Majority of natural disasters climate related, official says

Alex Kirby in Responding to Climate Change: A senior French political leader, foreign minister Laurent Fabius, has told an international conference on how to reduce the risk from natural disasters that 70% of them are now linked to climate change, twice as many as twenty years ago.

Fabius is the incoming president of this year’s round of negotiations by member states of the UN climate change convention, to take place in Paris in December. He said disaster risk reduction and the struggle against climate change went hand in hand: “It is necessary to tackle these problems together and not separately.”

He was speaking against the background of two events which occurred thousands of miles apart on 14 March, linked by nothing except tragic coincidence.

In the Japanese city of Sendai the third UN world conference on disaster risk reduction began a five-day meeting. In the South Pacific Cyclone Pam brought death and devastation to the 83-island nation of Vanuatu on a scale seldom recorded in the region.

Vivien Maidaborn, executive director of Unicef New Zealand, said the disaster could prove one of the worst in Pacific history. “The sheer force of the storm, combined with communities just not set up to withstand it, could have devastating results for thousands across the region,” she said.

A Unicef worker in Vanuatu described the cyclone as “15 to 30 minutes of absolute terror” for “everybody in this country” as it passed over....

Sendai's skyline at dawn, shot by Caveman2, Wikimedia Commons, public domain

En route to climate change adaptation

Ayesha Qaisrani in Pakistan Today: With no adherence to geographical boundaries, climate change continues to hover over our heads like a dense, dark cloud of uncertainty. Even with all the sophisticated projections of climate change, only one thing about it remains certain: that it is happening and we better act now.

Realising the gravity of the situation, Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA) in collaboration with Janathakshan and Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN), organised a sub-regional workshop for the South Asian nations in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to discuss the latest adaptation initiatives taken up and exchange best practices and information. The workshop took place on the 23rd and 24th of February 2015 and was attended by representatives of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal including representation from the respective governments, the parliaments and the civil society.

...It was encouraging to get insights about the adaptation initiatives being taken up by the nations of South Asia. Even more encouraging was the general recognition of the need of cooperation and collaboration among the nations for an effective response to climate change. Emphasising on the need of regional cooperation, Mr Malik Muhammad Uzair Khan, Member Parliament, Pakistan, commented, “Pakistan like India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is reeling under the worst impacts of climate change. Clearly, climate change knows no borders and now more than ever it is critical that our leaders come together to share best practices for climate change adaptation and set the region on the path of sustainable development.”

Underlining that capacity building is the keystone to effective adaptation to climate change. The representatives advocated a balanced investment in physical infrastructure and skills of the population. They stressed upon focusing on education and awareness, health, agriculture sector, water management and disaster preparedness to increase the resilience of people and reduce their vulnerability. Besides individual and community level, focus should also be directed at institutional capacity building as, quite often, it is the institutions that are inefficient in setting their priorities for strategic response to climate change....

NASA image of 2010 flooding in Pakistan

Resilience planning – some do’s and don’ts

IRIN: Among the topics being discussed at the 2014 World Climate Week in New York City (22-26 September), are financing resilient cities, corporate actions for resilience, the ways data can support resilience moves, and women’s leadership in resilience planning.

IRIN looks at some of the successes, failures and pitfalls in resilience planning. Hazard-resilient investments can range from enforced building codes, to early warning systems, to community-level waste management - all crucial for buffering societies against disasters.

“It can be as easy as painting lines on trees to gauge water levels [so] you can see when it is time to pack up and leave, before it is too late,” Richard Yates, the director of the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) regional mission for Asia, told IRIN, pointing to a USAID-supported project in the Philippines.

But resilience planning which does not include a range of actors - from vulnerable communities to big companies - can fail to accomplish anything new, warned a critique by the Humanitarian Policy Group at the London-based Overseas Development
Institute (ODI).

“There is a danger that we go on and think we are building resilience when really we are ignoring the most vulnerable,” said Paul Levine, a livelihoods and vulnerability specialist with ODI. “In coming up with a whole new language and framework, we forget the basics.”...

2012 flood damage in Manila, shot by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

Conference to examine financing options for climate change adaptations

Jakarta Post: An international conference in Nepal will examine ways to unlock financing that could help local communities in developing countries adapt to climate change.

