. Retirements, politicalinstability, economic problems and over-tasking of staff area few of the issues that endanger the continuity ofclimate data series (GCOS 2005). The workshop reported
a significant gap in observational coverage and that the
problem is more acute for some regions, mainly the higher
elevations along the Andean Mountain Range. This range
constitutes a major determinant of the climate systems ofthe continent and high-elevation data is important forthe detection and assessment of climate change and its
impacts on glaciers, snow cover, and run-off. It wasreported that the websites of national meteorologicalservices, in general, do not make datasets available toallow studies of detection and attribution of climate change
and there are just a few countries in Latin America
which, at present, have active climate change programs.
It was emphasised as urgent to implement plans forinvestments in meteorological information and to improve
Latin American countries’ capabilities and knowledge
to undertake and maintain systematic, long-term, climate
observational programs, along with the capacity toundertake analyses of climatic information.

14

In small island developing States the national meteorologicaland hydrological services are the responsible agency
for climate observations. However, it was reported at theexpert meeting that many networks are not working
efficiently due to: limited assigned satellite windows fordata transmission; low frequency of recordings; delays
in maintenance and replacement and incorrect calibrationof equipment; and limited access to products and services.
Following 10 GCOS regional workshops between 2000 –2006, elements of the regional action plans are now being
implemented. The Pacific Islands Global Climate Observing
System is addressing capacity-building needs, improving
observing stations, climate prediction, telecommunicationand data rescue. The Regional Action Plan for Central
America and the Caribbean is partly being implemented
through the Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate
Change project. This includes upgrades of observation
networks, data rescue, and assessment of surface andgroundwater monitoring networks.
In summary, the UNFCCC-organized workshops andmeeting in 2006 – 2007 highlighted that there is still aneed to take stock of available climate information indeveloping countries so that it is clear where the systematic
observation needs are most pressing. Follow-up actions
include improving and sustaining operational observing
networks, such as the GCOS observational networks.
Collaboration between national and international
providers of climate information and the users, in all
sectors, of such information for adaptation to climatechange is vital as well as generating awareness among
different user communities of the usefulness of climate
information and services and improving national andregional coordination. Data needs to be carefully packaged
so that it can be used effectively. Rescuing historicalmeteorological data is important. Education and training
and improved national planning and reporting would
also help build capacity.
At the workshops and meeting, it was highlighted that
it is not just climate data that is needed for effective
vulnerability and adaptation assessments to climate change
in developing countries. Equally as important, andvery much lacking at present, is the need for accuratesocio-economic data. This data needs to come fromacross sectors and is an important complement to existingassessments, particularly given that poverty has beenrecognized as a major factor in vulnerability.

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3.2

CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF, AND VULNERABILITY

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESAND ADAPTATION TO, CLIMATE CHANGE

INFORMATION ANALYSIS – REPORTING OF
IMPACTS, VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION

Reliable, systematic climate data helps countries determine
their current climate variabilities, and model futurechanges. Countries use a number of assessment models,
tools and methodologies as well as various scenarios,
including those provided by the IPCC (IPCC 2000), to help
provide an assessment of the future impacts of climatechange. Climate change impacts, vulnerability andadaptation assessments need to generate outputs that arepolicy relevant. To do this, climate change data
including future impacts and vulnerabilities needs to
be integrated with socioeconomic data and analyses acrossa range of sectors, and the results must be tailored forpolicymakers and stakeholders.
All Parties to the UNFCCC are committed to submit national
communications in which they outline the implementationof the UNFCCC and the impacts from climate change thatthey are facing. In their national communications, countries
provide an assessment of vulnerabilities and adaptation
options. Water resources, agriculture and food security,
human health, terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity,and coastal zones are common sectors for which impacts
and vulnerability assessment have been carried out by
developing countries.
At the workshops and expert meeting, vulnerability andadaptation assessments were identified as vital tools fordeveloping countries to evaluate and implement responses
to climate change. A major problem in all regions was
the limited capacity at regional and national level due to
deficiencies in data collection and the lack of technicalexpertise. It was highlighted as important to make themodels, tools and methodologies that are appropriate forassessments in developing countries more widely available.
Exchanging information on tools used for vulnerability
and adaptation assessments, together with the outcomesof these assessments, would help countries improve capacity
in this area. This could be done through workshops
and symposia, regional science journals, websites tofacilitate information exchange and by making better useof existing channels of information.
The resolution of models used to determine climatechange in developing countries is too course and often
relies on data from sources in other countries. Alongwith the disparity in outputs from different models, thismakes the use of results as a basis for adaptation action
very difficult. A major problem encountered when using
models to get national results is the need for readjustment
and downscaling to suit a country’s individual needs.
Participants highlighted the need for enabling training on

the use of models and tools in all regions and providing
technical support, such as through the training of trainers
on modelling tools, and follow-up through regional centresof excellence, to address gaps in expertise in the applicationof methods and tools and in using climate informationand geographical information systems. At the SIDS meeting
special mechanisms for vulnerability and adaptationassessment training, including short courses and longerterm professional training incorporating capacity-building
for participatory approaches, were mentioned as a followup action.
The development of higher resolution regional models fordeveloping countries is important as well as analysing
the disparity between the model outcomes. This would
help enhance capacity for reaching informed decision
making. For example, at the Africa workshop, participantsemphasised the need to develop regional climate
models to provide fine-scale climate information for longterm impact studies and forecasting, as well as facilitate
information exchange between African institutions. Someefforts are being undertaken in this regard in developing
countries, and regional models are being developed thatare capable of providing more useful information neededby planners and policy makers. For example, the Hadley
Centre’s model PRECIS (Providing REgional Climatesfor Impacts Studies)10 has been designed for use by local
meteorological offices or research institutes. Training
on this model has been undertaken in several developing
countries, including Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa
and India, and Jamaica, Cuba and Barbados mentioned at
the expert meeting that results from the model have beenused in vulnerability assessments.
At the SIDS meeting it was further highlighted that
establishing a group of experts to facilitate assessments
for specific circumstances of SIDS would be useful.
Establishing a roster of experts with specialized skills,
in all regions at centres of excellence, would help tomaintain experts working in the regions. This would also
help continuity in impact and vulnerability assessment,a problem highlighted at the Africa meeting whereparticipants emphasized that the impact and vulnerability
assessment undertaken in the initial national
communication process was disjoined from that of thesecond national communication.
Participants at all workshops and at the expert meetingemphasised the lack of socio-economic data, or indeed
development indicators and relevant tools for enhancing

10<http://precis.metoffice.com>

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AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESAND ADAPTATION TO, CLIMATE CHANGE

the use of socio-economic assessment in a way thatwould be relevant to policy makers and other stakeholders,
including ministries of finance and economy. It is
important to link climate vulnerability to socio-economic
studies and long-term periodic and socio-economic
assessments. Preserving indigenous knowledge that isrelevant to community level responses, studies on coping
strategies, and gender specific vulnerability assessments
were all highlighted as important elements to determining
adaptation options.
Useful methodologies for assessing adaptation options
include both top-down and bottom-up approaches. Bothmethodologies need to be linked to promote integrated
adaptation assessments. Top-down methodologies include
the use of modelling and scenario analysis. This canprovide useful background to decision making and is strong
in terms of the biophysical aspects of impacts. However
the models do not perform well in representing humaninteractions and local abilities to adapt. This is highlighted
by an example from the Cook Islands (Box III- 2).
As a complement to the top-down approach is avulnerability-based, bottom-up, approach, which recognizes
and builds upon local coping strategies and indigenous
knowledge and technologies, and the capacity and coping
range of communities, local institutions and sectors in

Box III-2.

responding to current climate variability. This approachhelps to incorporate human and economic dimensionsof the local communities, particularly livelihood aspects
and inter-sectoral relationships. It is useful in developing
specific strategies and policy implementation. However, it
exhibits a weaker attribution to future climate change.
An example of this approach is the UNFCCC’s National
Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) for use by least
developed countries to prioritize their urgent adaptationneeds.12 The rationale for NAPAs rests on the limited abilityof least developed countries to assess their vulnerability
and adapt to climate change. A new approach was neededthat would focus on enhancing adaptive capacity to
climate variability and thus help these countries directly
address their urgent needs arising from the adverse
effects of climate change. The NAPAs use and build upon
existing coping strategies at the grassroots level, rather
than focusing on scenario-based modelling, to assess future
vulnerability and adaptive responses at local and statelevel. Involvement of different stakeholders (national,
sectoral, local) and including existing coping strategies
are an integral part in the assessment process.

11

Adapted from a presentation given by Ms. Pasha Carruthers on this topic at the UNFCCC CGE
Regional Hands-on Training Workshop on Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments for the
Asia and the Pacific Region, held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 20 to 24 March 2006.
12<http://unfccc.int/2719.php>

Experience of the Cook Islands in applying impacts assessments methodologies11

As part of the Pacific Island Climate Change Assistance Programme

carrying out the assessment, including gaining trust for the project,which aims to help Pacific islands meet their reporting obligations

the limited time to carry out the project, the presentation of complex

to the UNFCCC, the Cook Islands applied the prototype integrated

material, gathering the relevant input, recording feedback, verifying

assessment model PACCLIM (PACific CLimate Impacts Model).

anecdotal evidence and quantifying observations and uncertainties.

This model was developed by the International Global Change

The conclusion was that the tool had limited applicability for theInstitute in New Zealand and involved the integration of a global

Cook Islands and was rather complicated, and that it would be betterclimate model with climate data and a regional climate scenario

to focus on refining data collection and on improving results bygenerator.

using simpler methods. The tool could be better used for training

Economic activity in the Cook Islands includes tourism, pearls,

in identifying cross-sectoral considerations.

commercial and subsistence fisheries and coastal floodplain
agriculture. The Cook Islands faced numerous challenges when

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESAND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

IV. REGIONAL IMPACTS
OF AND VULNERABILITIESTO CLIMATE CHANGE

This chapter highlights the impacts of and thevulnerabilities to climate change in the four regions:
Africa, Asia, Latin America and small island developing
States. Impacts and vulnerabilities vary by region andwere reported in the background papers to theworkshops and meeting held in these regions by the
UNFCCC (UNFCCC 2006b, 2006c, 2007a, 2007b) andin presentations during the workshops and meetingthemselves.13 Additional sources, including information
for the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC 2007),
are used here to complement the information provided
at the workshops and meeting and are referenced
where used.

4.1

AFRICA

Africa is already a continent under pressure from climate
stresses and is highly vulnerable to the impacts ofclimate change. Many areas in Africa are recognized ashaving climates that are among the most variable in
the world on seasonal and decadal time scales. Floods
and droughts can occur in the same area within monthsof each other. These events can lead to famine andwidespread disruption of socio-economic well-being.
For example, estimates reported at the workshop
indicate that one third of African people already livein drought- prone areas and 220 million are exposedto drought each year.
Many factors contribute and compound the impacts ofcurrent climate variability in Africa and will have negative
effects on the continent’s ability to cope with climatechange. These include poverty, illiteracy and lack of skills,
weak institutions, limited infrastructure, lack oftechnology and information, low levels of primary educationand health care, poor access to resources, low management
capabilities and armed conflicts. The overexploitation ofland resources including forests, increases in population,desertification and land degradation pose additional threats(UNDP 2006). In the Sahara and Sahel, dust and sandstorms have negative impacts on agriculture, infrastructureand health.14

18

Table IV-1 highlights some impacts of climate change
in Africa on key sectors and gives an indication of theadaptive capacity of this continent to climate change.
As a result of global warming, the climate in Africa ispredicted to become more variable, and extreme weather
events are expected to be more frequent and severe,with increasing risk to health and life. This includes
increasing risk of drought and flooding in new areas(Few et al. 2004, Christensen et al. 2007) and inundation
due to sea-level rise in the continent’s coastal areas(Nicholls 2004; McMichael et al. 2006).
Africa will face increasing water scarcity and stress witha subsequent potential increase of water conflicts as
almost all of the 50 river basins in Africa are transboundary(Ashton 2002, De Wit and Jacek 2006). Agricultural
production relies mainly on rainfall for irrigation and will
be severely compromised in many African countries,
particularly for subsistence farmers and in sub-SaharanAfrica. Under climate change much agricultural land
will be lost, with shorter growing seasons and lower yields.
National communications report that climate change
will cause a general decline in most of the subsistencecrops, e.g. sorghum in Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea andZambia; maize in Ghana; Millet in Sudan; and groundnuts
in Gambia. Of the total additional people at risk ofhunger due to climate change, although already a large
proportion, Africa may well account for the majority
by the 2080s (Fischer et al. 2002).
Africa is vulnerable to a number of climate sensitive
diseases including malaria, tuberculosis and diarrhoea(Guernier et al. 2004). Under climate change, risingtemperatures are changing the geographical distributionof disease vectors which are migrating to new areasand higher altitudes, for example, migration of the malaria
mosquito to higher altitudes will expose large numbersof previously unexposed people to infection in the densely
populated east African highlands (Boko et al. 2007).
Future climate variability will also interact with otherstresses and vulnerabilities such as HIV/AIDS (which isalready reducing life expectancy in many African countries)
and conflict and war (Harrus and Baneth 2005), resulting
in increased susceptibility and risk to infectious diseases(e.g. cholera and diahrrhoea) and malnutrition for adults
and children (WHO 2004).
Climate change is an added stress to already threatened
habitats, ecosystems and species in Africa, and is likely
to trigger species migration and lead to habitat reduction.
Up to 50 per cent of Africa’s total biodiversity is at risk
due to reduced habitat and other human-induced pressures(Boko et al. 2007). The latter include land-use conversion
due to agricultural expansion and subsequent destruction

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Table IV-1.

Regional Impacts and Vulnerabilities to Climate Change in Africa

Impacts

Sectoral vulnerabilities

Temperature

Water

Africa has a low adaptive capacity– Higher warming (x1.5) throughout– Increasing water stress for many countries.

to both climate variability and climate– 75–220 million people face more severe water shortages

change exacerbated by existing

the continent and in all seasonscompared with global average.

by 2020.

– Drier subtropical regions may

Adaptive Capacity

developmental challenges including:– low GDP per capita

become warmer than the moister

Agriculture and food security– widespread, endemic poverty

tropics.

– Agricultural production severely compromised due to loss

– weak institutions

Precipitation– Decrease in annual rainfall in muchof Mediterranean Africa and theof land, shorter growing seasons, more uncertainty about– low levels of education

what and when to plant.

– low levels of primary health care

– Worsening of food insecurity and increase in the numberof people at risk from hunger.

northern Sahara, with a greater– Yields from rain-fed crops could be halved by 2020 inlikelihood of decreasing rainfall

some countries. Net revenues from crops could fall by

as the Mediterranean coast is

90% by 2100.

approached.
– Decrease in rainfall in southern– Already compromised fish stocks depleted further byrising water temperatures.

Africa in much of the winter rainfall
region and western margins.
– Increase in annual mean rainfall in
East Africa.
– Increase in rainfall in the dry Sahel– little consideration of women andgender balance in policy planning– limited access to capital, including
markets, infrastructure andtechnology– ecosystems degradation– complex disasters– conflicts

Health– Alteration of spatial and temporal transmission of disease
vectors, including malaria, dengue fever, meningitis,cholera, etc.

may be counteracted throughevaporation.

Terrestrial Ecosystems– Drying and desertification in many areas particularly theExtreme Events– Increase in frequency and intensity

Sahel and Southern Africa.
– Deforestation and forest fires.

of extreme events, including– Degradation of grasslands.

droughts and floods, as well as– 25–40% of animal species in national parks in sub-Saharanevents occurring in new areas.

