perception, power and...

07 Assessing vulnerAbility Identifying vulnerable communities10 AdAptAtion Key concepts and terms16 pAcific islAnds Lessons for community-based adaptation

A bulletin on climate and development Issue 77 October 2010

#77

perception, power and participation page 3

Issue 77 October 2010 www.tiempocyberclimate.org

03 perception, power and participation

Chiara Bianchizza describes crucial ingredients for reducing vulnerability in Bangladesh

07 Assessing vulnerabilityWendy Annecke outlines a methodology for identifying vulnerable communities

16 Adaptation on a small islandLeone Limalevu, Bill Aalbersberg, Patrina Dumaru and Tony Weir suggest lessons for community-based adaptation projects

21 building adaptation capabilities

Elvin Nyukuri and Dan Ong’or ex-plain how climate change adapta-tion capabilities are being built in two communities in Kenya

10 Adaptation key terms 14 Conferences 20 News 25 Financial affairs 28 Copenhagen’s climate finance pledges

Cover photo: Bangladesh - pedal power © Patrick Donovan

farmers in bangladesh Photo: © jankie/flickr 2 Tiempo Issue77 October 2010

Adapting to the changing climate isa priority for the rural poor, whoseetheir traditional livelihoodsys-tems increasingly challenged bymodified climatic patterns. Bang-ladeshisparticularlyvulnerabletoclimate-relatedhazardsanditsrural

populationsareamongstthepoorestintheworld. This article focuses on how poor,ruralBangladeshicommunities,highlyex-posedtonaturalhazards,canincreasetheirresilienceandreducetheirvulnerabilitytoclimatechange.

Capacitybuildingismoreeffectivewhenconducted using bottom-up approaches.This article, therefore, concentrates onthe role played by assets already ownedby communities. These assets are human(knowledge, perception, awareness of in-dividuals) and social (networks, relations,institutions).

MAin points the author ex-plains how social and human resources have increased the resilience to climate change of vulnerable communities in Bang-ladesh. she describes how non-government organizations work to build community ca-

pacity, and promotes approaches that give communities tools to identify issues and solutions themselves.  she concludes by underlining the importance of strong social networks and gender equality in building capacity and securing resilience.

Perception, power, participation

Chiara Bianchizza explains how perception, power and participation are three crucial ingredients for reducing vulnerability to climate change in Bangladesh

research methods and resultsThearticleisbasedonresearchanalysingtheagriculturalknowledgeof,andchangesexpe-riencedby,sixcasestudycommunitiesexposedto different climate change-related hazardsin four districts of Bangladesh. Findings arebasedonqualitativeresearchmethodsinclud-ing semi-structured interviews, focus groupdiscussionsanddirectfieldobservations.

Information gathered on agriculturalandenvironmentalknowledge,perceptionsabout climatic change, social organizationand non-government organization (ngo)interventioninthecommunitiesweresum-marized in a swot analysis. This looks atthe internal strengths (s) and weaknesses(w)ofacommunityandtheopportunities(o) and threats (t) provided by externalinterventions.

The table overleaf shows the results ofthese strengths, weaknesses, opportunitiesandthreatsobservedinsomeorallofthesixdifferentsitesofDacope,Nowapara,Kunda-rpara,Bajechitulia,GoripurandVagParul.

perceptions, power and participationCasestudyanalysisshowsthatthecommuni-ties’perceptionofathreatshapeshowtheyreacttoit.Somecommunitieshavenoaccessto climate change-related information. Cli-maticvariationisattributedtoGod’swillor

www.tiempocyberclimate.org 3

AgriculturAl And environMentAl knowledge, cliMAte chAnge perceptions And locAl orgAnizAtion in six coMMunities

strengths• ability to diversify income sources• strong social structures based on cooperative

principles• traditional knowledge on the damage from defor-

estation• knowledge about agriculture amongst both men

and women• traditional system for communal pooling of as-

sets (borga)• capacity to adopt new crops more suitable for

new weather conditions, learning from experi-ences in other regions

• very strong social network and cooperation amongst the women (knowledge sharing, assist-ance)

• good cost effective crop management• good awareness of issues and possible solu-

tions, with systems to update information • information sharing between men and women• women’s participation in agricultural activities

and decision making• social cooperation for research and work• diversified activities (animal rearing) as income

sources

weaknesses• very low financial capital• very low education levels• unawareness about climate change and its im-

pact on crops• no strategy to overcome threats to agriculture• no means to create independent knowledge• fatalistic attitude towards worsened environ-

mental conditions• very low social position of women; information is

gender-locked• little or partial understanding of the causes of

waterlogging • little understanding and sense of ownership of

flood protection strategies (raised households) adopted by NGOs

• very confused interpretation of information on climate change and its impacts

• very marginalized community • very low awareness about climate change and its

relation to crop cultivation • agricultural knowledge locked in the hands of

men

opportunities• the need for transport in the area due to a lack of

infrastructure provides different employment op-portunities

• further training and support on best agricultural practices available

• NGO activities to raise households• the empowerment of women at decision-making

levels, given the migration of men to the main-land

• involvement in research• learning opportunities from neighbouring com-

munities

threats• increased soil salinity• unpredictability and increased intensity of cy-

clones and floods• land erosion by the river• intense cold spells• waterlogging• changing rain patterns and a lack of rain• increased intensity of droughts• unpredictability of future changes in climate• incomprehensible information from the Agricul-

ture Department• temptation to get microcredit loans• misleading information from the media or local

political leaders• land is very low and extremely exposed to flood-

ing• following a poor harvest there is no money to buy

new hybrid seeds for higher crop production• loss of traditional local varieties of crops and

vegetables

tomismanagementofresourcesbydecisionmakers. It is thus perceived as somethingunchangeable and for which no solutioncan be found. The fact that farmers cannotaccess relevant information severely limitstheabilityof thecommunitytodevelop itssocialstrength.Asaresult,peopleabandontheirtraditionallivelihoodsystems.

Othercommunities,althoughtrainedbyngos about climate change-related haz-ards and, therefore, with access to moreinformation,stillhavelittleunderstandingof the knowledge they have been exposedto.This isbecausetheylackabasicformaleducation, which would help them makesenseofthisinformation.Atthesametime,they show a deep understanding of natu-ralphenomena,explanationsforwhicharerooted in tradition knowledge. As the cli-mate changes, this type of knowledge willbe lost as it is inadequate for explainingthe modified environmental conditions. Acommunity involved in a research projectwillautonomouslygaininformationaboutclimatechangeandwillthusunderstanditsdynamicsandthefactthatitcreatesatrendthatwillcontinuetomodifyandchallengelivelihoods. This knowledge has allowedfarmerstoreacttocurrentchangesintheirenvironment,butalsotoprepareandbuildresilienceforthefuture.

Different communities and differentcommunity members have variable levelsof empowerment and participation in de-cision making as a result of the range of

4 Tiempo Issue77 October 2010

perceptions and possibilities for accessinginformationaboutclimatechange.Twovil-lagecasesillustratethedifferentconditionsthatwomenliveunder. Inone,womenaregenerallykeptstrictlyundermen’sruleandinignoranceofthingsthat‘womendonotneed to know’. Information is thus locked

in ‘gender-boxes’. Women have differentpriorities for household organization andactivities,sothisgender-boxingofinforma-tionimpairstheabilityofthecommunitytobuilditssocialstrength.Genderdifferenti-ated approaches to environmental issuesbecomeimpossiblebecausewomencannot

fully participate in society, even thoughthis would increase community resiliencetoclimate-relatedhazards.

In other communities where women aremoreindependent,wheretheyparticipateinagriculturalactivitiesandcontributeactivelytoincreasinghouseholdincomeandinvest-ingintheirchildren’seducation,communityresilienceisgreater.Here,theempowermentand active social participation of womenhelpsbuildcommunitycapacity.

The other socially significant factor thatdifferentiates communities is the level ofcohesion and cooperation that operatesamongst their members. Where individu-alslackedthesupportofsocialnetworksorthe capacity to work together to achieve acommon interest, access to resources wasimpaired and a lack of coordination led tothe repetition of activities and the wastingof time and assets. The active involvementofallmembersofsocietyinagriculturalac-tivitiesanddecisionmakingwascrucialforstrengtheningthecommunity.

ngosalsoplayanimportantroleinbuild-ingruralcommunitycapacityinBangladesh.Villagesthathaveneverbeeninvolvedinanyresearchprojectorbenefitedfromtrainingfacegreaterdifficultiesthanthosethathave.ngosoperateindiverseways.Insomecases,communitiesweregiventhebasic tools foridentifyingissuesandsolutionsthemselves.Farmers pooled their resources togethercreatingknowledge,materialsolutionsandstrongersociallinks.Wherengosprovided

boys in rural bangladesh Photo: © jankie/flickr


material support more directly instead,communities were less challenged to usetheirownresources,missedtheopportunitytostrengthentheirowncapacitiesandbe-camedependentonexternalsupport.

conclusions and implicationsWhilstthecasestudiesaremorecomplexthantheresearchconductedheresuggests,enough data was gathered to draw somegeneralconclusionsandrecommendationsontheroleofsocialandhumancapitalinbuildingtheresilienceofruralcommuni-ties.Casestudiesshowedthatamarginalorinexistent understanding of the causes ofclimate-relatedhazardstendedtogenerateasenseofimpotenceamongstfarmers,ei-therbecausetheycouldnotaccessrelevantinformation,orbecausetheyhadlittleca-pacitytodoanythingwiththisknowledgeduetoalackofformaleducationorapoorability to understand explanations pro-vided by ngos. Where traditional beliefsrelated to the environment were main-tained by communities, understandingof the changes characterizing the naturalworld was sufficient. Unfortunately, withthe climate changing at such speed, suchlocal knowledge will soon be inadequatefor effectively influencing farmer behav-iour.Poorawarenessandconfusionaboutthe scientific reasons for natural hazards,wheretraditionalviewsaboutthenaturalworld no longer apply, lead communitiestobelieveexplanationsgivenbythemedia

or prominent individuals in society tooeasily. The communities, therefore, losethecapacityforindependentandinformedreactions.