The 8th International Conference on Community Based Adaptation (CBA8) is aimed at encouraging the private sector to invest in climate adaptation and ensure that public finance can reach the communities that need it most.

The meeting, which is set to take place in Kathmandu from April 24 to April 30, is organized by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies and Clean Energy Nepal, which will present on behalf of the Climate Change Network Nepal. The Nepalese government will host the conference.

“As the cost of adaptation rises, the need for finance to reach communities will grow more urgent,” IIED senior fellow Saleemul Huq said in a release made available to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. “Governments must strive to ensure public money can filter down to poorer communities, and create incentives for the private sector to invest in community-based adaptation,” he went on. The conference will gather policymakers, researchers and others to explore what funding is available and where, and assess how well it reaches those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. More than 300 participants will attend the conference...

The Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal, shot by Etter Studio, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license 

Food security should be top priority for Pakistan

Suhail Yusuf in Dawn: Experts from various disciplines gathered at the Climate Change Conference in Karachi stressed a dire need for research on the issue in Pakistan as it ranked amongst countries highly vulnerable to the phenomena.

The conference, organised by Habib University, highlighted the urgent need to incorporate climate change adaptation into the national climate policy. The keynote speaker, Dr Bruce McCarl, a disitinguised professor of Agricultural Economic at Texas A&M University, sounded the alarm and advised the government of Pakistan to put a special emphasis on saving it agricultural sector, first and foremost since it was most sensitive to extreme weather.

McCarl, who was also part of the Noble Peace Prize winning team of Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007, said, "From agricultural point of view, Pakistan should focus on its most staple crops like Wheat" because food security should be the top priority in the climate change scenario.

Shafqat Kakakhel, chairperson of Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) said that Pakistan was prone to natural disasters and was frequently facing an increase in floods, droughts and other extreme events. Kakakhel also stressed the need for educational institutes to introduce climate change and environment policy in the school curriculum.

Climate change and the role of media was the subject of another important panel discussion at the conference where Rina Saeed Khan, a prominent writer on environment, said in her presentation that though Pakistan was one the lowest emitters of green house gases in the world it remained highly susceptible to the climate uncertainties....

Sindh peasants in a 2009 protest march, shot by Roshanzangejo, public domain

Climate change adaptation investments are good for business

Natalie Tang at TriplePundit: Shared-value investments can increase much-needed climate change resiliency in the most vulnerable countries, according to top thought leaders from public and private sectors who met to discuss opportunities for innovation and resiliency at Norte Dame Adaptation Index’s (ND-GAIN) Annual Meeting held December 12, 2013 in Washington D.C.

The ND-GAIN Index annually ranks more than 175 countries based on their vulnerability to climate change and their readiness to adapt to natural disasters exacerbated by shifting weather patterns.  Their mission is to enhance the world’s understanding of the importance of adaptation and facilitate private and public investments in vulnerable communities.

According to this year’s data, which was released at the annual meeting, “it will take more than 100 years for the poorest countries to reach the readiness levels that the richest countries have already attained” stated Associate Professor Jessica Hellmann, who leads Norte Dame University’s climate adaptation program.  Hellmann posited that while countries are becoming more resilient, adaptation is not happening fast enough, in part due to a lack of investment.

...The ND-GAIN index is an open source, navigation tool to compare overall vulnerabilities of different countries and also specific metrics, such as infrastructure, health, or water, to get a better understanding of risks and opportunities as they relate to individual businesses. Despite the potential to prevent investments in already marginalized countries, Hersh hopes the information will instead open dialogue with governments and lead to partnerships to push for increased adaption strategies that will serve the needs of both parties....

Surat to share how it tackled floods

Himansshu Bhatt in the Times of India: Representatives from the Diamond City [aka Surat] will share their success at dealing with climate change issues and how they have been able to check floods to a large extent.

The experiences will be shared at a national conference on emerging mechanisms and responses of cities to climate change in Delhi on Tuesday that has been organized by Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) and supported by Rockefeller Foundation.

Kamlesh Yagnik, secretary of Surat Climate Change Trust (SCCT), will deliberate on the effectiveness of setting up end to end early warning system in Surat for pre-empting floods. "I would specially like to highlight how accurate figures of rain and inflow of water in the river could help the city gear up," said Yagnik. The system helped the city escape from major floods during the monsoon this year.