Africa expected to become endangered.
Coastal Zones– Threat of inundation along coasts in eastern Africa andcoastal deltas, such as the Nile delta and in many major
cities due to sea level rise, coastal erosion and extreme
events.
– Degradation of marine ecosystems including coral reefs
off the East African coast.
– Cost of adaptation to sea level rise could amount to atleast 5–10% GDP.

Source: Boko et al. (2007), Christensen et al. (2007).

13
14<http://unfccc.int/3582.php>
Presentation from Ms. Balgis Osman Elasha, UNFCCC African Regional Workshop on Adaptation,
Accra, Ghana, 21 to 23 September 2006. <http://unfccc.int/3743.php>

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of habitat; pollution; poaching; civil war; high rates ofland use change; population growth and the introductionof exotic species. For example, the habitat of the great
apes, including the western lowland Gorilla – identified as
critically endangered on the World Conservation Union’s(IUCN) red list of threatened species, is likely to seriously
decline between 2002 and 2032.15
Future sea level rise has the potential to cause huge
impacts on the African coastlines including the alreadydegraded coral reefs on the Eastern coast. National
communications indicate that the coastal infrastructurein 30 percent of Africa’s coastal countries, including
the Gulf of Guinea, Senegal, Gambia, Egypt, and along
the East-Southern African coast, is at risk of partial orcomplete inundation due to accelerated sea level rise.16
In Tanzania, a sea level rise of 50 cm would inundate
over 2,000 km2 of land, costing around USD 51 million(UNEP 2002a). Future sea level rise also threatens lagoons
and mangrove forests of both eastern and western Africa,
and is likely to impact urban centres and ports, such as
Cape Town, Maputo, and Dar Es-Salaam.

4.2

ASIA

Asia is the largest continent on Earth and spreads over four
climatic zones (boreal, arid and semi-arid, tropical andtemperate). The region faces formidable environmental
and socio-economic challenges in its effort to protect
valuable natural resources. Land and ecosystems are being
degraded, threatening to undermine food security. In
addition, water and air quality are deteriorating while
continued increases in consumption and associatedwaste have contributed to the exponential growth in theregion’s existing environmental problems. Furthermore,
the region is highly subject to natural hazards, such as
the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan
Earthquake, and the 2006 landslides in the Philippines.
There is evidence of prominent increases in the intensity
and/or frequency of many extreme weather events such asheat waves, tropical cyclones, prolonged dry spells,
intense rainfall, tornadoes, snow avalanches, thunderstorms,
and severe dust storms in the region (Cruz et al. 2007).
Impacts of such disasters range from hunger andsusceptibility to disease, to loss of income and livelihoods,
affecting human survival and well-being. For example
the extreme weather events in China during 2006 included
major storms and flooding in the east and south, as wellas heat and drought in central, western and northeasternregions, killing more that 2700 people and causing
USD 20 billion in damages.

20

Climate change will affect many sectors, including water
resources, agriculture and food security, ecosystems andbiodiversity, human health and coastal zones (Table IV-2).
Many environmental and developmental problems in Asia
will be exacerbated by climate change.
Under climate change, predicted rainfall increases overmost of Asia, particularly during the summer monsoon,
could increase flood-prone areas in East Asia, South Asia
and Southeast Asia. In Central and South Asia, crop
yields are predicted to fall by up to 30 per cent, creatinga very high risk of hunger in several countries.
Global warming is causing the melting of glaciers inthe Himalayas. In the short term, this means increased riskof flooding, erosion, mudslides and GLOF in Nepal,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, and north India during the wet
season. Because the melting of snow coincides withthe summer monsoon season, any intensification of
the monsoon and/or increase in melting is likely tocontribute to flood disasters in Himalayan catchments.
In the longer term, global warming could lead to arise in the snowline and disappearance of many glaciers
causing serious impacts on the populations relying
on the 7 main rivers in Asia fed by melt water fromthe Himalayas. Throughout Asia one billion people
could face water shortage leading to drought and landdegradation by the 2050s (Christensen et al. 2007,
Cruz et al. 2007).
In Asia, the principal impacts of climate change on healthwill be on epidemics of malaria, dengue, and othervector-borne diseases (Martens et al. 1999). The global
burden of climate change-attributable diarrhoea andmalnutrition are already the largest in the world inSoutheast Asian countries including Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar and Nepal in 2000.
Illness and death are expected to increase fromdiarrhoeal diseases due to drought and flooding, andare also expected from increased amounts of cholera
bacteria in coastal waters. An increase in the frequency
and duration of severe heat waves and humid
conditions during the summer is likely to increase therisk of mortality and morbidity, principally in theold and urban poor populations of temperate and tropical
Asia (Epstein et al. 1995) and high temperatures andpoor urban air quality, such as in Chongqing, China andin Jakarta, Indonesia, could contribute to widespreadheat stress and smog induced illnesses in urban populations(Cruz et al. 2007).

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESREGIONAL IMPACTS OF AND VULNERABILITIESAND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESTO CLIMATE CHANGE

Table IV-2.

Regional Impacts and Vulnerabilities to Climate Change in Asia

Impacts

Sectoral vulnerabilities

Adaptive Capacity

Temperature

Water

Adaptive capacity varies between– Warming above the global mean in– Increasing water stress to over a hundred million people

countries depending on social

central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau,due to decrease of freshwater availability in Central, South,

structure, culture, economic capacity,

northern, eastern and southern Asia.

East and Southeast Asia, particularly in large river basins

geography and level of environmental

such as Changjiang.

degradation.

Warming similar to the global meanin Southeast Asia.
– Fewer very cold days in East Asia
and South Asia.

– Increase in the number and severity of glacial melt-related
floods, slope destabilization followed by decrease in river

Capacity is increasing in some parts

flows as glaciers disappear.

of Asia, for example the success ofearly warning systems for extreme

Precipitation, snow and ice

Agriculture and food security

weather events in Bangladesh and– Increase in precipitation in most of– Decreases in crop yield for many parts of Asia putting

the Philippines. However, capacity is

Asia. Decrease in precipitation incentral Asia in Summer.
– Increase in the frequency of intense
precipitation events in parts of South

many millions of people at risk from hunger.
– Reduced soil moisture and evapotranspiration may increase
land degradation and desertification.

still constrained due to poor resourcebases, inequalities in income, weak
institutions and limited technology.

– Agriculture may expand in productivity in northern areas.

Asia, and in East Asia.
– Increasing reduction in snow andice in Himalayan and Tibetan Plateau
glaciers

Health– Heat stress and changing patterns in the occurrence ofdisease vectors affecting health.
– Increases in endemic morbidity and mortality due toExtreme Events
Increasing frequency and intensity of
extreme events particularly:

diarrhoeal disease in south and Southeast Asia.
– Increase in the abundance and/or toxicity of cholera insouth Asia.

– droughts during the summer months
and El Niño events;– increase in extreme rainfall and winds
associated with tropical cyclones in
East Asia, Southeast Asia and SouthAsia;– intense rainfall events causing
landslides and severe floods;

Terrestrial Ecosystems– Increased risk of extinction for many species due to thesynergistic effects of climate change and habitat
fragmentation.
– Northward shift in the extent of boreal forest in north Asia,
although likely increase in frequency and extent of forest
fires could limit forest expansion.

– heat waves/hot spells in summerof longer duration, more intense

Coastal Zones

and more frequent, particularly in– Tens of millions of people in low-lying coastal areas of

East Asia.

south and Southeast Asia affected by sea level rise andan increase in the intensity of tropical cyclones.
– Coastal inundation is likely to seriously affect the aquacultureindustry and infrastructure particularly in heavily-populated
megadeltas.
– Stability of wetlands, mangroves, and coral reefs increasingly
threatened.

Source: Christensen et al. (2007), Cruz et al. (2007).

15
16<http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/loss_of_great_ape_habitat_2002_2032_africa><http://unfccc.int/national_reports/non-annex_i_natcom/items/2979.php>

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In recent years, enormous pressures have been put on
Asia’s ecosystems to support the ever growing demand fornatural resources. The most affected areas are coastal
and marine ecosystems, forests and mountainous regions
and the flora and fauna within them. Climate change
will have a profound effect on the future distribution,
productivity, and health of forests throughout Asia, forexample northeast China may become deprived of conifer
forest.17 Grassland productivity is expected to decline by
as much as 40 – 90 per cent for an increase in temperatureof 2 – 3° C, combined with reduced precipitation, in thesemi-arid and arid regions of Asia.
Fisheries in both fresh water and sea water could be affected.
Fisheries at higher elevations are likely to be adversely
affected by lower availability of oxygen due to a rise insurface air temperatures. In the plains, the timing andamount of precipitation could also affect the migration offish species from the river to the floodplains for spawning,
dispersal, and growth (FAO 2003). Sea level rise and changes
in sea water temperature, salinity, wind speed anddirection, strength of upwelling, mixing layer thickness
and predator response to climate change have thepotential to substantially alter fish breeding habitats andfood supply for fish and ultimately the abundance offish populations in Asian waters with associated effects
on coastal economies (Cruz et al. 2007).
Projected sea level rise could flood the residence of millions
of people living in the low lying areas of South,
Southeast and East Asia such as in Viet Nam, Bangladesh,
India and China (Wassmann et al. 2004, Stern 2006,
Cruz et al. 2007) and 30 percent of coral reefs could be
lost in the next 10 years (Cruz et al. 2007). The loss
may be as high as 88 per cent (59 per cent of global) in
the next 30 years (Sheppard 2003; Wilkinson 2004).

4.3

LATIN AMERICA

Latin America includes much of the world’s biologicaldiversity, as well as a wide variety of ecosystems, climatic
regions, topographies and land-use patterns. Particularly
vulnerable to climate change are the water, agriculture andhealth sectors, the Andean glaciers, the Amazon region
and regions vulnerable to extreme climatic events (UNFCCC
2006d). The impacts of climate change in this region andits adaptation potential are highlighted in Table IV-3. The
region has already been experiencing climate-relatedchanges with the frequency and intensity of extreme events,
particularly those associated with the ENSO phenomenon.
Torrential rains and resulting floods, including those
associated with tropical cyclones, have result in tens of

22

thousand of deaths and severe economic losses and social
disruption in the region in recent years18, for example
in 1998 hurricane Mitch caused 10,000 deaths and severe
damage to infrastructure, with Honduras and Nicaragua
the worst hit. Northeast Brazil, on the other hand,is particularly affected by drought and its associatedsocio-economic impacts (Charvériat 2000).
Under climate change, as Andean glaciers disappear thiscentury, there is likely to be serious effects on peoples
lives and livelihoods and on ecosystems. Currently people
in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, along the Andean
Cordillera, depend on glacial seasonal discharge for theirwater supply as well as for hydro-energy. Higher ratesof economic recession correspond with greater flows ofwater, which cause erosion, flooding and mudslides
in lowland areas. However, as the glaciers disappear –such as the Chacaltaya Glacier in Bolivia, predicted
to disappear within the next 15 years – flows will tail off
dramatically leading to serious water shortages,
reduced hydropower, greater risks of drought, as well
as flooding, and serious environmental degradation(nef 2006, Magrin et al. 2007, UNEP 2007).
There are uncertainties over the effects of climate change
on rainfall in Latin America. However it is predicted thatarid and semi-arid areas will receive even less rain underclimate change leading to degradation of agriculturalland and impacting food security. Except for mid-latitude
areas, where CO2 fertilization effects may balance out thenegative effects of climate change, agricultural yields are
expected to decrease throughout Latin America by theend of the Century.
As well as through extreme events, the main risks ofclimate change on health and life are from heat stress –particularly due to urban heat island effects in megacities,
and transmissible diseases including malaria, dengue
and cholera (Githeko and Woodward, 2003, Patz 2005).
Rodent-borne infections can also increase after floods anddroughts such as leptospirosis and Hantavirus Pulmonary
Syndrome (Ahern et al. 2005). Expected increases inforest fires due to warmer, drier climate and increased
deforestation and forest fragmentation are likely toheighten the vulnerability of the population to the healthimpacts of biomass burning smoke, the effects of whichhave already been observed in Brazil (Haines and Patz 2004;
Patz 2004).

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Table IV-3.

Regional Impacts and Vulnerabilities to Climate Change in Latin America

Impacts

Sectoral vulnerabilities

Adaptive Capacity

Temperature

Water

The lack of modern observation– Warming above the global mean is– Increase in the number of people experiencing waterequipment and climate monitoring

predicted in most of Latin America.
– In southern South America warming
similar to global mean.

stress – likely to be 7–77 million by the 2020s.
– Runoff and water supply in many areas compromised due
to loss and retreat of glaciers.
– Reduction in water quality in some areas due to an increase

Precipitation, snow and ice

in floods and droughts.

– Decrease in annual precipitation in
Agriculture and food security

southern Andes, although large local– Reductions of crop yields in some areas, although othervariability in mountainous areas.

public trust in climate records andapplied meteorological services. This
has a negative impact on the qualityof the early warning and alert advisory
services.

most of Central America and in the– Increase in winter precipitation inhinders the quality of forecasts lowering

areas may see increases in yields.
– By the 2050s, 50% of agricultural lands are very likely to beSome social indicators have improvedin recent decades including life
expectancy, adult literacy and freshwater

subjected to desertification and salinization in some areas.

access. However, adaptive capacity– Increase in summer precipitation– Food security a problem in dry areas where agricultural land

is limited by high infant mortality, low

in south-eastern South America.

subject to salinization and erosion reducing crop yields andsecondary school enrolment and highlivestock productivity.

levels of inequality both in income andTierra del Fuego.

– Uncertain rainfall changes overnorthern South America, including
the Amazon forest.
– Increasing reduction anddisappearance of Andean glaciers.

in access to fresh water and health care
Healthas well as gender inequalities.

– Risks to life due to increases in the intensity of tropical
cyclones.
– Heat stress and changing patterns in the occurrence ofExtreme events

disease vectors risk to health.

Increasing frequency and intensityof extreme events, many related to

Terrestrial Ecosystems

ENSO, particularly:– Significant habitat loss and species extinctions in many

– intense rainfall events causing

areas of tropical Latin America, including tropical forests,

landslides and severe floods;

due to higher temperatures and loss of groundwater with– dry spells and drought, such as

effects on indigenous communities.

in northeast Brazil;– heat waves, with particularly major
effects in megacities due to heatisland effects;– Increase in intensity of tropical
cyclones in the Caribbean basin.

Coastal Zones– Impacts on low lying areas, such as the La Plata estuary,
coastal cities and coastal morphology, coral reefs andmangroves, location of fish stocks, availability of drinking
water and tourism due to sea level rise and extreme events.

Source: Christensen et al. (2007), Magrin et al. (2007).

