W RIREPORT

Heather McGray
Anne Hammill
Rob Bradley
10 G Street, NE
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20002
www.wri.org

with

E. Lisa Schipper
Jo-Ellen Parry

Weathering the Storm
Options for Framing
Adaptation and Development

© Stephen Strathdee/bigstockphoto.com

Weathering the Storm
Options for Framing Adaptation
and Development
by

with

Heather McGray

E. Lisa Schipper

Anne Hammill

Jo-Ellen ParryRob BradleyHyacinth Billings
Publications Director
Heather McGray, Anne Hammill, Rob Bradley
Authors
E. Lisa Schipper and Jo-Ellen ParryContributors
Maggie Powell
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Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . IV
FOREWORD.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  V

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  1
Section I	INTRODUCTION: ADAPTATION OR DEVELOPMENT? .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  5
Section II

Adaptation around the World: Taking Stock.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 11

Section III

Framing Adaptation: A Continuum of Approaches.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 17

Section IV

Governance and Decision-Making under Uncertainty.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 25

Section V

Financing Adaptation.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 33

Section VI	Lessons learned and next steps.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 37
REFERENCES .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 39
Annex A	List of Cases Analyzed.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 43
Annex B

Methods, Criteria, and Sources for Selecting Case Examples .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 51

Annex C

Acronyms .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 53

ABOUT THE AUTHORS .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 55
About WRI	 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 57

Boxes
1. Report Guide
2. A Reader’s Guide to Adaptation Vocabulary
3. Ecosystems: Service Providers to the World
4. Changing Course: China Integrates Climate into Agricultural Planning
5.	HIV/AIDS, Food Security, and Climate Change: A Vicious Spiral
6. Adapting to Uncertainty in Rwanda
7. Managing Climate Risk in Rural Kenya
8. Adapting to Changing Hazards in Nepal: Reducing the Risk of Glacial
Lake Outburst Floods
9. Adaptation Trade-Offs
10.	Index-Based Weather Risk Insurance in India
11. SERVIR: Accessing Climate Information for Adaptation in Central
America
12.	The Access Initiative: Improving Policy by Monitoring Governance
13. Coral Reefs
14. Discrete International Instruments for Adaptation Funding

TABLES
1. Adaptation Strategies Employed in the Cases Examined
2.	Illustrative Governance Considerations for Adaptation Decision-Making
in Key Sectors

FIGURES1. Distribution of Cases by Region
2. Settlement Type of Cases
3. Geographic Scale of Cases Reviewed
4. Distribution of Cases by Sector
5. Characterization of Cases According to Objective
6. Number of Strategies Employed in Each Case
7. A Continuum of Adaptation Activities: From Development to Climate
Change8. Characterization of Cases by Adaptation Type9.	Types of Adaptation Supported by ODA and International Climate Funding Mechanismsiii

Acknowledgments
This report has benefited immensely from advice, information, and assistance generously provided by many people.
The authors would especially like to thank the following individuals who took the time to speak with us in detail about
lessons and insights from their work: Ian Burton, Boubacar Dembele, Bill Dougherty, Leilani Duffy, Roger Few, Richard
Klein, Bo Lim, Silvia Llosa, Tom Mitchell, Balgis Osman, Thomas Tanner, Chuluun Togtohyn, and Jessica Troni.
Special thanks are also due to Mathias Bell, Alark Saxena, Sarah Schumann, and Olivia Tanujaya, whose tireless researchsupport enabled us to analyze 135 cases.
Peer review contributed enormously to the improvement of the manuscript. The authors wish to thank Thea
Dickinson, John Drexhage, John Furlow, and Pablo Suarez for extensive, constructive, and challenging review
comments. Lisa Schipper and Jo-Ellen Parry generously looked beyond their own contributions to provide detailed
critique of the entire report. Within WRI, Maria Cordeiro, Al Hammond, Norbert Henninger, Piet Klop, Hilary
McMahon, Jesse Ribot, and Dan Tunstall all went beyond the call of peer review by engaging in rich discussions aboutideas in earlier drafts. Together with their detailed manuscript comments, this no doubt meant some late nights at theoffice for each of them, given the time taken from their own work. The authors are duly grateful.
Manish Bapna, Jennifer Layke, and Jonathan Pershing all lent invaluable strategic guidance and keen editorial eyes tothe development of this report. Special thanks go to Jonathan for his late-night contributions to improving Section V.
David Jhirad also provided helpful advice, in spite of the coincidence of our drafting timetable with a major professionaltransition for him.
Lauretta Burke, Emily Cooper, Charles Iceland, Lalanath de Silva, Carrie Stokes, and Darren Swanson all provided
valuable advice and material that informed many of the text boxes. Robert Bailis, Britt Childs, and Kelly Levin (together
with Robert’s students) contributed to selecting and analyzing the first round of cases. Remi Moncel provided FrenchEnglish interpretation for a key phone call.
For production and organizational support, we thank Hyacinth Billings, Greg Fuhs, Jennie Hommel, and Natalie
Bushell. Thanks also to Joan O’Callaghan of Communications Collaborative for her editing, and to Maggie Powell forgraphic design.
Finally, we are grateful to USAID (agreement # ESP-A-00-06-00005-00), and to the government of the Netherlands forthe financial support that made this report possible.
Heather McGray
Anne Hammill
Rob Bradleyiv

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Foreword
Climate change is upon us. The Earth is warming, seasons are shifting, species are moving, and water is flowing atdifferent times and in different amounts.
The accelerating and deepening impacts of climate change will touch everyone on Earth in some way, but those who
stand to suffer most are the poor. Poor people already live on the margins; they have limited resources with which toadapt to changes in the climate. Most of the world’s poor depend for their livelihoods directly upon highly climatesensitive resources: fields, forests, fisheries, and other natural assets are “the wealth of the poor.” Climate change will
make these resources less reliable in many places, lowering the prospects for many poor communities to escape frompoverty.
The people of the world and their governments must find the will and the means to slow, stop, and reverse thebuildup of global warming gases in the atmosphere to avert catastrophic warming. But it is too late to avert serious
consequences, so we must also learn to adapt to a warmer world. The question of how humanity adapts to climatechange is a pressing development issue. As leaders begin to consider policies and measures to respond to mounting
climate effects, it is critical that adaptation efforts be designed to reach the poorest communities to safeguard theirdevelopment efforts. Likewise, development must foster adaptation if it is to succeed under a changing climate. That thepoor are the people least responsible for global warming makes these efforts all the more imperative.
In Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development, Heather McGray, Anne Hammill, and Rob
Bradley review examples of adaptation efforts drawn from throughout the developing world. They describe strategies ofadaptation and development on an encouraging trajectory of convergence: adaptation efforts that reflect an awarenessof how the effects of climate change intersect with poverty, discrimination, resource degradation, and other underlying
sources of vulnerability; and development that is devising ways to account for the changing climate in decisions.
Unfortunately, the merging of the development and adaptation agendas has a down side. Most existing mechanisms
for funding adaptation to climate change have been designed to distinguish carefully between “normal” development
activities and the “additional” activities needed to adapt to climate change. Such mechanisms do not fit well with aworld that calls for integrated approaches to these problems, and one result has been a paucity of resources available
for adaptation. It is imperative that support for adaptation be scaled up significantly—and soon. The frameworkof adaptation approaches proposed in this report contributes to breaking down the “either/or” thinking that hasconstrained adaptation funding, by providing a practical alternative for thinking about when and how adaptation anddevelopment intersect.
Weathering the Storm is among the first global reviews of adaptation efforts to date and, as such, takes a relatively earlystep in understanding how adaptation and development can best support one another. There is much left to learn. The
report also represents the World Resources Institute’s first major engagement in the global dialogue on adaptation. In
this respect, as well, it is an early step; much scope remains for applying WRI’s expertise on environmental governanceand ecosystem services to this critical emerging issue. I hope that readers within both the climate change and thedevelopment communities will find it a valuable contribution as they consider how best to support adaptation efforts inthe context of the need for development, and I would welcome readers’ thoughts on approaches to this issue.
Jonathan Lash
President
World Resources InstituteS u mma ry
E xec u t iv e
Art Hoel/The World Bank

Executive Summary
Adaptation to climate change continues to rise on
the agendas of researchers, practitioners, and decisionmakers, driven by growing evidence that climate change
is real, already observable, and threatening to undermine
development. Any effective development and planning
process will need to take climate adaptation into accountand, conversely, adaptation efforts themselves will often
require development interventions to succeed. This paper
explores the link between the climate adaptation agenda
and the development agenda, building on evidence from
more than 130 case studies in developing countries.
While climate impacts are increasingly observed,
the debate over managing adaptation has progressedvery slowly. This in part is due to confusion about therelationship between adaptation and development—adefinitional problem that has hindered not only project
design, but also the allocation of funding for adaptation
efforts. Notwithstanding the difficulty in developing
a concise operational definition, failure to clarify thisrelationship has meant that funding mechanisms create
redundancies or leave gaps in the landscape of criticaladaptation and development activities.

Taking Stock of Global Adaptation
Efforts
Drawing on Internet resources, the authors analyzed
135 examples of adaptation projects, policies, and otherinitiatives from the developing world. The review found:n A significant area of overlap between adaptation anddevelopment is methodological. Rarely do adaptation
efforts entail activities not found in the development“toolbox.” The uniquely “adaptive” elements ofmost efforts are those involved in defining problems,
selecting strategies, and setting priorities—not in
implementing solutions.
n In line with current approaches to development,
adaptation efforts are highly integrated. Most projects
utilize multiple strategies and address multiple sourcesof vulnerability. Many cross sectoral boundaries andaddress more than one impact associated with climatechange.
n There are three “models” of how adaptation anddevelopment objectives coincide:E x ecu t i ve S ummar y

1. “Serendipitous” Adaptation: Activities undertaken
to achieve development objectives incidentallyachieve adaptation objectives. The adaptation
components of a given activity may even be noticed
or emphasized only after the fact.
2. Climate-Proofing of Ongoing Development
Efforts: Activities added to an ongoing development
initiative to ensure its success under a changing
climate. Adaptation thus serves as means to achieve
development ends.
3. Discrete Adaptation: Activities undertaken
specifically to achieve climate adaptation objectives.
Development activities may be used as means toachieve adaptation ends.
Two roughly distinct perspectives inform how people
approach the challenge of adaptation: one focuseson creating response mechanisms to specific impacts
associated with climate change, and the other on reducing
vulnerability to climate change through building capacities
that can help address a range of challenges, including
the effects of climate change. In practice, many instancesof adaptation fall between these extremes of orientation
toward impacts- or vulnerability.

Framing Adaptation:
A Continuum of Approaches
The range of adaptation activities may be framed
as a continuum of responses to climate change, from“pure” development activities on the one hand to very
explicit adaptation measures on the other. At one far
end of the continuum, the most vulnerability-oriented
adaptation efforts overlap almost completely withtraditional development practice, where activities takelittle or no account of specific impacts associated withclimate change. At the far opposite end, highly specialized
activities exclusively target distinct climate change impacts,and fall outside the realm of development as we know
it. In between lies a broad spectrum of activities withgradations of emphasis on vulnerability and impacts.
The continuum can be roughly divided into four types ofadaptation efforts:
1. Addressing the Drivers of Vulnerability
At the development end of the spectrum, activities
reduce poverty and address other fundamental
shortages of capability that make people vulnerable
to harm. Very little attention to specific climatechange impacts is paid during these interventions,although they help to buffer households andcommunities against climate trends or shocks.
Sample activities include efforts to improve
livelihoods, literacy, and women’s rights, and evenprojects that address HIV/AIDS.
2. Building Response Capacity
Adaptation activities focus on building robust
systems for problem solving. These capacity-building
efforts lay the foundation for more targeted actions,and overlap substantially with many institutionbuilding and technological approaches familiar tothe development community. Examples include
the development of robust communications andplanning processes, and the improvement ofmapping, weather monitoring, and natural resource
management practices.
3. Managing Climate Risk
Climate information is incorporated into decisions
to reduce negative effects on resources andlivelihoods, accommodating the fact that often theeffects of climate change are not easily distinguishedfrom the effects of hazards within the historic rangeof climate variability. Examples include disasterresponse planning activities, drought-resistantcrops, and efforts to “climate-proof” physicalinfrastructure.
4. Confronting Climate Change
Actions focus almost exclusively on addressing
impacts associated with climate change, typicallytargeting climate risks that are clearly outside
historic climate variability, and with little bearing
on risks that stem from anything other thananthropogenic climate change. Examples include
communities that relocate in response to sea levelrise, and responses to glacial melting.
Two factors appear to predominate in shaping thecharacterization of an adaptation response: (1) the existing
capacity of the affected community, and (2) the level of
information about projected climate impacts. Lower levelsof capacity necessitate greater investment in addressing
underlying sources of vulnerability (i.e., adaptation efforts
focus more on the development end of the continuum).
Higher certainty regarding climate change prediction
enables efforts to more directly target specific impacts (i.e.,on the climate-specific end of the continuum). However,
it is important to note that neither of these drivers has alinear relationship to how closely adaptation efforts may
target specific hazards or impacts.

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Governance and Decision-Making
Under Uncertainty
As understanding of climate risk improves, adaptation
experience grows, and the effects of climate change arefelt more strongly, impacts-oriented approaches—especiallyclimate risk-management approaches—seem likely to be
implemented more widely. However, the effectivenessof climate risk management depends heavily upon theability to reduce uncertainties linked with climate risk
to a level at which risk management tools can be reliably
implemented.
Unfortunately, many of the most vulnerable populations
will not be able to approach climate risks in a standard
risk-management sense; their core adaptation task will
instead be to build the capacity to cope with uncertainty.
Moreover, even when good climate risk information isavailable, it does not necessarily make adaptation decisions
easier or better. A society’s adaptation decisions inevitably
involve many intersecting —and often competing —values
and interests. Fair and effective processes for weighing
and resolving these play a central role in adaptation acrossthe full spectrum of vulnerability- and impacts-based
approaches.
Investment in institutions and decision-making processes
that embody principles of good governance will provide
a solid foundation for identifying adaptation priorities,
making fair trade-offs and building resilience. While
more attention has been paid to building processes andinstitutions to facilitate adaptation at the community level,
establishing effective processes for adaptation decisionmaking at the national and sectoral levels is also needed.
Policies that themselves adapt to changing conditions will
provide a critical supporting environment for adaptation
processes at all scales. Development of “adaptive
policymaking” will require policymakers to treat policies as
ongoing experimental and learning processes.
Managing uncertainty requires effective use of
information at all scales and across the spectrum ofemphasis on vulnerability and impacts. For example,
geographical information plays a central role in adaptation
planning, irrespective of whether the information mapped
relates to sources of vulnerability or predicted changes
in climate. Thus, mapping (e.g., for flood risk, soil
moisture, poverty indicators, watershed boundaries) andother broadly relevant information (e.g., census data andhistorical and current weather records) play a central rolein adaptation planning. The centrality of information
argues for adaptation investments in communications
infrastructure, as well as training to enable educatorsand the media to understand and interpret information
relevant to climate adaptation.

Financing Adaptation
Funding for adaptation in developing countries
flows mainly from two sources: dedicated multilateraladaptation funds and official development assistance(ODA). The dedicated adaptation funds have focusedon climate-specific activities, while ODA focuses on thedevelopment-related agenda. In projects undertaken todate, ODA represents the far larger share. However, theuniverse of dedicated adaptation funds is now poised togrow, as national governments take on the adaptation
agenda, as the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) Adaptation Fund nears its
launch, and as Parties to the UNFCCC explore adaptation
funding mechanisms for a post-2012 agreement.
Within the ODA community, dedicated adaptation
funding streams are also being created. In addition to
guidance on the importance of information, the need foradaptive policies, and the importance of local, national,
and regional adaptation efforts, our analysis suggests:
n It is critical that funders include vulnerability-reduction
and capacity-building activities in adaptation projects.
n Fostering inclusive, accountable decision-making is acentral task, as decision-making processes are at theheart of effective adaptation, especially in the context
of ensuring that policies are poised to adapt to theuncertain future.
n Many adaptation information needs have surprisingly
little to do with climate prediction. Priorities forsupport include geographical information capacities,
gathering and managing national census data,
historical and current weather data, communications
infrastructure, and the ability of educators andmedia personnel to understand and interpret climate
information.
n Donor coordination is needed to ensure that gaps
and redundancies are avoided as adaptation efforts
progress.

E x ecu t i ve S ummar yBox 1 . R e po r t Gu id e

Section I. Introduction: Adaptation or Development?
Failure to clarify the relationship between adaptation and development runs the risk that funding mechanisms will create
redundancies or leave gaps in the landscape of activities that receive support.
n However, efforts to draw a distinct line between adaptation and development can prove counterproductive.
n A broader, more nuanced definition of “adaptation” is needed to accommodate its complex relationship with development.
nSection II. Adaptation Around the World: Taking StockA review of 135 “adaptation” cases from developing countries reveals a diversity of ways that adaptation and development
intersect:
In many instances, development is seen as a means to adaptation ends.
In other cases, adaptation objectives serve as means to achieve development ends.
n In even more cases, activities undertaken to achieve development objectives incidentally also serve an adaptation function.
n Few activities are targeted exclusively at meeting a climate adaptation need without reference to the development agenda.
nnSection III. Framing Adaptation: A Continuum of Approaches
Two factors appear to predominate in shaping an adaptation response:– the existing capacity of those responding, and– the level of information available about expected climate change.
n These factors play out across a continuum of adaptation from “pure” development activities to very explicit adaptation measures.
– At one far end of the continuum, adaptation efforts overlap almost completely with traditional development practice,where activities take little or no account of specific climate change impacts.
– At the far opposite end, highly specialized activities are developed in response to observed or anticipated changes inclimate (and their effects), and fall outside the realm of development as we know it.
– In between lies a broad spectrum of activities with gradations of “normal” development and climate change-focused activities.
n

Section IV. Governance and Decision-Making Under Uncertainty
The framework presented in Section III suggests that processes for weighing and resolving competing values and interests willplay a central role in adaptation. Promoting effective processes will require:incorporating adaptation decisions in appropriate places within the development landscape,adhering to principles of good environmental governance,n fostering adaptive policy, especially at the national level,n providing a solid information foundation for decisions, andn implementing effective monitoring and evaluation.
nnSection V. Financing Adaptation
Resources available for adaptation through international funding mechanisms fall far short of what is needed. Moreover,constraints upon the Global Environment Facility have hampered these mechanisms in addressing the intersection ofadaptation and development.
n The focus of adaptation funding is shifting toward official development assistance (ODA), which represents a larger pot ofmoney. However, national decision-making about spending ODA is often disconnected from the environment ministries
that typically lead on adaptation planning.
n As new sources of adaptation funding are created, there is an opportunity to improve upon existing mechanisms. To do so,
supporting vulnerability-reduction and capacity-building activities at the heart of enabling effective adaptation is critical,
though the “additional cost’” due to climate change may not be clearly identifiable.
nSection VI. Lessons Learned and Next Steps
Priorities for additional research and analysis include:
supplementation of the present case set,n additional quantitative and qualitative analysis of cases,n development of decision tools using the continuum framework, andn development of case studies and models for adaptive policymaking.
nWeathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

I
S ec t io n
Curt Carnemark/The World Bank

Introduction:
Adaptation or Development?
Over the last five years, adaptation to climate change
has risen on the agendas of researchers, practitioners, anddecision-makers in a variety of fields. Among the reasonsfor this more prominent profile is the growing evidence
that climate change is already occurring, and a consensus
that continuing change threatens to undermine economic
development and social well-being.
This emerging consensus is driving the recognition thatany effective development planning process will need totake climate change into account—and, more particularly,
will need to facilitate adaptation to the effects of climatechange. Development actors are waking up to this reality,
as evidenced by efforts to “mainstream” adaptation into aid
programs and projects.
However, the converse is also true: in many cases,
adaptation will have to include “regular” development
interventions to ensure the sustainability and overall
success of its results. This conclusion has most recently
been affirmed by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) in its Fourth Assessment Report,

which notes that “sustainable development can reduce
vulnerability to climate change, and climate change
could impede nations’ abilities to achieve sustainable
development pathways.”1
Efforts to mainstream adaptation into development
efforts imply it is something new and/or additional,
while reliance on existing development efforts to support
or “do” adaptation implies they are one and the same.
These two perspectives on the relation of adaptation
to development raise challenging questions about whatreally constitutes adaptation to climate change. Is it
fundamentally different from “good” development, oris there a need to employ different approaches, tools,
and policy processes? Is adaptation the means to adevelopment end, or vice versa? The need to answer thesequestions is growing, since the lack of clarity about therelationship between adaptation and development hascontributed to the unacceptably slow growth of resources
available for adaptation.