"The conference is being held to share success stories and encourage other cities to adopt such mechanisms," said Jatin Shah, chairman of SCCT. Surat being one of the sister cities of ACCCRN has a responsibility of sharing its knowledge. Representatives from 24 cities will be participating in the conference....

Surat at night, shot by Hemant meena, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license 

Key points of the Warsaw consensus

Global Post via AFP: UN climate negotiators reached agreement in Warsaw on Saturday on cornerstone elements for the road to a new 2015 deal to curb global warming. Here are the main points:

Countries reaffirmed the core principle that the deal will be "applicable to all" 195 parties to the UN climate convention -- with no differentiation between rich and poor nations as under the pact's predecessor the Kyoto Protocol.

- Parties should volunteer targets for curbing climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions "well in advance" of a Paris conference where the deal must be inked in two years' time.  Those "ready" to do so, must announce their contributions by the first quarter of 2015.

- A draft negotiating text must be ready by next year's round of talks in Lima, Peru.  In the runup to 2020, when the new pact must enter into force, countries are "urged" to do what they can to reduce emissions.

 A separate document agreed after a fortnight of heated negotiations, urges developed countries to deliver "increasing levels" of public finance for climate aid to poor and vulnerable countries up to 2020.  It also calls for "a very significant scale" of initial funding for the recently-formed Green Climate Fund, which is meant to disburse such aid.

 Negotiators agreed to set up the "Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage" to assist vulnerable countries deal with future harm from climate damages they claim are no longer avoidable.  These include sudden extreme weather events like storms, but also slow-onset events like land-encroaching sea level rise or desertification....

Typhoon carnage in the Philippines spurs passion for poor at climate talks

Mary Sibierski in GMA News via AFP: Negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) rarely show on the public's radar, except perhaps in the scenes of bickering over who's to blame for global warming and who will foot the bill for it.

The talks are as complex as they are important, involving technical issues that lack color and emotion – and for many ordinary people, bewildering or mightily tedious. But this year's round in Warsaw has been jolted into life by the catastrophe that has struck the Philippines, providing a passionate reminder of the life-and-death issues that underpin the grinding UN process.

The spark has come from the Philippines' negotiator, Naderev Sano, whose father's home town is Tacloban, flattened by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). As the COP19 conference heads towards its climax, Sano told AFP Monday some his relatives had "perished" and that he was still waiting to hear whether others are dead or alive.

At the start of the 11-day talks, Sano won a standing ovation for a desperate appeal for countries to strike a deal to avert mass tragedies of this kind. Sano put his convictions on the line by going on "a water-only fast" for the duration of the meeting in solidarity with suffering Filipinos and to ramp up pressure on fellow negotiators....

Warsaw climate talks: nearly 3 in 10 countries not sending ministers

Sophie Yeo in the Guardian (UK): According to statistics released by the UN, over 10,000 people will spend the next two weeks swarming through its corridors, busily going about their business of trying to find a solution to climate change. But only 134 of these will be ministers, in spite of the fact that there will be 189 countries attending the conference.

The representative sent by each country indicates the level of importance it places on the negotiations. Australia recently attracted attention by its refusal to send either its environment minister Greg Hunt or foreign minister Julie Bishop to the negotiations. Instead, Australia will send along its climate ambassador Justin Lee as its lead negotiator.

As the world’s top climate officials gather to discuss how to stem emissions and mobilise finance, Hunt will instead be based in the Australian parliament, attempting to fulfill Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s election promise to repeal the country’s carbon tax.

Former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd personally attended the UN climate talks in 2007 during his first term in power, where he ratified Australia’s commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, which committed industrialised countries to reduce their emissions.

This year, two prime ministers and two presidents will be attending the conference, each hailing from some of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, including the Pacific islands of Tuvalu and Nauru, along with African countries Ethiopia and Tanzania....