Where ngos or government bodies aimtoprovidescientifictrainingaboutclimatechangetotheruralpopulation,theyshoulddesign it using simpler conceptual struc-tures.Alternatively,thecommunityshouldbeenabledtoaccessinformationindepend-ently,thuscreatingitsownlocalknowledge.Spreading ‘user-generated innovation’ forthe benefit of poor communities is not anewconceptandhasalreadybeenusedinruraldevelopmentplanning.Theapproachis based on the idea that communities al-readyhavethesolutiontotheirproblems.Itwouldbeinterestingtoexpandresearchonthistopicfurtherinthecontextofclimatechange.

Communities that currently manage toovercome climate change challenges areones where women as well as men are in-formed, and participate in social life, ag-ricultural activities and decision making.Furthermore, the existence of functioningsocialnetworks,eitheronaformal(cooper-atives)orinformalscalecontributestocom-munity strength. In conclusion, the three‘Ps’ - perception, power and participation–referredtointhetitleofthisarticleprovidethe foundations for capacity building butarealsoadeterminingfactorofcommunityresilience. ‡

About the Author chiara bianchizza is a re-searcher at the Institute of In-ternational Sociology, Gorizia (ISIG) in Italy. She is currently working on social capacity building for natural hazards in Europe.

contAct chiara bianchizza, Institute of Inter-national Sociology Gorizia, Via Mazzini 13, 34170 Gorizia, Italy.fax: +39-481-532094email: [email protected]

further inforMAtion in the cyberlibrary: The Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary lists adaptation web-sites at www.tiempocyberclimate.org/ portal/t72web.htm. on the web: The CapHaz-Net project looks at how to enhance the capacities of European societies to prepare for, cope with and recover from the negative impacts of a natural hazard. See http://caphaz-net.org/ for more information.


Significant advances have beenmade recently in understand-ing the role of non-governmentorganizations (ngos) and com-munity-based organizations whoare partnering with local peopleon community-based adaptation

(cba)projects.IntheirreportpublishedinTiempoJanuary2010ontheFourthInterna-tionalConferenceoncba,whichwasheldinDaresSalaam,Tanzania,inMarch2010,SaleemulHuqandJessicaAyersexplainhowtheseorganizations,byusingparticipatoryprocesses, are generating strategies to in-crease resilience to climate change. Usingparticipatory processes may also help ad-dress local development issues that makepeoplevulnerabletotheimpactsofclimatechange in the first place. Huq and Ayerspointoutthattherearenowseveralprojectsinoperationinvulnerablecommunitiesinbothdevelopingandalsosomedeveloped

MAin points the author des-cribes a methodology for identifying vulne-rable communities that is being tested under the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CBAA) re-search and capacity development pro-gramme.

 she explains the importance of parti-cipatory monitoring and evaluation.  she concludes by querying the merit of leaving politicians, rather than scien-tists, to decide which communities are the most vulnerable.

Assessing vulnerability

Wendy Annecke outlines a methodology for identifying communities who are vul-nerable to climate change that is being tested in eight African countries

countries that are using participatory ap-proachestobuildcapacityaroundclimatechange and adaptation possibilities andstrategies. The Community-Based Adapta-tioninAfrica(cbaa)researchandcapacitydevelopment programme funded by theInternational Development Research Cen-tre,Canada,andtheDepartmentforInter-nationalDevelopment,UnitedKingdom,isonesuchendeavour.

The cbaa programme’s primary aim isto develop and test a robust methodologyforidentifyingcommunitieswhoaremostvulnerable to climate change and wouldbenefit from capacity development. Thecapacity building takes the form of beingabletodesignaprojectorprogrammethatwouldbeofbenefittothecommunityandtowriteaproposalthatcouldbeusedtoseekfundsforprojectimplementation.

A methodology known as locate (Lo-calOptionsforCommunitiestoAdaptandTechnologiestoEnhancecapacity)wasde-velopedundertheSouthSouthNorthProjectincollaborationwiththeBangladeshCentrefor Advanced Studies. This methodology –thebasisofwhichisdescribedinTiempoJuly2006 inanarticlebyMozaharulAlamandLwandle Mqadi called ‘Designing Adapta-tionProjects’–aimstoassistorganizationsworking at the local level to design andimplementcbaprojects.Aspartofthecbaa


programme, the locate methodology isbeingtestedineightAfricancountries:Su-dan,Kenya,Tanzania,Uganda,Malawi,Zam-bia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. In eachcountry,anintermediaryngothatispart-neringwithat leastonecommunity-basedorganizationworkingatcommunitylevelistestingthemethodology.Themethodologyhasfourphases:1)identification,2)design,3)implementation,and4)monitoringandevaluation. These are described in detailbelow.

identification: finding vulnerable ‘hot-spots’ and a ‘project owner’ for implementationThefirstphaseinvolvesbothtop-downandbottom-up approaches to mapping vulner-ability,andanassessmentoflocalorganiza-tionsinordertoidentifypotentiallyappro-priatecommunitiesandprojectowners.Themethodsincludebothaquantitative,techni-cal assessment and a qualitative, socio-eco-nomicevaluationofpotentialcommunities.Key questions for the technical assessmentrelatetodefiningthecontextofvulnerableand poor communities, and key tasks andtoolsinvolveidentifyingthesecommunitiesby overlaying spatial mapping and povertydata.Vulnerablecommunitieswillbeidenti-fiedwheretheoverlapisstrongest.

Aqualitativeassessmentisthendonetoconfirmthetechnicalfindingsandidentifya potential project owner or champion onthe ground. Key questions, which should

alsoberelevantforthebaselinestudy,relatetosustainablelivelihoods:assets,activities,networksandinformationavailabletothecommunities. Observation, meetings andinterviewswithmembersofthelocalcom-munityandcommunityorganizationspro-videthengowiththisinformation.

project designDuringthisphase,prioritizationofadapta-tionactivitiesandpartnersanddevelopmentof Project Idea Notes occurs. The baselineagainstwhichtheprojectwillbemonitoredandevaluatedtakesitscluefromthelocatemethodologyandalsothesustainableliveli-hoods framework, which characterizes thevulnerability and adaptive capacity of thecommunity. This framework takes the fol-

lowing factors into account: household as-setsandcapital;education,informationandknowledge; wellbeing in terms of securityandhealth;livelihoodactivitiesofthepoor;and,formalandinformalgovernanceatlocalandnationallevels.

Establishingareliablebaselineisconsid-eredimportantsinceitprovidesthestand-ard or snapshot against which improve-ments will be measured. Demographics,householdincomestreams,theimpactsofclimate change on these income streams,andclimatechangeimpactsonlivelihoodsshould be captured for the baseline studyanddatashouldbedisaggregatedbygenderandage.

Once developed, the Project Idea Notesare ranked and shared with potential do-nors.Thisisfollowedbythedevelopmentofthefullprojectdesigndocument,whichisalsosharedwithdonors.

implementationActivities geared towards addressing prior-ity adaptation needs are implemented atthis stage, in line with the project designdocument. Such activities are likely to varyacross livelihood groups and ecosystems.In the eight African countries of the cbaaprogramme, activities are in the followingsectors: dryland livestock and agriculturalproduction;waterandforestresourceman-agement; environmental services provisionand protection from desert encroachment;coastalresources;humanhealth(specifically

farmer, kenya Photo: © Charles Tonui and Elvin Nyukuri


malariaepidemics);agriculture,earlywarn-ing,waterharvestingandconservation;and,theenergysector.

Monitoring, evaluation and learning The locate methodology emphasizes theimportance of participatory monitoringandevaluationtoreflectontheimplemen-tation of the project, learn from and revisestrategies and provide evidence of changesin climate adaptive capacity and resilience.The cbaa project proposes to develop andtestthemethodsandtoolsforparticipatorymonitoringandevaluationwithcommuni-ties on the ground when the projects areimplemented. The project will also test theuse of participatory video for establishingbaselines for monitoring and evaluation.Developingasoundparticipatorybaselineisimportant forassessingshiftsandchanges.Over time and through comparison, evalu-ation can provide information on the im-pactsoftheinterventionsbasedoneffective,robust evidence gathered by participantsthemselves.

The cbaa project is currently testingand refining the suggested methodology,learningfromexperiencesontheground.Countryteamsare,therefore,contributingtothefurtherdevelopmentofthemethod-ology.Arobustandimprovedversionwillbe finalized at a workshop in Nairobi inlate 2010 and presented at the next Inter-nationalConferenceoncbainBangladeshinMarch2011.

discussionHaving to identify and work with selectedvulnerablecommunitiesraisesethicalissuesabout why a selection process is necessaryand what the justification is for workingwithsomecommunitiesratherthanothers.In his article in Tiempo January 2010, Rich-ard Klein argues that defining ‘particularlyvulnerable’countriesisapoliticaltask,bestlefttonegotiators.Hepointsoutthatthevul-nerabilityindexproposedbyBangladeshtoprovideasystematicandtransparentwayofmeasuringandcomparingthevulnerabilityofcountriestoclimatechange,istechnicallypossible but problematic. He argues thatsincevulnerabilitymeansdifferentthingstodifferentpeople,selectionofbeneficiariesisapoliticalproblemwhichexistsonlybecausethere are insufficient resources available toaddresstheadaptationneedsofalldevelop-ingcountries.