In t roduc t i on : A dap t a t i on or D evelopmen t ?

This report posits that the relationship between
adaptation and development is not an “either/or”
consideration. Rather, how adaptation relates todevelopment varies across circumstances; as such, efforts
to draw a fine line between them cannot be universally
applicable. Reviewing the current landscape of adaptation
experience suggests a new framework for understanding
adaptation that can inform efforts to mobilize resourcesand develop policy in support of effective adaptationwork.
Box 1 provides a guide to the main ideas in each sectionof this report. This section provides an introduction to thechallenge of adaptation and discusses the importance ofquestions surrounding its relationship with development.
Section II presents examples and key lessons from a
review of 135 on-the-ground instances of adaptation.
In Section III we propose a framework for considering
adaptation measures within the context of development,
and explore some factors that influence what measures
are appropriate. Section IV considers the central role ofenvironmental governance in adaptation, while Section V
presents the report’s implications for financing adaptation
initiatives. Section VI presents lessons and next steps forfurther research and analysis.

Adaptation and Development:
A Tale of Two Towns
On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall inLouisiana, USA. The warm sea surface revved the storm
up to a Category 5 storm as it veered toward the city of
New Orleans. While the city weathered the storm itself (bythen Category 3) relatively well, the Mississippi River later
breached its levees and, as the world watched, took an
estimated 1,570 lives.2 More than two years after the event,vast sums have been wasted, misspent, or outright stolen,
with the result that many of the poorest families will most
likely never recover their losses.
The catastrophe was not an inevitable result of thehurricane. While few cities would hope to escape wholly
unscathed from a storm of Katrina’s intensity, the realdevastation was due to a series of failures in humansystems. These failures have been extensively catalogued
elsewhere,3 and include poor infrastructure design; failure
to conduct needed repairs and maintenance; endemic
poverty and inequality; poor communication between
agencies at a local level; and poor coordination amongcity, state, and federal agencies after the event, exacerbatedby political party differences and corruption.
That these failings should have been encountered in a
major city within the richest nation on Earth—a nationthat prides itself on its civic institutions and has theworld’s most pervasive information networks—is sobering.
Perhaps the most striking feature of the calamity is how
clearly it illustrates the importance of wealth and capacity
differences. The most serious and lasting damage was felt
by the city’s poorest residents. Middle class New Orleans
had evacuated in private vehicles before Katrina hit,and its houses, generally insured and on higher ground,
were proportionately less harmed. Poor residents lived
in the most vulnerable areas, were more dependent on
government authorities to evacuate them, and had lessinsurance. In other words, those with the least lost themost.
Meanwhile, half a world away in Maharashtra, India, aremarkable success story was emerging. A state of some
100 million people, Maharashtra is plagued by drought.
During the dry season, water is trucked to thousandsof villages. In the early 1990s, the village of Darewadi
had enough water for agricultural activities for only 3
to 4 months of the year, and during the driest periods
villagers depended on tanker trucks for even their mostbasic water needs. Agriculture represented almost the only
economic activity of the village, so work and incomes werecorrespondingly limited.
Since then, supported by nongovernmentalorganizations (NGO) and the German government, thevillage has deployed a series of soil and water conservation
measures that have transformed water availability.
Agriculture is now possible for 9 to 10 months of theyear, greatly enhancing incomes, and trucked water is
no longer needed. Notably, these successes were madepossible not by major outside interventions, but by theestablishment of local institutions, in particular a Village
Watershed Committee. With strong local confidence
in these institutions, villagers were willing to volunteer
work, temporarily refrain from grazing certain areas, andtake other measures necessary to allow restoration of thewatersheds. Today, with an improved ecosystem and morerobust livelihoods, the people of Darewadi are better able
to cope with drought conditions4.

Learning from New Orleans andDarewadi
Both New Orleans and Darewadi offer compellingclimate and development stories. The settings are ofcourse dramatically different—an urban center in a wealthy
nation versus a poor village in a developing country.
Humid, coastal New Orleans was hit by an unusually
violent storm, while semi-arid Darewadi suffered the slow,
cumulative effects of recurring drought. In neither caseis it clear that climate change played a causal role. Yetboth examples illustrate a core challenge of adaptation

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

to climate change: that reducing vulnerability to climate
stresses can be difficult to distinguish from promoting
sustainable development.
Adaptation and development efforts can be difficult
to distinguish for several reasons. The first relates
to objectives: any given action that aims to facilitate
adaptation to climate change almost always achieves
other objectives at the same time. For example, Darewadi
village worked to increase water availability in orderto pull people out of poverty; climate change was not
the motivating force for action, but the community is
now better equipped to deal with its effects. Can we saythat adaptation did not occur? Similarly, New Orleans
had many reasons unrelated to storms or levees why
it would benefit from shoring up its infrastructure,
reducing corruption, and promoting interdepartmental
cooperation. Its failure to take these measures playedout day-to-day in local news headlines about crime,
education, health care, and other matters; in the context
of a historic storm it became clear that these were also
failures of disaster preparedness. As Katrina-like storms are
expected to become more frequent as the Earth warms,5disaster preparedness becomes an important element ofadaptation to climate change.
A second reason that adaptation and development
can be difficult to distinguish is methodological. Many
strategies and activities that help reduce vulnerability to
climate stresses are the same ones used to address other,
non-climate problems. In both the successes of Darewadi
and the failures of New Orleans, natural resource
management practices, infrastructure development andmaintenance, and institutional capacity building areneeded. Would the nature of these efforts on the groundhave changed if they were used for adaptation to climatechange instead of poverty reduction and economic
development? Probably not. The distinction is even moredifficult to make as climate change often tends to reinforce
other stresses that harm human and natural systems.
Adaptation and development blend together for a third
reason: the complexity of the climate system and thelimits of human science make it difficult to dissociate
anthropogenic climate change from “normal” climate
variability. Whether or not climate change played a rolein Katrina, the Mississippi River had long been at riskof bursting its levees. In South Asia, climate change ispredicted to bring more frequent and intense droughts,6so Darewadi’s efforts to address current climate challenges
contribute to its efforts to address future climate change.
While climate change did not factor into decisions ineither New Orleans or Darewadi, the decisions certainly
factor into readiness for climate change. This blurring ofadaptation and development raises a central question:
does distinguishing between adaptation and development

Box 2. A Re ad er’ s G uid e t o A da ptati on V o ca b ul a ry
There is no universally satisfactory definition of adaptation to climate change. Whilea large number of definitions have been proposed, most are fairly broad and vary
more in emphasis than in substance.1 Few of these generic definitions prove helpfulwhen trying to determine whether a specific activity is or is not “adaptation to climatechange.” This report thus attempts to avoid focusing overly on developing a universally
applicable definition, and chooses instead to explore the many different factors thatmay play into the adaptive function of a particular effort.
However, when dealing with as complex and contentious an issue as adaptation toclimate change, definitions clearly cannot be dodged entirely. The following discussionof terms is designed to help readers navigate this report with a minimum of confusion:

Adaptation
From the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): “Adjustment in natural or
human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which
moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.”2 Adaptation is a process, not an
outcome.

Climate Change
From the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change : “A changeof climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters thecomposition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate
variability observed over comparable time periods.”3 This definition is chosen over the
IPCC definition simply to facilitate discussion of climate change and climate variability
as separate phenomena; this should not in any way be construed to exclude climate
variability from adaptation processes.

Development
The pursuit or attainment of well-being in all its dimensions, including economic
sufficiency, social equity, personal security, good health, opportunity, and personal
freedom.

Impacts
From the IPCC: “The effects of climate change on natural and human systems.”4 The
term “impact” is frequently used loosely in the climate change discourse. Use of theterm to describe effects associated with a change in climate sometimes muddies thewaters by implying that climate change alone is responsible for particular effects, when
in fact the effects of climate change are predicated on a large set of contributing or
underlying variables. For human systems in particular, “impact” should not be read toascribe exclusive causality to climate change.

Maladaptation
Those responses that address immediate risks in a manner that increases future risks
because they create conditions that ultimately raise vulnerability.

Vulnerability
Vulnerability is, broadly speaking, the ability to be harmed. This broad definition ispractical, since people and systems (such as poor communities) that are relatively more
vulnerable to one set of harms are frequently also vulnerable to others.

Notes
1. For a thorough review of various definitions, see Schipper 2007.
2. IPCC 2007b, p. 869.
3. UNFCCC 1992, Article 1.
4. IPCC 2007b, p. 876.

In t roduc t i on : A dap t a t i on or D evelopmen t ?

Box 3. Ec osy st ems : S e rv i c e Pr ovide r s t o th e Wo r ld
“Ecosystem services” are the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems. They
include provisioning services, such as food, fresh water, timber, and fiber; regulating
services that affect climate, floods, disease, wastes, and water quality; and cultural
services that provide recreational, spiritual, and aesthetic benefits. Human beings,
though buffered against environmental changes by culture and technology, depend
fundamentally on the flow of these goods and services.
Human societies too often take nature’s services for granted, in large part because
decision-makers lack sufficient information, incentives, rights, management processes,
and accountability for sustainably managing ecosystems. The results are apparent.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a four-year international scientific appraisal
undertaken by nearly 1,400 experts from 95 countries, concluded that 60 percent of
the world’s major ecosystem services have been degraded over the past 50 years. Thisdegradation is expected to increase over the first half of this century.
Climate change contributes to the degradation of ecosystems and their services, as do
population growth, urbanization, land-use change, and other drivers. Examples of how
climate change can contribute to changes in ecosystem services include:• declines in fresh water availability;• decreasing crop yields;• drought and flooding (water regulation) due to the accelerated melting and recedingof glaciers worldwide;• shifts in optimal areas for forest growth;• sea level rise, which could seriously affect the aquaculture industry; and• negative effects on high-conservation-value ecosystems and biodiversity (cultural
services).
Climate-driven degradation will work independently or in combination with other drivers
to affect different constituents of human well-being, such as good health, good social
relations, and security. These consequences will be felt more acutely by people more
directly dependent upon ecosystem services—typically, the poor. To optimize adaptation
opportunities and truly reduce human vulnerability, societies need to better understandhow they depend upon and affect ecosystems and the services they provide.
Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005.

matter if vulnerability to climate stresses ultimately is
reduced? On the ground, in places like New Orleans andDarewadi, the answer is often “No.” However, when it
comes to mobilizing resources for adaptation to climatechange, some people say, “Yes.” The tension between
these two answers has created an intractable dilemma:
should additional funding be provided for a new challenge
called “adaptation,” when the work it entails looks somuch like what is already taking place under the rubric of“development”? If so, how?



Why Distinguish Between Adaptation
and Development? The Funding
Dilemma
Adapting to climate change will require additional
resources and investments. Some initial (and wide-ranging)
estimates on the costs of climate impacts and adaptation
provide an indication of the scale of support needed.
The World Bank has reported that approximated 20–40
percent of activities financed by Official Development
Assistance (ODA) and concessional finance are subject
to climate risks, and that the annual cost of addressing
this risk would be US$1–$8 billion.7 A recent review by
the UNFCCC8 concluded that by 2030 the world willbe spending somewhere around US$49–$171 billion
more each year on infrastructure than would otherwise beneeded in response to impacts associated with climatechange. In developing countries, the UNFCCC estimates
US$28–$67 billion a year of additional investments andfinancial flows will be needed for adaptation to impacts
on water, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and health.
In a wide-ranging review addressing both climate impacts
and mitigation, the 2006 Stern Report estimated that thecost of climate change in the absence of mitigation would
lead to a 5 percent loss in global gross domestic product(GDP).9
These estimates calculate the costs of adaptationin global aggregate, as if climate damages were as
consequential in the United States as in Malawi.
However, the harm associated with climate change falls
disproportionately on poorer nations and communities:
whereas the wealthy may lose some wealth, the poor risk
losing their livelihoods and lives. Poor people often tend
to live in fragile or degraded environments and havelivelihoods that are more dependent on ecosystem services(see Box 3). With fewer resources from which to draw
during periods of stress or crisis, they are more vulnerable
to increasing frequency and intensity of weather extremes,seasonal shifts in precipitation, sea level rise, andother observed or predicted effects of climate change.
Supporting adaptation measures in poor communities isan urgent priority.
Moreover, the poor have contributed only marginally tothe problem of climate change—they are suffering damage
largely caused by the consumption patterns of the rich.
As such, the poor (both in developed and developing
countries) have a strong moral claim on their wealthierneighbors to help finance the cost of their adaptation
efforts. This obligation is explicit in the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
which requires developed countries to “assist developing
country Parties that are particularly vulnerable to theWeathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

adverse effects of climate change in meeting costs ofadaptation to those adverse effects.”10 The UNFCCC also
stipulates that this support must go beyond conventional
development assistance, through adaptation funding thatis “new and additional” to what is already needed forsustainable development. Thus, the dilemma: how can“new and additional” funds be provided for adaptation,
when distinguishing between adaptation and development
is so difficult?
For example, what climate change means for farmers
in the Sahel is poorly understood. Some climate models
predict an increase in precipitation, while others predict a
decrease.11 In spite of this uncertainty, much can be done
to build resilience in the region to help its inhabitants
adapt to whatever changes they ultimately face. Building
robust local institutions, such as village water resource
management committees, or establishing early-warning
systems can help communities deal with whatever
precipitation future materializes. These initiatives will not
address specific climate change impacts and, by and large,
will look a lot like typical development efforts.
Should such “development” efforts qualify for“adaptation” funding? Though typically they will notmeet funding criteria that are based upon the concept
of “additional costs,” they represent the very foundationof adaptation to climate change in many places. Failure
to make development-related investments may leave gaps
in the landscape of adaptation efforts, and these gaps
may arise where people are already especially vulnerable.

While the overarching need for “additional” funding foradaptation is clear, projecting this need universally onto
adaptation efforts at the operational level risks leaving
much-needed interventions unfunded.
Therefore, policymakers must reconcile the need for
new and additional funding with the recognition thattraditionally funded development efforts are an importantpart of adaptation. While experiences with designingand implementing adaptation strategies are still in theirinfancy, a review of some of these early experiences
sheds some light on what currently is being supported
under the banner of adaptation, where further support
is needed, and where funding modalities must adjust toaccommodate the overlap of adaptation and development.
A first step toward doing this requires a closer look at
adaptation experience to date.
Notes
1 IPCC 2007a, p. 20.
2 Kates et al. 2006.
3 Ibid.
4 WRI 2005 provides a detailed discussion of the Darewadi case.
5 IPCC 2007a.
6 Ibid.
7 World Bank 2006
8 UNFCCC 2007.
9 Stern 2006.
10 UNFCCC 1992, Article 4.
11 Boko et al. 2007.

In t roduc t i on : A dap t a t i on or D evelopmen t ?

iI
S ec t io n
Scott Wallace/The World Bank

Adaptation Around the World:
Taking Stock
While definitions of adaptation abound, they have notbeen particularly helpful in building understanding ofwhat adaptation really entails. For example, our definitionof adaptation as “adjustment in natural or human systems
in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or theireffects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial
opportunities”1 does not paint a very clear picture. One
can imagine any number of diverse activities that could
qualify.
This report seeks to go beyond definitions in orderto create more functional principles for understanding
adaptation. Building on practical examples, the analysis
reviews a series of global adaptation activities to better
understand the scope of what may be consideredadaptation, and to identify analytic parameters that canhelp to make the diversity of potentially useful adaptation
activities more manageable at the funding and policy
levels. In particular, we seek to identify concepts that
can assist in characterizing when the distinction between

adaptation and development is useful, when it doesn’t
matter, and when it could be counterproductive.

What Is Adaptation? Gathering
Practical Examples
To undertake this analysis, data on 135 “adaptation”
activities labeled as such by project implementers or
researchers were gathered from Internet sources. Activities
in the database range from concrete projects to policy
development efforts, from small village-level programs tohuge transboundary initiatives. For each example selected,
there had to be evidence of practical, on-the-ground
activity, not merely research or study. The review cast a
broad net to avoid being prescriptive or exclusive, and to
capture the full diversity of current efforts that may help
us understand the relationship between adaptation anddevelopment.

A dap t a t i on A round t h e World : Tak i ng S t ock

11

The selection of case examples took place through an
iterative process. An initial set of 120 cases identified
through UNFCCC sources and the “Development and
Adaptation Days” were narrowed to 47 on grounds that
73 of them primarily represented knowledge generation,
not practical action. Subsequent efforts to augment the
47 examples with additional cases focused on the Web
sites and databases of United Nations agencies, bilateraldevelopment agencies, and international NGOs. We also
solicited cases via the Climate-l and CAN-talk e-mail list
serves, in response to which 32 people sent e-mail replies,
leading to 12 examples that were included in the review.2
Annex A provides a list of all 135 cases in the final data
set and provides links to the sources used; Annex B
provides additional detail on case selection methods.
Further description of the case data may be found onlineat www.wri.org/climate/. It should be noted that the one
major segment excluded from the start of the study wasadaptation in the developed world.3
While we believe that our review has covered thecurrent major sources for adaptation information, anumber of selection biases may affect our findings. Firstand foremost, the review draws heavily on Internet-basedsources, and most likely excludes examples of adaptation
by agencies in the developing world that do not have a
Web presence. This constraint may partly explain therelatively low number of legislative and policy activities
captured in the study. Emphasis on online sources also
most likely excludes practical efforts underway within
the business community, for whom adaptation efforts
link closely to confidential business strategies. However,most private-sector activity on adaptation to date focuseson the developed world4 and, therefore, is not central tothis study. The review also heavily emphasizes resources
available in English, and may under-represent efforts
underway in Latin America, Francophone Africa, andother non-English-speaking places.

Characterizing Adaptation Efforts
Of the cases examined, the largest regional grouping was
found in Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by South-Central
Asia, and Latin America (Figure 1). By far, the majority ofcases had a rural focus, while adaptation efforts in urban
settings appear to be very limited (Figure 2). In termsof geographic scale, the largest body of cases was foundat the community (most often village) level, followed byother subnational jurisdictions (such as a coastal zone, awater basin, or a district). Relatively few examples aimed
to create change at the national level, and even fewer
were truly international (Figure 3). Figure 4 shows thesectoral breakdown of the cases examined. Agriculture
and Disaster Risk Management predominate, followed by
Water Resource Management and Coastal Resources.
The parameters described in Figures 1 through4 represent some of the most common ways ofcharacterizing adaptation efforts. This study’s findings
around these parameters provide evidence for gaps inaction toward adaptation that are frequently discussed
anecdotally within the adaptation community. For
example, Figure 2 suggests that little attention has been
paid thus far to adaptation in the urban context, relative
to rural areas. Likewise, Figure 3 suggests that nationallevel adaptation initiatives have developed slowly, relative
to community-based efforts. Figure 4 indicates relatively
little work is taking place on adaptation in the humanhealth and energy sectors. These findings may indicate
areas where additional work is needed.

Getting Beyond Sector and Place
While the above analysis of geography and sector canhelp to identify trends and gaps in the current body ofwork described as “adaptation,” it helps little with thechallenge of distinguishing adaptation from development.
With this in mind, the authors looked to both theobjectives of case activities and the strategies at play ineach case to see if distinguishing characteristics emerge.