17
18

Presentation by Mr. Mozaharul Alam, UNFCCC Asian Regional Workshop on Adaptation, 11-13
April, Beijing, China. <http://unfccc.int/3955.php>
Presentation from Mr. Carlos Nobre, UNFCCC Latin American regional workshop on adaptation,Lima, Peru, 18 to 20 April 2006. <http://unfccc.int/3719.php>

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The Amazon Basin is home to some 40 per cent of theworld’s remaining tropical forest and contains one of the
Earth’s richest assortments of biodiversity; thousandsof species of plants, over a million insect species, morethan 700 fish species, 1,000 bird species, and over 300
mammalian species. The reduction of tropical forest area,
especially in the tropical rainforests, will probably entail
the loss of many species (Scholze et al. 2005). Climatechange threatens to substantially affect the Amazon
region, which in turn is expected to alter global climate
and increase the risk of biodiversity loss (WWF 2006).
By 2050 for a projected increase of 2° C surface temperature,
severe species loss is predicted over central Brazil, Mexico
and in dry areas of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile (Thomas
et al. 2004; Siqueira and Peterson 2003; Miles et al.
2004). The central-eastern Amazon is predicted to undergo
an irreversible process of ‘savannization’ (Nobre et al. 2004).
Low-lying coasts in several countries (Argentina,
Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico,
Panama, El Salvador, Uruguay, Venezuela) and large
cities (Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, etc.) are among
the most vulnerable to extreme weather events suchas rain, windstorms and hurricanes with their associatedstorm surges and sea level rise.
National communications report that sea level rise islikely to have adverse impacts on: buildings and tourism,(e.g. in Mexico, Uruguay); coastal morphology (e.g. inPeru); mangroves (e.g. in Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia,
Venezuela); and availability of drinking water in the
Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Ecuador and the River Plateestuary. Mesoamerican coral reefs (e.g. Mexico, Belize,
Panama); and the location of fish stocks in the south-east
Pacific (e.g. Peru, Chile) are also likely to be affected.
Mangrove forests located in low-lying coastal areas are
particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, increased mean
temperatures, and hurricane frequency and intensity,
especially in Mexico, Central America and Caribbean
continental regions (Magrin et al. 2007) and could
disappear unless they are better managed (Medina et al.
2001, McLeod and Salm 2006). Fish stocks are also
affected by warmer sea waters with resulting negative
consequences for fishing in the region.
Salinization of drinking water could become anincreasingly serious problem in coastal areas due to sea
level rise. Sea-level rise in some areas may lead to a
reduction in the salinity of hypersaline lagoons negatively
affecting biodiversity (Quammen and Onuf 1993).

24

4.4

SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATESThe small island developing States comprise 51 States andTerritories spread over the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic
Oceans and Caribbean Sea, and are highly vulnerable tothe effects of climate change and already feeling its
impacts. The climate of SIDS is influenced by large oceanatmosphere interactions such as trade winds, El Niño
and the monsoons. Small island developing States arecharacterised by the concentration of large settlementswith associated economic and social activities at or near
the coast. In SIDS, arable land, water resources andbiodiversity are already under pressure from sea level rise.
Increases in population and the unsustainable use ofavailable natural resources add further problems. Tropicalstorms and cyclones cause storm surges, coral bleaching,inundation of land, and coastal and soil erosion withresulting high-cost damages to socio-economic andcultural infrastructure. For example, in the Pacific islands
region, cyclones accounted for 76 per cent of thereported disasters between 1950 and 2004, with theaverage costs relating to damage caused per cyclone
standing at USD 75.7 million in 2004 value (World Bank
2006a). In the Caribbean region, the 2004 hurricane
season alone caused damages estimated at USD 2.2 billion
in four countries: the Bahamas, Grenada, Jamaica andthe Dominican Republic.19
The projected impacts of climate change cross all sectors
and the vulnerability and low adaptive capacity of SIDS
is inextricably linked to the socio-cultural and economic
context of these island States (Table IV-4). Vulnerabilities
include low availability of resources, a small but rapidly
growing population, remoteness, susceptibility to natural
disasters, excessive dependence on international trade,and vulnerability to global developments.
Water supply in SIDS is likely to be exacerbated by futureclimate change. Freshwater lenses are predicted to reducein size due to increased demand and reduced rainfall. It
has been estimated that a 10 per cent reduction in average
rainfall by 2050 could produce a 20 per cent reductionin the size of the freshwater lens on the Tarawa Atoll,
Kiribati, and reduce the thickness of the freshwater lenson atolls by as much as 29 percent. Freshwater supplies
are also threatened by saltwater intrusion due to storm
surge and sea level rise (Mimura et al. 2007).
The projected impacts of climate change on agriculture
include extended periods of drought, loss of soil fertility
and shortening of the growing season which will lead tomajor economic losses and seriously affect food security.

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Table IV-4.

Regional Impacts and Vulnerabilities to Climate Change in small island developing States

Impacts

Sectoral vulnerabilities

Adaptive Capacity

Temperature

Water

Small islands, whether located in the– All Caribbean, Indian Ocean and– Water sources seriously compromised due to rising sea

tropics or higher latitudes are especiallyNorth and South Pacific small islandlevel, changes in rainfall and increased evapotranspiration,

vulnerable to the effects of climate

States will experience warming.

e.g. in the Pacific, a ten percent reduction in average rainfallchange, sea level rise and extreme

Warming will be lower than the(by 2050) would lead to a twenty percent reduction in theevents.

global average.

size of the freshwater lens on the Tarawa Atoll, Kiribati.
Characteristics such as limited size,

Precipitation

Agriculture and food security

proneness to natural hazards and– Decrease in summer rainfall in– Agricultural land and thus food security affected by sea-level

external shocks enhance the vulnerabilityrise, inundation, soil salinization, seawater intrusion intoof islands to climate change. In mostthe Caribbean in the vicinity of theGreater Antilles.

freshwater lenses, and decline in freshwater supply.

cases they have low adaptive capacity,– All agricultural production affected by extreme events.

and adaptation costs are high relativeequatorial Pacific and in the northern– Fisheries affected by increasing sea surface temperature,

to GDP.

Indian Ocean, in the Seychelles andrising sea level and damage from tropical cyclones.

– Increase in annual rainfall in thethe Maldives.
– Decrease in rainfall in the vicinityof Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean,and east of French Polynesia, in
the Pacific.

Health– Increases in the intensity of tropical cyclones increaserisks to life.
– Heat stress and changing patterns in the occurrence ofdisease vectors and climate sensitive diseases affect health.

Extreme Events– Increasing intensity of tropical
cyclones, storm surge, coralbleaching and land inundation.

Terrestrial Ecosystems– Replacement of local species and colonization by
non-indigenous species.
– Forests affected by extreme events are slow to regenerate.
Forest cover may increase on some high latitude islands.
Coastal Zones– Most infrastructure, settlements and facilities located onor near the shore and will be affected by sea-level rise,coastal erosion and other coastal hazards, compromising
the socio-economic well-being of island communities
and states.
– Accelerated beach erosion, degradation of coral reefs
and bleaching will all have impacts on incomes from fishingand tourism.
– Habitability and thus sovereignty of some states threatened
due to reduction in island size or complete inundation.

Source: Christensen et al. (2007), Mimura et al. (2007).

19

United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean press release.
<http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/JCDR-677LG5?OpenDocument>

25

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESREGIONAL IMPACTS OF AND VULNERABILITIESAND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESTO CLIMATE CHANGE

On many islands, prime agricultural land is located on
the coastal plains which are already threatened by sea-levelrise. The relative magnitude of economic losses due toclimate change is likely to differ among islands. For example,
in the absence of adaptive measures on a high island
such as Viti Levu in Fiji, the cost of damages could be in
the range of USD 23 – 52 million per year (2 – 3 per centof GDP) by 2050 whereas in a low island such as Tarawa,
Kiribati, the annual average cost of damages would bein the order of USD 8 – 16 million (17 –18 per cent of GDP)by 2050 (World Bank 2000).
In SIDS, increasing extreme events such as tropical
cyclones are predicted to have huge impacts on forest
cover and biodiversity, particularly as adaptation
responses on small islands are expected to be slow, andimpacts of storms may be cumulative (Mimura et al.
2007). Changes in temperature are likely to particularly
affect high elevation SIDS, and biological invasions are
predicted to drive several species, including many endemic
birds, to extinction (Wormworth and Mallon 2006).

Climate change is also likely to have a negative effecton tourism in SIDS, seriously affecting the economy
of many small islands. The increasing frequency andseverity of extreme weather, sea-level rise andaccelerated beach erosion, degradation of coral reefs(including bleaching), and the loss of cultural heritageon the coasts through inundation and flooding are
likely to reduce the attractiveness of small island States
to tourists. For example, in Barbados 70 per cent of
the hotels are located within 250 m of the high water
mark. This suggests that many hotels are almost
exclusively within the 1 in 500 and 1 in 100 inundation
zones, placing them at risk of major structural damage.20

Increasing temperatures and decreasing water availability
due to climate change may also increase the burdenof diarrhoeal and other infectious diseases in some small
island States. Increases in tropical cyclones, storm
surges, flooding, and drought are likely to have both shortand long-term effects on human health, including
drowning, injuries, increased disease transmission, decreases
in agricultural productivity and subsequent malnutrition.
Coastlines will almost certainly suffer from accelerated
coastal erosion as well as inundation of settlements
and arable land with associated social and economic
consequences. For example, in Grenada, a 50 cm
rise in sea level could lead to serious inundation with 60
per cent of beaches in some areas being lost (UNFCCC
2007a). A one-metre rise in sea level is expected to cost
Jamaica USD 462 million, 19 per cent of its GDP(Jamaica 2000); while for the Maldives a one-meter risein sea level would mean the complete disappearanceof the nation (Maldives 2001).
Sea level rise, increasing sea surface temperatures andacidification of the oceans will entail a loss ofmangrove forests and coral reefs and reduced fish stocks
throughout this region. For example, studies haveprojected that 3 per cent of Cuba’s mangrove forests may
be lost with a one meter rise in sea level. For thesame rise in sea level a complete collapse of the Port
mangrove wetland in Jamaica is predicted, since thissystem has shown little capacity to migrate over the last
300 years (Nurse et al. 2001).

26

20“Preliminary review of the economic impact of climate change on Caribbean Tourism: what is
at risk and adapting for sustainable tourism development”, presentation given by Ms. Marlene
Attzs at the Organization of American States Meeting on Adaptation to Climate Change in the
Caribbean, Tourism Sector Workshop held in Grenada, in May 2002.

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESAND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

V. ADAPTATION TO CLIMATECHANGE

Adaptation to climate change in developing countries isvital and has been highlighted by them as having a highor urgent priority. Although uncertainty remains about
the extent of climate change impacts, in many developing
countries there is sufficient information and knowledge
available on strategies and plans to implement adaptation
activities now.
However, developing countries have limitations in capacity
making adaptation difficult. Limitations include bothhuman capacity and financial resources. Outputs from the
UNFCCC workshops and meeting highlighted that the mosteffective adaptation approaches for developing countries
are those addressing a range of environmental stresses andfactors. Strategies and programmes that are more likely
to succeed need to link with coordinated efforts aimed
at poverty alleviation, enhancing food security andwater availability, combating land degradation and reducing
loss of biological diversity and ecosystem services, as wellas improving adaptive capacity. Sustainable development
and the Millennium Development Goals are a necessary
backdrop to integrating adaptation into development policy.
,reduction policies are also important elements of adaptation.
This chapter explores adaptation in developing countries.
The lack of funding available in various forms, as well
as difficulties in accessing the funds which are available,
represents a major barrier for adaptation, particularly
for local community action. International financial
mechanisms, including possible novel mechanisms foradaptation are explored. It is recognised that researchand training to enable adaptation is needed in developing
countries in order to help understand climate change
impacts and vulnerabilities and facilitate better policy
decisions and management. Many developing countries
face difficulties in integrating climate change concerns
into national policies due to a lack of resources andinstitutional capacities. Capacity-building, for example tointegrate climate change and socio-economic assessments
into vulnerability and adaptation assessments, helps tobetter identify effective adaptation options and theirassociated costs. The chapter looks at adaptation in thelight of sustainable development, the integration ofadaptation into policy and development planning, andthe need for further capacity-building and training.
Given that many countries may experience similar effects
from climate change, sharing experience can broaden
knowledge on how to address the adaptation challenges.
In this regard South-South and North-South cooperation
on adaptation is an effective way of promoting theimplementation of adaptation measures. A number ofcurrent collaborations are discussed which are helping
to pave the way for cooperation on climate change
adaptation.
A final section on implementing adaptation looks atsuggestions from the UNFCCC workshops and meetingin 2006 – 2007 on a number of ways forward for the
Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and theinternational community to consider in implementing
adaptation action.

5.1

ADAPTATION STRATEGIES, PLANS
AND PROGRAMMES

Adapting to climate change will entail adjustments
and changes at every level – from community to national
and international. Communities must build theirresilience, including adopting appropriate technologies
while making the most of traditional knowledge,
and diversifying their livelihoods to cope with current
and future climate stress. Local coping strategies
and traditional knowledge need to be used in synergy
with government and local interventions. The
choice of adaptation interventions depends on national
circumstances. To enable workable and effective
adaptation measures, ministries and governments, aswell as institutions and non-government organizations,must consider integrating climate change in theirplanning and budgeting in all levels of decision making.
In chapter IV the impacts and vulnerabilities of developing
countries to climate change were highlighted in termsof the sectors affected. One way of grouping adaptation
options is to identify whether they are sectoral, crosssectoral or multi-sectoral.
Sectoral adaptation measures look at actions forindividual sectors that could be affected by climate change.
For example, in agriculture, reduced rainfall andhigher evaporation may call for the extension of irrigation;and for coastal zones, sea level rise may necessitate
improved coastal protection such as reforestation. Often
adaptation measures in one sector will involve a29

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strengthening of the policy that already exists, emphasizing
the importance of including long term climate change
considerations along with existing local coping mechanisms
and integrating them into national development plans.
Multi-sectoral adaptation options relate to the managementof natural resources which span sectors, for example,
integrated management of water, river basins or coastal
zones. Linking management measures for adaptation
to climate change with management measures identified
as necessary from the other Rio Conventions: theConvention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification; could be auseful multi-sectoral approach which addresses a range ofenvironmental stresses.
Cross-sectoral measures also span several sectors andcan include: improvements to systematic observationand communication systems; science, research anddevelopment and technological innovations such as thedevelopment of drought-resistant crop varieties or
new technologies to combat saltwater intrusion; educationand training to help build capacity among stakeholders;public awareness campaigns to improve stakeholder
and public understanding on climate change andadaptation; strengthening or making changes in thefiscal sector such as new insurance options; and risk/
disaster management measures such as emergency plans.
For example, Bhutan’s NAPA provides an example ofa cross-sectoral adaptation project. It identifies the needfor a forecasting and early warning system to provide
seasonal forecasts for supporting agricultural production
decisions and provide an early warning system and disastermanagement strategy for food security and emergency
medicine to vulnerable communities in the case of extreme
events (Bhutan 2006).
Adaptation to climate change must also occur throughthe prevention and removal of maladaptive practices.
Maladaptation refers to adaptation measures that do not
succeed in reducing vulnerability but increase it instead.
Examples of measures that prevent or avoid maladaptation
include: better management of irrigation systems; andremoval of laws that can inadvertently increase vulnerability
such as destruction of mangroves and relaxation ofbuilding regulations on coasts and in floodplains.
Parties to the UNFCCC have all agreed to undertakenational adaptation measures and cooperate in preparing
for the impacts of climate change. The UNFCCC plays
an important catalytic role in promoting the developmentof adaptation strategies and plans. The UNFCCC
secretariat developed a compendium on methodologies

30

for assessing vulnerability and adaptation,21 and a databaseon existing local coping strategies to climate variability
and hazards, which can be replicated in countries which are
now facing similar threats as these but due to climatechange.22 The Nairobi work programme23 is fosteringknowledge exchange among the research and stakeholder
communities to help countries make informed decisions
on practical adaptation options. The initial activities of
the Nairobi work programme during 2007 – 2008 involve
workshops and reports on nine key areas of work: methods
and tools; data and observations; climate modelling,
scenarios and downscaling; climate related risks andextreme events; socio-economic information; adaptation
planning and practices; research; technologies foradaptation; and economic diversification. Outcomes of
the Nairobi work programme are expected to lead toenhanced knowledge on adaptation options at all levels
and integration of actions into planning and sustainable
development.
In their national communications to the UNFCCC,
developing countries provided information on theirvulnerabilities to climate change for a wide rangeof sectors. The main sectoral adaptation options andresponses highlighted by developing countries toadapt to climate change in these different sectors areprovided in Table V-5. These include both reactive
and anticipatory responses to climate change. Reactive
responses are those which are implemented as a
response to an already observed climate impact whereas
anticipatory responses are those that aim to reduce
exposure to future risks posed by climate change.
As shown by the national communications, the rangeof practices that can be used to adapt to climate change isdiverse. The effectiveness of a practice tends to depend
on location and socio-economic situation, but that does
not prevent practices from being shared, replicatedand improved. Work on adaptation planning and practices
under the Nairobi work programme has highlighted anumber of adaptation approaches, strategies, practices andtechnologies at the regional, national, and local levels
in different sectors (UNFCCC 2007h). Two examples fromIndonesia as provided by submissions by the ISDR
secretariat and the International Research Institute for
Climate and Society (IRI) highlight: building amonitoring system for food security and livelihood
through Community Based Disaster Risk Management
to prevent food shortage in the eastern part of Nusa
Tenggara; and a fire early response system in Central
Kalimatan to include analysis of links between climate
and fires, identify policy links and develop and test
tools to support fire management.