Whilstitmaybetruethat,asKleinstates‘[s]cientists cannot provide an objectively‘true’answertowhatisessentiallyapoliti-calquestion’,itmaybethatpoliticiansarenot the best people to decide which com-munities are the most vulnerable. Left topoliticians, the selected communities mayendupbeingtheoneswiththemostvotescast for therulingparty.Thisvexingques-tion,aboutwhoshouldbeselectedforhelpand why, is one in which constant robustdebateshouldplayitspart,andweshouldnot forget to seek equitable solutions andsufficientresourcesforall. ‡

About the Author wendy Annecke has worked extensively on gender, energy and climate change. She is currently a climate change programme manager at Indigo Development and Change in South Africa.

contAct wendy Annecke, PO Box 350, Nieuwoudtville 8180, South Africa.fax: +27- 21-81148email: [email protected]

further inforMAtion In the cyberlibrary: The Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary lists adaptation websites at www.tiempocyberclimate.org/portal/t72web.htm. on the web: For further information about the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CBAA) research and capa-city development programme see: tinyurl.com/24z56cz.


Thereisalotoftalk,andsomeearlyac-tivity,aroundtheideasandpracticesof community-based adaptation(cba) to climate variability and/orclimatechange.cbaisattractingat-tentionfrompractitioners,research-ers and some policy people, from a

rangeoffieldsanddisciplinesincludingru-raldevelopmentandeconomics,agriculture,naturalresourcemanagementandconserva-tion,disasterriskmanagementandhumani-tarianrelief(withawholelotmorebesides).This makes for both a very dynamic andcontestedareaofthinkingandpractice.Oneof the challenges is communicating acrossthesedifferent‘communities’(ofknowledgeand practice), each with their own termi-nologies and conceptual frameworks. Thiscananddoesleadtoplentyofconfusionandmisunderstandingontheonehand,butontheotherhanditcanbethebasisofconstruc-tive,andevenprogressive,debate.

MAin points the authors highlight some of the main areas of confu-sion regarding ter-minology in the field of community-based adaptation (CBA). they explain how articulating and add-ressing ‘frequently asked questions’ about CBA can help

improve understan-ding and stimulate discussion.  they propose a broader process of learning and collabo-rative ‘sense-making’ to help develop a knowledge structure and a shared vocabu-lary on CBA.

Adaptation key terms

Anna Taylor, Katie Harris and Charles Ehrhart make sense of key concepts and terms in the field of community-based adaptation

Thisarticleseekstomakeasmallcontribu-tion to addressing (or redressing) this bal-ance.Itdoesnotattempttonaildownsingulardefinitions of key terms used in the emerg-ing field of cba, to set strict boundaries onconcepts, or to develop a typology of cbaapproaches (although this may be useful).Rather, itrecognizesthatthere isgreatvari-ation within and between organizations of

practitionersandseekstohighlightsomeofthemainareasofconfusionandcontestation.

Some practitioners have identified defi-nitions they feel best suit the terms andconceptstheyarereferringto,whilstotherswork on the basis of a shared knowledgeand understanding about the terms andconceptsemployed.Thisarticledoesnotin-tendtoundermineexistingorganizationaldefinitions or terms. It explores some ofthedifferentperspectivesonkeytermsandconcepts,andsuggestsaprocessbywhichuseful ‘working understandings’ could de-velop to meet current needs and later berefined and updated as collective learningimproves.

frequently asked questions The process of engaging practitioners andresearchers in articulating and addressing‘frequently asked questions’ (faqs) aboutcba (of which this article is just one part)


can help improve understanding and co-herence in communications and stimulatediscussion for improved practice of cba. Anumber of faqs on cba were identified atthe Fourth International Conference onCommunity-Based Adaptation to ClimateChange (heldinDaresSalaam,Tanzania,inFebruary2010).Theseemergedfromformalplenarydiscussions, informalconversationsbetweensessions,andmorein-depthdiscus-sionsspearheadedbytheopen-membership‘workinggrouponfaqs’(formerlyknownasthe ‘terms and definitions’ working group,firstconvenedattheThirdcbaConferencein 2009). Conference participants in Dar esSalaamalso sharedtheirfaqsonanopendis-cussionboard.Thefollowingexamplesgiveagoodsenseofwhatpractitionersperceiveaskeyquestions.

• Whatiscba,andparticularlyhowisitdif-ferentfrom‘good’development?

• Whatistherelationshipbetween‘communi-ty-based’and‘ecosystem-based’adaptation?

• Is any adaptation activity really currentlytaking place at the community level thatspecificallyaddressesclimatechange?

• Doescbaaimtoimprovepeople’slives,orjust keep an inequitable status quo fromgettingevenworse?

• Howcanwedifferentiatebetweensustain-abledevelopment,disasterriskreductionand cba projects, and is it necessary todoso?

• Theimpactsofclimatechangearenotlim-ited to the village level, is cba? And howcan cba link to larger scales of action, forexample,thoseatnationalandinternationallevels?

• Whatdoweunderstandtoconstitutea‘com-munity’incba?

• Wheredoesthechallengeofmitigatingcli-matechangefitinrelationtocba?

• What is the difference between ‘adapting’and‘coping’?

• Whatdopeoplemeanby‘resilience’inthecontextofcba,andwhat is thedifferencebetween‘vulnerability’and‘resilience’?

• What is the difference between ‘climate-proof’, ‘climate-smart’, and ‘climate-resil-ient’? One of the most frequently asked - and

practical - questions is about the differ-ence between adaptation and coping. Butwhile there is growing consensus aroundtheseterms,othersremainhotlycontested.Perhapsthestickiestiswhatismeantby‘re-silience’.Thesetwofaqsareexploredbelowasastartingpoint for thebroaderprocessoutlinedatthecloseofthisarticle.

Adaptation versus copingSometimes,theterms‘adaptation’and‘cop-ing’areusedinterchangeably.Thishasledtoalotofconfusion.Comparingandcontrast-ingcharacteristicsisonewaytounderstandtheir similarities and differences. The tableover, presented in care’s Climate Vulner-ability and Capacity Analysis Handbook, wasconsolidated from brainstorming sessionswithgroupsofdevelopmentpractitionersinGhana,NigerandNepal.

The table shows that this is not just the‘academic’ debate about definitions thatvillage, kenya Photo: © Charles Tonui and Elvin Nyukuri


some people think it is. Our understand-ing, and lack of understanding, can haverealworldimplications-especiallyforthepoorest individuals, households and com-munities.Inthiscase,treatingthetwotermsasinterchangeablecouldleadtosupporting(orworsestill,evenpromoting)activitiesorstrategiesthathaveworkedwellenoughinthe past but, in the context of our chang-ingclimate,couldbedisastrous.Somemayeven lead to what is sometimes known as‘maladaptation’.

Sellingoffproductiveassets(likelivestock)and/or boosting incomes through artisanalcharcoalingaretwoexamplesof‘traditionalcoping mechanisms’ common across muchof semi-arid Africa. But while these strate-gies may work well enough when droughtoccursonlyonceeveryfiveorsoyears,theyare a dead-end when it comes to dealingwiththecontemporaryrealityofacceleratingdrought cycles. Knowing the difference be-tween‘coping’and‘adaptation’forcesustothink‘outsidethebox’andidentifysustain-ablesolutionstolong-termclimatechange.

what is resilience?Inthenextexample,onetermisusedregu-larlybutitsmeaningisfarfromconsistent.Saleemul Huq and Jessica Ayers write, inTiempoJanuary2010,thatcommunity-basedadaptation is often referred to as “an ap-proachto increasingtheresilienceofsomeof the world’s poorest communities to theimpactsofclimatechange.”Butwhatexactlydoes‘resilience’meaninthiscontext?

This article does not seek to settle on asingle definition for resilience. Rather, itaims to highlight some of the contrastinginterpretations and uses of the term, toenable practitioners to think more clearlyaboutwhatitistheyarereferringtoandtheactionthatis impliedthereafter.Therearesignificantpracticalandpolicyimplicationsdependingonhowthetermisunderstood.

One way to improve clarity is to distin-guishbetweentheuseofthewordresilienceasanoun-meaningtoreturntoanoriginalformorrecoverfromadversity-andasacon-cept.Asecondwaytoimproveclarity istoacknowledgethatwhilethereisnoclearway

to distinguish between the many differentconcepts of resilience, they could usefullybeunderstoodasacontinuum.Forexample,ononeendofthecontinuum,resilienceisinterpreted as a form of coping by merelywithstanding shocks and stresses. On theother,resilienceisaflexiblelearningsystem,withinwhichtransformationalchangeisacriticalpart.