Case Objectives
To understand the original objective of the activity vis-àvis adaptation to climate change, each case was reviewed
to ascertain whether the initiative aimed at adaptation toclimate change from the start; had adaptation elementsthat supplemented work with other core aims; or wasinterpreted as “adaptation” only after-the-fact. This
criterion is of interest because project goals and planningprovide one option for distinguishing adaptation efforts
from business-as-usual development. Based on theobjectives of activities studied, three models emerged:

12

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

adaptation processes, and which require additional
investments to be effective.5,6

2. Climate-Proofing of Development Efforts

1. “Serendipitous” Adaptation
Because of the overlap of development and adaptation
strategies, many activities undertaken to achieve
development objectives have outcomes that incidentally
may also support adaptation. As was the case with thework in Darewadi village, in Maharashtra, India, theadaptation function of many initiatives was noticed
or emphasized only after the start of the project—andsometimes even after its completion. Some observers
say this approach to adaptation does not represent
real adaptation and suggest that authors and project
developers may be cynically positioning their work to takeadvantage of the growing interest in adaptation to climatechange. However, whether or not the adaptive functionof an initiative is noticed or articulated does not change
the adaptive value of the activity. Moreover, retrospective
examination of work to find “serendipitous” adaptation
effects can serve a valuable learning function by helping
to identify the universe of relevant strategies, understandthe scope of current work that supports adaptation, andprioritize areas for future investment. Many development
agencies are currently conducting reviews of past andongoing projects to understand which have supported

In a number of cases, additional activities were added
to an ongoing development initiative to ensure its successunder a changing climate. In these cases, adaptation isseen as a means to a development end, and falls under
the rubric of “climate-proofing,” in which information
about climate is integrated into decisions or additional
investments are made to reduce or eliminate climatechange risks.7 Box 4 provides an example of a major
ongoing infrastructure project for which the Chinese
government obtained climate-proofing funds from the
Global Environment Facility (GEF). However, not all
climate-proofing efforts take the form of activities added
to ongoing development initiatives. Some development
efforts take a climate-proofing approach from the start. In
these cases, climate change predictions are usually used tohelp shape plans for development projects.

3. Discrete Adaptation
In cases of “discrete adaptation,” adaptation to climatechange is the primary objective of a project or initiative.
From the beginning, implementers and funders of these
efforts have climate change in mind. However, methods
and strategies for achieving adaptation objectives may be
drawn from the development “toolbox,” and development
outcomes may be seen as a means to an adaptation end.
For example, numerous cases included activities that foster
new livelihood activities, promote better natural resource
management, or promote literacy.
As can be seen in Figure 5, the largest group of cases
reviewed for this study is found in the “serendipitous”
adaptation category. This finding is not surprising,
given the large body of longstanding development workwith potential adaptive function. Discrete adaptation
activities were the second-largest grouping, followed byclimate-proofing, a relatively new approach that seems
likely to grow.

A dap t a t i on A round t h e World : Tak i ng S t ock

13Box 4. Chang i n g Cour s e : Ch i na I n t egrat e s Cl i mat e int o
Ag ricult ur a l P l an n i ng
Climate conditions affect our everyday lives—whether we’re planning a picnic, packing
for a trip far from home, or deciding when to harvest the last of the summer garden.
Decision-makers who ignore climate conditions face much higher stakes if they set
a development project into motion without considering how changes in climate may
influence its success.
A World Bank-funded project from northern China shows how climate change
considerations were overlooked in planning a development project—and how thisomission was then rectified. Begun in 2004, the project aimed to address declining
agricultural productivity in the “3H” Basin (comprising the Huang, Huai, and Hai River
Basins). The project drew on time-proven techniques for increasing output: irrigation
upgrades, improved water-use efficiency, and broader access to markets and information.
One year after the project’s initiation, China solicited a second loan from the World
Bank, this time from the Global Environment Facility’s Special Climate Change Fund.
This grant, titled “Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change into Water Resources
Management and Rural Development,” was intended to address a missing elementof the initial project. The grant proposal noted that “although key components of [theagricultural project] are climate sensitive, adaptation measures for climate change
were not included in [the] project design because the role of adaptation has been widely
recognized only recently.” The realization of the relevance of climate change to thisproject was spurred by predictions that higher temperatures could increase evaporationand that sea level rise could cause salinization of ground water, restricting any increasein agricultural productivity.
The new grant incorporates climate change concerns into the existing project bymodeling climate change impacts on hydrology and agriculture and by testing a wide
range of adaptation measures at demonstration sites. As the project’s title attests,
a broader aim is the integration of adaptation to climate change into agriculturaldevelopment planning throughout the country. Through workshops, training, andinstitution of a national climate change adaptation plan for the agricultural sector,
China hopes to reverse the inattention to climate change evidenced in the original
project, and install in its place a focused awareness of the relevance of climate change
to development.
Source: World Bank 2007.

The objective-based typology described above is helpful
in describing the current landscape of adaptation efforts.
It highlights valuable assessment processes and learningthat have emerged as the development community turns
an adaptation lens to existing strategies and project
portfolios. However, given the growing interest inand tools available for mainstreaming adaptation intodevelopment,8 it seems clear that these two separate
objectives will increasingly blur as they come to beconsidered together in decision-making. The distinction
between adaptation as a means to development (as we seein climate-proofing cases) and development as a means
to adaptation (as we see in discrete adaptation cases) isalready challenging to discern in many cases, and it islikely to grow even fuzzier.

14

Case Strategies
A second parameter used to characterize the adaptation
cases is strategy. Although no system for categorizing
adaptation strategies will ever be perfect, 12 strategies
emerged from the data set (Table 1). The strategies
indicate a clear methodological intersection between
adaptation and development. Of the 12 strategies
identified, only climate change awareness-raising is
unique to climate adaptation. The majority of cases utilize
methods and approaches that come straight from thedevelopment toolbox; when seen on the ground, few ofthem would be easily distinguished from development
initiatives.
The strategy parameter also indicates that many
adaptation efforts are highly integrated. Most projects
utilize multiple strategies to address multiple sourcesof vulnerability (Figure 6). For instance, many people
picture physical infrastructure projects when they thinkof adaptation, since roads, bridges, and buildings in many
places will need to withstand more frequent or stronger
storms and floods as climate changes. However, all 13
examples in our data set that focus on infrastructure also
incorporate other strategies, such as technological change,
institution building, and planning.

Lessons from the Case Review
In looking at the objectives of activities labeled“adaptation,” we find that sometimes adaptation is viewed
as a means to achieve a development objective, whileother times development provides a means to achieve an
adaptation objective. This dual relationship is positive:
when the two objectives are viewed as supporting eachother, they both are more likely to be achieved. Given
the current interest in mainstreaming adaptation intodevelopment, however, the two will increasingly betreated as dual objectives, rather than ends and means.
This means that those who wish to examine objectives todistinguish adaptation from development will increasingly

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Ta b l e 1 . Adap tat i on S t rat eg i es Em p lo y ed i n t h e Cas e s Exam ine d  Strategy

Number of Cases

Changing Natural Resource Management Practices
1 Emphasizes new or different natural resource management practices (e.g., for managing water, land, protected areas,
fisheries) as adaptation strategies.

57

Building Institutions

2 Creates new or strengthens existing institutions (e.g., establishing committees, identifying mechanisms for sharing

43

information across institutional boundaries, training staff responsible for policy development).
Launching Planning Processes

3 Sets in motion a specific process for adaptation planning (e.g., developing a disaster preparedness plan, convening

35

stakeholders around vulnerability assessment findings).
Raising Awareness4 Raises stakeholder awareness of climate change, specific climate impacts, adaptation strategies, or the environment in

33

general.

Promoting Technology Change

5 Promotes implementation or development of a technology new to the location (e.g., irrigation technology, communications

31

technology).

Establishing Monitoring/Early Warning Systems

6 Emphasizes the importance of creating, implementing, and/or maintaining monitoring and/or early warning systems.
Changing Agricultural Practices

7 Focuses on new or different agricultural practices as adaptation strategies.

23

Empowering People

8 Emphasizes literacy, gender empowerment, or the creation of income generation opportunities as a basis for adaptation.
Promoting Policy Change

9 Promotes establishing a new policy or adjusting an existing policy.
Improving Infrastructure

13

Providing Insurance Mechanisms

11 Creates, modifies, or plans an insurance scheme.

4

12 Consists of three instances of relief work and one focused on eradication of climate-related diseases.

have trouble doing so. In particular, understanding
adaptation as an entirely separate process is unlikely toprovide a useful rubric for allocating scarce resources or
selecting among competing policy options.
Exploration of the strategies used in the cases findsthat a significant area of overlap between adaptation anddevelopment is methodological. Even when adaptation is
the primary objective of an activity (as opposed to beinga means to development), efforts labeled “adaptation”
almost always utilize strategies that look remarkably likethose used in development. This suggests that if there are
uniquely “adaptive” elements to these efforts, they are

22

14

10 Focuses on creating or improving built infrastructure (e.g., roads, sea walls, irrigation systems).

Other Strategies

25

4

those involved in defining problems, selecting strategies,
and setting priorities, not in implementing solutions.
Further work to survey these planning processes could
perhaps identify clearer ways to distinguish adaptationfrom development work.
For the moment, however, the parameters examined seem
primarily to highlight the intersections of adaptation anddevelopment, and have limited utility in providing a broadly
applicable way to differentiate between them. Thus, it seems
appropriate to instead turn to a conceptual framework that
pursues the idea that the relationship between adaptationand development will vary with changing circumstances.

A dap t a t i on A round t h e World : Tak i ng S t ock

15

Notes
1 IPCC 2007b, p. 869.
2 These included particularly rich contributions from the WorldBank and GTZ, for which the authors are grateful.
3 Countries listed in Annex 1 of the UNFCCC were considered“developed” for the purposes of this study; all others wereconsidered “developing.”
4 UNEP Finance Initiative 2006.
5 The UNFCCC’s Coping Strategies Database, for example,
presents strategies useful in adapting to climate change (http://
maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/), irrespective of whether
they were first implemented specifically to achieve adaptation
objectives.
6 Klein et al. 2007.
7 Reid and Huq 2007.
8 See, for example, USAID 2007.

16

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

iiI
S ec t io n
Eric Miller/The World Bank

Framing Adaptation:
A Continuum of Approaches
If there is one clear lesson from the experience ofadaptation responses to date it’s that there is no one clear
lesson. Responses to climate change encompass countless
sectors and different communities. Some involve detailed
understanding of the emerging impacts; others, only
the vaguest notion that a vulnerable community will be
under climatic stress. Some involve a deliberate attempt tocope with climate change; many contribute to adaptation
without intending to.
How then do we approach the messiness and diversitythat characterizes adaptation? The first thing to realize
is that no one model for framing adaptation efforts
will be completely satisfactory. Any set of criteria for
sorting adaptation initiatives can and will be critiqued.
A framework is important only insofar as it is useful inmaking a particular point; in other cases, we may carve up
the problem differently. Here we introduce a frameworkof approaches to adaptation based upon how closely those
approaches target specific climate change impacts. Our
framework makes a key point: rather than draw a sharp

distinction between adaptation and development, we
instead place them on a continuum. This enables users tobetter understand the overlap between efforts, and should
allow policymakers and funders more latitude in designingand implementing adaptation programs.

Mapping Adaptation Efforts
Two roughly distinct perspectives inform how people
approach the challenge of adaptation: one focuseson creating response mechanisms to specific impacts
associated with climate change, and the other on reducing
vulnerability to climate change through building capacities
that can help deal with a range of impacts. The first
approach uses understood impacts as a starting point
for distinguishing between adaptation and “normal”
development. However, making this distinction canbe technically and conceptually difficult, as discussed
in Section I, and has been critiqued for neglecting
the real causes of vulnerability. A more vulnerability-

F ram i ng A dap t a t i on : A C on t i nuum of A pproac h es

17

focused approach, on the other hand, starts by targetingthe underlying factors that cause climate change to beharmful. 1 Such an approach may fall outside the mandateof climate change policies, and can also appear massive in
scope.
In practice, of course, many instances of adaptation fall
between the extremes of vulnerability and impacts foci:actions are taken with a specific type of impact in mind,
but nevertheless involve activities with more generalbenefits in reducing vulnerability. One way of framing thisdiversity is as a continuum between “pure” development
activities on one hand and very explicit climate change
measures on the other.
Figure 7 represents one way of mapping out adaptation
efforts—that is, actions undertaken to limit the harm
associated with climate change. On the left-hand side of
the continuum, the most vulnerability-oriented adaptation
efforts overlap almost completely with traditional
development practice, where activities take little or no
account of specific impacts associated with climate change,and have many benefits in the absence of climate change.

18

On the far right, highly specialized activities exclusively
target distinct climate change impacts, and fall outside
the realm of development as we know it. Their benefits
will materialize only in the event of climate change. In
between lies a broad spectrum of activities with gradationsof emphasis on vulnerability and impacts. The continuum
can be roughly divided into four types of adaptation
efforts (from left to right):

1. Addressing the Drivers of Vulnerability
At the left end of the spectrum, activities arefundamentally about bolstering human development.
These activities focus on reducing poverty andaddressing other fundamental shortages of capability
that make people vulnerable to harm, regardless ofwhether the stressors that can lead to harm are related
to climate change. Example activities include livelihood
diversification efforts, literacy promotion, women’s rights
initiatives, and even projects that address HIV/AIDS (seeBox 5).

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Very little, if any, attention to the specifics of climatechange is paid during these interventions; these activities
buffer households and communities from the effects ofclimate change simply because they buffer them fromnearly all sources of harm. Many of these activities arecapacity-building activities that strengthen individuals’
abilities to take action. One capability often fostered isthe ability to “cope,” or take short-term action to ward
off immediate risk from climatic events (e.g., taking
shelter to survive a storm, or saving enough food tosurvive a drought).
Often, poverty and other core reasons for vulnerability
must be dealt with before more impact-oriented
adaptation efforts can be effective. In other cases,
however, vulnerability-oriented efforts can be conductedconcurrently with more impacts-oriented initiatives. In

our data set, 65 percent of the examples that we havecharacterized as addressing the drivers of vulnerability also
included activities that more directly focused on impacts
associated with climate change.
However, because climate change effects are not taken
into account, some interventions at the left of thecontinuum run the risk of maladaptation. For example,
while diversifying agricultural livelihoods typically reduces
vulnerability and strengthens resilience, diversification
efforts that introduce crop varieties that cannot
withstand increased drought conditions could undermine
development gains over the longer term if droughts
become more frequent. Likewise, while coping capacity
can be critical for surviving short-term dangers, repeatedcoping may undermine long-term adaptation.

B o x 5 . HI V / A ID S , Food S e cu r i t y, a nd C l imat e Cha n g e: A Vici ous Spir a l
Around the world, community-based organizations, United Nations (UN) agencies,and national governments are striving to prevent, treat, and cope with the
pandemic of HIV/AIDS. The scale of the problem is enormous,1 with an estimated39.5 million people currently living with HIV. Southern Africa remains the global
epicenter for HIV/AIDS, home to 32 percent of people with HIV and 34 percent of
AIDS deaths globally. The highest rate of infection is found in Swaziland, whereapproximately one in three people are infected.2“In the present circumstance, even where soundpolicies are in place, the coping strategies ofcommunities and families are so mangled and eroded
by AIDS that full recovery simply isn’t possible.”— Stephen Lewis (2003)
Former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa
The HIV/AIDS crisis increases the vulnerability of communities and countries tothe impacts of climate change. The pandemic upsets informal social safety nets,
places immense burdens on already stretched health care systems, undermines
knowledge generation and transfer through the loss of teachers and researchers,
weakens governance capacity, and disrupts economic activity. For example, by
2010, the International Labor Organization estimates that 17 countries (16 in
Africa, plus Haiti) will lose more than 10 percent of their labor force to AIDS, and
5 of those countries will lose more than 20 percent of their labor force.3
The relationship between HIV/AIDS, food security, and nutrition is particularly
closely linked. Good nutrition is recognized as being a critical factor in delaying
the onset of AIDS and increasing the capacity of people living with HIV toparticipate in their own health care.4 However, HIV/AIDS is undermining the
productive capacity of the subsistence agricultural sector—the main sourceof livelihood for up to 80 percent of the population of countries hit hard by the
pandemic5—reducing food security, and increasing poverty. As farmers (typicallywomen) decline in health and die,6 fewer workers are engaged in planting,harvesting, and marketing; time is diverted from the field to caring for thesick; and critical intergenerational transfer of knowledge is reduced, including

knowledge of alternative agricultural and food foraging techniques needed intimes of drought and famine.7 The HIV/AIDS pandemic also creates significant
institutional gaps due to staff attrition among agricultural researchers andprofessionals, reducing the functionality of research organizations, educational
institutions, extension services, disaster management agencies, and local
informal organizations.8, 9
Ongoing efforts to prevent HIV infection, improve access to antiretroviraltreatment, and improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS typically do notconsider climate change. Nor is it necessary for these efforts to do so in order tosupport adaptation to climate change. By working to achieve a core requirement
for any well-functioning society—a healthy population—these efforts serve toincrease the adaptive capacity of families, communities, and governments.
However, it should be recognized that climate change impacts also havesignificant potential to undermine current efforts to tackle the HIV/AIDS problem.
As drought conditions become more prevalent, access to water declines, sea water
inundates shoreline communities, and extreme events become more common, it
more likely that migration, conflict, and disruption of social networks will occur.
These circumstances are in turn more likely to lead to the outbreak and transfer of
infectious diseases, including HIV.10

Notes
1	In 2006, approximately 2.9 million people died from AIDS-related illness and 4.3 million

people were newly infected with HIV (UNAIDS and WHO 2006).
2

UNAIDS and WHO 2006.

3	ICAD 2006.
4

Gommes et al. 2004.

5	ICAD 2006.
6

FAO estimates that 20 percent or more of agricultural workers in southern Africa (about
16 million people) will die from AIDS by 2020 (Lewis 2003; ICAD 2006).

7

Lewis 2003.

8

FAO 2007.

9

Suarez et al. 2007.

10

Gommes et al. 2004.

F ram i ng A dap t a t i on : A C on t i nuum of A pproac h es

19

B o x 6 . Ada p t i ng t o U n c e r tai n t y i n Rwan da
An estimated 43 percent of Rwanda’s 8.2 million inhabitants live in
extreme poverty.1 Most of the country’s economy is based on rain-fed
agriculture, and 95 percent of its energy needs is met through the useof traditional biomass-based fuels. These factors, combined with highpopulation density, place enormous pressure on an already fragile
environment.2
Rwanda’s growing population and economy are increasing its energy
demand, almost all which will continue to be met through biomassin the near and medium terms. Electricity remains expensive andunderdistributed, and alternative energies, such as peat, methane gas,solar, and wind power, are only starting to be tapped. To address thegrowing energy (and looming environmental) crisis, the Government of
Rwanda has prioritized the rehabilitation and expansion of the country’s
electricity generation capacity.3 Almost all of Rwanda’s electricity ishydro-generated, but limited investment and overuse of hydropower
have resulted in severe capacity deficits. Moreover, environmental
degradation and climate variability have reduced river flows, further
decreasing the productivity of hydropower facilities. If Rwanda is todiversify and enhance its energy supply, it will need to address these
problems through adjustments that allow the hydroelectric sector toadapt to the growing threat of climate change.
Recognizing this urgent need, the Government of Rwanda secured
funding through the United Nations Environment Program under the
Global Environment Facility (GEF) to reduce the vulnerability of its
hydroelectric sector to the effects of climate change. But what willthese effects be? Climate information in Rwanda is limited. Mostof the country’s hydro-meteorological infrastructure was lost during
the war in the early 1990s, and only one station remains, at Kigali
airport. Information analyzed from this station indicates that, overall,Rwanda is getting warmer and drier. However, subnational historical
data shows that some parts of the country are more exposed torainfall deficits and drought, while others are more exposed to rainfall
excesses. Knowing whether these patterns of exposure are expected topersist or change with global warming has significant implications forthe functioning and productivity of a hydropower station. For example,
drought conditions would mean less runoff and storage in resevoirs,
limiting the electricity generated from hydropower stations. On theother hand, heavy rainfall could lead to more erosion and siltation, also
reducing the potential to produce hydroelectricity.