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Table V-5.

Adaptation measures in key vulnerable sectors highlighted in national communications of developing countries

Vulnerable sectors

Reactive adaptation

Anticipatory adaptation

Water Resources– Protection of groundwater resources– Better use of recycled water– Improved management and maintenance of existing– Conservation of water catchment areas

water supply systems– Protection of water catchment areas– Improved water supply– Improved system of water management– Water policy reform including pricing and irrigation
policies– Groundwater and rainwater harvesting and desalination– Development of flood controls and drought

Agriculture and food

– Erosion control– Development of tolerant/resistant crops (to drought,

security– Dam construction for irrigation

monitoring
salt, insect/pests)– Changes in fertilizer use and application– Research and development– Introduction of new crops– Soil-water management– Soil fertility maintenance– Diversification and intensification of food and– Changes in planting and harvesting times

plantation crops– Switch to different cultivars– Policy measures, tax incentives/subsidies, free market– Educational and outreach programmes on– Development of early warning systems

conservation and management of soil and water
Human health– Public health management reform– Development of early warning system– Improved housing and living conditions– Better and/or improved disease/vector surveillance– Improved emergency response

and monitoring– Improvement of environmental quality– Changes in urban and housing design

Terrestrial ecosystems– Improvement of management systems including
control of deforestation, reforestation and afforestation– Promoting agroforestry to improve forest goods andservices– Development/improvement of national forest fire
management plans– Improvement of carbon storage in forests– Creation of parks/reserves, protected areas andbiodiversity corridors– Identification/development of species resistant toclimate change– Better assessment of the vulnerability of ecosystems– Monitoring of species– Development and maintenance of seed banks– Including socioeconomic factors in management
policyCoastal zones and marine– Protection of economic infrastructure– Integrated coastal zone management

ecosystems– Public awareness to enhance protection of coastal– Better coastal planning and zoning

and marine ecosystems– Building sea walls and beach reinforcement– Protection and conservation of coral reefs,– Development of legislation for coastal protection– Research and monitoring of coasts and coastal
ecosystems

mangroves, sea grass and littoral vegetation
Source: National communications of non-Annex I Parties 24 and UNFCCC Sixth compilation and synthesis of initial national communications from Parties not included in Annex I to theConvention. Note by the secretariat. Addendum 5. Climate change impacts, adaptation measures and response strategies 25

21<http://unfccc.int/2674.php><http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation><http://unfccc.int/3633.php>
24<http://unfccc.int/2979.php>
25<http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2005/sbi/eng/18a05.pdf>
22
23

31

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Planning for climate change must involve considerationof climate related risks including those which have a slow
onset, such as changes in temperature and precipitation
leading to agricultural losses and drought and biodiversity
losses, and those which happen more suddenly such as
tropical storms and floods. It is now recognized that climaterelated risks are already happening and past and current
experiences in dealing with climate variability and extreme
events provide valuable information for reducing
vulnerability and enhancing resilience to future climaterelated adverse impacts. The disaster risk reduction
community already has a strong body of experience indealing with climate-related risks. The global disastermanagement community, as well as sectoral communities,
are increasingly focusing their efforts on building
resilience into investments and development. Where
necessary risk reduction needs to be built into adaptationplans to help plan for and cope with future climate
variability and extreme events. Work under the Nairobi
work programme in this area has already started(UNFCCC 2007m).

activities, such as the export of a climate-sensitive crop.
For example coffee in Uganda, a vital source of income
for the country, will suffer drastic reduction in suitable
growing areas under climate change (UNFCCC 2007b).
Economic diversification is being discussed within
the context of UNFCCC negotiations (see document FCCC/
SBI/2007/15, UNFCCC 2007i), and through the Nairobi
Work Programme (UNFCCC 2007l).

For all regions, as highlighted at the workshops, there isa need to enhance technical capacity to assess, planand integrate adaptation needs into sectoral development
plans; and to support integration of adaptation into
sectoral policy, particularly in the areas of water, agriculture,
coastal zones and managing natural ecosystems.
Needs-based regional technology transfer is an importantarea in helping countries to adapt (UNFCCC 2007g).
Technology transfer can include “hard” forms of technology,
such as new irrigation systems or drought-resistant seeds,
or “soft” technologies, such as insurance schemes or crop
rotation patterns; or they can involve a combination of
hard and soft, as with early warning systems that combine
hard measuring devices with soft knowledge and skills
that can raise awareness and stimulate appropriate action.
Submissions to the UNFCCC secretariat by Parties andrelevant organizations through the Nairobi Work Programme
reported a number of technologies for adaptation (UNFCCC
2007k) including hard technologies such as sea walls in
Male Island, in the Maldives; soft technologies such as lowcost irrigation, embankment cropping, floating gardens
and integrated farming systems in Bangladesh. Mexico alsocommends combining soft and hard technologies in thedevelopment of risk atlases and early warning systems,
which have resulted in greater attention and resource
allocation to risk prevention.

Priority adaptation projects identified by NAPAs include:• improved forecasting for farming, extreme events anddisaster management;• improved water management for drinking andagriculture through understanding water flows andwater quality, improved rainwater harvesting andwater storage and diversification of irrigation techniques;• improved food security through crop diversification,
developing and introducing drought, flood and salinetolerant crops, improving livestock and fisheries
breeding and farming techniques, developing local foodbanks for people and livestock, and improving local
food preservation;• better land and land use management through erosion
control and soil conservation measures, agroforestry
and forestry techniques, forest fire management andfinding alternative energy sources to wood andcharcoal, as well as better town planning;• coastal zone management including coral monitoring
and restoration and improving coastal defences
through afforestation, reforestation, set-back areasand vegetation buffers;• improved health care through flood shelters andassistance shelters as part of community emergency
preparedness programmes, better health education,better access to primary health care such as distributionof treated mosquito nets and better malaria surveillance
programmes and habitat clearance;• capacity-building to integrate climate change into
sectoral development plans, involving local communities
in adaptation activities, raising public awareness andAnother important adaptation strategy is economic
diversification within sectors to reduce dependence on
climate-sensitive resources, particularly for countries
that rely on narrow ranges of climate-sensitive economic

32

A significant move by the UNFCCC process was to enable
least developed countries to identify their immediatepriorities for adaptation options via the National Adaptation
Programmes of Action26 which identify their urgent andimmediate adaptation needs – those for which further
delay could increase vulnerability or lead to increased costs
at a later stage. Over 40 least developed countries havereceived funding under the Convention to prepare their
NAPAs which draw on existing information andcommunity-level input to prioritize adaptation plans. Many
countries have already submitted their NAPAs to the
UNFCCC secretariat.27

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education on climate change, and enabling representation
at international meetings;• and promotion of sustainable tourism.
Given the good experiences so far with NAPA preparation,
it was suggested at the workshops and meeting to extend
NAPAs to more developing countries in order to help them
identify their priority needs and plans for adaptation.
As well as projects planned via the NAPA process, a numberof other adaptation projects have also been planned, andsome implemented, by and in developing countries at anumber of levels. Adaptation projects have been fundedby the UNFCCC process through the Global Environment
Facility (GEF), via governments, and from national andinternational bilateral and multilateral agencies andorganizations.
Bilaterally funded projects are already providing capacitybuilding for adaptation. At the workshops and expert
meeting, several of these projects were highlighted. These
include work by developing country governments, bilateraland multilateral agencies to assess local vulnerability
and adaptation as well as, in some cases, integrate workon adaptation into development and policy planning.
In the Africa workshop, a representative from the Foodand Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that FAO has
produced CD ROMs on tools and models relevant toadaptation in the agriculture sector, and has also madethis information available on the Internet.28 In addition,
FAO conducts training workshops to build related capacity.
The background paper to the workshop (UNFCCC 2006c)
reports on a number of capacity-building projects including
a series of GEF funded projects to assist African
communities to assess risks and options to adopt to drought,
coastal flooding and health risks, such as Coping withDrought and Climate Change (in Mozambique, Zimbabwe
and Ethiopia) and Adaptation to Climate and Coastal
Change in West Africa (ACCC) (in Senegal, Cape Verde,
Guinea Bissau, Gambia and Mauritania).
Mentioned in the Asia workshop was a study by the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and theInternational Centre for Integrated Mountain Developmentin the Himalayan region, which aims to establish an
inventory of glacial lakes, a monitoring and early warning
system and adaptation measures for this region.
Mongolia mentioned its National Action Programme on
climate change, which includes evaluating concreteand practical adaptations that could possibly decrease thelivestock sector’s vulnerability to climate change. The Asia

background paper (UNFCCC 2007b) highlights a number ofcapacity-building projects funded by the GEF and othersources including the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change
Research; Practical Action; SouthSouthNorth and theNetherlands, Canadian and UK governments. For example,
a project by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change
Research is helping to build adaptive capacity in southeast
Asia by contributing to building better theories andmodels of resilience and adaptive capacity and develop
improved awareness among decision makers in business,government and resource management agencies (Cambodia,
China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia,
Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam).
In Latin America the Capacity-Building Project forStage II adaptation to climate change in Central America,
Mexico and Cuba plans to help prepare adaptationplans and strategies in participating countries. Capacitybuilding and training for model development to help
understand climate change has been provided by the UK
Hadley Centre’s PRECIS initiative which was highlighted
by participants. Another initiative started by Brazil involves
training on the regional model ETA developed by theCentro de Previsao de Tempo e Estudos Climaticos. An
important issue in Latin America is that of glacial meltin the Andes, a project currently being funded by GEF will
design and implement adaptation measures to address
glacial melt in the central Andes, Bolivia, Ecuador andPeru (UNFCCC 2006b).
At the SIDS meeting, a representative of the Caribbean
Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) gave
two examples of projects dealing with adaptation. The
Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change project
carries out vulnerability assessments for communities
at risk, exploring their history and possible climatechange impacts in order to design adaptation options
with the aim of influencing adaptation policy.
Assessments are being undertaken in the tourism sector
in Barbados and in the agriculture sector in Guyana,and may also be undertaken in Jamaica and Belize in thewater resources sector. The Special Pilot on Adaptation
to Climate Change supported by the GEF, 2007 – 2011, isbeing undertaken in three SIDS (Dominica, St. Lucia,
and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) to implement specificpilot adaptation measures addressing the impacts ofclimate change on biodiversity and land degradation. A
representative from the Pacific Regional Environment

26
27
28

<http://unfccc.int/2719.php>
As of 1 September 2007, 21 countries had submitted their NAPAs to the UNFCCC<http://www.fao.org/nr/climpag>

33

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AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESProgramme (SPREP) mentioned the Pacific Islands
Framework for Action on Climate Change 2006 – 2015
endorsed by leaders. This establishes sets of priorities
for action on climate change in the region and involves
local, national, regional and international levels.
Adaptation is focused on: multi-stakeholder engagement,risk management, no regrets, and improving safe secure
livelihoods; with a particular focus on the most vulnerable
areas and on integration into national strategies. Kiribati
is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries, spreadover 33 low-lying atolls in the central and western Pacificregion. The Kiribati adaptation programme, funded
by GEF, is providing vulnerable communities with theinformation and means to enhance adaptive capacity,
including improved management, conservation, restorationand sustainable use of biodiversity, improved protection
and management of mangroves and coral reefs, andintegrating adaptation into government economic planning.
Representatives at the workshops and meeting also
highlighted global and inter-regional capacity-building
projects. These include a WHO/UNDP/GEF pilot projecton adaptation policies and programmes for developing
countries to design and implement measures to protect
health29 (Barbados, Fiji, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Bhutan, Kenya,
China) and the Community-based Adaptation (CBA)
Programme, which is funded by GEF and provides capacitybuilding for adaptation planning through community
level consultations in a number of countries (Bangladesh,
Bolivia, Niger, Samoa, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kazakhstan,
Morocco, Namibia, Viet Nam). The Assessments of Impacts
and Adaptations to Climate Change (AIACC) global
initiative is implemented by the United Nations Environment
Programme and executed jointly by the global change
SysTem for Analysis, Research and Training (START) andthe Third World Academy of Sciences, and funded by
the GEF.30 This project involving 46 developing countries
aims to advance scientific understanding of climatechange vulnerabilities and adaptation options in developing
countries and has carried out regional assessments in
Africa, Asia, Latin America and SIDS, identifying nine key
messages for adaptation: adapt now, create conditions toenable adaptation, integrate adaptation with development,
increase awareness and knowledge, strengthen institutions,protect natural resources, provide financial assistance,
involve those at risk, and use place specific strategies(AIACC 2007).
Also given at the workshops and meeting were specificexamples of adaptation projects that go beyond capacitybuilding to implement actual adaptation activities on
the ground. These include a number of community-based
adaptation plans and projects. These bottom-up initiatives

34

include community-based water harvesting or allocation
systems, supplying mosquito nets, and community-based
disaster risk reduction. Participants noted that, from acountry perspective, community based approaches provide
the most effective capacity-building for practicaladaptation actions through implementation and a ‘learningby doing’ process. Community-based adaptation is an
important tool for developing adaptation options and it
is important to share the knowledge gained from theseexperiences. The community based adaptation exchange(CBA-X)31 run by the Eldis Programme, UK, in collaboration
with the International Institute for Environment andDevelopment is a shared resource supporting the exchangeof up-to-date and relevant information about communitybased climate adaptation.
Further specific adaptation examples from the Africa
workshop include that reported by Benin on soft technology
adaptation techniques where seedling transplantation
is being used to adapt to floods: before the rainy season,
fields are prepared and, in cases of predicted flooding,seedlings are transplanted to the nursery. In Tanzania
increased drought has forced farmers to avoid the risk ofplanting a single crop and they now plant a number ofcrop varieties and species on the same land. The Sustainable
Land Use and Forestry/USAID programs in Africa(UNFCCC 2006c) help mitigate climate change by absorbing
and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,
promoting biodiversity conservation and improving forest
management, and sustainable agriculture.
At the Asia workshop, a representative from the Philippines
reported on the national Community Based Flood Early
Warning System which aims at helping local communities
prevent losses from increasing floods. Policy measures
employed include coordination with the local government,
organizing training, sharing information, monitoringrain and water levels, mapping and providing legislative
support to local communities. The lessons learned fromthe CBFEWS that can be replicated for many communitybased adaptation activities include the importance of
involving grassroots organizations, transferring decisionmaking power to local communities; and combining
advanced technologies with indigenous knowledge.
The project also identified needs in relation to scientific,
technological and policy aspects, including improved
climate and water modelling of climate change impacts
on the water cycle, environmental impact assessments
and flood management; better communication between
the scientific community and various stakeholders, andenhanced regional collaboration using a common flood
management protocol.