Success of climate talks vital for 2°C target

A press release from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research: Achieving a global climate agreement soon could be crucial for the objective to keep global mean temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius. The challenges of meeting the long-term target will otherwise increase drastically both in terms of the required emissions reductions and economic impacts. This is shown by the first comprehensive multi-model-based assessment of so-called Durban Platform scenarios, conducted by a team of international scientists led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) in Italy. The Durban Platform is the current negotiation track at the Warsaw climate talks that aims to reach a global climate agreement by 2015 to come into effect in 2020.

“The negotiations in Warsaw represent an important step in the negotiation process towards a climate agreement by 2015,” lead author Elmar Kriegler from PIK says. “While there are legitimate doubts about whether the Durban Platform negotiations can deliver on their promise, our analysis shows the importance of meaningful reductions in global emissions by 2020 to keep the 2 degree target within reach.” The later emissions get cut, the greater the necessary reduction rates to avoid more than 2 degrees warming, and hence the greater the impact on energy prices and economic growth.

“Even a delay of just 10 years of a climate agreement coming into effect would raise the economic challenges substantially, if emissions reduction efforts remained at their currently moderate level,” Kriegler says. The results are part of the comprehensive LIMITS project (Low Climate lmpact Scenarios and the lmplications of Required Tight Emission Control Strategies) on the implementation of 2 degree strategies in the major economies and will be published in a special issue of the journal Climate Change Economics. The scientists investigated a set of different outcomes of the Durban Platform negotiations process and their implications for reaching the 2 degree target with seven integrated assessment and energy-economy models to ensure the robustness of results....

Flood-prone Pakistan struggles for influence at UN climate talks

Saleem Shaikh and Sughra Tunio at the Thomson Reuters Foundation: Plagued by weak preparations, poor negotiating skills and inadequate political support for its delegation at the U.N. climate talks in Warsaw, Pakistan will struggle to press its case for much-needed support to deal with the impacts of climate change, experts say.

Although Pakistan has suffered climate-related losses and damage worth over $15 billion in the past few years, it has not played a leading role at global climate conferences like that taking place in Poland from Nov. 11-22, also known as COP19.

“It is really disappointing to see how Pakistani negotiators are ill-prepared with their climate vulnerability case for COP19, and how shy they are of putting forward their loss and damage case,” said Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, chief executive of LEAD Pakistan, a non-governmental organisation working on climate mitigation and adaptation issues with community groups.

...Pakistan has sustained economic damage of more than $15 billion as a result of consecutive monsoon floods each year since 2010, governmental officials say. In addition, some 4,000 people were killed by flooding, thousands injured and millions displaced from their homes, according to the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2011-12....

Lessons on adapting to climate change

Indian Express: Representatives from 20 cities from  across South Asia will come together in Kochi on Wednesday to learn from each other on the issue of adaptation to climate change at the seminar on  Asian Cities Adapt: Learning Exchange, co-organised by ICLEI South Asia and Kochi Corporation.

The two-day workshop, will present an impressive line-up of high-level local representatives from India, the Philippines, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Nepal, who will discuss solutions on how cities can adapt to climate change, together with climate experts and other practitioners from India, Southeast Asia and Europe. The civic representatives from other cities include Male city (Maldives) Mayor Maizan Ali Manik, Mongla Mayor Zulfikar Ali, and Singra (Bangladesh) Mayor Shamim Al Razi, and Shimla Deputy Mayor Tikender S Panwar.

“With the recently released fifth  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment confirming that climate change is a reality and an increase in temperature and sea-level is therefore unavoidable, cities in Asia - one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change - must act, and must do so fast,” warn experts.

According to them, many cities attending the workshop have already witnessed the impact of changing weather patterns - the workshop will provide them with lessons and other approaches and experiences to understand consequences and identify suitable local responses better.

“Researchers from internationally-renowned institutions as well as expert agencies like German Cooperation Agency (GIZ ), Cities Development Initiatives for Asia (CDIA) and BBC Media Action will offer different perspectives on the issue, presenting the latest research findings and current initiatives at the seminar,” according to a release.

The workshop is organised as part of the ‘AsianCitiesAdapt - Impacts of Climate Change in Target Cities in India and the Philippines and Local Adaptation Strategies’....

A view of Kochi, Kerala, India. Photo by Adam Jones Adam63, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Hungary hosting water summit amid global tensions

Vatican Radio: Hungary is hosting the United Nations “Budapest Water Summit” at a time of growing global tensions over water. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (pictured) warned world leaders to take water security more seriously.