We find that activities that address the foundations ofvulnerability frequently are located in projects that weretermed “serendipitous” adaptation in Section II. However,some of these efforts are incorporated into cases of discrete
adaptation work, frequently in combination with activities
that fall elsewhere on the Figure 7 continuum.

2. Building Response Capacity
In this zone of the continuum, adaptation focuseson building robust systems for problem solving. These
capacity-building efforts lay the foundation for moretargeted actions and frequently entail institution-building

20

The GEF pilot project in Rwanda has targeted two hydropower
stations located in the Northern Province4 on the shores of twoconnected lakes that are fed by an internationally significant wetland
upstream. Because climate information is scarce and projections
remain uncertain, the project is focusing on increasing current
hydropower potential through an integrated approach. Humanactivities have severely degraded the watershed ecosystem, reducing
water availability from the wetland and increasing erosion along
the lakeshores. Therefore, interventions at the watershed level seek
to protect hydropower potential by reducing human pressure on thelandscape and rehabilitating ecosystem functioning. Specific project
activities include livestock provisioning, installation of rainwater
harvesting systems, reforestation, construction of erosion-control
structures, and introduction of alternative energy sources.
Meanwhile, activities at the hydropower stations focus on improving
the operation and maintenance of the stations, as well as building
the capacity of station operators to collect and analyze environmental
data. These activities will allow managers to monitor and better run
the stations in the face of environmental change, including climatechange. Complementing these efforts is ongoing research into thelinks between hydropower and climate change. Lessons from the field
activities and research will be fed into national development policies,
such as Rwanda’s Energy Policy.
Thus, while concern about the future impacts of climate change helped
motivate the Government of Rwanda to act, the activities themselves
are largely in response to current stresses and priorities. They put
Rwanda’s environment, rural population, and energy sector in a better
position to deal with future climate stress, whether they are associatedwith more or less rainfall.

Notes
1

Republic of Rwanda 2007.

2

Republic of Rwanda 2004.

3	Ibid.
4	IISD 2007.

and technological approaches familiar to the development
community. Examples include the development ofcommunications systems and planning processes, andthe improvement of mapping, weather monitoring, andnatural resource management practices.
These activities may have many benefits other thanadaptation to climate change, but they typically occur
in sectors more directly relevant to climate change thanliteracy, women’s rights, or HIV/AIDS efforts. Thoughclimate change information does not play a central rolein the work, awareness of climate change is a reason forprioritizing it over work in other areas.

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Activities that build response capacity may map to
any of the models identified in Section II. Many aredevelopment activities to which an adaptive function
was ascribed only after the fact, but many such activities
are also incorporated into discrete adaptation efforts.
Adaptation initiatives that must contend with high levelsof uncertainty will often have resilience-building activities
that fall into this category.
With building response capacity, the extent to which
activities are targeted toward specific impacts is limited,either by limited ability to predict expected impacts or bylimitations on other capacities needed for highly targeted
action. For example, in Rwanda, efforts to “climateproof” hydropower production hit a roadblock because of
uncertainty as to whether climate change will bring moreor less rainfall (Box 6). Adaptation efforts are moving
forward by strengthening hydropower operations ingeneral, with the expectation that these strengths will help
the power sector adapt to specific effects of a changing
climate, whatever they may be. In the meantime, morereliable power production helps to address numerous nonclimate-related needs in Rwanda.

3. Managing Climate Risk
When adaptation efforts focus more specifically on
hazards and impacts, an important framework for action
is provided by the concept of climate risk management(CRM). CRM refers to the process of incorporatingclimate information into decisions to reduce negativechanges to resources and livelihoods.2 This framework
accommodates the fact that often the effects ofanthropogenic climate change are not easily distinguishedfrom the effects of events and trends within the historicrange of climate variability. The CRM approachencourages managing current climate-related risks asa basis for managing more complex, longer-term risks
associated with climate change.3
Use of climate information distinguishes the CRM
approach from typical development efforts, though
the success of CRM may have strong development
implications and vice-versa. Many disaster-response
planning activities fall into the CRM category, as do
many technological approaches (e.g., drought-resistantcrops). Climate-proofing projects most often fall into
this category, though many discrete adaptation projects
also focus on CRM. In the dry lands of Kenya, a CRM
approach is being used to prepare for future droughts,
which are expected to intensify as climate changes (seeBox 7).
The success of CRM depends heavily upon theavailability of climate information, and is enhanced whenclimate change predictions can be made with relatively
high certainty and precision. If adaptation initiatives planBox 7. M an ag in g Cli mate R isk in Ru ra l Kenya
Home to 10 million people, Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands have the lowest
development indicators and highest incidence of poverty in the country. Over 60 percent
of inhabitants currently live below the poverty line. Increasing population pressures,
overgrazing, crop reduction in fallow fields, and recurring conflicts between pastoralists
and farmers all pose serious development challenges. These will be exacerbated byclimate change, which is expected to bring increased frequency and severity of bothfloods and droughts.1
In response to the devastating effects of past droughts—and the prospect of more asclimate change intensifies—the Centre for Science and Technology Innovations has
partnered with the Arid Lands Resource Management Project to work with communities
in Makueni District in introducing a suite of measures to reduce vulnerability to climatechange. Climate and weather forecasts are being downscaled and communicated tofarmers to help them select appropriate planting times. Local production systems
are being diversified through the use of drought-tolerant crop varieties and bettersystems for collecting and storing seeds. Farmers have been trained in soil and water
conservation; weather prediction and interpretation; selection of seeds to fit climaticand land conditions; and early land preparation and planting. As well, such technologies
as sand dams and drip irrigation have been introduced to improve access to water.
Credit systems are being strengthened, allowing community members to pursue
diversified or alternative livelihood activities.2
Taken together, these interventions represent a climate risk management approachto development. Historical, current, and future climate information has been used tounderstand vulnerability to drought and devise strategies to decrease it. Specifically,
information on the effects of past droughts has highlighted where livelihood systems
fall short and where capacity is needed. Access to current and seasonal weather
forecasts allows farmers to make more informed decisions that reduce their exposure
to short-term climate risk. Knowledge of longer-term trends associated with climatechange encourages them to think about how decisions and investments made today will
stand up to even drier and more variable conditions tomorrow. Selecting seeds that areappropriate to expected climatic conditions further safeguards against drought. Throughbetter access to and understanding of climate information, these communities have
improved their understanding of future conditions, are able to implement agronomic
practices based upon this knowledge, and thus have increased their capacity to adapt
to climate change.

Notes
1

Government of Kenya 2002.

2	IISD 2007.

too concretely based on risk assessments that turn out
later to have been inaccurate, investments may be wasted,
and maladaptation could result.

4. Confronting Climate Change
For a small set of examples of adaptation in our review,
actions taken focus almost exclusively on addressing
impacts associated with climate change. Typically, theseactions target climate risks that are clearly outside ofhistoric climate variability, and have little bearing on
risks that stem from anything other than anthropogenic
climate change. For example, communities that relocate
in response to sea level rise mainly fall into this category,

F ram i ng A dap t a t i on : A C on t i nuum of A pproac h es

21

as do many responses to glacial melting (Box 8). Radical
or costly policy and technological approaches that addressunprecedented levels of climate risk also belong in thehighly targeted category. Few of these approaches havebeen seen to date, but efforts in the Himalayas to prevent
harms from glacial melting, and Australia’s overhaul ofwater allocation rules after six years of drought probably
are signs of things to come.
Because measures that are highly targeted at climatechange impacts do not address non-climate change
challenges, they tend to require new approaches thatfall outside of the relatively well-understood set ofpractices that we might think of as a development“comfort zone.” This level of innovation usually takes
the form of a discrete effort, and is often both costly
and fundamentally challenging to cultural and politicalnorms. After all, even with the clearest, most certain
climate predictions in hand, it isn’t easy to decideto leave the island where your family has lived forgenerations, or to accept that the land your community
has farmed for centuries is becoming too dry tosustain agriculture. Moreover, initiatives that relocate
whole groups of people or that launch large, untested
engineering endeavors come with large price tags that
require a high level of political will.
As such, many measures in this continuum zone take onan extreme or “last-ditch” quality, and many people, quite
rightly, wish to avoid them. This is one reason we see so
few activities from this category in our set of examples. A
more important reason, however, is that, at least for the
moment, climate change effects and “normal” climate
variability are difficult to disassociate. Therefore, we seemore adaptation approaches that address climate change
and other sources of risk together using a CRM approach(see above). Given the current state of climate change,highly “impacts-targeted” activities also require long-termplanning, since the most clearly distinguishable impacts ofclimate change are still years or decades from being felt inmany places.
However, it is also clear that the need for highly impactstargeted climate change action can in many cases be
reduced by the success of other types of adaptation efforts,
and by work to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrationsin the atmosphere. We can think of the boundary on
the continuum between Managing Climate Risk andConfronting Climate Change as a threshold that moves
right if greenhouse gas mitigation and climate adaptation
are successful, shrinking the scope of impacts-targeted
action needed. To the extent that climate adaptation andgreenhouse gas mitigation fail, the threshold moves left,
expanding the scope of impacts-targeted activity, since thedirect affects of climate change will be felt more directly bymore people.

22

Box 8. A da ptin g t o Cha ngin g H a z a rds in N ep al:
Re du cin g t he Risk of Gl a ci a l Lak e O u tb ur st
Fl oods
As the Earth warms, mountain glaciers are melting.1 The meltwater
pools behind unstable natural dams, which are formed of moraine,
the sediment that glaciers carve out of the mountains as they move.
Glacial lakes have existed as long as there have been glaciers, butwith climate change, the volume of water stored in these lakes
is growing. This heightens the risk of the moraine dams being
breached, suddenly releasing huge volumes of water downstream.
In August 1985, an avalanche dumped tons of ice into the Dig
Tscho glacial lake in eastern Nepal. The resulting 5-meter (m) wave
overtopped the moraine dam and released a flood that destroyed
homes, bridges, farmland, and a nearly completed hydropower plant.2
The glacial lake was drained within six hours. Four or five deaths
resulted from this event—a figure that could have been much higher
had the flood occurred during the height of the tourist season.
The risk of another Dig Tscho-type outburst flood is growing, as
temperature increases at high altitudes in the Himalayas correlatewith increasing glacial lake volumes.3 A 2001 inventory carried out
by the United Nations Environment Programme and the International
Centre for Integrated Mountain Development identified 20 sites atrisk in Nepal. Among the most dangerous sites is the Tscho Rolpa
glacial lake, situated 4,580 m above sea level and fed by the rapidly
retreating Tradkarding glacier. The glacial lake had grown from anarea of 0.23 square kilometers (km²) in the late 1950s to 1.65 km² in
1997. At this size, the lake stored 90–100 million cubic meters (m³) ofwater, at least a third of which would be released downstream if the
150-m-tall moraine dam were breached.4
Recognizing the risk this high-altitude warming and lake expansion
posed to rural communities and infrastructure, such as the Khimitihydropower plant, in 1998 the Government of Nepal initiated a
project to drain down the Tscho Rolpa glacial lake. An expert group
recommended cutting a channel into the moraine to reduce lakelevels by 3 m, which was expected to reduce outburst flood risk by
20 percent.5 This measure was carried out in conjunction with theestablishment of early-warning systems in 19 downstream villages.
However, experts are warning that total outburst flood prevention will
require a further draining of as much as 17 m—a costly endeavor.
Nevertheless, the initial step toward reducing glacial lake outburst
flood risk in Nepal provides an example of anticipatory development
planning that targets a clear impact of climate change.

Notes
1

Lemke et al. 2007.

2

Germanwatch 2004.

3

Agrawala et al. 2003.

4

Ibid.

5

Rana et al. 2000.

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

This is not to say that climate change-specific action
can be avoided entirely. Science shows us with increasing
precision that we are already “committed” to a certain
amount of global warming, which has direct implications
for many people in many places. Places such as Nepal(Box 8) are moving forward with proactive planning forsome specific eventualities. That these instances remain
relatively few indicates that society will need more thanclimate predictions to prompt proactive planning for those
consequences of climate change that will be most uniqueand potentially most difficult to address.

Using a Framework of Adaptation
Approaches
It is important to emphasize that the continuum
presented in Figure 7 describes a set of approaches toadaptation, not the specific circumstances or the typeof impact faced. The continuum categorizes adaptation
efforts according to whether vulnerability or impacts areemphasized in the approach taken. Most other frameworks
for analyzing adaptation have distinguished among
efforts based upon sectoral divisions, impacts addressed,
ecosystem characteristics, or the scale (location, national
international, etc.) of the intervention.
It is also important to emphasize that, as befits acontinuum, the lines between the categories are blurry.
As such, it is often difficult to decide whether a given
activity is best described, for example, as building response
capacity or managing climate risk. In truth, there ismuch more variation in the extent to which an activity
may target a specific climate change impact than can be
described with four zones. However, we believe we havecharacterized four roughly distinct possible relationships

between an adaptation effort and a specific impact
associated with climate change.
The typology developed here does not attempt to rank
the different types of adaptation; rather, it simply attempts
to describe present adaptation efforts in developing
countries. The typology also should not be thought of asa series of stages over time, with highly targeted climatechange activities as the ultimate goal. (In fact, the need forhighly targeted climate change activities is something wewould all like to avoid, to the extent possible.) It is clear,
however, that addressing vulnerability drivers, building
response capacity, and managing climate risk do augment
one another. There are many examples where adaptation
initiatives incorporate elements of two or three of theseapproaches.
Placing individual instances of adaptation along thisspectrum is at best an inexact science. However, as Figure
8 illustrates, we find the bulk of the experience to date
focuses on the “messy middle” of building capacityand managing climate risk, where adaptation is neither
wholly focused on climate change impacts nor completelyoriented toward the underlying drivers of vulnerability.
Approximately one-fifth of the cases studied fall into thevulnerability drivers category; they are essentially “pure”
development activities. Quite likely, our study substantially
underestimates the extent of adaptation underway as aresult of this type of intervention, given the many similar
efforts not yet labeled “adaptation.” Conversely, very few
instances of highly climate change-specific adaptation
measures have been recorded.
What determines the type of adaptation activity?
Two factors appear to predominate in shaping thecharacterization of an adaptation response: the existing
capacity of those responding and the certainty of
information about climate impacts.
Lower levels of capacity necessitate greater investment
in addressing underlying sources of vulnerability (i.e.,
adaptation efforts more to the left of the continuum).
Higher certainty regarding climate change prediction
enables efforts to more directly target specific impacts(i.e., on the right of the continuum). However, it isimportant to note that neither of these drivers has alinear relationship to how closely adaptation efforts may
target a specific impact. For example, in a case wherestorm risks are very well understood, a CRM approach
may be impossible if basic communications infrastructure
does not exist. In this case, the broader capacity building
involved in creating the communications infrastructure
would be an adaptation priority, even though information
may exist that could support more impacts-targeted efforts.
Notably, the type of impact does not always drive theresponse taken. A country or community faced with agiven change in climate can select from among a range ofF ram i ng A dap t a t i on : A C on t i nuum of A pproac h es

23

responses. For instance, as coral reefs die off from ocean
warming, coastal communities may be more exposed tostorm surges. One response may be to build artificial reefs
to mitigate surges—an activity that would fall on the rightof the continuum. Conversely, building more permanentand robust housing and infrastructure may enhance theresilience of coastal communities while fitting a broader
set of development needs—placing it more centrally along
the continuum. Taking a response from the far left of ourcontinuum, broad capacity building may be needed toequip the affected communities to make the appropriate
choices for facing these and any other consequences
associated with climate change.
It seems likely that other factors, such as the specificity,
severity, and immediacy of an impact, as well as people’s
perceptions of risk and access to information, may playa role in determining the appropriate extent to whichinterventions should target specific impacts. Further
exploration of such factors is needed to better understandwhen to home in on specific impacts and when to build
more broadly applicable capacities.

24

Notes
1

Ribot (1995) provides an early articulation of the difference in focusing onvulnerability as opposed to impacts.

2	Hellmuth et al. 2007.
3

UNDP 2002.

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

iv
S ec t io nBill Lyons/The World Bank

Governance and DecisionMaking Under Uncertainty
As we have seen, a large body of adaptation work
is neither wholly targeted at specific climate change
impacts nor wholly focused on addressing root causes ofvulnerability. That we find so many adaptation efforts
in this middle ground of the continuum reflects thecore challenge of climate change: learning to live withnew sources of uncertainty. Given the relatively highuncertainty associated with effects of climate change
in many places, adaptation efforts cannot universally
focus on planning for an expected new climate. Instead,actors reduce vulnerability to an uncertain climate by
selecting integrated strategies that may map to a numberof potential climate change futures, as well as reduce
vulnerability to non-climate sources of harm.
Over time, as understanding of climate risk improves,
adaptation experience grows, and the effects of climatechange are felt more strongly in more places, impactsoriented approaches—especially climate risk-management
approaches—seem likely to become more widely
implemented. However, the effectiveness of climate risk

management depends heavily upon the ability to reduce
uncertainties surrounding climate impacts to a level atwhich risk management tools can be reliably implemented.
In some sectors and locations, this reduction of
uncertainty will happen relatively rapidly, while in others
it may happen only over decades, or not at all. It is critical,
therefore, that certainty about climate risk not become aprerequisite for action on adaptation. Many of the mostvulnerable places and communities will not be able toapproach climate risks in a standard risk management
sense; for them, the core adaptation task will instead be tobuild the capacity to cope with uncertainty.1
Take for example, much of the Sahel, where climate
models disagree about even the most basic question
about change: Is it getting wetter or drier? In thesecircumstances, approaches that take a climate impact,
such as drought, as a starting point and aim for specificoutcomes are likely to prove costly and ineffective. They
risk maladaptation, since even the starting point of theplanning process is under question.

G overnance and D ec i s i on - M ak i ng U nder U ncer t a i n t y25However, the availability of good climate risk
information does not necessarily make adaptation
decisions easier or better. For instance, how certain do you
have to be about the likelihood of a Category 5 cyclone toinvest an extra billion dollars in building levees that are
more likely to withstand one? Even if uncertainties could
be removed from the picture, the question of how to makesuch a decision still would have no simple answer, as suchdecisions inevitably involve many intersecting—and often
competing—values and interests. Processes for weighing
and resolving these play a central role in adaptation acrossthe full spectrum of decision-making.

Process, Not Product
When trying to distinguish between adaptation anddevelopment, many people look at a given initiative
and ask, “Did it take climate change into account?”
They look for evidence that climate change predictions
were considered in designing the initiative, or thatvulnerabilities specific to climate change were identified.
Often, they want to ensure that the initiative’s core
objective relates to an anticipated change in the climate.
That is, they are looking for evidence of planned,
intentional, efforts to adapt. The adaptation community
often contrasts “planned adaptation” with “autonomous
adaptation”, through which a natural or human system
adjusts to a change in climate independently, without
formal, collective decision-making.
An emphasis on the process of making adaptation
decisions puts the idea of planned adaptation in a newlight. Instead of planning to adapt to a given impact,
planning for adaptation decision-making processes lays
a foundation for ongoing adaptation efforts that canadjust and improve as new information, techniques, orconditions are encountered. What kinds of processes areneeded?
n processes for learning as we go;n processes for checking and correcting for maladaptation
as we learn;n processes for making trade-offs that reflect public
values; andn processes for sharing information to support the trade-offs.
For example, as with most other decisions, adaptation
decision outcomes will frequently have winners and losers.
Box 9 provides an example from Rwanda where efforts
to reduce the vulnerability of the nation’s hydroelectric
sector led to an increase in vulnerability for communities
surrounding the Rugezi wetland. The overall effectivenessof adaptation in this case depends upon processes that canreconcile competing demands upon wetland resources.