So, why does this matter for cba? Get-tingtogripswiththemanydifferentusesofthetermresilienceisimportantforunder-standingwhattheconceptofresiliencecanbringtocba.Manybelievethatinordertomakeresiliencethinkingpracticalitneedsto become linked to action and strategies,and considerations of politics and power.Forexample,aresilientsystemforoneper-sonorcommunitymaycausevulnerabilitiesforothers.Theassumptionthatacommonunderstandingofthetermprevailsisprob-lematic.Thesensethatpeople‘know’whatmakesamoreorlessresilientsystemisfalse.For cba, the challenge is unpacking thisconcept to ask more informed questionssuch as: whose definition of resilience arewereferringto?And,whatarethepotentialtrade-offs in increasing the ‘resilience’ ofsomecommunitiesoverothers?

next stepsHaving made a first attempt at addressingtwo of thecbafaqs in this article, the au-thorshopetokickstartabroaderprocessoflearning.Thisarticle,therefore,alsoservesto

chArActeristics of ‘coping’ And ‘AdAptAtion’ coping Adaptation

Short-term and immediate Oriented towards survival Not continuous Motivated by crisis; reactive Often degrades the resource base Prompted by a lack of alternatives

Oriented towards longer-term livelihood security A continuous process Results are sustained Uses resources efficiently and sustainably Involves planning Combines old and new strategies and knowledge Focused on finding alternatives


issueanopeninvitationforotherstoengageinthisexerciseofcollaborative‘sense-mak-ing’(viatheopenworkinggroupconvenedattheFourthcbaconference,animatedbytheauthors).Thiswillhelptomovethefieldofcbaforwardintermsofpracticessupportedby a well-developed knowledge structureandasharedvocabulary.

Takingabigpictureview,thiscouldleadtoallsortsofinterestingdevelopments.Forex-ample,withmoreinformationbeingsharedvia the worldwide web, this may form theearlystagesofdevelopinga‘folksonomy’ofcba-awayofcollaborativelyclassifyingandretrievingwebcontent(text,images,videoet cetera)bywayofcreatingandassigning‘tags’(open-endedlabels)toannotateandcategorizepiecesofinformation.

Fornow,however, this informationshar-ingisworkingtowardsthenextcbaconfer-ence to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, inMarch2011.There,theauthorshopetocon-solidatethefaqandanswersintoadiscus-sionarticle(whichcouldbemadeavailablein a variety of formats) for circulation, andtoconveneasessionduringtheconferenceinwhichpeoplecanpresentandreviewthethinkingandcontentemergingfromtherichexperiencesofthiscollaborativeattempttotacklethefaqscurrentlyonsomanypeoples’lips.Indoingthis,wecaniterativelyimproveour practices, try alternatives, and come tonewandbetterquestionsaswecontinuetolearntogether. ‡

About the Authors Anna taylor is a researcher with Stockholm Environment Institute, working on collabo-rative approaches to adapta-tion planning and learning to address climate variability and change in the context of other systemic challenges.

 katie harris coordinates the Strengthening Climate Resilience programme at the Institute of Development Stu-dies, specializing in climate-smart disaster risk manage-ment and the links between climate change and conflict.

 charles ehrhart coordi-nates CARE International’s global response to climate change, providing strategic di-rection and technical support to operations in nearly 70 of the world’s poorest countries.

contAct Anna taylor, Stockholm Environment Institute, Oxford Office, Florence House, 29 Grove Street, Oxford, OX2 7JT, United Kingdom fax: +44-1865-355603email: [email protected]: www.sei-international.org and www.weADAPT.org

 katie harris, Climate Change and De-velopment Centre, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RE, United Kingdom.fax: +44-1273-621202email: [email protected]: www.ids.ac.uk/climatechange

 charles ehrhart, c/o CARE International, 66, Xuan Dieu, Hanoi, Vietnam.fax: +84-437-161935 email: [email protected] web: www.careclimatechange.org

further inforMAtion CARE’s Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis Handbook can be accessed at tinyurl.com/2bhzcpc. For further information on the Fifth International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 24-31 March 2011, contact the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies at [email protected].


green summit on climate change 2010: issues and concernshyderabad, india: 12-11-2010 to 13-11-2010Will look at the complex interactions between climate, environment, eco-nomic, political, institutional, social and technological processes. Themes for debate and discussion, in relation to climate change, include: water and land-use; food and energy security; climate justice and equity; loss of bio-diversity and extinctions; global warming and changes in weather pat-terns; green alternatives; and corpo-rate responses.Details: Green Summit Organizer, San-toshnagar Colony, Stanns College, Me-hdipatnam, Hyderabad 500028, India. Fax: +91-40-23517919 Email: [email protected]: www.greensummitstanns.com

international conference on biodiversity and climate changeManila, philippines: 17-11-2010 to 19-11-2010Conference intends to act as a forum for the sharing of knowledge and in-formation on the two-way interactions of bioidiversity and climate change and for identifying strategies and ac-tions to conserve biodiversity focus-ing on the Asia-Pacific region. Main themes include climate change miti-gation and adaptation, education and advocacy, the status of biodiversity and research and development.Details: Conference Organizer, OPPRI-

Commission on Higher Education, Higher Education Development Center Building, CP Garcia Avenue, UP Cam-pus, Diliman, Quezon City 1104, Philip-pines. Fax: +63-2-4411169 Email: [email protected]: www.icbdcc.com

global south-south development expo 2010geneva, switzerland: 22-11-2010 to 26-11-2010Organized by the United Nations De-velopment Programme, the United Nations and the International Labour Organization. The Expo has been spe-cifically designed to enable develop-ing countries and their development partners to systematically showcase their evidence-based South-South Development Solutions.Details: Expo Organizer, UNDP, Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, 304 East 45thj Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10017, USA. Fax: +1-212-9066429 Email: [email protected]: www.southsouthexpo.org

16th conference of the parties to the unfccccancun, Mexico: 29-11-2010 to 10-12-2010COP16 will be a continuation of nego-tiations, discussion, debate and posi-tioning after the disappointing out-come of last years Copenhagen meeting. Will include MOP6, the 6th

meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Proto-col, together with the 33rd sessions of the various subsidiary bodies.Details: UNFCCC Secretariat, PO Box 260 124, D-53153 Bonn, Germany. Fax: +49-228-8151999 Email: [email protected]: www.unfccc.int

4th international conference - transitions to sustainabilityAuckland, new zealand: 30-11-2010 to 03-12-2010Organized by the New Zealand Socie-ty for Sustainability Engineering and Science, the conference is to be held at Auckland University. Main themes include: evolutions in technology; lim-its to growth; new economics of sus-tainability; resilient societies; beyond today’s infrastructure; and embedding sustainability. Discussions will centre around potential transition pathways to a more sustainable future and what engineers and scientists can do.Details: Vicky Adin, NZSSES, PO Box 305270, Triton Plaza, North Shore, Auckland 0757, New ZealandEmail: [email protected]: www.nzsses.auckland.ac.nz

sustaining commons: sustaining our futurehyderabad, india: 10-01-2011 to 14-01-201113th Biennial conference of the Inter-national Association for Study on Commons which is hosted by the Foundation for Ecological Recovery.

Working themes for discussion and debate include: the commons, poverty and social exclusion; globalization, commercialization and the commons; climate change and other challenges; managing complex commons such as protected areas, lagoons, wetlands etc; and theory, analytics and data.Details: Subrata Singh, Foundation for Ecological Security, PO Box 29, Anand 388001, Gujarat, India. Fax: +91-2692-262087Email: [email protected]: www.fes.org.in

5th international conference on community-based Adaptation to climate changedhaka, bangladesh: 24-03-2011 to 31-03-2011Conference aims to share the latest developments in adaptation planning and practices, priority sectors and measures at different levels and dis-semination of knowledge among stakeholders and communities. In-cludes three days of field visits.Details: Bangladesh Centre for Ad-vanced Studies, House 10, Road 16A, Gulshan-1, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh. Fax: +880-2-8851417 Email: [email protected]: www.bcas.net

6th iwA specialist conference on efficient use & Management of waterdead sea, Jordan:

conferences


29-03-2011 to 02-04-2011Conference will present experiences of different countries in water demand management and accomplishments in improving water use efficiency and dealing with the challenges of drought. Agenda includes discussion on policies, regulations, efficient tech-nologies, alternative water resources, climate change and drought.Details: International Water Associa-tion (IWA), Alliance House, 12 Caxton Street, London SW1H 0QS, UK. Fax: +44-207-6545555Email: [email protected]: www.iwahq.org

greenhouse 2011cairns, Australia: 04-04-2011 to 08-04-2011Conference is the latest in a series or-ganized by CSIRO. Aimed at scien-tists and representatives from indus-try and government involved in the research and application of climate change science. Main topics for dis-cussion include: pacific nations and climate change; atmosphere; climate variability; impacts and adaptation; oceans; biodiversity; and communi-cating climate change, amongst oth-ers.Details: Greenhouse 2011 Secretariat, CSIRO, PMB 1 Aspendale, Victoria 3195, Australia. Fax: +61-3-92394444 Email: [email protected]: www.greenhouse2011.com

2nd international eco forum for waste & water Management recyclingsofia, bulgaria: 13-04-2011 to 15-04-2011The three main themes are water, re-cycling and waste. Waste will cover such issues as prevention, treatment, waste incineration and gasification, hazardous waste and landfills etc. Water will cover efficiency in agricul-ture, public supply and energy produc-tion, the collection and treatment of sewage etc, innovations in the water and sanitation sectors and managing surface, ground, soil and rain water, amongst others.Details: Maya Kristeva, Conference Manager, Via Expo Ltd, 4003 Plovdiv, 3 Anton Chehov Square, Sofia, Bulgaria. Fax: +359-32-945459 Email: [email protected]: www.viaexpo.com

11th international coastal sympo-siumszczecin, poland: 09-05-2011 to 14-05-2011Organized by the Coastal Education and Research Foundation, the confer-ence also marks the 20th Anniversary of the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at the University of Szc-zecin. Conference themes will in-clude: beach processes; barrier is-lands; coastal ecosystems; climate change; coastal geomorphology; im-pact of extreme storms; human im-pacts; and coastal dunes.

