Mexico experiments with adapting to climate change naturally — and on the cheap

Jason Margolis in PRI.org: When we hear about climate change, “adaptation" is one word that usually finds its way into the conversation. But it's a term that means different things in different parts of the world.

For southern Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala, adaptation means experimenting with the best and most cost-effective ways to prepare for stronger tropical storms and hurricanes. The area has long been one of the most susceptible spots on the planet and, as ocean temperatures rise, climate scientists predict storms will grow more intense. In fact, there are indications that the number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes is already increasing.

Residents from the small community of Valdivia — in the southernmost Mexican state of Chiapas along the Guatemalan border — know all too well about the destructive potential of intense storms. All that’s left today of the town are shells of concrete buildings amidst the weeds. In 1998, Tropical Storm Javier swept across Chiapas and literally wiped the community of 4,000 off the map.

I met Joel Garcia Vasquez grazing his cows in front of the ruins of a church. He said the church served as a refuge during the storm. He and others huddled on the rooftop when the river, about a mile away, flooded. Garcia said the water was about 10 feet high for 10 days. Thirty residents died and another 50 or so bodies floated by from upstream, by his rough count.

When it was all over, rather than rebuild the town, the government helped the people of Valdivia start over on higher ground. They named the town Nuevo Valdivia, or New Valdivia. I asked Vasquez how he feels grazing his cows among the ruins of his childhood home. His answer took me by surprise.   “The new town is a little better because we’re getting more help from the government,” he said....

A river ferry in Valdivia, 2012, shot by CristianDiaz, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Huye families in Rwanda given relocation deadline

Jean Pierre Bucyensenge in AllAfrica.com via the New Times (Rwanda): Authorities in Huye District have issued a directive to 44 households and business owners in Rwabuye neighbourhood on the outskirts of Huye town to relocate to safer areas.

The decision, which has been backed by the District Advisory Council, gives residents until the end of the month to relocate. The area, adjacent Rwabuye marshland, is prone to floods, Mayor Eugene Muzuka said.

He said the district has ruled out the possibility of compensating the residents, saying it's for their safety from disasters that they are being asked to move. "They have settled in a marshland, which is naturally not suitable for habitation," Muzuka said. "In addition, some businesses that use electricity, such us grinding mills, expose the locals to extreme risks of accidents in case of floods." However, he said the district will assist the most vulnerable residents to get new homes, while those in the 'middle class' will be given plots to start afresh. The rest are on their own.

Sources said concerned individuals in the area have been given relocation notices and that the affected and most vulnerable are likely to be moved to Tonga, in Ngoma Sector.

However, some residents said they will not relocate without compensation. Joas Rutangana, a resident, said he is worried of relocating without consideration of his property. "If they decide to enforce the directive, it means they will have decided to ignore our rights [to these properties] and we will then become homeless," Rutangana said....

Most island states have yet to come to grips with the possibilities of relocation

Lisa Friedman in E&E News: Tony de Brum narrates the watery landscape of his homeland as he passes through it in a motorboat: over here, an island swallowed more than a decade ago by rising seas. There, an atoll where some Bikini Islanders were relocated in the wake of U.S. nuclear testing. Everywhere, shorelines that have receded or disappeared.

"Every island, even as small as this one, has a name and someone has land rights on it," de Brum said, pointing toward a sliver of white sand and coconut palms. "Even the loss of a single tiny island like that is significant."

A series on the plight of the world's islands and island nations. They contributed very little to the changing climate from man-made greenhouse gas emissions, but some may pay with their lives.

As minister in assistance to the president of the Marshall Islands, de Brum feels strongly that relocation is not an option for his citizens and called the very idea "repugnant." President Christopher Loeak, addressing Pacific leaders here this week, did not mince words, either, when he challenged nature to "let the waters come" but said his people would not move.

Yet, about 2,200 miles away in Kiribati -- a close neighbor in these Pacific parts -- President Anote Tong said his low-lying island is grappling with reality when it drafts relocation plans and considers a $2 billion Japanese engineering plan to build a "floating island" for citizens...

The flag of the Marshall Islands

Nigeria advises flood plains dwellers to evacuate

AllAfrica.com via the Daily Trust (Nigeria): The Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, has advised Nigerians to evacuate flood plains, clear drains and dismantle structures on water ways, to curtail the effects of flood.

Ochekpe gave the advice on Friday in Abuja at the interactive session on the 'Flood Warning' in respect of the Kainji and Jebba Dam areas in Niger.

"The government does not want any Nigerian to suffer the effect of flood but Nigerians should help the government by doing what is right, particularly those in the Jebba and Kainji areas.

"And those in the city, should clear their drains and dismantle buildings on water ways to as much as possible, enable us to curtail floods that will come.

"Every one has a role to play in curtailing whatever challenges the climate is posing presently and those that have wandered into flood plains should please leave....

Nigerian state government relocates village over flood

Yusha'u A. Ibrahim in the AllAfrica.com via the Daily Trust (Nigeria):  The Katsina State government has relocated Tudun Yan-Tuluna village in Charanchi Local Government Area of the state to save the people from flood.

Caretaker chairman of Charanchi Local Government Area, Alhaji Yahaya Galadima, said over 500 people in the area have been relocated to a new settlement named after the state governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema. He said the settlement is known as "Sabon Garin Shema".

Galadima, who was in the area to pay compensation to the people whose farmlands were acquired for the relocation exercise, said people of Yan Tuluna village lost all their 78 houses to flood which occurred in the area two weeks ago.

He said though no life was lost and nobody was injured by the disaster, the people lost foodstuff, livestock and household items worth millions of naira.

He said after the incident, the local government relocated the people to a temporary camp in Kartaka Primary School and was providing food, water and medication for them before they were finally relocated to a permanent settlement in Sabon-Garin Shema....

Locator map of Katsina in Nigeria, by PhilFree, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

River landslides may force relocation of several thousand households in Vietnam

Vietnam.net: River landslides, climate change and flash floods are increasingly threatening the lives of tens of thousands of households in Vietnam, who may be faced with no choice but to relocate to safer areas, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Statistics from the ministry state that the country now has hundreds of landslide-prone spots and at least 60 river valley areas that are highly susceptible to flashfloods.

Pham Khanh Ly, deputy head of the Department of Co-operatives and Rural Development, says up to 600,000 households should be relocated within the next few years, and 350,000 of these by 2015. Meantime, relevant authorities have been able to set a target to relocate 125,000 households by 2015 and 300,000 by 2020, said Mr. Ly. Priority will be given to those living in the Mekong Delta, the northeastern and north-central regions.

The ministry has had a policy to assist those being relocated. A household losing a house or farmland due to landslides will receive financial aid of VND28 million to relocate to the plains and VND32 million ($1,500) to mountainous areas. Total capital required for the purpose will exceed VND30 trillion (US$1.4 billion) from now until 2020. Of this amount, 60 per cent will come from the central budget and 40 per cent from local budget.

Hoang Van Thang, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that despite the huge capital expense, they don’t have an option but to resettle residents from danger zones....