26

Box 9. A da ptati o n Tr ad e-O ffs
In Rwanda’s Northern Province, protecting and enhancing theregional energy supply means protecting the Rugezi wetland, aRamsar site located near the Ugandan border. The wetland feeds
lakes Burera and Ruhondo, which supply hydroelectric energy to the
Ntaruka and Mukungwa hydropower stations. Mounting populationpressures in the 1990s led households to grow crops in the wetland
and to collect other resources there, such as thatching grasses.
Downstream, communities living on the steep slopes around lakes
Burera and Ruhondo were engaged in intensive farming practices,which resulted in loss of vegetative cover, declining soil fertility, andaccelerated soil erosion. Together, these population pressures on
the wetland and downstream lakes contributed to declining water
availability for hydropower generation.
Facing a mounting energy crisis, which would be compounded by the
impacts of climate change (See Box 6), the Government of Rwanda
passed national laws to restore hydropower potential. These laws
forbade human settlements and cultivation in the Rugezi wetland,
as well as within 50 meters of the lakeshores. The laws led tomany households losing supplementary farming plots and accessto other key resources. At the same time, however, the recent risein lake levels has in part been attributed to these new land-use
policies. Clearly, the policies created both winners and losers in thewatershed.
The Rugezi experience highlights some of the challenges associatedwith development trade-offs and what they may mean for adaptation
to climate change. On the one hand, protecting and restoring the
Rugezi and lake ecosystems will enhance hydropower potential,
therefore reducing the vulnerability of the regional energy supply
to climate variability and change. Moreover, in the longer term
this will presumably translate into more energy available for rural
electrification programs, which will ultimately enhance livelihoods
and therefore increase the capacity of beneficiary communities todeal with shocks and stresses, such as those associated with climatechange. Thus, these policies will contribute to adaptation in both theenergy sector and local communities.
In contrast, at least in the short term, the government’s policies aremaking communities living upstream more vulnerable to shocks
and stresses, as their productive base has been diminished andthey are less able to meet basic needs. With less land on which to
grow crops, they are restricted to subsistence farming and unable toearn supplemental incomes. Reduced access to wetland resources
has meant some households cannot maintain their roofs or collectmedicinal plants.
Without some form of compensation or support, these communities
will face worsening conditions of poverty and may be compelled toillegally access wetland and lakeside resources to survive. This would
be detrimental to both the watershed ecosystem and hydropower
potential in the region, as well as the communities themselves. Thus,
supporting upstream communities in diversifying and enhancing
their livelihoods will be important for the sustainability of thegovernment’s watershed land-use policies, which will then contribute
more effectively to adaptation to climate change.

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Principles of good governance underpin thedevelopment of fair and effective decision-making
process that can serve the functions discussed above. For
example, in the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environmentand Development, 178 countries endorsed the following
principles2:n Make Decisions at the Appropriate Level
Decision authority should reside at a scale that matches
the communities and natural resources affected by thedecision.
n Provide Access to Information
Decisions should be made transparently, with
opportunities for public oversight. Citizens should haveaccess to information that enables them to provide
informed input.
n Enable Participation by All Stakeholders
The public should have opportunities to provide input
to decisions both large and small, both concrete andstrategic.
n Provide Access to Justice
Citizens need mechanisms for resolving conflicts
peacefully and for challenging decisions that may beflawed or unfair.
n Integrate the Environment into All Decisions
To pursue sustainable development, environmental
considerations must be integrated into the decisionmaking of agencies and stakeholders for whom theenvironment is not a core responsibility.
A further governance principle underpinning good
process is that of representation. Key decisions should bemade by representative authorities who are accountable
to a broad public. Means especially need to be created
to ensure that the most vulnerable and marginalized
populations are adequately represented.
While the above principles support sustainable
development decision-making in any context, they arelikely to grow in importance as the effects of climatechange complicate decision-making and intensify conflicts
over resources. Proactive investment in institutions anddecision-making processes that embody these principles
will provide a solid foundation for identifying adaptation
priorities, making fair trade-offs, and building resilience.
As demonstrated in Darewadi good governance canindeed make a significant difference.

Investing in Processes at All Scales
An overarching priority for effective adaptation is to
identify where within the landscape of development
decision-making investment can support adaptation

processes. This will vary from place to place and system
to system, depending upon the structure of institutions,existing capacities, and the scope of vulnerability to
climate change.
To date, most attention has been paid to building
processes and institutions to facilitate adaptation at thecommunity level. This work is critically important, given
the fundamentally local nature of climate change impacts.
However, the community scale is not the only level atwhich good process is needed. Especially as internationalflows of funding for adaptation grow, good processes
at the national level will be needed for supporting
development of adaptation priorities, allocation offunding, monitoring of progress, and adjusting efforts
based on lessons learned. This may be particularly truein cases of water management, where limited resources
may cross regional and national boundaries, and water
management strategies must accommodate local needs
and avoid regional conflicts.
Establishing processes for effective adaptation at
the sector level is also critical. In most countries,
sectorally organized institutions already play a central
role in decision-making, and therefore provide a logicalfocal point for adaptation processes. Identifying andimplementing principles of good decision-making process
for each relevant sector will be increasingly important as
adaptation decisions mount. Table 2 outlines other sectors
important for adaptation and illustrative elements ofdecision-making processes that need attention to enableeffective adaptation.
However, as noted above, some elements of effective
process transcend the unique circumstances of a
specific institutional setting or sector where decisions
Ta ble 2. Ill us tr ati ve G ov ern a nce Co n si derati o ns fo r
A daptati o n Deci s io n-Mak in g in Key Sect ors
Water• Do institutions exist for decision making at the basin (watershed) scale?
•	How well integrated are water management decisions (e.g., water allocation,water quality, sanitation, water pricing)?
• Do poor communities have a say in decisions about their water resources?

Agriculture•	What mechanisms link agricultural decision making to related processes inother sectors (natural resource management, land use, etc.)?
•	What factors drive agricultural prices, and what regulatory mechanisms exist?

Disaster Risk • Do DRM plans exist at national, subnational, and local levels? If so, what
Management
mechanisms link them to each other?
• Does a communications infrastructure exist to support disaster planning and(DRM)
response? If so, does it reach poor, illiterate, or isolated communities?
CoastalResources• Are there institutions with special responsibilities for coastal zones?
•	What mechanisms link coastal decision making to decision making ininfrastructure, tourism, health, and disaster planning?
• Do coastal planning processes integrate considerations of the natural andhuman systems?

G overnance and D ec i s i on - M ak i ng U nder U ncer t a i n t y27are made. In addition to core governance principles
with broad relevance, we have identified three elementswith particularly important roles in enabling effective
adaptation decision-making: national policy, information
systems, and the monitoring and evaluation ofinterventions.

The Role of National Policy
National policies that themselves adapt to changing
conditions will provide a critical supporting environment
for adaptation processes at all scales.3 Public policies,
however, are typically oriented toward providing
certainty, and many are designed implicitly or explicitly
to operate within a certain range of conditions. Facedwith conditions outside this anticipated range, policies
can have unintended consequences and may notaccomplish their goals. Policies that are rigid and become
increasingly disconnected from the evolving context inwhich they operate—that are unable to adapt to changing
circumstances—will become a hindrance to adaptation.
To facilitate adaptation, policies need to be effective
in a range of possible futures, and be able to respond toboth anticipated and unanticipated changes in underlying
conditions. They need to have clear criteria by which tojudge success, measurement and feedback mechanisms
to monitor implementation, and review mechanisms toenable response if the policy ceases to meet its goals due tochanging conditions.
Adaptive policies can respond to anticipated changes
through conventional approaches, such as introducing noregrets policies that perform under a range of conditions
with little modification (e.g., energy-efficiency policies);
and through automatic adjustment of policies whenthe monitoring of key system indictors indicates that apredefined trigger has been reached (e.g., unemployment
insurance policies). Adaptive policies are also able
to respond to unanticipated changes through lessconventional approaches that draw upon the principles forintervening in complex adaptive systems and that build informal learning and review processes.
Though adaptive policymaking is still an emerging
discipline, successful policies are likely to include:n clearly stated goal(s) and parameters, with benchmarks
against which to measure progress and determine if a
policy is achieving its intended objective(s);n features that encourage continuous learning,
experimentation, monitoring, and revision, such asformal review processes and feedback loops between
policy designers and policy implementers to encourageongoing modification of policies to meet changing or
better-understood circumstances;28

Box 10. In de x -Bas e d We at h er Ri sk Insu ra nce in
In di aIn India, changes in insurance regulations are giving rise toindex-based weather risk insurance contracts as an alternative to
traditional crop insurance. Traditional crop insurance depends uponfarm loss sampling after a given disaster. This means settling aclaim can take up to a year, during which time farm families may
suffer a loss of income. Private weather insurance contracts, on theother hand, can improve recovery times because they offer quick
payouts triggered by independently monitored weather indices.
These more innovative insurance mechanisms emerged in 1999,
when India lifted its ban on private players in the insurance
market. The resulting competition led to a series of pilot initiatives,
through which companies tested a diversity of products and modesof delivery, often in partnership with state government or local
development banks. At the same time, regulations required eachcompany to provide some coverage in the rural sector, as well as forthe “social sector,” which includes unorganized or informal workers,
as well as underprivileged or economically vulnerable classes. This
directed innovation and market penetration toward agriculture.
This example highlights a number of characteristics of adaptive
policy. For one, the automatic adjustment feature of index-based
insurance—triggered by climate information—provides a simple
mechanism for managing insurer risk and determining farmer
eligibility for benefit payments. It also passes along incentives
for farmers to adjust to long-term change by providing signals
calculated on the basis of actuarial risk. More generally, using
pilot approaches has enabled policymakers and insurers to test key
assumptions for iteratively refining program deliver, so as to better
understand risk patterns and create awareness among farmers. The
delivery of weather insurance through local microfinance institutions
suggests the importance of two-way communication channels in
fostering adaptive policy design by building in feedback mechanisms
to respond to changing client needs or other conditions.
Source: IISD and TERI 2006.

n devolution of decision-making to the local level,
enabling decisions to be made by those closest to theirapplication; andn linkages to other policies that influence potential
effectiveness.
Incorporating features such as these into policies
to increase their adaptability requires policymakers
and implementers to become more comfortable withuncertainty and be willing to treat policies as ongoingexperimental and learning processes. It means moving
the emphasis from policies providing solutions toparticular problems to policies establishing processes andframeworks that enable alterations to be made in response
to identified constraints and changing circumstances. Box
10 provides an example from India where an automatic

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

adjustment has been incorporated into policies thatgovern crop insurance for farmers.

The Role of Information
As discussed in Section III, adaptation initiative choices
vary with the information available to support theirdevelopment and implementation. For highly impactsoriented adaptation efforts, information about climatechange predictions often serves as a starting point forplanning. For efforts that address the underlying drivers ofvulnerability, climate predictions are less critical, and themost important information may focus on indicators ofsocioeconomic circumstances.
However, irrespective of whether efforts are more
vulnerability- or impacts-oriented, some common
information needs can be identified. This points towardspecific capacity-building priorities with relevance acrossthe spectrum of approaches to adaptation. For example,
geographical information plays a central role in adaptation
planning, irrespective of vulnerability- or impactsorientation. Whether this means mapping of flood risk,soil moisture, poverty indicators, watershed boundaries,
or any number of other relevant parameters, the capacity
to synthesize and convey information geographicallyis needed, given the location-specific nature of climatechange effects.
Likewise, basic national statistical data play afundamental role in most vulnerability assessment
processes larger than the community scale. Investment insystems for gathering and managing reliable census data
is a precondition for identifying vulnerable populations,with or without climate prediction information. Similarly,
given the likelihood that most adaptation efforts
will continue to focus on capacity-building and riskmanagement approaches, historical and current weather
data play a more important role in adaptation than doclimate change predictions. Therefore, national weather
services are central adaptation players; effective adaptation
decision-making will ensure that they are well funded,
well managed, and able to reach both key decision-makers
and the population at large. The SERVIR project (Box 11)
provides an example where governments are collaborating
to produce, share, and use climate information for
decision-making.
Information dissemination and awareness-raising also
plays a significant role in implementation, and provides
the foundation for fair and effective public participationin adaptation decisions. Information dissemination
processes need to be tailored to their audiences, and will
have unique elements depending upon the nature of theinformation being conveyed.4 However, the centralityof information dissemination argues for adaptation
investments in communications infrastructure, suchBox 11. s er v ir: Acce ss in g Cli mate Info rmati o n
fo r A da ptati o n in Centr a l A meric a
Unlike their neighbors in North and South America, the countries ofCentral America do not have their own satellites or space agencies.
They have traditionally had to make important decisions affecting
their human and natural systems without the benefits of Earthobservation data. This is changing, however, as these countries havestarted to leverage the satellite resources of other countries, such as
the United States, to process Earth observation information through asystem called SERVIR (the Spanish word for “to serve”). The system,
which is based in Panama and serves all seven Central Americancountries and southern Mexico, uses this information to develop
regional visualization and monitoring tools that ultimately enhancenational and regional decision-making.
The operational framework for SERVIR is relatively straightforward.
Each participating country submits its own geospatial data to
the central SERVIR hub in Panama, which is located at the Water
Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean(CATHALAC). The SERVIR team then links this information to various
types of satellite imagery for the region and disseminates theresulting data sets to decision-makers, researchers, educators,
students, and the public via an Internet portal in both Spanish andEnglish (http://www.servir.net). The portal offers online map viewing
and free downloads of tools that help users understand the data.
Additionally, CATHALAC provides training to environment ministries
and meteorological services in the region for using SERVIR tools intheir everyday work.
SERVIR can generate different types of decision-support information.
The system offers products for both monitoring and forecasting
weather conditions on an hourly basis. Weather forecasters on the
major television stations in Panama and El Salvador use SERVIR
forecasts in their daily televised weather reports. The SERVIR
system can also be used for disaster risk reduction measures, where
computer-generated scenarios help identify vulnerable areas andpopulations. For example, during a November 2006 storm in Panama,
SERVIR analysis was used as a basis for identifying, notifying, andevacuating inhabitants in areas vulnerable to flooding and landslides.
SERVIR’s Web Fire Mapper, which is implemented in partnership with
the University of Maryland, detects burning fires and can send out
e-mail alerts on the location of the fires. In Nicaragua, the forestry
department sends out ground crews to assess the situation uponreceipt of fire alerts from the system. Satellite data available throughthe SERVIR can also help governments monitor ocean tides, helping
them warn fishermen of toxic algal blooms (“red tides”).
These decision-support products and experiences all rely on regional
data sharing, which SERVIR encourages. In fact, SERVIR allows forthe standardization of disparate data sets from multiple sources. It
is the first regional system of its kind in the world and is a testament
to leveraging North–South and South–South collaboration for using
Earth observations for the benefit of society.
Source: USAID/SERVIR 2007.

G overnance and D ec i s i on - M ak i ng U nder U ncer t a i n t y29

as radio and television, and in the ability of educatorsand media personnel to understand climate change andinterpret its local implications for specific audiences.

The Role of Monitoring and Evaluation
Given the heightened need under a changing climate
to adjust policies and projects in response to changing
circumstances, monitoring and evaluation efforts willplay an especially important role in enabling effective
adaptation. For example, Darewadi village will needmechanisms for monitoring how the success of its
water management activities is driving changes in crop
selection by farmers, assessing whether those changes are
sustainable in light of changes in water availability, and if
not, identifying how to adjust the management regime.
However, both the diversity of adaptation strategies andthe intersection of adaptation and development objectives
present challenges to developing effective monitoring andevaluation tools. It seems likely that different tools will
be needed, depending upon how closely activities target
climate change impacts.
For example, many activities that fall within the rubric of
Building Response Capacity will require evaluation toolsthat assess institutional strengthening and decision-making
effectiveness. The Access Initiative (Box 12) provides anexample of one such evaluation tool, which applies manyof the Rio Declaration’s governance principles to decisionmaking processes that affect the environment. It has beenused by civil society coalitions to conduct independent
assessments across a broad range of institutional, cultural,and economic settings and to call for specific changes inlaw, policy, and government practice based upon theirfindings. Effective monitoring and evaluation will require
further development of such tools to address the uniquedecision-making challenges related to adaptation.
One such challenge for adaptation decision-making
is the extent to which climate change impacts andsources of vulnerability cut across the sector boundaries
that often define existing institutional structures anddecision-making processes. As discussed above, Rwanda’s
Rugezi wetland case (Box 9) provides an example of how
adaptation can potentially go awry if the broader picture
is not considered. The concept of ecosystem services(Box 3) could provide an organizing framework forensuring that risks of maladaptation are identified early
and remedied where possible.
Changes in climate conditions often have their most
severe effects when they damage the ability of ecosystems
to provide needed goods and services, such as drinking
water or forest products. Moreover, poor people are often
most affected by such changes, given that they often
depend directly upon ecosystems for their livelihoods.
In this context, the ecosystem services framing could30

Box 12. Th e Acce ss Initi ati v e: Impr ov in g Policy
by M o nit o rin g G ov ern ance
To the extent that adaptation involves planning and policymaking,governments will play a critical role in many adaptation decisions.
Some decisions will be made by top government officials throughuniquely “climate change-centric” decision processes. However,many effects of climate change will unfold over long periods of time
as incremental changes to existing climate variability. Governments
and government agencies are likely to respond to incremental
changes through established decision-making systems, which varyfrom place to place depending upon the laws, institutions, andpractices of particular governments.
Are these decision-making systems ready for climate change? Do
they give a voice to and a seat at the table for citizens and otherstakeholders who will feel the impacts? Do they provide access to theinformation that stakeholders need to play an informed and effectiverole in adaptation? And will decision-makers be held accountable tostakeholders for the decisions they make? Answering these questions
is the work of a unique global coalition of civil society organizations
called The Access Initiative (TAI).
TAI is a network of organizations in over 40 countries dedicatedto ensuring that citizens have the right and ability to influence
decisions about the natural resources that sustain theircommunities. TAI partners have developed an indicator toolkit withwhich they measure how well their governments provide transparent,
participatory, and accountable governance as an essential
foundation for sustainable development. This Web-based assessment
toolkit helps TAI partner organizations conduct legal research andcase study analysis in order to identify how their countries canimprove public access to information, participation, and justice indecision-making that affects the environment.
TAI partners use their national assessment findings as a platform
for collaborating with their government, and together they seek tostrengthen the public’s voice in decision-making. Work has focusedon a broad spectrum of important areas of governance, including
public information laws, environmental monitoring systems,
sustainable development planning processes (such as Poverty
Reduction Strategy Papers), forest agencies, and water management
institutions. TAI initiatives that foster multi-stakeholder collaboration
help build both government and citizen capacities to make effective
decisions in these and other areas, many of which are important foradapting to climate change.
Since TAI’s inception in 2000, more than 90 public interest groups
have joined national TAI coalitions and have completed over 30
national assessments using the indicator toolkit. New partners from
7 countries began TAI assessments in 2006–07.
Sources: Petkova, et al 2002; www.accessinitiative.org

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

provide a basis for assessment, monitoring, and evaluation
tools that help identify who is vulnerable to changes
in ecosystem service provision, as well as mapping
key pathways through which changes in climate harm
vulnerable populations. Box 13 illustrates how thisframing can be used to understand the effects of coralbleaching and assist in selecting approaches to reduce its
harm.
Notes
1 See Scoones 2004 for a concise discussion of this perspective on

adaptation.
2 UNCED 1992.
3 IISD and TERI 2006.
4 Suarez et al. (in review) provide a useful typology for thinking

about how information supports adaptive action, with emphasis
on assuring that assumptions about the role of information do
not limit its ability to support adaptation of the most vulnerable.

