Community-Based Adaptation

The objective of Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) is to support the adaptation requirements of "those most vulnerable": enormous numbers of impoverished and marginalized individuals living in high-risk environments, primarily in developing nations(1).  The main goal of CBA is to empower communities to prepare for and respond to climatic stress by fostering inclusive, community-driven, and sustainable adaptation. In theory, this is accomplished by allowing local communities to plan for the effects of climate change and to select the means and goals of adaptation(1). CBA also faces many challenges when it finally applies to practices.

For more information, please visit the link:

https://icccad.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/A-brief-overview-of-Community-Based-Adaptation.pdf

It is becoming more common knowledge that small communities are expected to be the most severely impacted by the effects of climate change, despite the fact that they are the least prepared to deal with these effects and adapt. Ten participating nations, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Samoa, and Vietnam each conceived, planned, and implemented a portfolio of adaptation projects at the community level(2). The purpose of these pilot projects is to implement community-based projects that aim to increase the resistance of communities and/or the ecosystems on which they depend to the effects of climate change. In essence, it will build small policy laboratories and find out how adaptation can be done at the local level.

For more information, please visit:

https://www.adaptation-undp.org/projects/spa-community-based-adaptation-project

Some strategies taken by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for climate change adaptation are as follows:

Climate information and early warning systems

Through this service line, UNDP protects lives and livelihoods, provides people with the information they need to prosper, and improves decision-making based on facts. Reducing reliance on a single technology, developing shared databases, involving communities in product design, information sharing within and between countries, development of climate information infrastructure, climate information dissemination and value chain development, capacity-building for modeling and forecasting, use of alternative technologies, private sector engagement, digitization of historical records, and the impact of warnings are the primary areas of work.

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https://www.adaptation-undp.org/climate-information-and-early-warning-systems

Climate urban resilience

Globally, cities are especially vulnerable to natural disasters and climate-related dangers. With accelerating urban growth, increasing exposure to climate change risks, and multi-dimensional vulnerability, it is essential for cities to employ an integrated, climate risk-informed development approach to promote resilient lives and livelihoods, and to make progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The UNDP's primary areas of focus are building enabling settings and a body of information to educate urban climate-risk management; facilitating investments in urban climate resilience, including through nature-based solutions; and accelerating the ambition and scale of urban climate actions.

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https://www.adaptation-undp.org/climate-urban-resilience

Climate change and health

The effects of climate change on human health and well-being are extensive. Planning for health must incorporate climate change (and vice versa) to ensure that adaption strategies are in place for preparation and reaction to these clear and present hazards. Changing temperature and precipitation patterns affect crop yields, food security, water security, nutrition, and vector-borne diseases. Increased frequency and intensity of extreme events increases the risk of water-borne diseases (diarrhoeal disease, Hepatitis A and E, bacterial diseases such as cholera), diseases associated with crowding (measles, meningitis, acute respiratory infections), vector-borne diseases (malaria, dengue, Japanese Encephalitis), and psychological and emotional distress related to traumatic events, natural disasters, or displacement. In nations where health systems already struggle to handle existing health risks and where the capacity to adapt to additional climate change-related health hazards is restricted, the health implications of climate change are worsened. The most vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly, and low-income communities, are particularly at risk.

Click here for more info:

https://www.adaptation-undp.org/climate-change-and-health

Climate-resilient infrastructure

The effects of climate change – rising temperatures, shifting patterns of precipitation, more frequent and intense extreme weather, and rising sea levels – will touch all infrastructure types, from energy and transportation to water, waste, and communications. Assuring the climate change resilience of infrastructure will safeguard lives and livelihoods, decrease direct losses from extreme weather events, and play a crucial role in reaching the Paris Agreement's mitigation targets and national development goals. UNDP assists nations in climate-proofing rural and urban infrastructure and advancing resilient infrastructure design by working with various partners and employing ecosystem-based adaptation methodologies. This effort falls within the global adaptation portfolio and includes flood and coastal protection measures, early warning systems, and support for improved planning and policymaking.

Click here for more info:

https://www.adaptation-undp.org/climate-resilient-infrastructure

Some strategies taken by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) for climate change adaptation are as follows:

Empowering Communities to adapt to climate change

Numerous communities vulnerable to climate change's effects have dealt with climate fluctuation for decades and possess a wealth of information on how to adapt. Community-based adaptation to climate change emphasizes empowering communities to take action using their knowledge and decision-making processes.

Click here for more info:

https://www.iied.org/empowering-communities-adapt-climate-change

Action Research on Community Adaptation in Bangladesh

This long-term action-research initiative supports vulnerable people in Bangladesh as they adjust to climate change and learn from them. The initiative attempts to uncover effective adaption solutions that may be scaled up and duplicated in various locales through thorough study.

Click here for more info:

https://www.iied.org/action-research-community-adaptation-bangladesh

Community-based Adaptation (CBA) Conference Archive

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and its partners have organized international conferences on community-based adaptation (CBA) to allow practitioners, governments, and donors to exchange the most recent breakthroughs and best practices.

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https://www.iied.org/community-based-adaptation-cba-conference-archive

Learning how to Adapt to Climate Change: Advocacy, Training and Capacity building

IIED strives to assist southern countries in adapting to climate change and the resulting extreme weather occurrences. They accomplish this through supporting partner organizations and specialists that provide training, advocacy, and capacity building for climate change adaptation.

Click here for more info:

https://www.iied.org/learning-how-adapt-climate-change-advocacy-training-capacity-building

Global Initiative on Community-Based Adaptation (GICBA)

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) developed the Global Program on Community-Based Adaptation (GICBA) initiative in 2010 to facilitate collaboration between organizations and individuals working on community-based adaptation to climate change.

Click here for more info:

https://www.iied.org/global-initiative-community-based-adaptation-gicba

References:

1. Kirkby P, Williams C, Huq S. A brief overview of Community-Based Adaptation. International centre for climate change and development: Briefing paper. 2015.
2. UNDP cca. Community-Based Adaptation Project [Available from: https://www.adaptation-undp.org/projects/spa-community-based-adaptation-project.