synthesis of findings and preliminary assessment of gaps in research and policy
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Review of research and policies for climate change adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa
Synthesis of findings and preliminary assessment of gaps in
research and policy Lars Otto Naess
Research Fellow, Climate Change TeamInstitute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK
FARA Side Event on Climate Smart AgricultureAfrica Agriculture Science Week, 16 July 2013
Outline of presentation
• Background and assumptions for research-policy linkages
• Synthesis of key messages and research & policy gaps on urban areas, agriculture and health
• Reflections on findings
Future CC
impacts
Temp
Precipitation
Seasonality
Variability
Flood
Drought
Landslide
Biological
National & International
Political Economy
Power relations
Environmental Trends
Debt Crises
Etc
SocialStructures & Power Systems
Class
Gender
Ethnicity
Caste
Other power relationships
Effects on livelihoods
InfrastructureHealth
Ecosystems
Local dimensions
1. Livelihood
2 Well-being
3 Individual protection
4 Collective Protection
5 Governance
SOCIAL
FRAME
ROOT
CAUSES
Climate change makes hazards worse
Cannon 2012
Adaptation and development ‘pyramid’
(Sources: DFID; McGray et al. 2007)
Drought resistant crops, livestock breeds, flood defences, sea walls
What does ‘enabling research-to-policy linkage for adaptation’ mean?
• Partly depends on approach to policymaking processes
• ‘Traditional’ view: Policymaking as linear process with a clearly defined start and finish
– Limited arena for research inputs
Or
• A complex, incremental and “messy” process, not limited to formal process of formal policy formulation and implementation
– Multiple entry points or ‘policy spaces’
Policymaking: the ‘traditional’ view
What does ‘enabling research-to-policy linkage for adaptation’ mean?
• Partly depends on approach to policymaking processes
• ‘Traditional’ view: Policymaking as linear process with a clearly defined start and finish
– Limited arena for research inputs
Or
• A complex, incremental and “messy” process, not limited to formal process of formal policy formulation and implementation
– Multiple entry points or ‘policy spaces’
Regional reviews onurban areas, agriculture, health
- Key messages from regional reviews- Research & policy gaps
Urban areas: findings - research• Climate change is a major challenge to the
sustainability of urban areas in Africa• Rapid urbanisation rates leading to increasing
numbers of people living in slums on marginal land with high exposure to climate risks
• Infrastructure development and service delivery have not kept pace with urbanisation rates
• Most research on urban adaptation so far on coastal cities
• Evidence of success of urban and peri-urban agriculture (e.g. in Nairobi, Maputo, Dakar) – leading the way?
Urban areas: findings - policy• So far limited focus on climate change in urban
sector policy and planning• Climate change policies (NAPAs, national
climate change strategies) tend to focus on rural areas
• But also emerging lessons, e.g. examples of successful integration of climate change in city strategies in South Africa
Urban areas: key recommendations
• Need for more awareness and focus on rural-urban interconnectedness and migration dynamics
• Need for more proactive urban authorities with improved capacity and ‘downscaled NAPAs’
• Address current limited knowledge exchange and missing areas and spaces for research to policy engagement
• Particular need for research on poorest and most marginalised groups, particularly women and children
Agriculture: findings - research• Rapidly growing body of evidence on impacts of
climate change on agriculture, particularly crop systems
• Increasing evidence of autonomous adaptation by crop farmers, pastoralists and fisherfolk, using local knowledge
• Much adaptation happens despite lack of institutional support, but growing focus around ‘climate-smart’ farming systems
• Impacts of climate change and variability on agriculture is moderated by political, economic and social factors
Agriculture: findings - policy• Agriculture key focus in NAPAs and national
climate change strategies, but so far limited climate change consideration in sector policies
• Growing interest in climate smart agriculture• A number of factors (political, economic, social)
hinder uptake of research evidence• Some promising examples of integration of local
and scientific knowledge (e.g. forecasts for improved agricultural productivity)
Agriculture: key recommendations• Adaptation measures should be tested for contribution to
resilience through the whole food chain from producers to consumers
• Need for further research to field test promising ‘climate smart’ agricultural technologies and practices
• Need to tackle root causes for vulnerability in the agricultural sector such as resource access and property rights, closely linked with gender concerns
• Technology and service delivery gaps highlighted (cultivars, credits, markets, extension, forecasts)
• Need more focus on fisheries and pastoralist systems as compared to crop farming systems
• Need for better coordination and coherence between agriculture and environment ministries
Health: findings - research• Climate change will increase the disease burden
on overstretched health services• To date, evidence on links between climate
change and health limited to a few major diseases (malaria, rift valley fever, meningitis)
• Increasing research on the direct and indirect linkages between climate change and HIV/AIDS
• Increasing focus on climate change and malnutrition
Health: findings - policy• Adaptation hampered by the health sector in
disaster management rather than prevention mode
• Few health and climate change projects implemented despite health being a top priority in NAPAs
• Climate change often not integrated in health sector policies
• So far little policy support for development of epidemic prediction models
Health: key recommendations• Detection of changes in disease spatial and
temporal distribution and the role of climate change in affecting these
• Need to expand the range of diseases that are considered
• Suggested early warning systems for disease prevention
• Need for more inclusion of stakeholders in formulating adaptation policies in the health sector, including the use of local knowledge
Crosscutting issues and reflections
Crosscutting concerns
• Significant overlap in the issues covered• The need to tackle gender issues across all
areas and regions• The key role of water for health, agriculture
and in urban areas• Gaps in research capacity, awareness raising• The need for more resources for research• Need for integration of urban, agriculture and
health concerns both in climate change and sector policies
Crosscutting concerns, cont.
• Needs to strengthen research-policy interaction in several areas– The need for researchers to involve
stakeholders – including policymakers – at the outset and throughout research projects
– Need to expand opportunities for research-policy engagement
– Lack of awareness of climate change challenges, perception of climate change as ‘of the future’ and less pressing than other issues: how prevalent?
Types of gaps: adaptation responses• Findings highlight the need to
cover all areas of the ‘adaptation pyramid’– None of the areas sufficient on
their own to build resilience– Technology without structure:
issues of access– Structure without climate change
responses: risk of lock-in to vulnerable pathways
– Thus, supporting adaptation means technical solutions as well as structural changes to enable uptake
1. Responses to climate projections
2. Climate information and risk mapping
3. Instruments to reduce vulnerability
4. Addressing the ‘development gap’
The reviews demonstrate - • An increasing knowledge base on how people and societies are
responding to changes• Increasing regional research capacity, signs of emerging best
practice• Need for improved policies in key areas, gaps in research-policy
interface• Need for more resources for research, awareness raising and
capacity strengthening
And also that - • More work is needed on how to ensure that the poorest and most
vulnerable will benefit from climate funding? • Politics of adaptation: actors, interests and outcomes• Who wins, who loses?
Final reflections