Details: ICS2011 Conference, Zaklad Teledetekcji i Kartografii Morskiej, Un-iwersytet Szczecinski, ul Mickiewicza 18/402, 70-383 Szczecin, Poland. Fax: +48-914-442451 Email: [email protected]: www.ics2011.pl

world environmental & water resources congresspalm springs, usA: 22-05-2011 to 26-05-2011Co-organized by the Environmental and Water Resources Institute. Will include plenary sessions, technical presentations (focusing on Bearing Knowledge for Sustainability) and various symposia. Session topics will include: urban water resources; wa-tershed management; water and wastewater engineering; and interna-tional projects. Symposia to cover arid lands, climate change and sustaina-bility.Details: American Society of Civil Engi-neering (ASCE), 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA 20191-4400, USA. Fax: +1-703-2956333 Email: [email protected]: www.content.asce.org/conferenc-es.ewri2011/index.html

ser2011 world conference on ecological restorationMerida, Mexico: 21-08-2011 to 25-08-2011Theme of the conference is “Re-es-tablishing the Link between Nature and Culture.” Scientific sessions will

include: safeguarding biodiversity; lo-cal, national and international impli-cations; restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems; restoration of watersheds, rivers and wetlands; res-toration of grasslands, forests and arid lands, amongst others. Aimed at professionals, researchers, students and the public.Details: Society for Ecological Resto-ration International, 1017 O Street NW, Washington DC 20001, USA. Fax: +1-270-6265485. Email: [email protected]: www.ser2011.org

non-co2 greenhouse gases (ncgg-6) science, policy & inte-grationAmsterdam, the netherlands: 02-11-2011 to 04-11-2011This Sixth International Symposium is organized by the Air Quality and Climate Change Section of the Neth-erlands Association of Environmental Professionals (VVM). Aims to ad-dress both the role of non-CO2 green-house gases and aerosol in human-in-duced climate forcing and options for reduction in industry and society. Main themes are: sources, sinks and inventories; atmospheric processes; and policy implementation, mitigation and adaptation.Details: Symposium Secretariat, VVM, PO Box 2195, NL-5202 CD Den Bosch, The Netherlands. Fax: +31-073-06216985Email: [email protected]: www.ncgg.info


The small island developing countri-es of the Pacific are recognized asamong those most vulnerable toclimate change by both the UnitedNations Framework Convention onClimate Change and by the Intergo-vernmental Panel on Climate Chan-

ge. They are already strongly impacted byextreme climatic events such as cyclones, towhichthepeoplehavedevelopedtraditionalcopingmechanisms.Suchmechanismsinclu-dedpreservedfoodskeptbackforemergencyuse(forexample,fermentedbreadfruit)andlight-weightdwellings,which,thougheasilydestroyed,couldbequicklyrebuilt.Butecono-micdevelopmenthasledtochanginglifesty-les,urbanizationandincreasedpopulations,makingthesemechanismslessrelevantthaninpastcenturies,andthesecountriesdonothavethehumanorfinancialresourcestotakeup technologically sophisticated adaptationmeasures.Thereisastrongneed,therefore,to

MAin points the authors’ experience with projects in six Fijian villages suggests many lessons for community-based adaptation projects more generally. community invol-vement is essential, support from outside

groups is important and information about climate change and adaptation needs to be disseminated and shared. they also con-clude that long-term monitoring, mainte-nance and evaluation is needed.

Adaptation on a small island

Leone Limalevu , Bill Aalbersberg , Patrina Dumaru and Tony Weir suggest some lessons for community-based adaptation projects in a small developing country

identify,developanddisseminateadaptationstrategies that are suitable for use in Pacificcommunitiesastheyarenow.

An article in issue 54 of Tiempo (January2005), ‘VulnerabilityinSamoa’,reportedonavulnerability and adaptation assessment forSaoluafata village in Samoa, carried out aspart of a Pacific regional project sponsoredbyCanadianaid,called CapacityBuildingforDevelopmentofAdaptationMeasures inPa-

cificCountries (cbdampic).AlthoughtherewerethreecbdampicprojectsitesinFiji,theCanadianfundingranoutin2005beforeim-plementation progressed much beyond theplanning phase. Consequently, the Fiji Gov-ernmentwaskeentohavesome‘demonstra-tion’adaptationprojectsactuallyimplement-ed,aswerethecommunitiesconcerned,theirneighbourswhomighthopetoemulatethemandotheragenciesworkingintheregion.

Bythis time, the Universityof theSouthPacific (usp) had nearly ten years’ expe-rience in facilitating community develop-mentprojectswithanenvironmentalfocus,particularlyinconnectionwith LocallyMan-agedMarineAreas.Sothe FijiDepartmentof Environment asked usp to bring thisexperience to bear on adaptation to twomajorimpactsofclimatechangeinthePa-cificIslands:coastalmanagementandwatersupply.TheAustralianGovernmentagreedtofundpilotprojectsatsixruralcommuni-


ties in Fiji. Provincial Councils within Fijiwere asked to suggest communities whohad already asked for assistance with oneof these issues. A short-list of nine siteswasselected,andthentheprojectadvisoryboard members visited the sites and rec-ommended three ‘coastal’ sites and three‘water’ sites to work with, mainly on thebasisoftheseriousnessoftheirproblemandtheirdemonstratedwillingnessandabilitytomobilizeacommunaleffort.

Thekeyoutputssoughtateachcommunitywere:• enhanced community awareness about

climatechangeimpactsandadaptation;

• increasedlocalcapacitytoassessandad-dressclimatechangeimpactsandadapta-tionatthecommunitylevel;

• climatechangeadaptationmainstreamedandinternalizedatthecommunitylevel;

• discreteandsustainableadaptationmeas-uresimplemented;and,

• continued ‘adaptive monitoring’ beyond2009.Strong emphasis was placed on making

surethateachcommunity(assistedbyusp)gottoactuallyimplementmeasures,notjustthinkaboutthem,andonthesemeasuresbe-ingsustainableinthesensethattheywouldcontinuetobeeffectiveovertime.Tobesus-

tainableinthatsenserequiresalsothattheybe environmentally sustainable (for exam-ple,won’tlessencoastalerosionatlocationAbymakingitworseatneighbouringlocationB), economically sustainable (for example,notcostlyengineeringworksthatothercom-munitiescouldnotreplicateorwhichwouldrequire expensive maintenance) and aboveallsociallysustainable,becominganintegralpartofthecommunity’sownroutinepractic-esandtheirinternalsocialstructures.Thus,someofthe‘measures’aresimplyprocessesrather than hardware, for example, agree-mentnottoplacenewbuildingsclosetoanerodingriverbankoraprocedureforration-ingwatersupply.

Inpursuitoftheseoutcomes,itbecameap-parentthatruralcommunitiessuchasthesemustbeprovidedwithatoolforvulnerabilityandadaptationassessmentbasedonanap-proach to adaptation planning and imple-mentationthatintegratesbothclimaticandnon-climatic factors. The methodology de-velopedbythe PacificCentreforEnvironmentandSustainableDevelopment (PACE-SD)atusp for this purpose, the PACE-SD meth-odology, is an extension of that developedby the South Pacific Regional EnvironmentProgramme forthecbdampicprojects,butdrawingonourexperiencewithLocallyMan-agedMarineAreasandontheUnitedNationsDevelopment Programme Adaptation Policy Frameworks for Climate Changeof2005.

The method assesses vulnerability andadaptation options through both commu-

brainstorming options during a community meeting Photo: © University of the South Pacific


nity-based approaches using participatorytools and facilitator-based approaches us-ing rigorous scientific tools and methods.Critically, the assessment and the plans arebased on a firm understanding of the so-cio-economic, cultural and environmentalproblemscurrentlyfacedbythecommunity.Theyintegrateclimaticconsiderationsintoabroader frameworkofsustainabledevelop-mentasperceivedbythecommunity.Thus,significant problems related to climate ex-tremes presently faced by the communityareaddressedfirst,sincebuildingresiliencetothese(asdisasterriskmanagement)auto-maticallyincreasesresiliencetolonger-termclimatechange.

Each of the three coastal sites chosen al-readyhadacommunitycoastalmanagementplan.Forthesecommunities,theaddedproc-ess involved making communities aware ofthe likely impacts of climate change on Fijianddiscussinghowtheirmanagementplanprioritiesmightchangeornewonesemergewith this added knowledge. The impacts ofclimatechangeinclude:moreintenserainfallandcyclones,sea-levelriseandmorefrequentdroughtperiods(ElNiño-likeconditions).

One of the new sites chosen was Buretu,a village in the delta of the Rewa River,which suffers from river bank erosion andfrom inundation whenever the river floods(which is currently once every two to threeyears). Actions adopted at Buretu include:infilling of eroded portions along the riverbank;constructionofbankprotectionstruc-

tures using local materials; construction ofwalkways; planting of deep-rooted vetivergrass forbankstabilization;and,assessmentfordrainageimprovementworks.

