Understanding Climate Change Adaptation

Poor people living in regions affected by fluctuating temperatures and rainfall, sea level rise, flooding and drought bear the brunt of climate change. These communities have no choice but to continue to use the resources at their disposal to adapt and survive. Yet in order to adapt people need to appreciate that potentially profound changes are in store and that future impacts are deeply uncertain. Understanding Adaptation to Climate Changeaddresses these issues and provides responses to important questions for the international aid community as it seeks to address the impact of climate change. How can agencies assist local communities adapting to change? By what mechanisms can communities make the most of emerging information? Can effective community-based approaches be scaled up? By combining eight case studies from South Asia, Africa and Latin America with an overall analytical framework, the authors demonstrate that although communities' adaptation strategies vary and depend upon local context, social networks play a pivotal role in accessing useful knowledge and resources. Through such networks, the key activities of reducing vulnerability, fostering resilience, and developing the capacity to experiment and learn are combined and communicated to other communities. This book is essential reading for NGO practitioners, students, and government and NGO policy makers who wish to gain an understanding of what adaptation means in theory and practice.

Jonathan Ensor is a Researcher for Practical Action working on the relationship between climate change and international development. Rachel Berger is climate change Policy Advisor with Practical Action.

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgements	p. ix
Introduction: understanding community-based adaptation	p. 1
Abstract	p. 1
The development challenge	p. 1
The international context	p. 4
Climate predictions: understanding uncertainty	p. 6
Vulnerability and adaptation	p. 13
Adaptive capacity and resilience	p. 17
Knowledge, vulnerability and adaptation: a coherent approach	p. 26
Culture, communities and adaptation practice	p. 33
Structure of the book	p. 36
Erosion and flooding in northern Bangladesh	p. 39
Abstract	p. 39
Introduction	p. 39
Community-based adaptation in the northern charlands	p. 41
Lessons and challenges	p. 49
Conclusion	p. 52
Changing seasons and flash flooding in the foothills of the Nepal Himalaya	p. 55
Abstract	p. 55
Introduction	p. 55
Community-based adaptation in the middle hill region of Nepal (Chitwan District)	p. 58
Lessons and challenges	p. 66
Conclusion	p. 68
Desert and floodplain adaptation in Pakistan	p. 71
Abstract	p. 71
Introduction	p. 71
Community-based adaptation in rural Pakistan	p. 73
Lessons and challenges	p. 82
Conclusion	p. 85
Increasing paddy salinity in coastal Sri Lanka	p. 87
Abstract	p. 87
Introduction	p. 87
Community-based adaptation in coastal communities	p. 89
Lessons and challenges	p. 97
Conclusion	p. 98
Increasing drought in arid and semi-arid Kenya	p. 101
Abstract	p. 101
Introduction	p. 101
Community-based adaptation in arid and semi-arid areas	p. 103
Lessons and challenges	p. 111
Conclusion	p. 113
Multiple pressures on pastoralism in semi-arid Niger	p. 115
Abstract	p. 115
Introduction	p. 115
Community-based adaptation among the Tamasheq	p. 117
Lessons and challenges	p. 124
Conclusion	p. 129
Declining water resources in Sudan's Red Sea coastal belt	p. 131
Abstract	p. 131
Introduction	p. 131
Adapting to drought in Arba'at	p. 134
Lessons and challenges	p. 139
Conclusion	p. 143
Extreme weather in the Peruvian high Andes	p. 147
Abstract	p. 147
Introduction	p. 147
Community-based adaptation in Andean Peru	p. 149
Lessons and challenges	p. 159
Conclusion	p. 161
Conclusion: community-based adaptation in practice	p. 163
Abstract	p. 163
The elements of adaptation	p. 163
Scaling up community-based adaptation	p. 172
References	p. 179
Index	p. 185
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Understanding Climate Change Adaptation

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