Understanding climate change adaptation : lessons from community-based approaches

Poor people bear the brunt of climate change since they live in those regions most affected by fluctuating temperatures, sea level rise, flooding and drought. Far from behaving as victims, however, they use the assets and resources at their disposal to adapt and survive. How can agencies assist local communities adapting to change? By what mechanisms can communities make the most of emerging information? Can effective community-based approaches be scaled up? Understanding Adaptation to Climate Change demonstrates that although communities' adaptation strategies may be varied and depend on local context, social networks play a pivotal role in accessing appropriate climate knowledge and resources and communicating useful approaches to other communities. The key activities of reducing vulnerability, fostering resilience and developing the capacity to experiment and learn are combined as appropriate. This book is essential reading for NGO practitioners, students and government and NGO policy makers who wish to gain an understanding of what adaptation means in theory and practice.

Author Notes

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

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Choice Review

The participatory view of economic development has argued that development policies that are more community based, small scale, and slow paced have a better chance of being successful and sustainable. This work is solidly placed in that tradition and attempts to increase the scope of these approaches by showing how they can be deployed to address the latest challenges brought forward by climate change. The authors, both affiliated with Practical Action, present case studies of development projects from poor communities across three continents. This approach is useful because it successfully drives home a very powerful message: climate change will increase the vulnerability of the poorest sections of society and will therefore make development more costly, challenging, and complex. Closer reading of the case studies, however, reveals some shortcomings of the participatory approaches (e.g., the lack of locally relevant climate change information, tangible outcomes, staffing issues), all of which can seriously undermine the efforts of poorest communities to adapt to a global problem. The authors do not discuss these shortcomings in detail, making this volume a one-sided view. Also, considering that this work is aimed at professionals/practitioners, it would have benefited from a list of sources of further information on the projects discussed. Summing Up: Recommended. Comprehensive professional collections. A. M. Chaudhry California State University

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

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