Bavu,avillageonthe‘dry’(leeward)sideofthemainisland, VitiLevu,hassufferedfromashortageofcleanfreshwater,particularlyindroughtperiodscausedbyElNiño.Actionsadopted at Bavu include: rehabilitation ofthe borehole (which had been their mainsourceofcleanwater);improvementoftherainharvestingsystem;and,settingupofapressurizedreticulationsystem(usinglargetanks on higher ground, fed by the newborehole pump). The village plans also torehabilitatea40-yearoldsmalldam,whichwaspollutedbymajorroadworksnearby.

Thevillageof Navukailagi isonthecoastof a smaller island in Fiji, Gau, and is suf-feringfromerosionofitscoastlineandalsoofthebankofasmallstreamthatrunspastthevillagebutswellsdramaticallyinstorms.Thevillageisaddressingtheseproblemsby:plantingcoastaltreesandmangroves(froma nursery they have established) along thecoast; planting vetiver grass in appropriateplaces; and constructing a gabion retain-ing wall to prevent river bank erosion and,simpleperpendicularandverticalgroynestocontrolcoastalerosion.

Similar actions have been taken in theotherthreeprojectvillages.Fromourexperi-enceinworkingwiththesesixvillages(andfrom other community projects known tous),wehavedrawnlessonsinfourmainareas.

from top to bottom: villagers planting vetiver grass at buretu; new roof-fed communal water tanks at bavu; replant-ing mangroves at navukailagi Photos: © University of the South Pacific


First,communityinvolvementisessential.Success is possible only with communitieswho recognize their need and are seekinghelp.Participationofthewholecommunityinplanningandimplementation,includingwomenandyouth(maybeindifferentiatedroles),shouldbeaimedfor.Thecommunityshouldowntheprocess.Theplannedactivi-tiesshouldbeinharmonywiththecommu-nity’s work programme (timing, priorities,andsoon).Itisessentialtobesensitivetothecommunitystructureandalwaysensureyouworkthroughit,notagainstitorbedisrup-tive in any way. ‘Walking the extra mile’ isusually required to ensure project success.Finally,patienceisrewarded,hasteisnot.

Second, support from outside groups isimportant. Analysis and recommendationsof experts should be incorporated into theprojecttoavoidtechnicalmistakes.Coordi-nationwithsuchexpertorganizationsasthepublicworksdepartmentisneededearlyonandtheprojectshouldbemainstreamedintotheir planning. It is also necessary to coor-dinatewithlocalgovernment(forexample,provincialoffices),traditionalstructuresand(whereactive)non-governmentalorganiza-tions. Finally, capacity building can workbothways-asfacilitatorswehavelearntalotfromthecommunities.

Third, informationaboutclimatechangeand adaptation needs to be disseminatedandshared.Climatechangeawarenessneedsproperplanningandshouldalsobestrate-gic in content and focus. Use of vernacular

About the Authors leone limalevu is a re-searcher at the Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustaina-ble Development of the Uni-versity of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji Islands.

bill Aalbersberg is director of the Institute of Applied Sci-ence at the University of the South Pacific.

patrina dumaru is a re-search student of the Univer-sity of Melbourne, Australia.

tony weir is a researcher at the Pacific Centre for En-vironment and Sustainable Development of the University of the South Pacific.

contAct The authors can be contacted at University of the South Pacific, Private Mail Bag, Suva, Fiji Islands. fax: +679-32-32891. email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]:www.usp.ac.fj/pace/.

languageandsimpletermsthatpeoplecanrelatetoiscritical.Climatechangeawarenessshouldnotbeaone-offactivity,butshouldbecontinuedthroughouttheprojectsothatthe whole cross-section of the communityhave a good understanding of the issues.Informationshouldbesharedbetweensimi-larprojectsandcommunities(forexample,whatworkedordidn’t).Andacaution-in-formation is taken up and acted on onlyby people who want to use it and have thecapacitytodoso.

Fourth, long-term monitoring, mainte-nanceandevaluationisneeded(overfivetotenyears).Evaluationshouldbeginasearlyaspossibleandnotbelefttotheendoftheproject. Adaptive monitoring is important:ifsomethingisvisiblynotworking,dosome-thingaboutit.Thismeansthatsomeresourc-esarerequiredbeyondthe‘end’ofproject.

Theselessonscanbesummarizedintoanoverallguidingrule:Havewedoneeverythingpossible to make this project a sustainablecontribution to community development?Wehopethatprojectsinothersmalldevel-oping countries will find the lessons learnthere useful in making their projects moresustainablethanmightotherwisehavebeenthe case. With assistance from Ausaid andother donors, usp is currently planning toextend these successful practices to othercommunities in Fiji and in other Pacific Is-landcountries. ‡


newsinsurAnce

four insurance initi-atives have called on governments to har-ness risk manage-ment techniques and industry expertise to help the developing world adapt to cli-mate change.

”With climatic disasters inflicting more and more damage, the increasing reliance of governments on foreign aid alone is un-sustainable,” commented Andrew Torrance, chair-man of ClimateWise. “As the global climate contin-ues to warm, we have to find new ways to protect people and economies from the impacts of ex-treme weather, particu-larly those who are most vulnerable,” he continued.

Read more: tinyurl.com/2ejdwhx

cArbon cuts

six countries, amongst those most vulnerable to climate change, plan sub-stantial cuts in their carbon emissions as a sign of their com-mitment to combat global warming.

“Antigua and Barbuda, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, the Maldives, the Marshall Is-lands and Samoa all pledged to slash green-house gas emissions and pursue green growth and development,” according to a statement from the Maldives government. “When those with the least start doing the most, it shows that everyone’s ambitions can be raised,” said Mohamed Nasheed, president of the Maldives.

Read more: tinyurl.com/25vcm5k

soot pollution

eliminating soot pol-lution from sources such as diesel en-gines and poorly-controlled heat sources could mean that the world has an additional eight years to limit carbon emissions, accord-ing to researchers at princeton university in the united states.

“Unfortunately, most cli-mate change mitigation scenarios used have fo-cused exclusively on heat-trapping gases,” commented Denise Mau-zerall. “This means those eight years aren’t actually eight years we can gain by cutting soot emis-sions; rather, our results suggest that we need to accelerate carbon dioxide emissions [reductions] by about eight years relative to these scenarios.”

Read more: tinyurl.com/27vsgmn

ice sheets

An international team of scientists has concluded that the estimated rate of ice loss from the greenland and west Antarctic ice sheets should be halved.

The correction results from a new assessment of the effect of glacial isostatic adjustment, the rebounding of the Earth’s crust after the last ice age. “It’s like a mattress after someone has been sleeping on it all night,” said team leader Bert Vermeersen of Delft Technical University in the Netherlands. The cor-rected figures means that expansion of the warming oceans must account for around 70 per cent of re-cent sea-level rise, rather than the 50 per cent that was previously assumed.

Read more: tinyurl.com/2ejdwhx

rice production

even a modest rise in daily minimum temperature could adversely affect Asian rice produc-tion, according to an international team of researchers.

“If we cannot change our rice production methods or develop new rice strains that can with-stand higher tempera-tures, there will be a loss in rice production over the next few decades as days and nights get hot-ter,” warned team leader Jarrod Welch of the Uni-versity of California, San Diego. Rice is the staple food to some 600 million people in Asia.

Read more: tinyurl.com/24xzc9k

20 Tiempo Issue 77 October 2010

Oyola and Wakesi peoples reside onthe fringes of Lake Victoria in theKano Plains of Western Kenya. Thetwo communities are experiencingclimate change impacts and otherstresses that are contributing totheirvulnerability.Researchbetween

2008and2009revealedthattheflood-anddrought-relatedstressesfacedbycommuni-ties include human and livestock diseases,lackofpastureandsafedrinkingwater,poorinfrastructure and housing, collapse of theMiwanisugarfactoryandalackofemploy-ment opportunities, and low capacity tosolve all these problems. The communityis, however, endowed with resources whichwhen properly utilized can help mitigatetheimpactsofclimatechange.Theresearchrevealed the different challenges the twocommunities face and what makes themvulnerable,andthedifferentstrategiesem-ployedbyeachcommunitytocope.Finally,it

MAin points the authors describe the flood- and drought-related stresses faced by two communities in Wes-tern Kenya. they explain how participatory action research hel-ped researchers and community members learn from each other and build local adap-

tation capabilities. they stress the importance of strong community groups for reducing vulnerability to cli-mate change, and highlight how parti-cipatory processes have revealed the importance of indige-nous knowledge.

Building adaptation capabilities

Elvin Nyukuri and Dan Ong’or explain how climate change adaptation capabilities are being built in two communities in Western Kenya

explainshowadaptationcanbeenhancedbyemphasizingindividualandgroupcapabili-tiestoreducevulnerability.

coping with droughts and floodsIn 1946, the two communities experienceddroughts which led to a famine known as‘KeeOtongl’.Peoplewalkedlongdistancesin

searchoffoodandsomeinvadedneighbour-ing sugarcane farms. Livestock was takento swampy areas for grazing and watering,and people sometimes sold or exchangedlivestock for food. Some people diversifiedtheir livelihoods and turned to fishing. Formany this was a change for the better, butit required them to learn new fishing skillsinordertoprovideforthemselvesandtheirfamilies. It is quite evident that people didnot perish but instead learnt how to copewiththedisaster.

Between1952and1955,duringtheMauMauwar, communities experienced heavy floodsinadditiontotheimpactsofpolitics.Theyfedonsurplusfoodstocksfromtheprevioussea-son,migratedtosaferareasandconstructedwater pans for use as water reservoirs. Thesiltedriverbedsmeantthattheycouldnotcul-tivatetheircrops,whichledtohungerknownas‘KeeDhima’,andtherewasanoutbreakofahumandiseasecalled‘Olima’.