Box 13. Ree fs an d C li mate: U s in g E cos y ste m Ser v ice s to SelectA da ptati on Me asu re s
Warming of ocean water damages coral reefs by causing the loss of their symbiotic
algae and associated brilliant colors—a phenomenon known as coral bleaching.
Photosynthesis performed by algae is an essential contributor to coral nutrition andgrowth; if the algae do not return, the coral will eventually die. Bleaching associatedwith a 1998 El Niño event damaged 16 percent of global coral reefs in a single
year,1 which may give an indication of what lies in store for the world’s reefs if sea
surface temperatures rise as predicted. In addition, the more frequent and severe
storms resulting from climate change reefs cause more structural damage to reefs,
and increased dissolved carbon dioxide in ocean water leads to lower rates of coralcalcification—and slower coral growth.
The effects of climate change on coral reefs are multiple and significant, and no
obvious solution to these pressures is immediately at hand. It is too late at this point tocompletely prevent the warming and the “souring” of the water. It may even seem, at
first glance, that reefs are so deeply affected by climate change that no adaptation ispossible. However, a coral reef ecosystem is complex, and the stresses on it are multiple
and interactive (climate-related and direct human impacts, such as overfishing andpolluted runoff). Thus, reducing non-climate-related stresses, such as overfishing andnutrient pollution, can assist in coral recovery.
Ecosystem services provided by reefs include fish habitat and coastal protection.
Reef-based tourism also can provide an important source of local income. The relative
importance of these services will vary from place to place, however, depending uponsuch factors as the intensity of coastal development and the reliance of the economy
upon fishing or tourism. Understanding which ecosystem services are provided by agiven reef, what their relative values are to nearby communities, and how climate andnon-climate factors contribute to degradation of each service can help communities
identify, prioritize, and select among a range of adaptation options, such as changes
to coastal zoning, artificial replacements for the reef structure, or measures to reduce
overfishing.
Source: Burke and Maidens 2004

Notes
1	Wilkinson 2000.

G overnance and D ec i s i on - M ak i ng U nder U ncer t a i n t y31v
S ec t io n
Shehzad Noorani/The World Bank

Financing Adaptation
Given the high estimated costs of adaptation, thedisproportionate effects of climate change upon the poor,and legal commitments made through the UNFCCC,
developed countries have an obligation to provide
funding for adaptation in developing countries. Within
the UNFCCC negotiations, this obligation has led tocontentious debates about what adaptation efforts to pay
for, and how much to pay. The Convention provides little
or no guidance on how much money developed countries
should make available or how they should share theburden of assistance.1
Currently, the funding available for adaptation indeveloping countries flows mainly through two sets ofmechanisms: dedicated multilateral adaptation funds(see Box 14) and official development assistance (ODA).
The total resources estimated to be available throughthe discrete adaptation funds—currently around US$200
million—falls far short of what is needed.2 Moreover,developing countries have expressed frustration with thestrings attached to these funds, particularly the GEF TrustFund, which will only finance the “incremental” costs ofproducing “global environmental benefits.”
In an effort to move away from the constraints of theTrust Fund, the GEF created the concept of “additionalcosts” to guide the disbursement of funding under theSpecial Climate Change Fund and Least Developed
Countries Fund. “Additional costs” are calculated as thedifference between the cost of development activities
undertaken in the absence of climate change and thecost of those undertaken in response to the adverse
effects of climate change.3 However, the multiple
factors that obscure the distinction between adaptationand development make it challenging to quantify theadditional costs of adaptation. Meanwhile, failures within
the GEF to provide or adhere to clear guidance havefurther constrained the use of these funds.4
When the Parties to the UNFCCC negotiated these
new adaptation funds, they also established a procedure
for least-developed countries to report on their specificnational adaptation plans of action (NAPAs). TheseF i nanc i ng A dap t a t i on

33

Box 14. D is c r e t e I n t e r nat ion a l In st r um e n ts fo r A da ptati on
Fu nding
Four adaptation funding mechanisms have been established through the international
climate change negotiations:
1. Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund: A multilateral financial mechanism
funded through developed country contributions that are replenished every four
years. Climate Change is one of the six GEF focal areas, under which a Strategic
Priority on Adaptation has been established for “Piloting an Operational Approach to
Adaptation.” The total amount available in the GEF Trust Fund is US$50 million.
2. Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF): Established under the UNFCCC, managed
by the GEF, and funded through discretionary pledges from developed countries,
this fund supports activities, programs, and measures on climate change that arecomplementary to those funded by the GEF Trust Fund. Adaptation is identified as
one of four priority areas. The total amount available in the SCCF is US$50 million.
3. Least-Developed Countries (LDC) Fund: Also established under the UNFCCC andfunded through discretionary pledges from developed countries, this fund supports
the preparation and implementation of National Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPAs)
and other components of the LDC work program. The total amount available in the
LDC Fund is US$115 million.
4. Adaptation Fund: Established under the Kyoto Protocol and funded through thereceipt of 2 percent of the proceeds from Clean Development Mechanism, this fundis supports concrete adaptation projects in developing countries. The World Bank
estimates that US$100–500 million will be available through this fund by 2012.1
Source: Mace 2005

Notes
1

Dollar amounts for each fund were found in GEF 2007 (GEF Trust Fund) and World Bank 2006
(SCCF, LDC Fund, and Adaptation Fund).

reports, of which 23 have been prepared to date, provide
a process for countries to identify priority activities that
respond to their urgent needs with regard to adaptation
to climate change. In their NAPAs, countries tend
to focus on enhancing adaptive capacity to climate
variability, which itself would help address the adverse
effects of climate change. NAPAs seek to take into
account existing coping strategies at the grassroots level,and build upon those to identify priority activities, rather
than focusing on scenario-based modeling to assess future
vulnerability and long-term policy at the state level.
NAPAs also include short profiles of projects and/or
activities intended to address urgent and immediate
adaptation needs of least developed countries. In almost
all cases, NAPAs are developed by national environment
ministries.5
In spite of the wealth of project-specific information
provided, few of the adaptation projects proposedin the NAPAs have yet been funded. The lack ofimplementation, largely driven by the conflicts in funding
procedures discussed above, have further exacerbatedtensions in the international climate negotiations.

34

Given the confusion with the discrete adaptation
funds and limited success of NAPAs to direct financial
assistance to country priorities, the focus of adaptation
funding is shifting increasingly to the role of ODA, which
represents a much larger pot of money (approximately
US$104 billion in 2006 from donor countries within
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment6). However, decisions about how suchdevelopment assistance is allocated have also beenchanging.
At about the same time that the UNFCCC Parties werenegotiating the framework for reporting on and funding
adaptation needs, the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) were developing and refining a new
approach to their relations with low-income countries,
centered around the development and implementationof poverty-reduction strategies. Incorporated into
national Poverty-Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), thesestrategies were required as a precondition for access to
debt relief and concessional financing; they also served
as a framework for better coordination of development
assistance among other development partners. The PRSP
approach sought to empower governments to set theirdevelopment priorities and encouraged donors to aligntheir assistance around a country’s priorities, rather
than their own. By providing an operational frameworkfor governments to set their development priorities
and to specify policies, programs, and resources needed
to meet their goals, this process was intended to help
crystallize political commitment and accountability—bothfor countries themselves and for their development
partners—for accelerating progress toward the Millennium
Development Goals.7
In theory, the commonalities between the NAPA andPRSP approaches should have led both to common
project proposals and increased resources to key priorities.
However, in practice, this has seldom occurred. In manycases, reflecting the critical importance of development
assistance to the national economies of least-developed
countries, the PRSPs were prepared by ministries offinance or planning. Unfortunately these ministries
are often entirely disconnected from the environment
ministries most closely associated with the NAPA process
and charged with articulating the impacts potentiallyassociated with climate change. Efforts to mainstream
adaptation into development agendas have so far largely
failed to penetrate the world of PRSPs.
In general, while ODA funders seem more comfortablewith the overlap of the adaptation and traditional
development agendas, their support for adaptation isvoluntary and takes a second place to poverty reduction.
In contrast, funds flowing through the UNFCCC
mechanisms represent a commitment under international

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Developmentlaw—even though that commitment has been honored
only with very modest resources. ODA funders are also
under some pressure to demonstrate that they are notshifting funds from other development priorities into
adaptation work. Developing countries frequently pointout that most donor countries fall well short of thecommonly cited global target of spending 0.7 percent of
their GDP on ODA, and want assurances that any money
targeted to adaptation is additional to development
assistance. In this context, most ODA donors will want
to clearly delineate how their investments are responding
to the challenge of adapting to climate change, and how
much it is costing them. As such, they face much the same
dilemma as do the discrete climate change funds.
The conflict in priorities between development andclimate change funders (and project proponents) may notsoon be resolved. In spite of the inherent desirability ofmainstreaming adaptation into development planning—
and the equally valid need to have development agendas
help steer adaptation project resources—few developing
country governments currently have institutions thatare sufficiently aligned or integrated to make this likely.
This suggests that moving forward, increasing efforts
should be made to streamline planning processes, so thatdevelopment and climate agendas are more successfully
combined.
Figure 9 indicates the funding focus of ODA and the
dedicated adaptation funds, and suggests how they may
be better deployed in the adaptation effort. As noted
above, to date, the dedicated adaptation funds havelargely supported activities on the climate-specific side of
the adaptation continuum, while ODA has dominantly
focused on the development side.

As the mainstreaming of climate change intodevelopment gains ground, ODA-funded activities will
increasingly gain—and deserve—the label “adaptation.”
This process is represented in Figure 9 by the arrowpushing ODA from Zone 1 on the continuum towardZones 2 and 3. However, this movement is limited by thefinite level of ODA funding and, in particular, by the
reluctance of recipient countries to see ODA diverted
from existing priorities. The limitation of ODA in thiscontext is that it is not driven by the imperative forincreased funding in response to climate change.
On the other end of the continuum, the discrete climate
funding mechanisms, managed by the GEF, are based
explicitly on this imperative. However, their mandate
obliges these funds to seek out instances in which theadditional cost due to climate change can be identified
with reasonable certainty. This mandate tends to limit theuse of these funds to activities on the right-hand side of
the continuum. While match-funding approaches haveenabled the climate mechanisms to leverage funding fromless constrained sources, legal and operational constraints
upon the GEF have tended to limit diversification ofactivities supported by these funds. This limitation isrepresented by the smaller size of the arrow pushing thediscrete funding sources toward the center of Figure 9.
Nevertheless, the universe of dedicated adaptation
funds is now poised to grow, as national governments
take on the adaptation agenda, the UNFCCC Adaptation
Fund nears its launch, and Parties to the UNFCCC
explore adaptation funding mechanisms for a post-2012
agreement. Within the ODA community, dedicatedadaptation funding streams are also being created. It is
important that these new mechanisms not replicate theF i nanc i ng A dap t a t i on35constrained funding dynamic of the existing climate
funds. In particular, the review of early adaptation
experience in this study clearly indicates that many
activities important for adaptation fall in the “messy
middle” of Figure 7. Though the “additional cost” dueto climate change may not be clearly identifiable, thesevulnerability-reduction and capacity-building activities
need to fit squarely within funders’ definitions ofadaptation.
In addition, as new sources of adaptation funding comeon line, a number of other conclusions may be drawn
from this report to help target investments:
n Fostering inclusive, accountable decision-making isa central adaptation task, especially in institutions
where water and land-use decisions are made. Thus,
appropriate attention should be paid to funding strong
and flexible decision-making processes that are at theheart of effective adaptation.
n To date, most attention has been paid to implementing
adaptation activities at the community level.
Investments at the national and watershed levels arealso needed to facilitate effective adaptation, especiallyin the context of ensuring that policies are poised toadapt to the uncertain future.

support include geographic information capacities,
gathering and managing national census data,
historical and current weather data, communications
infrastructure, and the ability of educators andmedia personnel to understand and interpret climate
information.
n Donor coordination is needed to ensure that gaps
and redundancies are avoided as adaptation efforts
progress. Funders can address their own constraints
through partnerships with other funders that havecomplementary approaches and priorities.
Notes
Paavola and Adger 2006.
	World Bank 2006.
3 Möhner and Klein 2007.
4	Ibid.
5 For a review of the NAPA process, as well as to examine individual NAPAs
from the 23 countries that have submitted them, see the UNFCC NAPA site:<http://unfccc.int/national_reports/napa/items/2719.php>.
6 OECD 2007.
7 For a more thorough review of the PRS and PRSP process, see the World Bank
Web pages: <http://www.imf.org/external/np/prsp/prsp.asp#pp>.
1

2

n Adaptation information needs often have surprisingly
little to do with climate prediction. Priorities for

36

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

v i
S ec t io nBill Lyons/The World Bank

Lessons Learned
and Next Steps
One may approach climate adaptation by focusing on
the impacts of climate change, or by reducing vulnerability
to climate change in the course of reducing vulnerability
in general. Many instances of adaptation blend these two
approaches. We see this blending in part because precisely
mapping a particular adaptation intervention to a distinct
climate change impact is in many cases technicallydifficult, due to uncertain climate predictions. In manycases, making such a link between interventions andimpacts is also unwise, given that climate change is not inand of itself a driver of vulnerability.
By framing approaches to adaptation as a continuum
between “pure” vulnerability reduction on one hand andvery explicit impacts-oriented measures on the other,
we make possible a definition of adaptation that does
not depend upon drawing a line between adaptationand development. By better understanding how the
relationship between adaptation and development varies
with varying circumstances, we can create a firmer basis

for selecting, supporting, and implementing appropriate
adaptation interventions.
Giving priority to adaptation efforts where activities
directly target known climate risks runs the chance ofneglecting some of the most vulnerable communities,
where adaptation investments are most needed.
Instead, adaptation needs to be regarded as a “big tent,”
encompassing the full range of responses—from reducing
poverty and building capacity, to managing risk anddirectly confronting climate change impacts. All of these
responses have adaptive value in a world with varying
levels of need, capacity, and uncertainty. However, it
is worth emphasizing that a “big tent” is not the sameas “anything goes” with adaptation. On the contrary,
the seriousness of the adaptation challenge calls for
rigorous processes that enable the adaptation community
to identify and replicate effective approaches, curtail
ineffective ones, and learn from both positive and negative
experiences.

L essons L earned and N e x t S t eps

37Next Steps in Research and Analysis
The review of adaptation activities presented in thispaper draws upon an unusually large and diverse setof experiences in the developing world. The analytic
framework used is unique in categorizing adaptation
efforts by response type, instead of by sector, impact,ecosystem type, or geographic scale. However, it is by nomeans a comprehensive or conclusive analysis. Next steps
for refining and building upon this work could include:n The database of case examples developed for this study
needs supplementation and further development.
Many gaps remain, both in characterizing the body ofexperience gathered and in the information obtained
about any given effort. Furthermore, the existing(and an enlarged) database may offer an opportunity
for additional qualitative and quantitative analysis
on trends in adaptation efforts, as well as provide
a baseline for evaluating, over time, the efficacy ofparticular types of adaptation projects.
Thus, for example, analysis could examine
whether there is a particular relationship between
certain types of adaptation efforts (e.g., between
human empowerment and climate proofing, or
between promoting policy change and addressing
drivers of vulnerability). Analysis might also beable to identify examples of cases where adaptation
policies were consistent with national development
strategies (including PRSPs) or with ODA projects
not specifically targeted to climate change efforts. Ina similar vein, evaluations could be made as to thecorrelation between NAPAs under the UNFCCC andprojects that have been implemented. These kindsof analyses would require additional data collection,
but could usefully inform the ongoing agenda ofdevelopment agencies and multilateral development
funding institutions.

38n Refinement of the proposed framework could provide
the basis for the development of decision tools. The
present study suggests that greater certainty with regard
to climate change effects supports impacts-driven
approaches, while low capacity and high uncertainty
regarding effects drive more vulnerability-oriented
approaches. However, additional drivers of response
choice deserve examination, including the specificity,
severity, and immediacy of an impact; specific factors
contributing to vulnerability; and perceptions of risk
and access to information.
n To accommodate the diversity of approaches toadaptation, various monitoring and evaluation tools
need to be developed. Principles of good governanceand an ecosystem services framing should be exploredas a basis for identifying indicators and developing
frameworks for interventions in the middle zones ofour continuum, where monitoring and evaluation may
be especially challenging.
n Developing approaches to adaptive policymaking
should be a research priority. Policy models andcase studies are needed, as well as identification ofopportunities and leverage points in existing policy
processes.

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42

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Annex A. List of Cases Analyzed
SectorAddressed

Adaptation
Strategies Employed

Afghanistan

Disaster-riskmanagement

Awareness

TearFund integrates disaster risk and reduction messages into the storylines of a radio program to raisecommunity awareness. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation_planning/adaptation_list.pl?id_
country=1&id_org=&id_level=&id_scope=&id_type=)

Argentina

Disaster-riskmanagement

Institutions

The Red Cross is strengthening its institutions for disaster prevention in response to climate change andis linking with universities to develop disaster management work plans. (http://www.climatecentre.org/
downloads/File/articles/Argentine%20Red%20Cross.pdf)

Argentina

EnergyEmpowerment

Argentina’s rural electrification project grants scattered communities access to the technological andeducational benefits of electricity, helping them become resilient to floods, droughts, and crop loss. (http://
www.cckn.net/pdf/seeing_the_light_dre.pdf)

Bangladesh

Agriculture

Agriculture;
SouthSouthNorth and the Society for Wetland Eco-Research are implementing several measures (e.g.,
Resources; Technology; crop diversification, disaster preparedness) targeting the threat of sea level rise and storms. (http://www.
Empowerment
southsouthnorth.org/country_home.asp?country_id=11#112)

Bangladesh

Agriculture

Technology;
Agriculture; Resources

In a case of autonomous adaptation, communities recover from floods by draining fields, planting latetransplant rice, or switching to other, faster-growing crops. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/
adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=160)

Bangladesh

Agriculture

Agriculture;
Institutions; Planning

The Food and Agriculture Organization and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre developed a goodpractice adaptation option menu, evaluating and field testing locally selected options with farmers. (http://
www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0820e/a0820e00.htm)

Bangladesh

Coastalresources

Resources;
Empowerment;
Planning; Agriculture

SouthSouthNorth and partners are implementing a suite of adaptation measures (e.g., agricultural
diversification, aquaculture promotion, disaster risk reduction) in coastal areas to deal with sea level riseand storms. (http://www.southsouthnorth.org/country_home.asp?country_id=11#113)

Bangladesh

Coastalresources

Planning; Awareness;
Institutions; Policy

The Ministry of the Environment is analyzing threats and adaptation options for the coastal zone. (http://
www.nlcap.net/countries/bangladesh/)

Bangladesh

Disaster-riskmanagement

Awareness;
Institutions; MEWS;
Empowerment

Bangladesh’s Comprehensive Disaster Management Program is incorporating risk assessment andreduction into its scope of activities to better deal with floods, droughts, and storms. (http://www.cdmp.
org.bd/)Bangladesh

Disaster-riskmanagement

MEWS

CARE Bangladesh is working to increase adaptive capacity in southwestern Bangladesh through climatechange-related information collection and dissemination. (http://www.cdpbd.org/rvcc_home.html)

Bangladesh

Disaster-riskmanagement

Technology; Resources

The Intermediate Technology Development Group-Bangladesh introduced flood-friendly fisheries
technologies. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=36)

Bangladesh

Disaster-riskmanagement

Institutions; MEWS

The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society Cyclone Preparedness Programme engages volunteers in cyclone
warnings, evacuation, rescue, first aid, and emergency relief. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/
adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=37)

Bangladesh

Disaster-riskmanagement

Institutions; Resources The Intermediate Technology Development Group conducted a participatory rural appraisal focusing on
the impact of floods and developed a low-cost housing model based on results. (http://maindb.unfccc.
int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=35)

Bangladesh

Disaster-riskmanagement

Technology;
Empowerment

The Grameen Bank provides loans for two house designs that are specially adapted to heavy rains andfloods, and can be dismantled and reassembled in severe flood events. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/
adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=38)

Bangladesh

Disaster-riskmanagement

Agriculture;
Empowerment;
Planning; Other

Oxfam is helping poor communities prepare for various climate change impacts, by forming committees
and training people, promoting appropriate crops, and assessing water supply and storage. (http://www.
oxfamnovib.nl/id.html?lang=EN&id=PROJ_DETAIL&pid=BAN-501114-0006018)

Bangladesh

Disaster-riskmanagement

Infrastructure;
Technology;
Institutions

Oxfam has built raised villages in flood-prone areas, distributed rescue boats and lifesaving equipment,
and trained disaster preparedness committees. (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/climate_change/story_facingheat.htm)

Country

Case Description and Link

Excel files providing additional information on each case may be downloaded from www.wri.org/climate
www.wri.org/climate//.

