Reducing Vulnerability to Climate ChangeWorld Vision’s

Experience Helping Children and Their

Families

9/April/2008 Douglas R. Brown

Outline

• Who we are and what we do• Climate, livelihoods and vulnerability• Practical examples

– COVACA– FMNR– Conservation Agriculture

• Global perspectives on climate, change and resilience– Coastal areas– Agriculture and food security– Perceptions of risk and attitudes to climate change

Who we are and what we do• World Vision is:

– “a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice”

• Focus on human and social transformation– Area Development Programs (ADP)– long-term perspective

• Improved well-being for children and their families• A three-pronged strategy

– development programming– humanitarian response– advocacy

• Serve all regardless of religion, race, gender or ethnicity• An international partnership• Assist approximately 100 million people in nearly 100 countries with

a global budget of almost $3.6 billion

Climate Change and Human Well-Being

• Combating climate change is central to all humanitarian action– Climate change is not only an

environmental problem as there are:• Social aspects• Economic aspects

– Climate change is fundamentally a development problem

Sustainable Livelihoods Framework

Livelihood building blocks:• social• human• natural• physical• financial

Livelihood strategy A:• activity 1• activity 2• activity 3

Livelihood strategy B:• activity 1• activity 2• activity 3

Actual livelihood outcomes:• malnutrition• illness• vulnerable• unsustainable

Desired livelihood outcomes:• child well-being• health• resilient• sustainable

Vulnerability and context of household decision-making:• environmental, economic, social context• policies, institutions and procedures (PIPs)

Vulnerability = f(exposure, adaptive capacity)

COVACACommunity-Owned Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment

• A key component of DRR and Adaptation efforts throughout World Vision

• COVACA in Haiti consisted of:– A realistic assessment of

vulnerabilities and capacities leading to better decision making

– Identify activities that communities can implement within their own resources to protect themselves from selected key threats

– Empower the community to take responsibility for their own protection and implementation the identified activities

FMNRFarmer-Managed Natural Regeneration

• Key success factors:– Initial incentive– Genuine active

community participation

– Socio-cultural norms– Institutional change– Widespread

adoption• Adapting it to other contexts:

– West Africa – Senegal, Mali, Niger, Chad – Ethiopia

– CDM project– Community see benefit already

Conservation Agriculture

• Key success factors– Carbon, nutrient and water

cycling– Labour resource constraints– Management of crop

residues/mulch– Socio-cultural institutions

• The future of our planet lies in our hands

• Proactive adaptation – prepare for disasters and change before they occur– reducing

vulnerability and risk– increasing resilience – promoting

preparedness

Asia-Pacific Region Report

http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/publications/v.php?id=8131

Global Food Security InitiativePriority Interventions for Adaptation, Resilience and Food Security

Short-term(Crisis/

Emergency)

Mid-term(Transition and Development)

Long-term(Restoration and

Development) General Targeted

Food/Cash Assistance

Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF)

Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM)

Food or Cash for Work or Assets (FFW/CFW/FFA/CFA)

Support for Agricultural Inputs

Essential Nutrition Package (ENP)

Food for Education (FFE)

Core Health and Nutrition Package

Diversification of Farming Systems

Soil and Water Conservation/Management

Post-harvest Handling, Storage and Marketing

Global Agricultural Strategy• To promote ecologically-sound, socially and

economically viable and just small-holder agriculture and NRM practices that contribute to the well-being of children– Promote more productive and sustainable

agricultural systems – Protect and/or restore healthy agro-ecosystems– Support viable markets and smallholder

agricultural enterprises – Build smallholder household resilience and

capacity to manage risk in the face of shocks – Engage in advocacy supportive of smallholder

agricultural development

Climate Change Survey

• Organization-wide survey– Attitudes to climate change– Perceptions of risk– Understanding of concepts

• climate change• adaptation• Mitigation

Choose Hope• Climate science:

– Projections of what might happen if– Predictions of what will happen

• We have a choice– Denial says “nothing needs to be done”– Despair says “nothing can be done”– Between these, there is hope – with hope we:

• Look for solutions• Act as stewards• Choose justice• Protect and nurture our children and their future

THANK YOU