In 1962, the government provided relieffoodthroughthefoodforworkprogrammefollowingthefloodsknownas‘KothOthuru’.Kenya gained its independence this sameyear.Thestatemachinerywasusedtodivertthe course of the river and the communityconstructed drainage canals and moved toorganizedsettlementschemes.

People coped with droughts in 1975 byfeeding on ‘ogira’ because maize was toocostly. They grazed their cattle and soughtfodder in swampy areas. They reduced thenumberofmealstakenperdayandboughtfoodathighpricesfromlandadjacenttoLakeVictoria. They fed on wild vegetables andusedflourfromtheunproductivesorghumknownas‘ochondo’.Duringthisperiod,the

countryexperiencedaseverefamineknownas ‘korokoro’, meaning people could onlyafford one two-kilogram tin of maize eachday and had to be fed on imported yellowmaizebranded‘Kenyamaize’byZimbabwe-anneighbours.Morecasesofhiv/aids wererecorded during this period and it was dif-ficult to tell if patients were suffering fromhiv/aids orhunger.Thisconfusionmeantthe community did not know what copingmeasures to take. Famine and hiv/aids made the community more vulnerable andthe government simultaneously provideddrugsandfood.

Heavy rains known as ‘El Nino’ were ex-perienced throughout the country in 1997andaffectedmanyhomes.Peoplemigrated

anywhere they could find shelter. Hunger,waterborne diseases and riverbed siltationincreased destitution. Community copingmechanismswereofnouseandthegovern-ment had to come to the rescue with foodanddrugs,althoughnoalternativemeasuresweretakentominimizetheproblems.Com-munity members explained to researchershow those who survived the ‘El Nino’ wereconsidered warriors. They felt the key issuewasnottheavailabilityofresourcesbuthowbest people could utilize their own capa-bilitiestoovercomethecalamitiesresultingfromenvironmentalchange.

participatory research to build adap-tation capabilitiesThe research team employed participa-tory action research methodologies, whichhelpedbringcommunitymembersandsci-entists together through action learning.During this process, community members,especially those who farmed, asked ques-tionsaboutthereasonsbehindthecollapseof the Miwani sugar factory. According tothem,thishadledtothepoorstatusoflocalinfrastructure. The company used to main-taintheroadsthatfedit,whicharenowsmallstreamsduetothefloods.Theresearchers,ontheotherhand,wantedtofindoutthecausesofclimatechangevulnerability.Participatoryactionresearchapproacheshelpedbringthetwo teams together to share information,knowledge and experience through collec-tivediscussions.Thishelpedeachpartymake

effects of flooding in oyola village Photo: © Charles Tonui and Elvin Nyukuri/ACTS


senseoftheinformationcontributedbytheother and be understood in the context inwhich the information was generated. Dis-cussionsemphasizedhowcommunitymem-bers could begin finding solutions giventheopportunitiesavailabletothemandthefreedomtheyhadtotransformtheirvulner-abilitiesintoadaptivestrategies.

Researchers and community membersteamed up to identify adaptation-relatedproblems.Throughparticipatoryapproach-es, community base maps, flood hazardmaps, historical profiles, historical trendlinesandresourceanalysis,focusgroupdis-cussions, household histories, key inform-antinterviewsandparticipatoryvideo,thecommunities identified their physical andeconomic vulnerabilities. Much informa-tionon‘challenges’wasrevealed,especiallyduringtheparticipatoryvideoexercise.Theprocessofself-reflection,takingownershipof the information and putting effort intoidentifyingvulnerabilityhotspotsandpro-ducingcommunitybasemapsanddigitizedmapsusingGlobalInformationSystemandGlobalPositioningSystemreadingshelpedenhancethesociallearningprocess.There-searchers,fortheirpart,acquirednewskillsin engaging in partnerships that fosteredanopenmind.

Theseapproachesbroughttogethercom-munity members, parastatals, non-govern-ment organizations and community-basedorganizations to address the challenge ofclimate change and flooding, and the sub-

sequent need for livelihood diversification.The process attempted to involve the Dis-trictDevelopmentOfficeinchargeofdistrictplanningtoensurethatclimatechangewasmainstreamed in its plans. The Kenya Ag-ricultural Research Institute (kari) joinedthe research team to teach the communityaboutusingtechnologiessuchasimprovedvarietiesoffruits(likemangoes)todiversifylivelihoodsandimprovefoodsecurity.kariis also working to develop other livelihoodoptionsinvolvingredchillies,maize,cassava,sweetpotatoesandsorghum.

emerging adaptation strategiesTheuseoftheLocalOptionsforCommuni-ties to Adapt and Technologies to Enhance

Capacity (locate) methodology helpedthesetwovulnerablecommunitiestodesignand implement community-based adapta-tionstrategiestoclimatechange.Thecom-munity identified several local options forenhancingtheiradaptivecapacityusingthismethodology,includingtheconstructionofmakeshiftbridgesandwaterpans,growingsweetpotatoesasanalternativefoodsourceandasawaytoreinforcetheembankmentsof expanded drainage canals, looking forpasture in the neighbouring community,buildingpitlatrinesontermitehills,whichare common in the area, making them lessvulnerabletoflooding,plantingredchilliesand mangoes for sale or export and earlyplantingofothercrops.

A community leader shows the expanded drainage canals Photo: © Charles Tonui and Elvin Nyukuri/ACTS


Localsarealsolearningtolinkclimaticca-tastrophestotheirculturalpractices.Forex-ample,theyconductprayersunderasacredtree,digtrenchesaroundtheirhomesteadsto channel water to their farms, constructhouses with raised floors and pass on tra-ditionalpracticestoyoungpeoplethroughstorytelling.

Inthefuture,communitiesintendtoputupbillboardsonthemajorroadsintheareawiththefloodhazardsmapsdrawnupdur-ingresearchexercisesonthem.Thewomen,inparticular,alsopromisedtoattend‘bara-zas’, or communal meetings, called by thelocal chief to obtain more information ontheirchangingcircumstances.

forming community groups to raise capabilitiesVarious avenues to improving capabilitieswereidentified.Theseincludedanumberofcommunitygroups,includingwomen’sself-helpgroups,sugarcaneassociationscreatedwhenthesugarfactorywasinoperation,andfarmer field schools. Farmer field schoolswere the preferred avenue, as they accom-modated all community members. Theseschools will be developed in collaborationwithkaritopromotepopularactivitieslikegrowing sorghum, cassava and sweet pota-toes.Theresearchteamandkariwillalsousetheseschoolstoimproveagricultural-relatedadaptationskillsthatstabilizewatercontrolchannelsandimprovefruitcropproduction,forexampleplantingmangotrees.Theabil-

ity of the community to form such groupsimproves both its general capabilities butalsoitscapabilitytoreduceitsvulnerabilitytoclimatechange.

learning from participatory processesUsing participatory processes has helpedchange individual and collective commu-nitypractices.Itwasobservedthatthosewhoplanted maize during the normal growingseason in 2009 did not harvest good yieldscomparedtothosewhoplantedaccordingtopredictionsfromthemeteorologicaldepart-ment. In 2009, the short rains came muchearlierthaninpreviousyearsandwithhelpfrom the project team, those who took upthe advice available ended up harvesting agoodyield.

Participatory processes also revealed theimportance of indigenous knowledge usedby the community to avert climate changerisks. This community traditionally madesacrifices or offerings to gods for rain un-der trees such as the baobab. Participatoryvideos revealed the importance of this ac-tivity in community member’s lives. Theyassociatethetreeswithrainsandtherateatwhichofferingsaremadetothegodsforrainhas increased. The correlation between thenumberoftimespeoplemakeofferingsandthestateoftheenvironmentisinformative.Suchactivitiesalsoprovideopportunitiesforusingendogenousapproachestoeducatethecommunity on climate change adaptationandsustainabledevelopment. ‡

About the Authors elvin nyukuri is a research fellow at the African Centre for Technology Studies in Kenya. She is currently pursuing her PhD on vulnerability to climate change in two forest communi-ties in Kenya and Uganda. dan ong’or is a lecturer and technology extension specialist currently working as the coordinator for the Uhai Lake Forum.

contAct elvin nyukuri, African Centre for Tech-nology Studies, PO Box 45917 00100, Nairobi, Kenyafax: +254-20-233 9093email: [email protected]. dan ong’or, Uhai Lake Forum, PO Box 6022-40103, Kisumu, Kenya email: [email protected], [email protected]

further inforMAtion on the web: This project was part of the Community-Based Adaptation in Africa (CBAA) project. See www.acts.or.ke for further information.

AcknowledgeMents The authors would like to thank Charles Tonui and Judi Wakhungu for help with this research and article.


financial affairstowArds the Mexico suMMit

the pace of the international climate negotiations has speeded up as the cancún climate summit approaches. tiempo editors Mick kelly and sarah granich report on the latest developments.

Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in lateJuly,environmentministersfromtheBASICcountries of Brazil, South Africa, India andChina, concluded that achieving a bindingagreementatthenegotiationsinMexicoattheendoftheyearwillbedifficult.“Thesin-glemostimportantreasonwhyitisgoingtobedifficultistheinabilityofthedevelopedcountries to bring clarity on the financialcommitments which they have undertakenintheCopenhagenAccord,”JairamRamesh,Indianenvironmentminister,said.