A nne x A : L i s t of C ases A nal y z ed

43Key to Strategy Abbreviations
Agriculture = Changing Agricultural Practices; Awareness = Raising Awareness; Empowerment = Empowering People; Infrastructure = Improving Infrastructure;
Institutions = Building Institutions; Insurance = Providing Insurance Mechanisms; MEWS = Establishing Monitoring/Early Warning Systems; Planning = Launching Planning Processes;
Policy = Promoting Policy Change; Resources = Changing Natural Resource Management Practices; Technology = Promoting Technology Change; Other = Other Strategies

SectorAddressed

Adaptation
Strategies Employed

Bangladesh

Disaster-riskmanagement

Planning

North South University is developing risk communication strategies and testing adaptation options tofoster adaptation policy at the local level. (http://www.acccaproject.org/evolution/modules/knowledgebox/
external2/view.php?id=304&kbid=5)

Bangladesh

EnergyEmpowerment

The Ministry of Environment and Forest established a poultry/biogas plant providing both electricity andfood, which will alleviate the problem of declining fish stocks. (http://www.cckn.net/pdf/seeing_the_light_
dre.pdf)

Bangladesh

EnergyResources; Institutions Caritas’ reforestation program reduces erosion and guarantees a standing stock of biomass that can beused in emergencies. (http://www.cckn.net/pdf/seeing_the_light_dre.pdf)

Bangladesh

Water
resources

Awareness; Resources; SouthSouthNorth and partners are using a variety of means (e.g., integrated farming methods,
Agriculture; MEWS;
rainwater gathering) to promote adaptive capacity in agriculture and water conservation. (http://www.
Empowerment
southsouthnorth.org/country_home.asp?country_id=11#111)

BhutanAgriculture

Technology

BhutanAgriculture

Resources; Institutions Local people have taken measures to conserve bamboo, helping it better withstand droughts. (http://
maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=25)

Bolivia

Humanhealth; Water
resources

Planning

The Ministry of the Environment is analyzing threats and adaptation options for climate change in semiarid mountain regions. (http://www.nlcap.net/countries/bolivia/)

Bolivia

Water
resources

Technology

In a case of autonomous adaptation, the Aymara people store rainwater as a source of drinking water
during droughts. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=137)

BrazilDisaster-riskmanagement

Resources

The Community Reforestation Project counters erosion and landslides in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas byplanting trees. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=139)

BrazilWater
resources

Technology;
Empowerment

SouthSouthNorth and local partners are improving agricultural productivity and resilience through the useof water pumping. (http://www.southsouthnorth.org/country_home.asp?country_id=11#109)

China

Water
resources

Planning; Institutions

In an effort to mainstream adaptation to climate change, China will use hydrological modeling and pilot
projects to develop drought-related policies. (http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64
283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P105229)

Colombia

Coastalresources

Policy; Planning

The Colombian government, with the help of NGOs, is preparing a plan that will integrate climate change
adaptation policy for the coastal zone into national legislation. (http://www.nlcap.net/fileadmin/NCAP/Countries/Colombia/NCAP_workplan_Colombia_summary.01.300106.pdf)

Colombia

Disaster-riskmanagement

Insurance; MEWS;
Institutions;
Infrastructure;
Awareness

Concerned about floods and landslides, Bogota is improving risk-detection technology, emergency
response, recovery finance, and awareness. (http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=642
83627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P085727)

Colombia

Human
health; Water
resources

Planning; MEWS;
Conservation International is addressing the impacts of climate change through land-use planning,
Resources; Institutions watershed protection, and disease control efforts. (http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?Proje
ctid=P083075&Type=Overview&theSitePK=40941&pagePK=64283627&menuPK=64282134&piPK=6429
0415)

Colombia

Water
resources

Resources; MEWS

WWF is developing a pilot adaptation strategy for wetlands in the central Colombian Andes to safeguard
water supply. (http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/climate_change/problems/global_warming/scientific_proof/ipcc_report/colombia.cfm)

Costa Rica

Disaster-riskmanagement

Institutions;
Infrastructure

The Costa Rican Red Cross runs a flood early-warning system and a community training program indisaster preparedness and prevention, community first aid, and psychological support. (http://maindb.
unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=140)

Cuba

Coastalresources

Resources;
Infrastructure

Cuba has developed beach restoration technology to restore the ecological and functional values of thecoasts. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation_planning/adaptation_list.pl?id_country=56&id_
org=&id_level=&id_scope=&id_type=)

Country

44

Case Description and Link

Bamboo stem is used for irrigating fruit trees as a crop-loss prevention strategy during droughts. (http://
maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=21)

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Sector
Addressed

Adaptation
Strategies Employed

Cuba

Disaster-riskmanagement

Planning; MEWS

Cuba’s Framework for Disaster Reduction focuses on preparing for and recovering from storms. (http://
maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation_planning/adaptation_list.pl?id_country=56&id_org=&id_level=&id_scope=&id_type=)

Cuba

Human health

Other

The Cuban Vaccination Program increases adaptive capacity by making the population less vulnerable
to climate-related diseases. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation_planning/adaptation_list.
pl?id_country=56&id_org=&id_level=&id_scope=&id_type=)

Ecuador

Agriculture

Agriculture; Resources

The Rainforest Rescue Foundation’s Analogue Forestry Initiative is promoting tree crop species resilient toclimatic changes and is establishing nurseries to investigate adaptation of different tree species. (http://
www.bothends.org/project/project_info.php?id=26&scr=st)

El Salvador

Agriculture

Agriculture

The Red Cross Drought Response and Mitigation Project provides technical assistance to help subsistence
farmers survive droughts. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_
project=143)

El Salvador

Agriculture

Policy; Empowerment;
Institutions;
Agriculture; Resources

El Salvador is strengthening the capacities of rural people in the coastal plain to incorporate adaptation toclimate change in their socioeconomic activities. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation_planning/
adaptation_list.pl?id_country=67&id_org=&id_level=&id_scope=&id_type=)

Ethiopia

Agriculture

Agriculture;
Resources; Planning;
Empowerment; MEWS

Ethiopia is testing a range of adaptation measures, including agricultural practices to cope with droughts
and use of early-warning systems for agriculture. (http://www.gefweb.org/Documents/Medium-Sized_
Project_Proposals/MSP_Proposals/documents/Ethiopia-CopingwdDrought-CC.pdf)

Ethiopia

Disaster-riskmanagement

MEWS

Ethiopia uses an early-warning system to assess and communicate the danger of food shortages. (http://
iriportal.ldeo.columbia.edu/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_1171_0_0_18/Climate%20and%20So
ciety%20No1_en.pdf)

Fiji

Coastalresources

MEWS; AwarenessWWF’s Friends of the Reef project monitors and protects coral reefs in response to increasingly common
bleaching events associated with warming. (http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/asia_
pacific/our_programmes/for/index.cfm)

Ghana

Human healthInstitutions; Planning;
PolicySeveral organizations are collaborating to devise adaptation options in response to climate-relateddiseases and to integrate adaptation into national and local health policy. (http://www.acccaproject.org/
evolution/modules/knowledgebox/external2/view.php?id=298&kbid=5)

Guatemala

Agriculture

Institutions; Planning;
Awareness; Resources

The Climate Change Studies with Emphasis on Adaptation project aims to reduce vulnerability andincrease adaptive ability in the face of increased climate variability. (http://www.nlcap.net/fileadmin/
NCAP/Countries/Guatemala/NCAP_workplan_Guatemala_summary.01.300106.pdf)

GuatemalaDisaster-riskmanagement

Institutions; Planning

The Red Cross is strengthening capacities to respond to climate change in the Department of Chiquimulathrough disaster preparedness training and other actions. (http://www.climatecentre.org/downloads/File/latin_america/Santa%20Rosa%20Guatemala%20ENG.pdf)

GuyanaCoastalresources

Infrastructure;
Planning

Guyana is developing a sea level rise contingency plan and improving drainage of the East Demerara Water
Conservancy dam during heavy rains. (http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=6428362
7&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P103539)

India

Agriculture

Institutions;Technology; Resources

The Watershed Organisation Trust helps poor communities in Maharashtra state reclaim drought-degradedlands through watershed management. (http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2003/envsec_livelihoods_3.pdf)

India

Agriculture

Awareness; Planning

Several organizations are collaborating to develop communication materials about agriculture andwater risk and to conduct a pilot adaptation project, which will ultimately lead to integrating adaptation
measures into policy. (http://www.acccaproject.org/evolution/modules/knowledgebox/external2/view.
php?id=302&kbid=5)

India

Disaster-riskmanagement

Awareness; Insurance;
Infrastructure;
Planning

KfW Entwicklungsbank has built 59 cyclone shelters and has raised awareness of climate-related risk inOrissa state. (http://www.kfw-entwicklungsbank.de/DE_Home/Service/Online_Bibliothek/PDF-Dokumente_
KfW_Entwicklungsbank/fz_jb_99_e.pdf)

India

Water
resources

Technology

Tarun Bharat Sangh (an NGO) has facilitated the construction of earthen check dams to retain monsoon
water during droughts. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_
project=41)

India

Water
resources

Resources

The government of India and several partners are testing technical solutions for watershed and forestry
management programs and financial instruments, such as micro insurance. (http://www.gtz.de/de/
dokumente/en-climate-results-asia.pdf)

Country

Case Description and Link

A nne x A : L i s t of C ases A nal y z ed

45Sector
Addressed

Adaptation
Strategies EmployedIndonesia

Coastalresources

Planning; Institutions;
PolicySouthSouthNorth and local partners are working to bridge the knowledge gap between local and expert intoa participatory decision-making process to address climate threats to coastal communities. (http://www.
southsouthnorth.org/country_home.asp?country_id=11#114)

Indonesia

Coastalresources

Resources; MEWS

WWF’s Friends of the Reef project monitors and protects coral reefs in response to increasingly common
bleaching events associated with warming. (http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/asia_
pacific/where/indonesia/wwf_indonesia_conservation/bali_barat/the_background/friends_of_the_reef/
index.cfm)

Indonesia

Disaster-riskmanagement

Awareness;
Institutions; MEWS;
Planning

The Red Cross is establishing institutional structures and plans in East Jakarta to take a proactive
approach to climate change, including raising public awareness and establishing an early-warning
system. (http://www.climatecentre.org/downloads/File/asia_and_pacific/concept%20paper%2020072008.pdf)

Kenya

Agriculture

Technology

Small-scale farmers in Kenya have developed a way to make low-cost sprinklers out of recycled materials,
helping farmers protect their crops from droughts. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/
adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=130)

Kenya

Agriculture

Institutions;
Infrastructure;
Empowerment

The Ilkerin Loita Integral Development Programme helps Loita Maasai pastoralists prepare for droughts bygrowing grain and accessing credit. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.
pl?id_project=114)

Kenya

Disaster-riskmanagement

Institutions;
Empowerment;
Planning

Kenya is integrating a climate-risk perspective into national and local policymaking and developing
programs to enhance adaptive capacity in communities. (http://www.gefonline.org/ProjectDocs/Climate
Change/Kenya - Adaptation to CC in Arid Lands (KACCAL)/Project Document Final 11-10-06.doc)

Kenya

Human health

Awareness

Several organizations are collaborating to develop a model of climate-sensitive malaria and appropriate
risk communication strategies. (http://www.acccaproject.org/evolution/modules/knowledgebox/external2/
view.php?id=284&kbid=5)

Kenya

Water
resources

Technology; Resources

The SASOL Foundation helps communities build forested sand dams to provide a source of water during
droughts. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=170)

Kenya

Water
resources

Resources

The Kenyan Red Cross trains communities in flood prevention and protection, including changes they canmake to waterways to better control flooding. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=109)

Laos

Agriculture

Resources

As an example of autonomous adaptation, people living in the Mekong River floodplain switch from farming
to fishing during the rainy season. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.
pl?id_project=65)

Madagascar

Coastalresources

MEWS; Awareness;
Resources

WWF and Conservation International are analyzing and raising awareness about the vulnerability of marine
and terrestrial environments to climate change. (http://www.worldwildlife.org/climate/adaptation.cfm)

Malawi

Agriculture

Insurance; Technology

A joint private-sector project helps farmers cope with uncertainty through an insurance program fordroughts and loans for seed purchase. (http://iriportal.ldeo.columbia.edu/portal/server.pt/gateway/
PTARGS_0_2_1171_0_0_18/Climate%20and%20Society%20No1_en.pdf)

MalawiDisaster-riskmanagement

Awareness

The Red Cross is raising awareness of food security and disaster risks related to climate change. (http://
www.climatecentre.org/downloads/File/preparing%20malawis%20preparing%20for%20climate%20chang
e%20program%20july%202006.pdf)

MalawiDisaster-riskmanagement

Awareness

The Red Cross and partner organizations are finding creative ways to communicate climate predictions
to subsistence farmers. (http://www.acccaproject.org/evolution/modules/knowledgebox/external2/view.
php?id=294&kbid=5)

Mali

Agriculture

MEWS; Awareness;
Technology

The government of Mali and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation use data collected by
farmers to help farmers make planting decisions. (http://iriportal.ldeo.columbia.edu/portal/server.pt/
gateway/PTARGS_0_2_1171_0_0_18/Climate%20and%20Society%20No1_en.pdf)

Mali

Water
resources

Awareness; Planning

Several organizations are collaborating to raise awareness and plan for the future regarding water
resources and climate change. (http://www.acccaproject.org/evolution/modules/knowledgebox/external2/
view.php?id=290&kbid=5)

Mauritius

Coastalresources

Awareness; Technology Environment Care Association is spreading awareness of climate change through talks and booklet
distribution to schools, women’s groups, and youth organizations. (http://sgp.undp.org/web/
projects/11569/sensitisation_on_environment_protection_with_emphasis_on_climate_change.html)

Country

46

Case Description and Link

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Sector
Addressed

Adaptation
Strategies Employed

Middle East

Water
resources

Resources

Mongolia

Agriculture

Awareness;
The National University of Mongolia and other partners are reinstating traditional land-use practices
Institutions; Resources to cope with droughts. (http://www.acccaproject.org/evolution/modules/knowledgebox/external2/view.
php?id=301&kbid=5)

Mozambique

Agriculture

Infrastructure;
Resources;
Agriculture;
Institutions; MEWS

Mozambique is testing a range of drought-adaptation measures, such as diversifying livestock and crops,
ensuring access to water and land, and developing an early-warning system. (http://www.gefweb.org/
Documents/Medium-Sized_Project_Proposals/MSP_Proposals/documents/Mozambique-CopingwdDroughtCC.pdf)

Mozambique

Agriculture

Institutions;
Empowerment;
Agriculture

A market-oriented small-holder development project is aiming to accelerate agricultural growth andreduce poverty in the face of drought and land degradation. (http://www.gefonline.org/projectDetails.
cfm?projID=2889)

Mozambique

Disaster-riskmanagement

Awareness;
Institutions

The Red Cross is strengthening its disaster preparedness capacity and promoting awareness of climatechange impacts. (http://www.climatecentre.org/downloads/File/dealing%20with%20climate%20change%
20in%20mozambique%20july%202006.pdf)

Mozambique

Disaster-riskmanagement

Policy; Planning

The Programme for Rural Development is preparing the Buzi district for storms and floods by establishingpreparedness committees and early-warning systems and promoting risk-reduction policy. (http://www.gtz.
de/en/themen/umwelt-infrastruktur/umweltpolitik/16057.htm)

Mozambique

Water
resources

Technology; Resources

SouthSouthNorth and local partners are supplying farmers with renewable energy to combat water
shortages. (http://www.southsouthnorth.org/country_home.asp?country_id=11#165)

Multinational

Agriculture

Institutions;
Resources;
Empowerment

PASOLAC (Programa para la Agricultura Sostenible en las Laderas de América Central) helps hillside
farmers in Central America implement sustainable soil and water management techniques and gain
access to markets. (http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2003/envsec_livelihoods_2.pdf)

Multinational

Agriculture

Technology;
Empowerment

The New Seed Initiative for Maize in Southern Africa provides poor farmers with drought-resistant seed.
(http://www.sdc.admin.ch/en/Home/Projects/Maize_initiative)

Multinational

Agriculture

Technology;
Institutions

The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program Support Project generates and disseminates agricultural
technologies and information. (http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P094084)

Multinational

Coastalresources

Resources; Planning;
MEWS

WWF and The Nature Conservancy are adapting marine-protected area monitoring and planning toencompass facets of bleaching resistance and coral resiliency in Mexico and the Caribbean. (http://www.
panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/climate_change/news/impacts/index.cfm?uNewsID=74900)

Multinational

Coastalresources

Technology; Planning;
Awareness

The Caribbean Community Secretariat is raising awareness of climate change among Caribbean nations
through risk communication strategies and pilot projects. (http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/
main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P073389)

Multinational

Coastalresources

Planning

The Implementation of Adaptation Measures in Coastal Zones Project designs and tests adaptation
projects protecting biodiversity in Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and The Grenadines. (http://web.
worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228
424&Projectid=P090731)

Multinational

Coastalresources

Resources; Planning;Technology;
Institutions

WWF is testing methods to restore degraded mangrove forests to make them resilient to climate change inFiji, Cameroon, and Tanzania. (http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/climate_change/problems/
global_warming/scientific_proof/ipcc_report/cameroon.cfm)

Multinational

Coastalresources

Planning

The United Nations Development Programme is incorporating climate change concerns, such as coastal
erosion and declining fish stocks, into integrated coastal management in Western Africa. (http://www.
undp.org/gef/adaptation/projects/06c.htm)

Multinational

Disaster-riskmanagement

Resources; Planning

WWF is monitoring glacial melt, predicting glacial lake outburst floods, and educating communities about
associated risks and preparedness actions in Nepal, India, and China. (http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/
where_we_work/asia_pacific/where/nepal/our_solutions/projects/index.cfm?uProjectID=NP0898)

Multinational

Disaster-riskmanagement

Institutions;
Awareness; Policy;
Infrastructure

Action Aid is working in Nepal, Malawi, Haiti, Kenya, Ghana, Bangladesh, and India to make schools inhigh-risk disaster areas safer, enabling them to act as a locus for disaster risk reduction. (http://www.
actionaid.org/main.aspx?PageID=212)

Country

Case Description and Link

The International Development Research Centre promotes water demand management through research,capacity building, networking, and advocacy. (http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-100570-201_101806-1-IDRC_
ADM_INFO.html)

A nne x A : L i s t of C ases A nal y z ed

47

Country

SectorAddressed

Adaptation
Strategies Employed

Multinational

Human health

MEWS

The Roll Back Malaria Initiative in southern Africa developed a monitoring and early-warning systemthat uses climatic data to predict malaria outbreaks. (http://iriportal.ldeo.columbia.edu/portal/server.
pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_1171_0_0_18/Climate%20and%20Society%20No1_en.pdf)

Nepal

Disaster-riskmanagement

Resources; MEWS

The government of Nepal reduced the water level in Tsho Rolpa Lake to prevent glacial lake outburst
floods, and instituted an early-warning system for downstream villages. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/
adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=72)

Nepal

Disaster-riskmanagement

Institutions; Planning;
Awareness

The Knowledge and Research Program improved flood-risk reduction by establishing and training several
committees and by distributing a flood-protection manual. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/
adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=67)

Nepal

Disaster-riskmanagement

Technology

An Intermediate Technology Development Group project is reducing the impact of floods by strengthening
the capacity of local communities to set up early-warning systems. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/
adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=67)