He spoke to some 1,200 delegates from more than 100 U.N. member states and organizations who gather in Hungary's capital to discuss water management and sanitation around the world at a time of growing concerns over climate change.

Though critics remain sceptical about global warming, Ban asked participants to take the issue more seriously.  “The latest report of the international panel on climate change released on September 27 confirms the imminent dangers of climate change,” he explained. “That's why I am going to convene a summit meeting dedicated to climate change in September next year. And I sincere hope that leaders next year will demonstrate their political leadership and also set a legal climate agreement by 2015.”

He said it was significant that Hungary hosts the current Budapest Water Summit on the banks of the Danube river, which only recently caused the region's worst flooding in recent history.

Hungary's president János Áder warned of more flooding as research in his words shows that “the planet is only 37 years away from the moment that its northern icecap may disappear.” ...

The Parliament Building in Budapest, shot by AngMoKio, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license

Uncertainty on figures hampering food security efforts

BBC: More than 600 scientists gathered in the Netherlands for a global food security conference, described as the first of its kind. Organisers said science could help end uncertainty surrounding efforts to meet the food needs of future generations.

They added that, until now, there were many policy debates on food security but there was no scientific forum for researchers to share knowledge. The next food security conference will be held in the US in 2015.

"A really key message from the conference for us is that we have got lots of estimates about needs of population growth etc, but at the moment we are so uncertain of the exact numbers - the uncertainty is really very high," said conference co-chairman Ken Giller, professor of plant production systems at Wageningen University.

"We talk about the current population being seven billion, moving to 9.2 billion in 2050 and the estimate is that we need to increase production 70% or more. But there are many different ways of addressing that. If we don't know what the problem is then we can't get started in addressing them."...

The market in Chiang Mai, Thailand, shot by calflier001, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license 

Governments call for urgent action on water

BusinessGhana: With some two billion people around the world still lacking safe drinking water, world leaders gathered in Stockholm for the 23rd World Water Week on Monday called for global co-operation in tackling the coming demand for water.

Although the target of halving the number of people without access to clean water sources under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was achieved in 2010, problems still lie ahead as the world's population continues to rise rapidly.

By 2050, there will be nine billion people on Earth. However, the amount of water in the world will not increase, according to experts.

Addressing the opening session of the World Water Week, the Executive Director of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Torgny Holmgren, warned: "Mortgaging our future by draining water from the ground, surface and sky faster than it can be replaced by nature is untenable and unwise. It will undermine the stability and security of our entire civilisation."

He called for strengthened international co-operation over water, adding that collaboration over the world's most essential resource was more urgent than ever. "For the sake of the generations to come, we need to change the way the world uses water. We cannot delay," Mr. Holmgren said....

The fountain at Sergels Torg in Stockholm, shot by Jonas Bergsten, public domain 

Building resilient food systems, adaptation to climate change

The Fish Site: Ecosystem-based adaptation approaches should be mainstreamed and up-scaled to build resilient food systems and adapt to climate change in Africa. This was the declaration made by participants to the first Africa Food Security and Adaptation Conference held on 20-21 August 2013 in the UN offices in Nairobi, Kenya.

Agriculture, including livestock, forestry and fisheries, is by far the sector most affected by climate change. Climate change will impact food security, both directly causing less food availability and indirectly, leading to loss of jobs and livelihoods which in turn would affect the purchasing power of farmers and consumers living in Africa and globally at large.

Climate change adds a new challenge and uncertainties to agricultural and rural development. Many countries in Africa are amongst the most vulnerable in ensuring food security and adapting to ongoing effects and risks of climate changes. For example, 95 per cent of the food in Sub-Saharan Africa is grown under rain fed agriculture, and thus vulnerable to adverse weather conditions.

Speaking for FAO, Modibo Traore, sub-regional coordinator for Eastern Africa (SFE) emphasized the importance of focusing on ecosystem based approaches for food security and adaptation to climate change. "This topic enables us to address the critical nexus between agriculture, food security and climate change in a systemic way."...