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AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESIn Latin America, examples of adaption activities include a
GEF funded project in Ecuador which collaborates with the
Waorani and Timpoca communities to create a sustainable
management plan of raising palms and frogs to earn
income. In Brazil, SouthSouthNorth have a number ofadaptation projects which are helping agricultural
productivity, reforestation and recovery of degraded land.
In SIDS, adaptation has mostly been taking place throughindividual, ad-hoc actions on a local scale. For example,
placing concrete blocks on the top of zinc roofs to preventthe roofs from being blown away during hurricanes has
become common practice in Jamaica since Hurricane Ivan.
In Vanuatu, SPREP, with funding from the Canadiangovernment, has moved 100 villagers living in the Lateu
settlement to higher ground 600 m from the coast and
15 m above current sea level (UNFCCC 2007a).
A recent analysis of completed, ongoing or planned
adaptation projects that have adaptation as a statedobjective, and for which information is publicly available,
was undertaken by the UNFCCC secretariat. This list is
relatively short, only about 180 identified projects havebeen identified so far.
Despite all positive efforts in the assessment of vulnerability
and adaptation, the movement from adaptationassessment and planning to implementation is not welldeveloped. At the regional workshops and expert
meeting on adaptation, it was pointed out that, whereas
a number of countries have well-developed adaptationplans or are in the process of finalising them, many moreresources are needed for implementation. The Andean
Community of Nations, for example, developed anadaptation plan in 2004, but no concrete actions havebeen taken so far towards its implementation (UNFCCC
2006d). A lot of projects being implemented at the
moment deal with capacity-building for adaptation. The
lessons learnt from these need to be communicatedat every level. The national communications and NAPAs
highlight a large number of priority adaptation
options. It is important now to enable and fund theimplementation of these plans and projects.

5.2

LOCAL COPING STRATEGIES

There is a large body of knowledge and experience within
local communities on coping with climatic variability andextreme weather events. Local communities havealways aimed to adapt to variations in their climate. To doso, they have made preparations based on their resources

and their knowledge accumulated through experience of
past weather patterns. This includes times when they
have also been forced to react to and recover from extreme
events, such as floods, drought and hurricanes.
Local coping strategies are an important element of planning
for adaptation. Climate change is leading communities
to experience climatic extremes more frequently, as well
as new climate conditions and extremes. Traditional
knowledge can help to provide efficient, appropriate andtime-tested ways of advising and enabling adaptation
to climate change in communities who are feeling theeffects of climate changes due to global warming. Several
examples of local coping strategies are mentioned in
the background papers to the workshops (UNFCCC 2006b,
2006c, 2007a, 2007b).
In Africa rural farmers have been practicing a rangeof agricultural techniques as coping strategies and tactics
to enable sustainable food production and deal withextreme events. These include intercropping and crop
diversification; use of home gardens, diversification of herds
and incomes, such as the introduction of sheep in placeof goats in the Bara province in Western Sudan, pruning
and fertilizing to double tree densities and prevent soil
erosion in semi-arid areas, e.g. Senegal, Burkina Faso,
Madagascar and Zimbabwe; manipulation of land use
leading to land use conversion, e.g. a shift from livestock
farming to game farming in Southern Africa; water
conservation techniques to cope with arid conditions suchas the Zaï technique in Burkina Faso: farmers dig pits
in the soil to collect organic material carried by the windduring the dry season, at the start of the rainy season
farmers add organic matter from animals which attracts
termite activity resulting in termite tunnels that can collectrain deep enough that it doesn’t evaporate, and thusincreasing soil fertility. In many locations tribal andindividual movements and migration are also identified
as adaptation options.
In Asia, farmers have traditionally observed a numberof practices to adapt to climate variability, for example
intercropping, mixed cropping, agro-forestry, animalhusbandry, and developing new seed varieties to copewith local climate. Various water use and conservation
strategies include terracing, surface water and groundwater
irrigation; and diversification in agriculture to deal withdrought. Structural and non-structural measures are used

29
30
31

<http://www.who.int/globalchange/climate/gefsummary.pdf><http://www.aiaccproject.org/aiacc.html><http://www.cba-exchange.org>

35

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AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

to deal with flood and coastal inundation. For example,
in the Philippines, after Typhoon Sisang in 1987, which
completely destroyed over 200,000 homes, the Department
of Social Welfare and Development decided to instigate
a programme of providing typhoon-resistant housing
designed to withstand wind speeds of 180 km/h for thoseliving in the most typhoon prone areas. In Bangladesh,the Cyclone Preparedness Program has been set up over 11
coastal area districts by the Bangladesh Red CrescentSociety, and is partly funded by the government. Volunteers
have been trained to help in cyclone warning, evacuation,
rescue, first aid emergency relief and the use of radio
communication equipment.
In Latin America, local coping strategies include a variety
of agricultural practices, ecosystem protection andmethods to adapt to extreme events. Farmers in Peru havebeen using an ancient irrigation and drainage system“waru waru”, or raised field agriculture, which makes it
possible to bring into production the low-lying, floodprone, poorly drained lands found all over the Altiplano.
The shallow canals provide moisture during droughts
and drainage during the rainy season. When filled withwater they also create a microclimate that acts as abuffer against night time frosts. The waru waru systemprovides farmers with greater harvest security andreduces the risks associated with frosts and drought. In
Mexico, the Cajete Terrace agroecosystems have beenin place for three thousand years in hillside regions in
Tlaxcala. In these rainfed Corn–Bean–Squash agroecosystems,
food is grown on steep erosion-prone slopes. Rainfall isconcentrated between May and September and often occurs
in sudden downpours. Sloping terraces feed excess water
into tanks (cajetes). The water, which would otherwise not
be absorbed into the soil, is collected inside the cajetes
and slowly percolates into the surrounding soils after therain has ended. Eroded soils are also trapped inside thecajetes, preventing soil loss down the slope. Nutrient richsoils inside of the cajetes are later gathered and distributed
into the fields. The Aymaran indigenous people ofBolivia have been coping with droughts through theconstruction of small dams “qhuthañas”. These dams collectand store rainwater from 50 to 10,000 cubic meters.
In El Salvador communities employ a number of soil
conservation measures to cope with recurrent droughts,
for example building barriers consisting of stone and pinesuckers, which provide edible fruits and additional
income. In Costa Rica and Ecuador local communities
have improved their housing design to better cope withfloods and droughts. Houses are either elevated or have areinforced concrete strip as a foundation so that the bamboo
walls do not touch the ground and are protectedfrom fungal deterioration. These houses are cost-efficientand last longer than regular houses.

36

In SIDS, coping strategies include agricultural techniques,coral reef protection and coping with climate extremes.
For example, on Timor Island farmers have developed theirown varieties of major staple crops to adapt to erratic
rainfall and cyclones and to ensure food security. Practices
for coping with coastal erosion include community
relocation. For example at Playa Rosaria, Havana Province,
Cuba, the community has been relocated five kilometresinland because of coastal erosion. Other less disruptive
activities such as reconstructing groynes, building sand dune
fences, and planting trees along the coast can also
reduce the impact of coastal erosion on communities.
The UNFCCC database on local coping strategies is atool that enables sharing of information to help
community based adaptation. It provides a collection of
long-standing coping strategies, mechanisms, knowledge
and experience from communities in developing
countries that have had to adapt to specific hazards or
climatic conditions. This database is available on theinternet <http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation>and can be searched by climate hazard, impact or coping
strategy. This knowledge can be used by communities
that may just be starting to experience such conditions
as a result of climate change. For example, searching for
information on the climate hazard drought, provides alist of corresponding adaptation actions and associated casestudies. Accessing adaptation action on Integrated
agriculture-aquaculture will provide a case study on ricefish farming on West Java. Clicking on the link provides
a short summary on the coping practice, details on resource
requirements, non-climate benefits and potential
maladaptation, as well as contact information and links
to relevant files and web sites.

5.3

FUNDING FOR ADAPTATION

Funding is vital in order for developing countries to plan
for and implement adaptation plans and projects. A
basic conclusion of the Stern Review is that the costs ofstrong and urgent action on climate change will beless than the costs thereby avoided of the impacts of climatechange under business as usual (Stern 2006). All countries,
rich and poor, need to adapt to climate change, andthis will be costly. Developing countries, already the hardest
hit by climate change, have little capacity (both interms of human capacity and financial resources) to adapt.
Financial ways and means must be found to enable
developing countries to enhance their efforts to adapt.
At the workshops and meeting the lack of funding available
for adaptation was highlighted as a large impediment toimplementing adaptation plans. Accessing the funds which

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are available at present was identified as complex andlengthy. Even if this process were to be streamlined, a lot
more funding would still be required for adaptation.
New international financial mechanisms to provide asustained and sufficient response to adaptation are needed.
At the workshops and meeting, participants emphasised theneed for sustained financing for adaptation. Without
sustained funding, adaptation runs the risk of not being
effectively addressed, and largely limited to “reactive”
funding, such as short-term emergency relief. This would
be unsupportive of sustainable development and ultimately
prove to be very costly. Funding is required for all
developing countries to develop national adaptation
strategies or action plans. These plans should exist at alllevels: local, provincial and national.
Article 4 of the Convention highlights that developed
country Parties shall provide financial resources to assist
developing country Parties adapt to climate change. To
facilitate this, the Convention assigned to the GEF theresponsibility of operating its financial mechanism.32 The
GEF enables a transfer of financial resources fromdeveloped to developing countries by establishing
operational programmes, providing programming
documents and allocating resources. Based on guidancefrom the UNFCCC, the GEF operates three funds.33 These
are the GEF Trust Fund; the Least Developed Countries
Fund (LDCF) and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF).
Further funding opportunities currently available fordeveloping countries to fund adaptation projects include:
the future Adaptation Fund under the Kyoto Protocol,
funds from other multilateral environmental agreements(MEAs), and bilateral and multilateral funding fromgovernments, national and international organizations
and agencies.
The GEF Trust Fund and its Strategic Priority on
Adaptation (SPA) support enabling activities and pilot anddemonstration projects that address adaptation andat the same time generate global environmental benefits.
COP guidance on GEF support for adaptation identified
three stages. Stage I provided support for the national
communications process, a portion of which is thevulnerability and adaptation assessment. Stage II provides
further assistance for other capacity-building efforts foradaptation. Stage III refers to support for actual adaptation
activities, including insurance. In 2001, the GEF establishedthe Strategic Priority on Adaptation (SPA). The GEF has
allocated USD 50 million under SPA of which USD 5 million
has been devoted to piloting community adaptation
initiatives through the Small Grants Programme (SGP). For
example, the Special Program on Adaptation to Climate

Change in coastal areas aims to support participating
countries (Dominica, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the
Grenadines) in implementing pilot adaptation measures,
where climate change mainstreaming activities havealready occurred. Activities will specifically address theimpacts of climate change on biodiversity and landdegradation at the coast. The Community based adaptation
programme is aimed at developing a framework thatspans all levels from local to intergovernmental to respondto unique community-based adaptation needs; identify
and finance diverse community-based adaptation projects
in a number of selected countries (Bangladesh, Bolivia,
Niger, Samoa, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Morocco,
Namibia, Viet Nam); and disseminate lessons learned at thecommunity level to all stakeholders, including governments.
The Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) is partly designed
to finance adaptation activities that increase resilienceto the impacts of climate change, through a focus onadaptation responses particularly in water resources, land,
agriculture, health, infrastructure development, disaster
preparedness, and in fragile ecosystems and coastal zones.
Funding will be available for establishing pilot ordemonstration projects to show how adaptation planningand assessment can be practically translated into projects
that will provide real benefits, and may be integrated
into national policy and sustainable development planning,on the basis of information provided in the national
communications, or of in-depth national studies, including
NAPAs. For example, an SCCF project in Tanzania is aimed
at incorporating Climate Change into integrated Water
Resources Management in the Pangani River Basin; and in
Ecuador an SCCF project is enabling adaptation to climatechange through effective water governance.
The Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) was
partly established to support projects addressing urgent
and immediate adaptation needs in the least developed
countries as identified by their National Adaptation
Programmes of Action (NAPAs). The LDCF supports alearning-by-doing approach to adaptation. Projects
proposed in the NAPAs which are being considered for
LDCF funding include a coastal afforestation community
based adaptation project in Bangladesh; a project tointegrate climate change risks into community-based
livestock management in the northwest lowlands of Eritrea;
and a project to reduce climate change-induced risks
and vulnerabilities from glacial lake outburst floods in
the Punakha-Wangdi and Chamkhar Valleys in Bhutan.

32
33<http://www.thegef.org><http://www.gefweb.org/projects/focal_areas/climate/documents/
GEF_Support_for_Adaptation_to_Climate_Change.pdf>

37

UN FCCC

CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESAt the workshops and expert meeting developing country
representatives expressed their concern with thecomplexity of current arrangements for accessing funds
from the GEF. It was highlighted that procedures foraccessing existing financial resources for adaptation remaincomplex and lengthy. Participants at the UNFCCC
workshops and meeting emphasised the need for capacitybuilding and information on the financial mechanisms
available to improve access to funding and to facilitate
project preparation. Improving the access of developing
countries to financial resources, including throughstreamlining guidelines for application and by assisting
countries in the preparation of project proposals wasthought important at all workshops and meeting.
Within the context of the UNFCCC, the international carbon
market has emerged as a result of the Clean Development
Mechanism established under the Kyoto Protocol. The Clean
Development Mechanism allows industrialized countries tohelp generate funding for adaptation in developing countries
in the context of sustainable development while providingthem a cost-effective means of offsetting their greenhousegas emissions. The mechanism enables approved emissionreducing projects in developing countries to earn certified
emission reduction units, each equivalent to one tonne ofcarbon dioxide, which the project participants in thedeveloping country can then sell to buyers in industrializedcountries. These sustainable development projects range
from wind farms to hydroelectric power stations and also
include energy efficiency projects.
The Adaptation Fund under the Kyoto Protocol is intended
to fund concrete adaptation projects and programmes
in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable tothe adverse effects of climate change. The source of thisfunding is intended to be from a 2 per cent levy on proceedsfrom Clean Development Mechanism projects (excluding
those undertaken in least developed countries), as well
as from other voluntary sources. The Adaptation Fund is
yet to be operationalized. The actual amount of moneythat will be available from this fund is uncertain as it
depends on the extent of use of the Clean Development
Mechanism and on the price of carbon. The World Bank
estimates that the Adaptation Fund is likely to total USD
100 – 500 million by 2012.
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) whose
areas of work could be synergetic with adaptation may
also provide further funding for adaptation. These MEAs
include the Convention on Biological Diversity, UN
Convention to Combat Desertification and the Ramsar
Convention on Wetlands. For example, the Central
African Regional Program for the Environment fundedby USAID aims to help mitigate climate change by

38

absorbing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,
promoting biodiversity conservation and improving forest
management, and sustainable agriculture, and help reducethe vulnerability of ecosystems.
Bilateral and Multilateral Funding includes funding ofadaptation projects directly via inter-governmentalorganizations, national and local governments, institutions
and non-governmental organizations. Examples include
many community-based projects by non-governmentalorganizations aimed at improving agricultural practices,
water resource supply and use, primary health care andenergy supply in developing countries.
In 2007 the UNFCCC secretariat launched a project toreview and analyze investment and financial flows relevantto the development of an effective and appropriate
international response to climate change, with particularfocus on developing country's needs, including theirmedium-to long-term requirements for investment andfinance.34 As part of this project, the secretariat assessed
the investment flows needed in 2030 that will benecessary to meet adaptation requirements in several
sectors. The global cost of adaptation to climate change
is difficult to estimate as climate change adaptation
measures will be widespread and heterogeneous. However,for all of the sectors examined, there is a substantial deficit
in current investment and financial flows.
In 2030 the adaptation funds required were estimated at:
USD 14 million for agriculture, forestry and fisheries;
USD 11 billion for water resources; USD 5 billion for humanhealth; USD 11 billion for coastal zones; and USD 8 –130
billion for infrastructure. In summary, the UNFCCC
secretariat estimated that the investment and financial
flows needed for adaptation are likely to be tens ofbillions of dollars per year several decades from now andcould be more than USD 100 billion per year. Other
studies (World Bank 2006b, Oxfam 2007) also estimate
adaptation costs at tens of billions of dollars per year.
The funds that are currently available under the Convention
and the Kyoto Protocol are small compared to the magnitudeof the needs identified by the UNFCCC. The financial
resources available for adaptation in the funds currently
operated by the GEF (Trust Fund, LDCF and SCCF)
amounted to about USD 275 million as of August 2007.
The Adaptation Fund could receive USD 80 – 300 million
per year for the period 2008 – 2012. Assuming a share ofproceeds for adaptation of 2 per cent continues to apply post
2012, the level of funding could be: USD 100 – 500 million
per year for a low demand for the CDM; and USD 1– 5 billion
per year for a high demand. However, there is still a deficit
in funding that needs to be filled.