Nepal

Disaster-riskmanagement

Institutions;
Insurance; MEWS

The Himalayan Climate Centre is initiating a collective disaster insurance scheme in Western Nepal.
(http://www.acccaproject.org/evolution/modules/knowledgebox/external2/view.php?id=300&kbid=5)

Nicaragua

Disaster-riskmanagement

Awareness

The Red Cross conducts stakeholder seminars on climate change risks and works with teachers tointegrate climate change impacts into school curricula. (http://www.climatecentre.org/downloads/File/articles/Nicaraguan%20Red%20Cross.pdf)

Nicaragua

Disaster-riskmanagement

Technology; MEWS

The autonomous government of the North Atlantic Region has improved its early-warning systems anddisaster planning to cope with hurricanes and floods. (http://www.gtz.de/en/themen/umwelt-infrastruktur/
umweltpolitik/16057.htm)

Niger

Water
resources

Institutions;
Resources;
Infrastructure

The Niger Basin Authority is working to improve watershed management, irrigation, hydroelectric power,
and institutional coordination on water resources. (http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pageP
K=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P093806)

Nigeria

Agriculture

Technology;
Infrastructure

The World Bank’s fadama irrigation project helps ensure water availability during droughts. (http://maindb.
unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=152)

Peru

Agriculture

Technology

The Waru Waru Restoration Project has revived an ancient canalization technique designed to provide
moisture to farms during droughts and drainage during heavy rains. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/
adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=134)

Philippines

Agriculture

Awareness

Several organizations are collaborating to develop climate risk communication materials for policymakers,
local farmers, and other local stakeholders. (http://www.acccaproject.org/evolution/modules/
knowledgebox/external2/view.php?id=303&kbid=5)

Philippines

Coastalresources

MEWS

WWF’s Friends of the Reef project monitors and protects coral reefs in response to increasingly common
bleaching events associated with warming. (http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/asia_
pacific/our_programmes/for/index.cfm

Philippines

Disaster-riskmanagement

Resources; Technology; Oxfam set up a relief and rehabilitation program in response to increased storms, droughts, floods, andwarfare. The program includes food and medicine provision and credit and training for entrepreneurship.
Other(http://www.oxfamnovib.nl/id.html?lang=EN&id=PROJ_DETAIL&pid=FIL-501437-0001742)

Samoa

Coastalresources

Resources

The Vaiusu Bay restoration project is replanting and protecting mangroves to safeguard biodiversity.
(http://sgp.undp.org/web/projects/11284/replanting_of_the_degraded_vaiusu_bay_to_improve_the_mangrove_ecosystem_biodiversity_for_food_securi.html)

Samoa

Coastalresources

Resources

Matafa village is conserving nearby mangroves to safeguard biodiversity, provide income, and protect thevillage from storm surges. (http://sgp.undp.org/web/projects/11280/conservation_of_the_last_standing_mangrove_ecosystem_in_matafaa_village_for_its_biodiversity_and_cul.html)

Samoa

Water
resources

Resources

Lepa - Komiti Tumama is helping the village of Lepa store clean drinking water for use during floods.
(http://sgp.undp.org/web/projects/11292/restoration_of_the_lepa_village_natural_spring_and_development_of_water_catchment_for_village_drinki.html)

Samoa

Water
resources

Resources; Planning;
Empowerment

Vailoa Palauli - Komiti a Tina ma Tamaitai is helping the village of Vailoa Palauli store clean drinking waterin the face of climatic variation. (http://sgp.undp.org/web/projects/11288/upgrading_coastal_spring_for_
the_village_of_vailoa_palauli.html)

SenegalAgriculture

Institutions; Resources Environnement et Developpement du Tiers Monde helps farmers set up agroforestry co-ops, reducing
erosion and improving food security in the face of droughts. (http://www.cckn.net/pdf/seeing_the_light_
dre.pdf)

48

Case Description and Link

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Sector
Addressed

Adaptation
Strategies Employed

SenegalEnergy,Agriculture

Empowerment;
Infrastructure

The German/Senegalese Photovoltaic Solar Energy Project installs solar energy in remote villages for use
in homes and farming operations, helping residents cope with water shortages. (http://www.cckn.net/pdf/
seeing_the_light_dre.pdf)

South Africa

Agriculture

Agriculture;
Empowerment;
Awareness

SouthSouthNorth and Indigo Development and Change are helping farmers adapt their practices toanticipated climate change. (http://www.southsouthnorth.org/country_home.asp?country_id=11#159)

South Africa

Water
resources

Awareness; Resources

The Climate for Water project aims to improve climate prediction tools from a water resources perspective.
(http://www.c4w.org.za/c4w/custom/com/c4w/home/index.jsp)

South Asia

Disaster-riskmanagement

MEWS

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development is developing a database and early-warning
system for glacial lake outburst floods. (http://www.sdc.admin.ch/en/Home/Projects/Floods_from_the_Roof_of_the_World)

Sri Lanka

Agriculture

Institutions

Pangu, a traditional system of cooperative irrigation reservoir maintenance, helps ensure water availability
during droughts. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=152)

Sri Lanka

Coastalresources

Resources

Sri Lanka is protecting itself from sea level rise and storms by restoring coastal ecosystems. (http://www.
gefonline.org/projectDetails.cfm?projID=2753)

Sudan

Agriculture

Resources;
Agriculture;
Empowerment;
Institutions

The Community-Based Rangeland Rehabilitation for Carbon Sequestration project helps communities in
Bara province manage farms and forests and prepare for droughts. (http://www.aiaccproject.org/working_papers/Working%20Papers/AIACC_WP42_Osman.pdf)

Sudan

Agriculture

Resources; Agriculture

In the name of food security and enhanced livelihoods, SOS Sahel is improving water management,
agricultural practices for farming in arid areas, credit, and literacy. (http://www.aiaccproject.org/working_papers/Working%20Papers/AIACC_WP42_Osman.pdf)

Sudan

Water
resources

Resources; Agriculture

The Intermediate Technology Development Group supports community-developed water conservation andagricultural practices that help cope with droughts and global warming. (http://www.aiaccproject.org/
working_papers/Working%20Papers/AIACC_WP42_Osman.pdf)

Suriname

Coastalresources

Policy; Planning;
Institutions

Several ministries are conducting studies to develop committees and reports on climate change impacts
and adaptation needs and options in coastal zones. (http://www.nlcap.net/fileadmin/NCAP/Countries/
Suriname/NCAP_workplan_Suriname_summary.01.300106.pdf)

Tajikistan

Agriculture

Resources; Technology; CARE teaches households to extend the vegetable growing season by using cold frames and to plant trees
Institutions
on hillsides to stabilize land in the face of glacial melting. (www.seepnetwork.org/files/4674_file_SEEP_
CARE_Tajikistan_.ppt)

Tajikistan

Disaster-riskmanagement;
Agriculture

Technology;
Institutions; Policy

Oxfam is addressing the water-provision problems associated with droughts and flooding by introducing
new technologies, promoting new crops, and launching a disaster preparedness program. (http://www.
oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/climate_change/story_tajik.htm)

Tanzania

Agriculture

Resources

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism is reviving a traditional soil conservation practice known
as nigtili to cope with droughts. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.
pl?id_project=117)

Tanzania

Water
resources

Infrastructure;
Resources;
Empowerment

SouthSouthNorth and local partners are addressing ground-water salinization by testing well water anddrilling new wells in agricultural areas. (http://www.southsouthnorth.org/country_home.asp?country_
id=11#146)

Tanzania

Water
resources

Agriculture; Resources

Several organizations are collaborating to solve problems of overfishing and potable water shortages in
Lake Victoria and will explore aquaculture as a reduction in vulnerability to climate change. (http://www.
acccaproject.org/evolution/modules/knowledgebox/external2/view.php?id=297&kbid=5)

Tanzania

Water
resources

Resources; Awareness; The Mwasha Water User Group is training communities in water management and irrigation to combat
Institutions
water shortages. (http://sgp.undp.org/web/projects/11331/formation_of_water_user_association_and_river_namwi_catchments_for_sustainable_irrigation_at_mwasha_.html)

Tanzania

Water
resources

Technology; Planning

Tanzania is preparing for climate change impacts on the Pangani River by improving technical knowledge
and watershed management. (http://www.gefweb.org/Documents/Medium-Sized_Project_Proposals/MSP_
Proposals/documents/Tanzania-PanganiMainstreaming.pdf)

Tanzania

Water
resources

Institutions;
Resources; Policy

The Water Sector Support Project is strengthening institutions for integrated water resource management
and broadening access to water supply and sanitation. (http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?p
agePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P087154)

Country

Case Description and Link

A nne x A : L i s t of C ases A nal y z ed

49

Country

SectorAddressed

Adaptation
Strategies Employed

ThailandAgriculture

Technology;
Agriculture; Resources

ThailandCoastalresources

Institutions; Resources Thailand’s community mangrove reforestation projects help protect the coast from storms. (http://maindb.
unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=154)

ThailandCoastalresources

MEWS

WWF’s Friends of the Reef project monitors and protects coral reefs in response to increasingly common
bleaching events associated with warming. (http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/asia_
pacific/our_programmes/for/index.cfm)

Trinidad andTobagoDisaster-riskmanagement

Awareness

The Red Cross is developing booklets, posters, a Web site, and kids’ clubs to raise awareness amongchildren of the risks associated with climate change. (http://www.climatecentre.org/downloads/File/latin_
america/Trinidad%20and%20Tobago.pdf)

Tunisia

Water
resources

Policy; Awareness

GTZ helped Tunisia develop a National Adaptation Strategy. (http://www.gtz.de/de/dokumente/en-climateresults-maghreb.pdf)

TuvaluDisaster-riskmanagement

PolicyThe Pacific Access Category allows 75 Tuvalu citizens to migrate to New Zealand each year as a way tocope with sea level rise. (http://www.foe.org.au/resources/publications/climate-justice/CitizensGuide.pdf)

UgandaAgriculture

Agriculture

The Karamoja Agropastoral Development Programme provides women with cross-bred goats andinstruction in graze-free feeding to improve goat survival during droughts. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/
public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=35)

UgandaAgriculture

Technology;
The Radio and Internet Project enhances collection and dissemination of early-warning and climate
Awareness; Agriculture information at the local level through radio and the Internet. (http://www.acts.or.ke/pubs/monographs/
pubs/ecopolicy15.pdf)

VietnamDisaster-riskmanagement;
Coastalresources

Awareness; Resources; The Red Cross has integrated a climate change and adaptation unit into its disaster preparedness
Planning
training modules and is focusing on mangrove restoration as a cyclone-protection strategy. (http://www.
climatecentre.org/downloads/File/asia_and_pacific/Vietnam%20February%202007.pdf)

Vietnam

Water
resources

Planning; Awareness;
Technology;
Institutions; Policy

The Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology is using water modeling and stakeholder discussions to develop
adaptation plans addressing biodiversity loss. (http://www.nlcap.net/countries/vietnam/)

Yemen

Agriculture

Agriculture;
Empowerment

Yemen is increasing the adaptive capacity of rural communities through conservation of agro-biodiversity
and traditional knowledge. (http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P103922)

Yemen

Water
resources

Resources;
Institutions; Policy

The Netherlands Climate Change Studies Assistance Programme in Yemen focuses on social-based
adaptation to climate change, especially water-use planning. (http://www.nlcap.net/fileadmin/NCAP/Countries/Yemen/NCAP_workplan_Yemen_summary.01.300106.pdf)

Zimbabwe

Agriculture

Agriculture; Resources

The ISSD and Zimbabwe ENDA Community Drought Mitigation project helps farmers improve water-use
efficiency and decrease runoff as a way of coping with droughts. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/
adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=120)

Zimbabwe

Agriculture

Planning; Agriculture;
MEWS; Resources

Zimbabwe is promoting sustainable livelihoods in the face of drought, enhancing the use of early-warning
systems, and developing community drought-preparedness plans. (http://www.undp.org/gef/adaptation/
docs/CwD2/CwD_MSP_Zim_PAC2.ppt)

Zimbabwe

Energy; Water
resources

Technology

ZERO (an NGO) installed wind power for home use and irrigation pumps, helping rural villages cope withwater shortages. (http://www.cckn.net/pdf/seeing_the_light_dre.pdf)

50

Case Description and Link

As an example of autonomous adaptation, communities in the Lower Songkram River Basin are modifying
their fishing gear and their rice-growing strategies to conform to climate changes, such as flooding anddrought. (http://maindb.unfccc.int/public/adaptation/adaptation_casestudy.pl?id_project=77)

Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Annex B. Methods, Criteria, and Sources
for Selecting Case Examples
Defining the scope of the case review presented in
Section II was challenging. To maintain an open-minded
perspective on what qualifies as “adaptation” without
overwhelming the study with meaningless data, we took
an iterative approach to identifying cases.
The first iteration of case selection focused on sources
available through the UNFCCC Web site (including links
from there to presentations made for “Development and
Adaptation Days” and other side events). These sources
led us to 120 examples of adaptation projects, activities,
assessments, and strategies.
In analyzing these examples, a central challenge forour review quickly became clear: much of this work on
adaptation is more academic than practical. Cases foundfrequently assess the scope or magnitude of particularimpacts, characterize specific sources of vulnerability inparticular places or communities, or propose particular
adaptation strategies. This finding led us to distinguishbetween adaptation activities where generating knowledge
was the principal objective and those aimed at creating a
concrete change; our focus is on the latter. Following this
distinction, we included examples drawn from academic
papers, but not academic investigations as examplesof adaptation themselves. Vulnerability and impacts
assessments were included in the scope of the review
only if they were an integral part of a specific adaptation
strategy or decision-making process, not if they were standalone studies.
In line with this criterion, we excluded 73 of the 120
initial examples gathered from our review on grounds
that they primarily represented knowledge generation,
not practical action. The low proportion of cases that
fit our criteria suggests that either (1) more adaptation

effort currently focuses on knowledge creation thanon-the-ground action, or (2) the existing body ofmore practical efforts is not being highlighted in the
UNFCCC clearinghouses from which we drew ourinitial example set. Based on subsequent efforts to gather
cases from other sources (see Annex A for the source ofeach case), we believe that both circumstances are true.
While we encountered numerous practical examples
that we could not find on UNFCCC-related Web sites,
we also re-encountered many examples in multiple fora,suggesting that the overall body of practical experience is
not yet large.
In the end, the review covered a total of 135 examples
of practical adaptation. Each case was examinedaccording to a series of parameters, including its location,
geographic scale, sectoral focus, strategic emphasis, andthe climate impacts the activity addressed. Characterizing
the examples in this manner was challenging: projectdescriptions frequently use different adaptation
terminology, and boundaries between categories canbe unclear, even when terminology is consistent. Many
adaptation efforts are also complex, with multiple
funders, implementers, strategies, localities, impacts, andvulnerability drivers frequently at play in a single project.
This created a problem of “comparing apples to oranges,”which was impossible to fully resolve, given the data
available for the present study: some cases are large andmultifaceted, while others consist of smaller, relatively
more focused sets of activities. Further analysis could
better divide each case into its component parts for more
effective comparison.
A more detailed treatment of the data may be found atwww.wri.org/climate/.

A nne x B : M e t h ods , C r i t er i a , and S ources for S elec t i ng C ase E x amples

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Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

Annex C. Acronyms

Acronym

Full Name

CATHALAC

Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean

CRM

Climate Risk Management

DRM

Disaster Risk Management

GDP

Gross Domestic Product

GEF

Global Environment Facility

HIV/AIDS

Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

IMF

International Monetary Fund

IPCC

Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change

LDC

Least Developed Countries

NAPAs

National Adaptation Plans of ActionNGO

Non-Governmental Organization

ODA

Official Development Assistance

PRSPs

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers

SCCF

Special Climate Change FundTAIThe Access InitiativeUN

United Nations

UNFCCC

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

A nne x c : A cron y ms

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Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

About the Authors
Heather McGray is a Senior Associate in WRI’s Climate and Energy Program. She currently leads WRI’s projecton vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. Her previous work with WRI focused on the role of transparency,
participation, and access to justice in addressing environmental problems, including research and training in China’s
Yunnan Province. Prior to joining WRI, Ms. McGray’s professional experience included research on environmental
management in China; research and negotiations on ISO 14000 environmental standards; coordination of an urban
education and development network; and management of US-China educational exchange programs. Ms. McGray
holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from Yale University and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from
Oberlin College.
Anne Hammill is a project manager and researcher with the Climate Change & Energy and Environment &Security programs at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). Much of her work focuseson understanding how better environmental management can contribute to human security through resilience toclimate stress, conflict prevention, and peacebuilding. Ms. Hammill’s most recent work has involved field research,training, and policy analysis on climate change adaptation, as well as conflict-sensitive conservation in Eastern andCentral Africa. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Environmental Studies, and a Master of Arts in
Geography.
Rob Bradley directs WRI’s International Climate Policy Initiative. His research focuses on climate policy
instruments and the relationship between climate change and development. Mr. Bradley’s areas of expertise include
international emissions trading, clean energy technologies, and European climate and energy policy. Mr. Bradley has
been a regular participant in the U.N. Conferences of the Parties to the UNFCCC since 1998, and has been active in
EU climate and energy policy formulation. He has spoken and published widely, on such subjects such as emissions
trading, renewable energy finance, climate change and health, and East-West European energy collaboration. Prior
to joining WRI in 2004, Mr. Bradley worked as a consultant on energy and environmental policy issues. He holds a
Bachelor of Science in Physical Sciences from University College London and a Master of Environmental Sciencesfrom the University of East Anglia.
Jo-Ellen Parry serves as Manager for the Climate Change and Energy program at IISD. Her recent work has
focused on the intersection of developing countries, adaptation to the effects of climate change, opportunities toimprove the Clean Development Mechanism, and establishment of a post-2012 climate regime. She also coordinates
activities of the KyotoSmart Network, an initiative that brings together Canadian industry, labor, NGO, andprovincial government representatives. Ms. Parry undertook a secondment from IISD to the Canadian International
Development Agency’s Policy Branch in 2002, where she primarily worked on climate change issues related to theleast developed countries. Prior to joining IISD, Ms. Parry held various research positions and worked internationallyin Ghana and Pakistan. She holds a Master in Environmental Studies degree from York University and a Bachelor of
Science in Environmental Science from the University of Manitoba.
Lisa Schipper is an interdisciplinary researcher focused on development and global environmental change. In
particular, she is interested in socio-cultural factors causing vulnerability to natural hazards, adaptation policy issues
and the linkages between development and risk. Dr. Schipper has worked and consulted for numerous internationalorganisations, including the UNFCCC, UNDP, UNEP, ISDR, GTZ, DFID, IISD, and IWMI, among others. She iscurrently based at the Southeast Asia START regional center at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand,
where she also works on research capacity building in the realm of adaptation and vulnerability reduction.

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Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development

About WRIThe World Resources Institute (WRI) is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to findpractical ways to protect the earth and improve people’s lives.
Our mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity toprovide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.
Because people are inspired by ideas, empowered by knowledge, and moved to change by greater
understanding, WRI provides—and helps other institutions provide—objective information and practical
proposals for policy and institutional change that will foster environmentally sound, socially equitabledevelopment.
WRI organizes its work around four key goals:n People & Ecosystems: Reverse rapid degradation of ecosystems and assure their capacity to provide

humans with needed goods and services.
n Access: Guarantee public access to information and decisions regarding natural resources and theenvironment.
n Climate Protection: Protect the global climate system from further harm due to emissions ofgreenhouse gases and help humanity and the natural world adapt to unavoidable climate change.
n Markets & Enterprise: Harness markets and enterprise to expand economic opportunity and protect

the environment.

25%

Cert no. SW-COC-2062

57

W RIREPORT

Heather McGray
Anne Hammill
Rob Bradley
10 G Street, NE
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20002
www.wri.org

with

E. Lisa Schipper
Jo-Ellen Parry

Weathering the Storm
Options for Framing
Adaptation and Development