Nation House in Nairobi, shot by Rotsee2, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Anglophone African countries discuss climate change adaptation

Philippe Mwema Bahati in AllAfrica.com via Rwanda Focus: Experts in climate change from the Least Developed Anglophone Countries in Africa gathered in Kigali this week for a five-day workshop to discuss climate change adaptation on the continent.

The workshop intends to let countries share expertise and look at how to alleviate climate change, a phenomenon that will disproportionately affect African countries more than many others. According to Stanislas Kamanzi, Minister of Natural Resources, adaptation to climate change is imperative, and is a hindrance to the economic development of countries in the region. The least developed countries still lack the capacity to find solutions, but with their agriculturally driven economies and often tropical, they will also be the hardest hit by climate change.

Generally, a lack of commitment among leaders has made Africa one the slowest regions to address climate change. "There is still poor participation from the states," Kamanzi lamented, before clarifying Rwanda as the exception.

Rwanda has undertaken measures including planting trees, preserving forests, and reforming agricultural practices to make them more environmentally friendly. Kamanzi also pointed out the government's new National Climate and Environment Fund (FONERWA), a tool for enhancing projects that support national sustainable development goals.

Richard Muyungi, the chairman of scientific and technological advice of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said countries need to mainstream climate change mitigation in planning processes and government agendas in order to avoid serious consequences for their most impoverished citizens...

The center of Kigali, Rwanda, shot by SteveRwanda, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Japan and UNDP highlight need to build on adaptation achievements in Africa

UNDP News Centre: Efforts to protect development from the impacts of climate change must be supported in Africa. This was the rationale behind the creation of UNDP’s Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP), and it was a sentiment voiced by senior officials from Africa, Japan and the UN at a TICAD V side-event on the AAP’s achievements.

In their opening addresses at the event, Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré, Japan’s Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Masaji Matsuyama and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said they would like to see progress made under the AAP expanded and built on.

The Tokyo International Conference on African Development is the world’s largest forum on African development issues. Under the "Japan-UNDP Joint Framework for Building Partnerships to Address Climate Change in Africa," which was established at TICAD IV in 2008, the Government of Japan provided $92.1 million to implement the AAP.

The side-event attracted a standing-room-only audience, with international viewers following the webcast and tweeting questions and comments. It received coverage in mainstream Japanese media, including a story on the nightly news of Japan’s national TV station NHK.

...In his opening address, President Compaoré called for adaptation-related achievements of the AAP to be built on. "African countries at this moment are confronting serious development challenges. And for each country, the measures that they take to address climate change risks will become increasingly important for their future. But we need to have the tools available and strategic plans in place to effectively adapt to climate change," said President Compaoré....

Adaptation as a race against time

Naimul Haq in IPS: Adaptation and mitigation. Identified by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and by scientists as the two major responses to address the problem, these were also the twin preoccupations of a climate change conference held recently in Dhaka. Some 200 environmentalists, scientists, policymakers, academics, government and non-government officials as well as international development partners converged on the capital city of Bangladesh to discuss ways community-based adaptation (CBA) could be made more holistic, incorporating sectors such as food, water, education, health, energy, livelihood opportunities, poverty reduction and social mobilisation.

A joint initiative of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) – a research, policy and implementation organisation in Dhaka – and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), a UK-based think-tank which works in partnership with fellow organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America, the Dhaka plenary was the seventh edition of the CBA conference or CBA-7.

“As time goes by, climate change impacts will only get more severe,” Atiq Rahman, executive director of BCAS and co-chair of the Climate Action Network South Asia, told IPS. “If the industrialised nations do not take their roles seriously, then it could lead to catastrophic consequences.”

Speaker after speaker underlined the urgency of addressing the needs of communities vulnerable to climate change. There was not a moment to be lost, they emphasised: the time to act was now. “It is a race against time,” said Tracy Kajumba, a capacity-building and advocacy coordinator for the Africa Climate Change Resilience Alliance (ACCRA) in Uganda.

“The earlier we get into action, the better it will be. Otherwise, the cost of adaptation will only become higher, leading to population displacement, conflict and increased poverty, and hence huge global tensions,” she commented to IPS. World leaders also needed to invest more, both in terms of commitment and funds, the experts agreed...

The Bahadur Shah Park water tank in Old Dhaka, shot by Rashed Ali, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license