UN FCCC

CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

5.4

INSURANCE

Climate change is a catalyst for rising costs for humanhealth, the global economy and the Earth’s life support
system. Disaster losses could reach over USD 1 trillion
in a single year by 2040. Climate change presents challenges
and even opportunities for the finance sector. Businesses
will be affected by climate change and by policies to address
it. From the perspective of sustainable development,
insurance measures can be beneficial for many developing
countries by transferring risk from climate change.
At the workshops and expert meeting, one part of thefinance sector, that of insurance, emerged as a highpriority for developing countries in adapting to climatechange. The SIDS expert meeting focussed particularly
on insurance options.
According to the Convention (Article 4.8), insurancerelated actions constitute one of the three main meansof response to the adverse effects of climate change,alongside funding and technology transfer. They canenhance financial resilience to external shocks and provide
a unique opportunity to spread and transfer risk. They
may provide incentives for risk reduction and prevention
while engaging the private sector in climate change
response action.
One of the benefits of promoting insurance-related
actions is that it may help advance efforts on quantifying
risks and potential losses due to climate change.
Minimizing risk can result in a reduction of the rates for
insurance, which thereby become more affordable.

Rates could also reflect mitigation measures, such as
implementation of hazard plans, forecasting and warning
systems, undertaken by a community, individuals,
governments, and other stakeholders.
As a result of climate change, there are both major
challenges and opportunities for the insurance industry.
The financial sector is already incurring additionalcosts from adverse climatic conditions, for example
economic losses from extreme events are scaling newrecords (Figure V-2). The Insurance Working Groupof the UNEP Finance Initiative35 (UNEP FI) is a strategic
and successful public-private partnership between
UNEP and 16 leaders of the global financial sector. UNEP
FI believe that the critical questions are “How caninsurance assist developing countries grow moresustainably?” and “What are the principles for sustainable
insurance?”. Their recent report explores the growing
area of sustainable insurance (UNEP FI 2007).
Currently, the insurance market is very limited indeveloping countries, although it is a vital instrument forthese countries, particularly for coastal communities
and sectors such as tourism. Current limitations are, inpart, due to limited economic assets and limited private
sector interest in insurance. In SIDS this is compoundedby their geographical size, relative isolation, and highrisk of extreme weather events.

34
35<http://unfccc.int/4053.php>, <http://unfccc.int/files/cooperation_and_support/financial_mechanism/financial_mechanism_gef/application/pdf/dialogue_working_paper_8.pdf><http://www.unepfi.org>

Economic losses from great weather disasters 1950 – 2006, overall and insured losses

Figure V-2.

200

Overall losses (2006 values)

180

Trend overall losses

160

Insured losses (2006 values)

140

Trend insured losses

120
100
80
60
40
20
USD Billion

0
1950

1955

1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

Source: © NatCatSERVICE, Geo RiskResearch, Munich Re <http://www.munichre.com/app_resources/pdf/ts/geo_risks/natcatservice/long-term_statistics_since_1950/MRNatCatSERVICE_19502006_Great_weather_disasters_Overall_insured_losses_en.pdf> [Last accessed 10 October 2007]39

UN FCCC

CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESParticipants at the workshops and SIDS expert meeting
highlighted the need for the implementation of insurance
schemes and finance services for risk sharing at different
levels. Possible cost-effective insurance initiatives arehighlighted in (Box V-3). A well-coordinated dialogue
between the private sector and representatives from Parties
would assess cooperative actions that could be carriedout to increase the insurance coverage of populations
affected by climate change. The banking sector mustalso be involved in the work relating to climate change
insurance and mainstreaming adaptation, on the basisthat many loans could be at risk because of the absenceof climate-proofing in projects.
In response to the growing realization that insurance
solutions can play a role in adaptation, as suggested in the
UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, the Munich Climate
Insurance Initiative was initiated by Munich Re in April
2005.36 This initiative, formed by insurers, climate change
and adaptation experts, NGOs, and policy researchers
aims to develop insurance-related solutions to climatechange, including identifying and promoting loss reduction
measures, in cooperation with other organizations andinitiatives and conduct pilot projects.
Examples of insurance schemes in developing countries
from which lessons could be learned includes a
microinsurance scheme by the United Insurance Company
Limited Hurricane Mitigation Programme,37 which operates
in 14 Caribbean countries. This Programme aims to reducethe vulnerability of Caribbean property to hurricanes

Box V-3.

The case of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance
Facility (CCRIF) could be extrapolated and localized to thecircumstances of other regions. It uses a portion ofdonor-funded capital reserves to assist in the establishmentof a facility that assists countries in pooling their risk
and reducing insurance costs. The CCRIF uses parametriccover which enables immediate claims payments tothe country because payouts are linked to triggers, suchas wind speed. Insurance premiums are tied to therisk profiles of individual countries. The advantages ofthis scheme include efficient risk transfer mechanisms,
optimal pricing from reinsurance through risk-poolingand economies of scale, and sharing of administrativeand operational costs of the insurance business.
However, as risk profiles increase due to the impacts ofclimate change, premiums will also rise which will
mean that small island States will need to bear the costsof additional risks associated with climate change.

Possible cost-effective insurance initiatives for developing countries to help adaptation to climate change• Innovative risk transfer mechanisms such as multi-state risk
pooling mechanisms;• Regional reinsurance facilities, either through the private market
or from the state, whereby the re-insurer assumes responsibility
for covering a portion of the risk, especially for rare but extreme
event losses;• Catastrophe funds linked to international financial markets –• Micro-finance and micro-insurance;• Public-private partnerships, such as the UNEP FI;• Generation of carbon credits in exchange for support
for insurance;• Weather derivatives which provide payouts in response
to weather triggers rather than in response to demonstrated
losses;that pay out on a trigger condition, such as temperatures over

• An international insurance pool – proposed by the Alliance ofa certain value for a certain length of time, rather than on proof

Small Island States in 1992, it was suggested that paymentsof loss;

into an insurance pool would be a form of compensation linked• National/regional disaster funds supported financially by theinternational community;40

by providing financial incentives for insurance holders
to put preventative measures in place. Microfinancing
is also an option for hedging risk. In Bangladesh themicrofinancing institutions, Proshika and Grameen, with
their long acquaintance with the impacts of disasters on thepoor, have started to promote loans to reduce vulnerability
to climate change. Loans are available for safer housing,diversifying incomes, from agriculture and sharecropping
to more disaster-proof activities and mobile assets, and for
rapid credit to promote fast recovery immediately after adisaster. Loan officers and borrowers are also increasingly
taking a role in community preparedness projects.

to responsibility or liability for the impacts of climate change.

UN FCCC

CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESFor many insurance options, national governments willneed to support local governments through transfer ofresources based on risk assessments by subregion. Publicprivate partnerships with financial institutions, that help
promote preparedness and mitigation and short-term
training programmes for community-based organizations,
could be of great assistance in building capacity at a
local level.
At the SIDS meeting, suggested ways forward include
identifying specific issues and constraints relating toinsurance, and engaging the insurance industry and financeexperts on novel and innovative approaches to address
insurance and relief funding in the context of risks relating
to climate change. This could be done through expert
meetings and/or workshops, perhaps bringing together
actual practitioners and providers of insurance services
with climate change stakeholders to devise appropriate
responses to enhance the role of insurance as an
adaptation tool for SIDS. This will require the involvementof non-SIDS countries to ensure practical risk distribution.
Participants at the workshops and expert meeting suggested
that the UNFCCC process could provide support to help
identify possible insurance options and increase theresilience of countries to climate change. More information
and assessment, including the expansion of early warning
systems and information dissemination systems, andimprovement in forecasting and disaster related decisionmaking would help to evaluate insurance options. The

Box V-4.

Nairobi work programme can also provide a valuable
opportunity for furthering methodological efforts relating
to insurance in the context of climate change adaptation.
The international community could provide support inthe context of insurance in a number of ways (Box V-4).

3637<http://www.climate-insurance.org><http://www.unitedinsure.com/united.cfm?LID=helpful%20info&SID=Hurricane%20Retrofitting>Opportunities for the international community to support insurance-related solutions to climate change indeveloping countries

The international community could contribute to identify actions

Supporting micro insurers: by playing a possible role in supporting

aimed at:and transferring the risks of micro-insurers, for example thoseoffering weather hedges, possibly by acting as reinsurer or assuming

Supporting public private partnership: by transferring (orthe interest payments of catastrophe bonds.

arranging the transfer of) the risks of national or regional publicprivate insurance systems in the capacity of re-insurer or consider

Supporting data collection and analytical capacity-building:

subsidizing the costs of alternative hedging instruments.

by providing support to developing countries in collecting therequisite data and in building analytical capacity as any insurance

Supporting relief and reconstruction: by assisting governments

or insurance-related system requires knowledge of these risks.

in transferring their risks of public infrastructure damage either
through private insurers or directly to the capital markets throughSupporting new risk hedging instruments: by creating national-

alternative risk-transfer instruments.

level market incentives, for example tax reductions to individuals
or institutions for purchasing developing country catastrophe bonds
at lower interest.

41

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5.5

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
AND PRACTICES

Climate change has the potential to undermine sustainable
development, increase poverty, and delay or preventthe realization of the Millennium Development Goals.
An effective way to address the impacts of climate change
is by integrating adaptation measures into sustainable
development strategies so as to reduce the pressure
on natural resources, improve environmental risk
management, and increase the social well-being of thepoor. Climate change can influence humans directly,
through impacts on health and the risk of extreme eventson lives, livelihoods and human settlements, and indirectly,
through impacts on food security and the viability ofnatural resource-based economic activity. The workshops
and meeting discussed the impacts of climate changeon achievement of the Millennium Goals in the different
regions (Table V-6).
Competition for scarce resources, such as fresh water, landor fishing grounds, brought about by changes in climate,
has the added potential to cause conflict over resources
with impacts on the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals, and on human migration. For example,
in Africa increased pressure on resources related tofood and water insecurity can deepen tensions between
communities and ethnic groups resulting in violence
and war (Oxfam 2006, Sachs 2007).
As the incidence and magnitude of events such as droughts,
floods and island inundation increase, there could be largescale demographic responses, such as increased
migration and threats to the sovereignty of some small
island States. The United Nations University Institutefor Environment and Human Security (UNU–EHS) reported
in 2005 that there were at least 20 million “environmental
refugees” worldwide, more than those displaced by war
and political repression combined. UNU–EHS predicts thatby 2010 the number of environmental refugees could
grow to 50 million and, according to further estimates, there
could be as many as 150 million by 2050 (Myers 2005).
Considering that the adverse effects of climate change
pose an additional burden to development goals, integrating
adaptation into sustainable development is necessary,and is already being considered and implemented by somedeveloping countries, although it is still in its earlystages. Sustainable development in the context of climatechange is a particular challenge for SIDS, particularly
as they have been among the first to experience the direct
effects of climate change. The Mauritius Strategy for42

the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action
for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States (Mauritius Strategy) outlines actions for theinternational community to help SIDS in addressing thethreats posed by climate change. This includes actions
for the development, transfer and dissemination of
appropriate technologies and practices to address climatechange; building and enhancing scientific and technologicalcapabilities and enhancing the implementation ofnational, regional and international global atmosphericobserving systems.
In the tourism sector, sustainable practices must be
established, developed or promoted in synergy
with adaptation activities and work to protect biodiversity.
Links and synergy must also be encouraged between
the programmes of work on biodiversity and climate change
under the two Conventions, in particular with regard
to island biodiversity. Although many developing countries
have ratified the Conventions, support is still neededfrom their development partners to ensure effective
implementation of their emerging strategies and plans,
as well as to fully exploit the opportunities that could
be achieved.
At the adaptation workshops and expert meeting, synergy
between the UNFCCC and the other two Rio Conventions,the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the UN
Convention to Combat Desertification, was highlighted
as important for implementing adaptation projects,
sharing data collection and information networking. This
would help integrate the Conventions into national
development programmes, a problem encountered by many
countries at present, and help establish synergies andlinkages among the Conventions.
The Stern Review highlighted that the costs of strong
and urgent action on climate change will be less than thecosts thereby avoided of the impacts of climate change
under business as usual (Stern 2006). All countries, rich andpoor, need to adapt to climate change and this will be
costly. Developing countries, already the hardest hit byclimate change, have little capacity (both in human capacityand financial resources) to adapt. Spending to adapt toclimate change will undermine funding for sustainable
development, putting strong pressure on developing country
budgets and overseas development assistance. It istherefore vital that ways and means are found to enable
developing countries to enhance their efforts to adapt
in the context of sustainable development and sustainable
development must incorporate adaptation plans.

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Table V-6.

Impacts of Climate Change on the Millennium Development Goals

Millennium Development Goal

Potential impacts of climate change

Goal 1– Damage to livelihood assets, including homes, water supply, health, and infrastructure, can undermine

Eradicate extreme poverty andhungerpeoples’ ability to earn a living;– Reduction of crop yields affects food security;– Changes in natural systems and resources, infrastructure and labour productivity may reduce income
opportunities and affect economic growth;– Social tensions over resource use can lead to conflict, destabilising lives and livelihoods and forcing
communities to migrate.

Goal 2– Loss of livelihood assets and natural disasters reduce opportunities for full time education, more children

Achieve universal primary(especially girls) are likely to be taken out of school to help fetch water, earn an income or care for ill family

educationmembers;– Malnourishment and illness reduces school attendance and the ability of children to learn when they are
in class;– Displacement and migration can reduce access to education.

Goal 3
Promote gender equality andempower women– Exacerbation of gender inequality as women depend more on the natural environment for their livelihoods,
including agricultural production. This may lead to increasingly poor health and less time to engage indecision making and earning additional income;– Women and girls are typically the ones to care for the home and fetch water, fodder, firewood, and often
food. During times of climate stress, they must cope with fewer resources and a greater workload;– Female headed households with few assets are particularly affected by climate related disasters.