Delays on the part of the United StatesandAustraliangovernmentsinimplement-ing climate legislation contributed to thepessimistic assessment. “If by the time weget to Cancún [US senators] still have notcompleted the legislation then clearly wewillgetlessthanalegallybindingoutcome,”commentedSouthAfricanministerBuyelwaSonjica.Nospecificproposalregardingemis-sionsreductionsemergedfromthemeeting.

TheBASICgroupwillmeetagaininBeijingin October to determine their position atthe talks in Cancún. Though not reflectedin the official statement, it is reported thatthegroupmay,inlightofthedifficultiesinextendingtheKyotoProtocolwithregardtoemissions from the industrialized nations,worktowardsasingle,globalagreement.

“Governments have a responsibility thisyeartotakethenextessentialstepinthebat-tleagainstclimatechange,”saidChristianaFigueres as she opened the August roundof climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany.“Howgovernmentsachievethenextessentialstepisuptothem.Butit’spoliticallypossible.InCancún,thejobofgovernmentsistoturnthe politically possible into the politicallyirreversible,”sheadded.

Progress, however, proved slow. “I cametoBonnhopefulofadealinCancún,butatthispointIamveryconcernedasIhaveseensomecountrieswalkingbackfromprogressmade in Copenhagen,” said United StatesrepresentativeJonathanPershing.Thedraftnegotiating text on long-term cooperativeaction has doubled in length to 34 pageswith new proposals added and old onesreinstated.“Themitigationdiscussionevenwent backwards and became more polar-ized,” remarked Gordon Shepherd at theWorldWideFundfornature.Therewasno

resolutionofthecontentiousissueoflimitsonemissionsgrowthinthemajordevelop-ingnations.Therewerealsosignsofdeepen-ing rifts over finance for the poorer devel-oping countries. The Copenhagen AccordpledgethatUS$100billionayearwouldberaisedby2020toassistpoorcountriesadaptto climate change is being questioned. “Itsoundsverylarge.Forthedonorcountriesitisalottoasktaxpayerstopay.Butyoumustweigh that against the need” of countriesatrisk,commentedDessimaWilliams,del-egatefromGrenada.

christiana figueres, united nations framework convention on climate change executive secretary


Asthemeetingended,Figueressaidthatthedraftnegotiatingtextwouldnotbeallowedtogrowfurther.Shedidfeelthatsomeprogresshadbeenmadeontheshapeofafuturedeal.“Ifyouseethebiggerpicture,wehaveprogresshereinBonn.Itishardtocookamealwithouta pot, and governments are much closer toactuallymakingthepot,”shesaid.

Growingsupportfora“GreenFund”tosup-port developing nations respond to climatechange was evident at a meeting of envi-ronmentministersinGeneva,Switzerland,inearlySeptember.“Wearehopingthatwecanmake a very formal decision [at the Cancúnsummit]regardingtheestablishmentofthefundandatthesametimedecideonhowtomakethisfundbeabletochannelresourcesimmediately, because there is this sense ofurgency,”saidPatriciaEspinosa,Mexicanfor-eign minister. The fund would dispense thesupportpromisedbytheCopenhagenAccord.

United States negotiator Todd Sternwarnedthatagreementonotherdevelopingcountryissues-notably,curbsongreenhousegas emissions and monitoring of nationalpledges-wouldbeaprerequisite.“Thishastobepartofapackage,”hesaid.“Thatdoesn’tmeanthatyoucan’tnegotiatequitefardownthe road on this... [but] all of those key ele-ments have to move, not just one or two.”AccordingtoaReutersoverview,itisunclearhowmuchoftheUS$29.8billionpledgedasclimatesupportfortheperiod2010-12todateis“newandadditional”money,asspecifiedbytheCopenhagenAccord.Forexample,much

of the substantial Japanese commitment of$US15 billion represents funding alreadycommittedundertheCoolEarthPartnership.

The United States is interpreting the Co-penhagenAccord,whichittakesasthestart-ingpointforthenextphaseofthenegotia-tions,asamoveawayfromtheKyotoProtocolparadigm of mandatory obligations for theindustrialized nations and voluntary com-mitmentsforthedevelopingworld.

AtabriefingfollowingameetingoftheMa-jorEconomiesForumonEnergyandClimateinNewYork,inSeptember,SternemphasizedthattheUnitedStateswas“perfectlysupport-ive”ofdiscussionsstemmingfromtheCopen-hagenAccordthatwerenotlegallybinding.Hesaid,though,that“ifweareinaworld...where the negotiation on the table is forlegally-bindingcommitmentsbysome,thenIwouldsay...ifit’sgoingtobelegallybindingfor the United States or Europe or Japan orAustraliaorwhatever,thenitwouldneedtobe legally binding for China, which at thispointisnowtheworld’slargestemitter,andIndiaandothermajordevelopingcountries.”

Russiawillseekanon-bindingagreementin Cancún that will encompass developingnations. “28 per cent of the world cannotchange anything,” argued climate changeadviser,AlexanderBedritsky,notingthattheindustrialized nations bound by the KyotoProtocolonlyaccountforalimitedpercent-ageofglobalemissions.“Wewantcoopera-tion intheperiodafter2012tobeall inclu-sive,”hesaid.

In contrast, Abubakr al-Qirbi, outgoingG-77 president, has stressed the importanceofthecontinuityoftheKyotoProtocolasanessentialelementforthefutureoftheclimatechange regime. “New quantified emissionreduction commitments by Annex I partiesundertheKyotoProtocol,therefore,mustbemet to avoid any gap between the first andsubsequentcommitmentperiodsundertheProtocol,”hesaid.

Indiafearsthattherichernations,scepticalofanewglobaldealbeingachievedinCan-cún,aresecretlydevelopinggroundrulesforthenextstageofthenegotiations,aMexicomandate,thatcouldunderminedevelopingcountryinterestsandtheprocessestablishedbytheBaliRoadmap.

The final negotiating session before theCancúnsummitwillbeheldinTianjin,Chi-na, in October, following high-level politi-cal meetings in Geneva and New York. Allindustrialized nations have now submittedpledges under the Copenhagen Accord toreduce emissions by the year 2020 and 38developing countries have submitted theirproposalstolimitemissionsgrowth.

further information: The Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary provides weekly cover-age of news at www.tiempocyberclimate.org/ newswatch/. For detailed discussion of all climate negotiating meetings, visit the Earth Negotiations Bulletin at www.iisd.ca/ process/climate_atm.htm.


A gAunt view © 2010 lawrence Moore

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Issue 77 October 2010 Visit www.tiempocyberclimate.org/newswatch/ for the latest news and debate

copenhagen’s climate finance pledges

J timmons roberts is Direc-tor of the Center for Environ-mental Studies and Professor of Sociology and Environmen-tal Studies at Brown University in the United States.email: [email protected].

AnumberofcommentatorshaverightlyblamedthetrainwreckinCopenhagenonalackoftrustbetweenParties,espe-ciallybetweenthedevelopedanddevel-opingworlds.Outoftheconfusioncameone seemingly clear and ambitiouspromise in the Copenhagen Accord

thatmightsupportrebuildingthattrust:“Scaledup,newandadditional,predictableandad-equatefunding.”Thefundsaretobeginwithus$30billionin‘fast-startfinance’fordevelop-ing countries in 2010 to 2012,rampinguptous$100billionayearby2020.

us$100billionayearisalotofmoney:allglobalforeignassistanceaddsuptojustaboveus$150billionayear,someetingthispledgewithofficialfundscouldnearlydoubleNorth-Southflows.Thenumberofus$100billionwasbandied around frequently during 2009 bydevelopingcountriesasaminimumtoshowtheseriousnessofwealthynationsinaddress-ing their needs, and as a down payment foraddressing‘climatejustice’.

Upon closer examination, however, theclimate finance promise rings very empty.ThatisbecausetheAccordwordingmakesitnearlyimpossibletomeasurewhetherthesepromiseshavebeenmet.TheAccordsays“thisfunding will come from a wide variety ofsources,publicandprivate…”Unfortunately,

thismeansthattheword“pre-dictable” should be replacedby “unpredictable,” since in-vestments and markets arenotoriously unsteady. Of thefunds coming from govern-ments, it is not clear howmuchwillbegrantsandhowmuchwillbeloans.Ifthereare

loans,thentheirrepaymentshouldcountasnegativefundinginrepaymentyears,butthisisnowherespecified.

Some proposed mechanisms to raise “in-novativefinance”fromsmallleviesoninter-nationalairtravelorcarbontrading,ortinycurrencytransactiontaxesonspeculators,areextremelyappealing.Theyareclearly“new,”andtheycouldbedesignedtobedepositeddirectly into funds governed by the 192 na-

tionswhicharePartiestotheUnitedNationsFramework Convention on Climate Change.(Doingthisavoidsthenationaltreasuriesofdeveloped countries, where funds are oftenusurpedforlocalneeds.)Evenso,systemsareurgently needed to track these funds fromcontributortorecipientandimplementation.

There will nearly certainly be other fundswhichcontributornationswillwishtocount,suchas‘climate-related’projectsintheirport-folio of foreign assistance through nationaland multilateral agencies (like the GlobalEnvironmentFacilityandWorldBank).Inde-pendent definitions, verification of projectsand evaluation of effectiveness, supervisedunder the climate treaty, are needed for theCopenhagenpledgestoringtrue.

the finAl word

J timmons roberts describes how to ensure that the climate finance pledges made in copenhagen actually materialize

perception, power and...

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