Goal 4– Deaths and illness due to heat-waves, floods, droughts and hurricanes;

Reduce child mortality– Children and pregnant women are particularly susceptible to vector-borne diseases (e.g. malaria anddengue fever) and water-borne diseases (e.g. cholera and dysentery) which may increase and/or
spread to new areas – e.g. anaemia resulting from malaria is currently responsible for one quarter ofGoal 5
Improve Maternal Healthmaternal mortality;– Reduction in the quality and quantity of drinking water exacerbates malnutrition especially among children;– Natural disasters affect food security leading to increased malnutrition and famine, particularly in sub-SaharanAfrica.

Goal 6– Water stress and warmer conditions encourage disease;

Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and– Households affected by AIDS have lower livelihood assets, and malnutrition accelerates the negative effects

other diseases
Goal 7
Ensure environmental
sustainabilityof the disease.
– Alterations and possible irreversible damage in the quality and productivity of ecosystems and natural
resources;– Decrease in biodiversity and worsening of existing environmental degradation;– Alterations in ecosystem-human interfaces and interactions lead to loss of biodiversity and loss of basic
support systems for the livelihood of many people, particularly in Africa.

Goal 8Develop a global partnership fordevelopment– Climate change is a global issue and a global challenge: responses require global cooperation, especiallyto help developing countries adapt to the adverse effects of climate change;– International relations may be strained by climate impacts.

Source: Source: National communications of non-Annex I Parties and UNFCCC Sixth compilation and synthesis of initial national communications from Parties not included in Annex I to theConvention. Note by the secretariat. Addendum 5. Climate change impacts, adaptation measures and response strategies

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AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESThere is a need to develop integrated, well planned andcoordinated adaptation actions and adaptation projects,
and to improve financial flows into adaptation-related
activities through existing and new international, official
development assistance and private sector mechanisms
thus providing a firm basis for sustainable development.

5.6

ADAPTATION INTEGRATION INTO POLICYAND PLANNING

Incorporating or integrating adaptation to climatechange into planning processes is a necessary strategy forsustainable development over the long term. Climatechange impacts do not happen in isolation; impacts in one
sector can adversely or positively affect another; sectors
can be affected directly and/or indirectly by climate change
and indeed sometimes a change in one sector canoffset the effects of climate change in another sector. In
many developing countries there are difficulties in
integrating adaptation concerns into national policy due
to low staff capacity for planning, monitoring andevaluation; poor data on adaptation options and lack ofmechanisms for information sharing and management
across sectors; and limited awareness of adaptation among
stakeholders and the population. The Africa workshop
identified several further factors that exacerbate theoverall level of vulnerability in this region including
political instability, widespread illiteracy and poverty of
the rural population.
Lack of cooperation among ministries was highlighted asa major barrier to progress on adaptation. In order that
real progress can be made, key governmental departments(such as ministries of finance) need to be involved in thedevelopment of adaptation strategies. In the same way,national and local development planning agencies need to
be informed by the relevant outputs of impact andvulnerability assessments, and environmental and sectoral
institutions need to be strengthened in order to be able
to address the complexities of addressing and coordinating
the implementation of adaptation action. There are anumber of actions that can help facilitate adaptation andintegration of adaptation into policy, including actions
at the local level (e.g. strengthening coping strategies andfeedback to national policies), the national level (e.g.
inter-agency coordination in the water sector and legal
provisions for mainstreaming) and the regional level(e.g. incorporating climate change risks in projects ofregional development agencies and the creation ofintersectoral committees to be engaged in the formulationof adaptation plans). At the international level it was

44

noted that the UNFCCC, other Conventions and otherinternational organizations can play a catalytic role inexchange of experiences, and in facilitating thedevelopment of region-wide and sector-wide approaches.
Policy and development planners require effective tools andframeworks for developing, disseminating and building
capacity for adaptation and integrating it into policy at alllevels (e.g. UNDP 2004). This is a particular priority for
SIDS for whom international relocation is not an option.
In addition to the socio-economic consequences,
relocation would mean an infringement on the sovereigntyof these islands. Participants at the workshops andmeeting highlighted the importance of building on existing
collaboration frameworks such as those of the Congo
Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP), the Forum of Ministers ofEnvironment of Latin America and the Caribbean, theEconomic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean(ECLAC), the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States(OECS), the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre(CCCCC), the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the Secretariatof the Pacific Community (SPC), and the Pacific Regional
Environment Programme (SPREP). Small island
developing States were among the first to start work on
integrating adaptation. Some examples of integrating
adaptation into research, policy and development in SIDS
are given in Box V-5.
As climate change increases the potential for climate relatedrisk, it is also important that risk management and risk
reduction is incorporated into adaptation planning at alllevels, and that climate change is incorporated into
disaster and risk management activities. The ISDR secretariat
has highlighted the necessity for integrating disaster
reduction management into development and adaptation
strategies. The Hyogo framework was adopted at theWorld Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan,
in January 2005, and gives prominence to disaster risk
reduction in the context of climate change. Considerations
include promoting the integration of risk reduction
associated with existing climate variability and futureclimate change into strategies for the reduction of disasterrisk and adaptation to climate change; and mainstreaming
disaster risk reduction measures appropriately intodevelopment assistance programmes, including thoserelating to, inter alia, adaptation to climate change. The
ISDR secretariat is establishing national platforms on
disaster risk reduction where participation of practitioners
in the area of adaptation is highly encouraged.
Meetings of these national platforms will be held annuallyat regional level to exchange information, experiences
and lessons learned.

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A number of examples of integrating adaptation andpolicy planning by institutions and governments
were highlighted at the workshops and meeting. The
Caribbean Development Bank was one of the first to
integrate climate change into its project planning process.
The Inter-American Development Bank40 has a disasterrisk management policy which was developed in the context
of an increase in the number and gravity of natural
hazards resulting in disasters in Latin America. The policy,
which emphasizes risk reduction, is intended to improve
the institutional and policy framework of the bank’s
support to disaster risk management in order to help protect
the socio-economic development of member countries
and improve the effectiveness of the bank’s assistance. The
Asian Development Bank (ADB) is increasingly integrating
adaptation considerations into its strategic planning
processes at the country level and taking measures toreconfigure sector development plans so that they are more
resilient to climate change. More directly, they areorganizing to provide greater support for national climatechange adaptation planning and programming efforts.41
On the other hand, the World Bank found a quarter of its

Box V-5.

portfolio subject to climate risk but only two percent
consider it in the project design documents (World Bank
2006b). The World Bank is now aiming to earmark specificfunds and create new financial instruments for adaptation.
In April 2006 OECD Member Countries adopted the
Declaration on Integrating Climate Change Adaptation
into Development Cooperation.42 They declare that they
will aim to work to better integrate climate change
adaptation in development planning and assistance, bothwithin their own governments and in activities undertakenwith partner countries. In addition they encourageregional initiatives that include common actions on impacts
and vulnerability assessment and adaptation options,in order to promote transboundary initiatives, encourage

38

The advisory body to the integrated agriculture and forestry programme being implemented
by the Land Resources Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.
The Jamaica Observer, online article, posted 25 July 2006.
40<http://www.iadb.org>
41
From the Asian Development Bank submission to the UNFCCC’s Nairobi Work Programme“ADB’s Clean Energy and Environment Program” <http://unfccc.int/files/adaptation/
sbsta_agenda_item_adaptation/application/pdf/adb_ccadaptation.pdf>
42<http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/44/29/36426943.pdf >43<http://www.aiaccproject.org/aiacc.html>
39

Integrating adaption activities into national planning

Some examples of cooperation on adaptation, and its integration

National partnerships: In Jamaica, the Jamaican Red Cross

into research, policy and development in SIDS

is joining forces with the National Meteorological Service, the Officeof Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and the

Research: In July 2006, the University of the West Indies held a

University of the West Indies to disseminate information on climate

conference entitled “Global Change and Caribbean Vulnerability:change impacts and inform those communities that are most at risk.39

Environment, Economy and Society at Risk?” where researchers
took a multi-disciplinary view of climate change in the Caribbean,International Partnerships: Through the UNEP–Grid Arendal

linking changes in climate with other environmental and socio-

Many Strong Voices consortium, SIDS from both the Caribbean

economic changes that are occurring.

and Pacific regions are cooperating with Arctic communities tobuild capacity, enhance awareness, assess needs and implement

Policy: The Climate Change Adaptation Program for the Pacific,

adaptation measures. These regions, although geographicallyfunded by the Asian Development Bank, has produced a set ofand climatically very different, share a high vulnerability to climate

guidelines on mainstreaming adaptation, focusing on its integration

change because of their dependence on the natural resource baseinto disaster risk reduction strategies (ADB 2005).

and geographical and socio-economic isolation. The consortium
focuses on the links between the regions and on encouraging

National and international meetings: In 2006, the Regional
38

education, training and public awareness among their inhabitants

Meeting of the Heads of Agriculture and Forestry structured theirso that they take a more active role in the climate change debate.

discussions around the theme “Managing Change”. Change

It also aims to increase understanding of needs and solutions andwas considered in the context of biodiversity, health and nutrition,

take practical measures on adaptation.

agriculture and forestry commodity trade, atoll agriculture andforestry and climate change and food security.

45

UN FCCC

CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESSouth-South cooperation and avoid duplicated efforts. In
2003, the European Commission produced a communication
entitled “Climate Change in the context of development
co-operation”, in which it proposed an EU action plan aimed
at integrating climate change concerns into EU development
cooperation activities. The World Bank’s progress report on
its investment framework for clean energy and development
asserts that “it is essential that the Bank Group, along withother International Financial Institutions, play a leading rolein ensuring that maximum impact is obtained from
UNFCCC funds by mainstreaming appropriate investment
and appropriate risk in the global development portfolio”(World Bank 2006b).

5.7

CAPACITY-BUILDING, EDUCATION AND TRAINING
AND PUBLIC AWARENESS

Capacity-building at local, national and regional levels
is vital to enable developing countries to adapt to climatechange. It is important for stakeholders and funders
to recognize the role of universities, tertiary centres andcentres of excellence. Enhanced support is needed
for institutional capacity-building, including establishingand strengthening centres of excellence and building
up hydrometeorological networks. Training for stakeholders
in all sectors would help the development of specialized
tools for planning and implementing adaptation activities
and thus promote action by local and national governments.
Participants at the workshops and expert meetingemphasized the need for capacity-building, training andincreased public awareness as well as international
support to build and strengthen environmental and sectoral
institutions so that they can address the complexities
of addressing and coordinating the planning andimplementation of adaptation action. Internationallycoordinated capacity-building and training throughthe Convention and appropriate regional agencies wasrecognized as extremely important for advancing
climate change adaptation in all regions. Support
for institutional strengthening can be enhanced throughmultilateral and bilateral channels. For example,
the Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate
Change project, 2001 – 2006, involved enhancing thescientific and technical capacity among researchers
within developing countries to help understand climatechange adaptation and vulnerability.43

5.7.1

CAPACITY-BUILDINGThe need for capacity-building to assist Parties, especiallydeveloping countries, to respond to climate change
has long been recognized by the UNFCCC. Work in thisarea by the Convention includes the elaboration of
the capacity-building frameworks under decisions 2/CP.744
and 3/CP.745, providing guidance on national
communications and NAPA preparation, and capacitybuilding for adaptation research under the Nairobi
work programme.
Governments, national and international agencies also
provide capacity-building for adaptation. These include
other United Nations organizations, for example the UNEP
funded Caribbean Environment Programme46, represented
at the SIDS meeting, promotes regional cooperation forthe protection and development of the marine environmentof the Wider Caribbean Region. At the Africa workshop,
the World Conservation Union (IUCN) detailed their workon capacity-building for adaptation including theirCommunity-based Risk Screening Tool-Adaptation andLivelihoods (CRISTAL). This tool can reduce impacts ofclimate change on community livelihoods. It was firsttested in an IUCN project in Mali (Inner Delta of the
Niger River) and is to be made widely available after
further tests (e.g. in Tanzania).
Non-governmental agencies and organizations involvedin capacity-building for adaptation include the Red
Cross/Red Crescent Centre of Climate Change and Disaster
Preparedness47 and SouthSouthNorth48 – a network oforganizations, research institutions and consultants
operating in Brazil, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique,Bangladesh and Indonesia whose projects are aimed
at driving the sustainable development agenda and building
capacity for adaptation to climate change at the local level.
Some developing countries have already included
adaptation measures in their national action plans and/or national environmental action plans as a first step
towards implementation of adaptation. For example the
NAPAs of least developed countries have helped build
capacity for adaptation at the local and community levelby building on and enhancing existing coping strategies.
Expanding the NAPA process to other developing
countries has been proposed to help these countries alsobuild capacity for adaptation planning and implementation.
Representatives at the workshops and expert meetings
reported that some legislative changes and recognition by
all government ministries would help facilitate incorporationof climate change adaptation into future policy. It was46

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suggested that intersectoral committees can help in
integrating adaptation into policy. Examples of theseinclude the Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Climate
Change project, which developed climate change
scenarios for the Caribbean and calculated potential losses.
Following on from this project, a comprehensive adaptation
programme is now underway in the Caribbean which
includes the Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change
project bringing together climate change and disastermanagement communities, and the Special Program on
Adaptation to Climate Change.
One of the challenges for capacity-building mentioned at
the workshops is that external support of adaptation
activities, including developing national communications,
are short-term and project-based, often using a single task
approach rather than a long-term programme approach.
This means that expertise is lost between projects, and often
it is difficult to retain experts once they reach a highlevel of expertise. Working groups created under projects,
that show significant potential for providing technicaland scientific support need to realize their potential by
disseminating information better and building up
best practices. For example, the Linking Climate Adaptation(LCA) Network was set up to help communities, policymakers, practitioners and academics share experiences andknowledge about adaptation to climate change.49

5.7.2

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Education and training of stakeholders, including policylevel decision makers, are important catalysts for the
success of assessing vulnerabilities and planning adaptation
activities, as well as implementing adaptation plans.
It is important to communicate both successful andunsuccessful efforts at planning and implementation
to avoid future mistakes. Short policy cycles are a major
challenge in keeping decision makers up to date.
Effective training and capacity-building needs support andfunding, often from external agencies and donors.
Within the UNFCCC, regional teams have helped deliver
training, such as in the case of the Least Developed
Countries Expert Group which provides advice to least
developed countries on the preparation and implementationof national adaptation programmes of action, and theConsultative Group of Experts on National Communications
from Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention
which has conducted hands-on training workshops for the
Africa region, the Asia and the Pacific region, and theLatin America and the Caribbean region (FCCC/SBI/ 2006/
17, UNFCCC 2006g) and for SIDS(FCCC/SBI/2007/17,
UNFCCC 2007j).

Training is also needed for models to be effectively
applied and used for assessments at the national or regional
level. For example the PRECIS initiative helps build
capacity by training on how to use the climate model togenerate high resolution climate change scenarios fordeveloping countries.50
Collaboration between educational, training and research
institutions would help to enable the formal exchangeof experience and lessons learned among different
institutions of the respective regions. Universities, tertiary
centres and research centres have a special role to playin educating and building the capacity of stakeholders in
key sectors, and climate change and adaptation issues
should be integrated into education curricula. For example
the Global Change SysTem for Analysis, Research andTraining (START) fosters regional networks of collaborating
scientists and institutions and provides a wide varietyof training and career development opportunities for young
scientists. The START regional networks in Southeast
Asia, South Asia, East Asia, SIDS and Africa help to mobilize
scientific capacity and resources to address region
specific issues of global change and to assist in creating
working links between science and policy communities.
Effective international collaboration also helps to enabletraining on, and structured dissemination of, internationaland national activities on adaptation with a view toretaining experts working in their region, and promoting
the exchange of information between experts from key
sensitive sectors. It is also important to assess, systematize
and disseminate knowledge about adaptation measurestaken, including indigenous ones. The UNFCCC databaseon local coping strategies is one example of this effort
as well as the workshops organised under the Nairobi
work programme.

43<http://www.aiaccproject.org/aiacc.html><http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/cop7/13a01.pdf#page=5><http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/cop7/13a01.pdf#page=15>
46<http://www.unep.org/regionalseas>47<http://www.climatecentre.org>
48<http://www.southsouthnorth.org>
49<http://www.linkingclimateadaptation.org>
50<http://precis.metoffice.com>
44
45

47

UN FCCC

CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESIt is important to recognise the language needs ofparticular regions. Often, the tools and material available
to experts on adaptation planning and implementation
is mainly in English. For Africa, the availability of technicaldocumentation in French and possibly African languages
needs to be enhanced for experts in the region to fully
participate in the adaptation process. In Latin America,
there is a need for the documentation to be available
in Spanish.

5.7.3

PUBLIC AWARENESS

Participants at the workshops and meeting noted thatawareness on climate change risks and the need foradaptation should be raised among key sectors and mass
media, including by using current events, such as
economic, weather and health crises, as a basis to promote
adaptation measures with co-benefits. Improving
public awareness and developing overall communications
strategies makes climate change science accessible
to the average citizen and can reduce their vulnerability.
Besides awareness-raising at local levels, it is also
important to involve high-level policymakers to ensure
integration of climate change risks into national
development policies. For example, in Cuba, hurricane
and disaster risk reduction is taught in schools andtraining is carried out for the entire population every
year (Cuba 2001). Important public awareness activities
include linking research to policy-making, with an emphasison getting research messages to appropriate target
groups and building credibility of forecasts and improving
their dissemination and use.
A communication strategy is an effective way of elaborating
and communicating between knowledge providers
and stakeholders on climate change risks and adaptationneeds, targeting actors ranging from those at thegrassroots level to national and regional policymakers,
using appropriate language. This communication
strategy could include the preparation of a global awarenesscampaign on climate change, including video messages
in different languages.

48

5.8

COOPERATION AND SYNERGIESGiven that many countries may experience similar effects
from climate change, sharing experience can broaden
knowledge on how to address the adaptation challenges.
In this regard South-South and North-South cooperation
on adaptation is an effective tool for promoting theimplementation of adaptation measures. There is still
considerable scope and opportunity for regional andinternational collaboration.
The workshops and meeting highlighted the needfor all stakeholders including governments, institutions
and the private sector in the North and South to be
fully engaged in adaptation planning and implementation.
Climate change should be integrated into the workof different regional organizations and networks, and inparticular though partnerships of sectors such as
water and agriculture in order to share experiences andlessons learned by communities facing similar problems.
New funding and improved access to funding, including
through existing GEF funds, is needed to effectively
provide technical and financial support and capacitybuilding capabilities.
Existing mechanisms for regional (South-South)
cooperation on vulnerability assessment and adaptation
include forums of ministers, economic commissions,bilateral cooperation initiatives and initiatives to share
information and data. Collaboration between Southern
institutions helps to share experiences and lessons
learned by communities facing similar problems; develop
joint projects; carry out research and development on
downscaling of climate scenarios; and conduct workshops
and training activities.
The regional workshops and expert meeting emphasizeda need to enhance coordination of activities between
different organizations, networks and initiatives to promote
South-South collaboration. Inadequate capacity andresources, including such fundamental problems as poor
communication and transport infrastructure, wereseen as hindrances to such collaboration. Fostering
cooperation among researchers and institutions also lays
a good foundation. Additional regional workshops
focusing on specific areas of priority for different regions
were suggested in order to enhance such exchange ofexperience by the groups already working on collaborationin the regions.

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESThe activities considered most effective for regional
collaboration identified at the workshops were projects
helping to identify common problems and solutions
such as developing national climate change scenarios,
solving transboundary adaptation issues such as with water
resources, and developing ‘sister’ projects between
countries facing similar challenges. Example projects
include the GEF-funded project to design and implement
adaptation measures to address glacial melt in the central
Andes, and the Pacific Island Adaptation Initiative
designed to catalyze action and strengthen partnerships
at all levels to enable the Pacific Island's region tounderstand and respond to climate change, climate
variability and sea level rise.
Mechanisms for current international (North – South)
collaboration involve a wide-range of initiatives andfunding by inter-governmental agencies, governments,
institutions and non-government agencies.
Collaboration includes the assessment of vulnerability andrisks associated with climate change such as funding
for national communications and NAPAs, public educationand outreach, data and observations, decision support,
adaptation planning and implementation, and integrationof climate change into development.
Participants at the workshops and meeting proposed anumber of options to further facilitate North-South
cooperation. Promoting better access to funding andsynergy with sources of funding external to the climatechange process is vital and has been referred to in
the previous section on funding. Effective collaboration
with government and non-government organizations,
including through global fora on adaptation, would
improve stakeholder awareness to enable adaptation ona sustainable and long term basis. Integratingclimate change considerations in the work of regional
and international financial bodies and organizations
would also provide a basis for work in the long term.
It is important to engage fully the private sector
from the North and South in adaptation planning andimplementation on a sectoral basis and use a
programme based, rather than a project based
approach to adaptation, to ensure a long-term andsustainable approach to adaptation.
The UNFCCC process needs to play a more active role inenhancing North – South collaboration, as well as indisseminating information and enhancing the dialogue
on climate change adaptation with other United
Nations agencies, and the sectoral and disaster reduction
communities, attempts to do so include through the
Nairobi work programme. Synergy with other multilateralenvironment agreements in future adaptation activities
and projects is paramount for advancing collaboration.
There is a critical need to ensure continuity (a programmebased rather than project-based approach) and adherence
to the strategic direction for support identified by the
COP, in particular by its decisions 5/CP.751 and 1/CP.10,52
and, in the case of SIDS, the Mauritius Strategy.
North – South collaboration could also be instrumental
in facilitating South–South collaboration, for example the
Ibero-American Network of Climate Change Offices(RIOCC). This network, created as a result of a decision
taken by Ministers at the IV Ibero-American Ministersof Environment Forum in 2004, is now active in the 21
Ibero-American Nations. Its work programme focusses
on different topics related to climate change, including
adaptation.53 The UNEP – UNDP partnership for
mainstreaming climate change was established during
the twelfth session of the COP, and is working on
operational issues for adaptation and its integration into
national planning for sustainable development.

5.9

IMPLEMENTING ADAPTATION

Implementing adaptation plans and strategies is a vitalnext step for developing countries. As highlighted inthis chapter, many plans and strategies have been madeand a number of capacity-building projects have been
undertaken. Now, it is important to bridge the gap between
adaption assessment and planning and adaption
implementation, and to build on knowledge from capacitybuilding projects. Adaptation options need to bematched to priority needs both in the context ofcommunity-based action and in national and sectoralplanning as well as disaster risk reduction. Adaptationplans must be integrated into top-down and bottomup approaches for planning to enable sustainable
development and the efficient use of resources foradaptation. In order to avoid maladaptation,mechanisms should be introduced to validate adaptation
options. Participants from developing countries at
the workshops and meeting discussed and suggested anumber of ways forward to help implement adaptationin developing countries.

51
52
53

<http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/cop7/13a01.pdf#page=32><http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/cop10/10a01.pdf#page=2><http://www.mma.es/portal/secciones/cambio_climatico/areas_tematicas/cooperacion_cc/
menu_coop_iber.htm>

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Implementing identified adaptation projects including
those proposed through the NAPA process would be
an important start for developing countries. Given thegood experience so far identified with NAPAs, themethodology could be extended to other developing
countries beyond the least developed. Expandingknowledge on local coping strategies would also help
implement community based action on adaptation,for example through enhancing the UNFCCC’s local
coping strategies database.
National governments were identified as having
the responsibility to scale up lessons learned and products
from adaptation projects for use nationally. In orderto do so, creating awareness on adaptation among planners
and political decision makers beyond the environment
sectors, and training of stakeholders within these areas, isa useful start. Operational guidelines could be preparedto help integrate adaptation into various sectors fromnational to local level and from local to national level, andto encourage countries in the regions to implement
more pilot projects and facilitate funding for such projects.
It is clear that enhanced funding is required for adaptation
projects in developing countries and needs to be increasedin national budgets as well as in multilateral funds. Allregions requested improvements in the access to the financial
resources currently available, including throughstreamlining guidelines for application, and by assisting
countries in the preparation of project proposals.
Novel mechanisms for funding could include adaptation
funds designed for specific regions as well as a variety
of insurance options including those which include publicprivate and sectoral partnerships.

50

Capacity must be built at all stages of the adaptation
process in developing countries. Climate change
focal points could be trained. Inventories of successful
experiences and expertise available could be developed.
Links with the disaster risk reduction community,
especially with regard to disaster preparedness rather
than relief, could be reinforced. Enhancing synergies
between the Rio Conventions would help share
information and knowledge on assessment processes.
Capacity-building and training of stakeholders would
help the necessary integration of adaptation into
sectoral policies and environmental impact assessments.
International climate change committees could becreated to help feed relevant information into regional
committees. Collaboration among institutions active
on climate change in all developing country regions andwith institutions in the North would help knowledge
exchange and build capacity. National forums could help
exchange information on vulnerability assessments, andadaptation planning and implementation at regional level.

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CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESAND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

VI. LOOKING FORWARD

Developing countries are already suffering from theimpacts of climate change and are the most vulnerable
to future change. A number of developing countries
have developed adaptation plans or are in the process of
finalizing them. This includes the National Adaptation
Programmes of Action of least developed countries. Thereis now an urgency for developing countries to find ways
to implement these plans. Against a backdrop of low
human and financial capacity, developing countries lack
many of the resources to do this on their own.
Adaptation is already considered a vital part of any futureclimate change regime. Within the UNFCCC and theinternational community, deliberations are building tofind an effective means to tackle climate change, which
is described by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as the”defining issue of our era“. Future decisions within
the UNFCCC negotiating process must assist developing
countries in a streamlined, innovative and transparent
way, with transfer of knowledge, technology and financial
resources to adapt and to adapt at all levels and in all sectors.
At a series of workshops for Africa, Asia and Latin America
and an expert meeting for small island developing States
during 2006–2007, these regions identified areas for future
action in adapting to climate change. To be most effective,
adaptation plans and strategies need to be integrated into
sustainable development planning and risk reduction
planning at community, local, national and international
levels. Crucially there has been little work to integrate
adaptation into development plans or within existing
poverty alleviation frameworks. Taking stock of andpromoting good practice by the international community
in the integration of climate change related issues would
help promote adaptation strategies with multiple benefits.
Capacity is still needed to enable developing countries todevelop adaptation programmes and strategies. The
Nairobi work programme is building capacity to understandand assess impacts, vulnerability and adaptation and to
make informed decisions on practical adaptation actions
and measures. The NAPAs have proved an important
way to prioritise adaptation actions for least developed

52

countries. Initiating a process for extending the positive
experience of NAPAs for developing countries that are notleast developed countries, and that wish to develop
national adaptation programmes or strategies, could vitally
help adaptation option prioritisation. This would take
into account lessons learned from the NAPA preparation
process and its successful experience at policy integration,
as well as relevant outcomes from the Nairobi work
programme. Using local coping strategies can assist
community-based adaptation and can be facilitatedby knowledge exchange within different communities
facing similar problems, such as via the UNFCCC local
coping strategies database. Finding synergies between
the Rio Conventions could also help share informationand knowledge on assessment processes.
If there are delays to implementing adaptation in developing
countries, including delays in financing adaptation
projects, this will lead ultimately to increased costs. Delays
in implementing adaptation will also lead to greater
dangers to more people. For example, extreme events
including droughts, floods and loss of glacial meltwater
could trigger large-scale population movements and largescale conflict due to competition over scarcer resources
such as water, food and energy.
There are already mechanisms for financial assistance fordeveloping countries available. Application procedures
need to be streamlined, including enhancing the capacity
for the development of project proposals as well as
capacity-building to identify the different requirements
and modalities of different sources of current support.
It is also clear that current funding is not enough to
support adaptation needs. Recent studies by the UNFCCC
secretariat showed that an incremental level of annual
investment and financial flows of about USD 50 billion isneeded for adaptation in 2030. In the context of any
discussion on future international cooperation on climatechange, future financial resources need to be sufficient,predictable and sustainable in order to facilitate adaptation
to the adverse impacts of climate change by developing
countries. As well as via funding envisioned through theoperationalization of the Adaptation Fund under the
Kyoto Protocol, innovative financing options are needed
to close the gap between costs of adaptation andavailable resources.
Insurance is an area that has been identified as an importantcomponent of future action on adaptation. Innovativerisk sharing mechanisms are needed to respond to the newchallenges posed, including increasing frequency of
extreme events, land degradation and loss of biodiversity.

UN FCCC

CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESLOOKING FORWARD

AND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESCollaboration and cooperation between South-South andNorth-South can directly engage multiple stakeholders indealing with climate change and coordinate planning andactions. This could be facilitated by international fora withthe participation of Parties and relevant stakeholders
involved in South–South and North–South collaboration,
multilateral environmental agreements and with thedisaster risk reduction community. Awareness raisingamong the key sectors and mass media, including using
current events such as economic, weather and health crisis
can also help promote adaptation measures with co-benefits.
Climate change requires a global framework forinternational cooperation. Adaptation action is a vital
part of this framework. Actions to enable adaptation
to climate change pose opportunities to promote sustainable
development. Developing countries require resourcesin order to promote these actions. A successful framework
must directly involve assistance for adaptation indeveloping countries, particularly small island developing
States and least developed countries, given that they will
disproportionately bear the brunt of climate change impacts.

53

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59

UN FCCC

CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS, VULNERABILITIESAND ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIESACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONSADBAsian Development BankAIACC

Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change in Multiple Regions and Sectors

CBA

Community based adaptation

CBA-X

Community based adaptation exchange

CCCCC

Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre

CCRIF

Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility

CH4methaneCO2

carbon dioxide

CRISTAL

Community-based Risk Screening Tool-Adaptation and Livelihoods

ECLAC

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

ENSO

El Niño Southern Oscillation

FAO

Food and Agriculture Organization

GCOS

Global Climate Observing System

GEF

Global Environment Facility

GTZ

German Agency for Technical Cooperation

IPCC

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

IRI

International Research Institute for Climate and Society

ISDR

International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

IUCN

World Conservation Union

LCA

Linking Climate Adaptation

LDC

Least Developed Country

LDCF

Least Developed Countries Fund

MACC

Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change

Mauritius Strategy

Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of
Small Island Developing States

MEA

multilateral environmental agreement

Nairobi work programme

Nairobi work programme on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change

N2O

nitrogen dioxide

NAPA

National adaptation programme of action

PACCLIM

PACific CLimate Impacts Model

PIF

Pacific Islands Forum

PRECIS

Providing REgional Climates for Impacts Studies Model

OECS

Organization of Eastern Caribbean States

OSS

Sahara and Sahel Observatory

RIOCC

Ibero-American Network of Climate Change Offices

SCCF

Special Climate Change Fund

SIDS

Small island developing States

SGP

Small Grants Programme

SPA

Strategic Priority on Adaptation

SPC

Secretariat of the Pacific Community

SPREP

Pacific Regional Environment Programme

START

SysTem for Analysis, Research and Training

UN

United Nations

UNDP

United Nations Development Programme

UNEP

United Nations Environment Programme

UNEP FI

United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative

UNFCCC

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNU-EHS

United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security60

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UN FCCC

10.12.2007

15:21 Uhr

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IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change