Google Translate
water resources
Current challenges for soil and water conservation as well as micro-irrigation in Cape Verde
Submitted by Oliver on Wed, 2012-01-18 01:23
Project:
Summary:
The challenges for soil and water conservation and drip irrigation introduction are manifold, and the project first takes stock of the current situation before installing new systems while providing proper training for sustainability.
Adaptation Experience:
How to adapt micro-irrigation and soil and water conservation to local realities.
Results and Learning:
It is important to take stock of existing systems, why they are neglected and often not functional, then involve local partners in proper training measures.
Sustainability:
The local implementation committees will pursue these approaches on their own after training from the project, to replicate.
Refer to the attached document, Current challenges for soil and water conservation as well as micro-irrigation in Cape Verde, for further details.
Replication:
Extension to other villages is foreseen. The lessons learnt and experiences acquired under Project Outcomes 1 and 2 will be disseminated across Cape Verde and to other countries through actions foreseen under Outcome 3. The range of dissemination tools includes reports, films, documentaries, community radio shows, brochures, newsletters, articles, workshops and round tables etc, in order to share lessons throughout the country and in other countries with similar climate change challenges.Refer to the attached document, Current challenges for soil and water conservation as well as micro-irrigation in Cape Verde, for further details.
Image(s):
Funding Source:
Building Community Resillience in the Water Sector (IWRM) through Capacity Building, Policy Research and Action, Awareness Creation and Education
Submitted by wrcclimate on Mon, 2011-09-05 20:55
Summary:
The project sought to coordinate efforts to conserve and store water, reducing the effects of flooding through flood water retention, strengthening existing adaptation strategies (e.g. dry season farming), and providing mechanisms for timely climate forecast and information for communities in times of expected floods and drought in over ten Districts. Water storage facilities of different types depending on uses such as flood storm reduction, livestock watering, dry season gardening, groundwater recharge and domestic uses, were provided in over twenty communities across the three northern regions. These were preceded by customised awareness creation and tailor made capacity building and training activities. Major parners were Alternative Initiative for Development (AID), Centre for Human and Environmental Security (CHES), and University for Development Studies.
Adaptation Experience:
Results and Learning:
The project activities have shown contributions to building and strengthening the resilience of socioeconomically weakened communities with benefits trickling down to households especially those that are poor, having very limited resources with less mobility. Decision making for project activities had no gender imbalances as both gender contributed equally to approaches, the selection and siting of facilities as well as the overall management of connected small projects including expected benefit sharing. Water harvesting facilities were expected to not only serve food crop production purposes and gardening but also for livestock watering, and building and construction of houses, as well as for flood control in some cases.
Sustainability:
The factors that underline the replicability of the activities are already practical recipes for sustaining the project. Local communities are determined in their own little ways to emulate what have been achieved in other communities. However, these efforts would require some high level adoption and intervention to avoid lags in adaptation and to also ensure quality, the order of the day. Most materials developed under the project are already being used nationally especially those on flooding which are providing necessary resources for the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) hence some project activities are already enjoying an up-scaling and which must be sustained. Danida provided further support to the outcomes of this pilot so as to enhance sustainability. This takes the form of a practical climate change adaptation learning centre in Bolgatanga at the White Volta basin office to ensure sustained awareness, education and technical support through visitations made to the centre. However, this pilot phase should have been scaled up to real project status and then later years to programmes by the District Assemblies but just when the Assemblies started imbibing the concept of climate mainstreaming, the pilot phase was already concluding. A community investment support fund would in no doubt be an asset to continue with this project until such time that communities learn the appropriate way in harnessing water resources for their own water usage in the face of climate change and variability.
Replication:
The most achieved and conspicuous impact of the approaches for implementing the project was to ensure easy replicability and knowledge sharing. This includes technical and non-technical assistance from the WRC through interaction of various communities’ leadership and their offer to help neighbours. What this project has therefore nurtured as an innovation and thinking outside the box is to promote intercultural exchange of experiences with respect to the project activities involving the deliberate movement of people into new environments to assist in providing adaptation support. Awareness creation materials and information brochures are tangible resources that are being used by poor and vulnerable communities to tell their own stories and specifically what they are looking forward to doing. Such materials have enlightened several actors interested in adaptation. There were no big or small actors as equal playing field was maintained for all to do what was expected of them and in spite of being a pilot project with limited financial resources a lot more was achieved than commensurate with the level of funding. The potential to replicate therefore is very straightforward, readily available human capacity and requiring very little financial investment to undertake. For the good of sustainability most of the activities are now seen as cross-cultural in the context of adaptation to climate change rather than as livelihoods support only.
Funding Source:
Flooded Bolivia faces long-term water woes
Body:
Source: Reuters AlertNet / Jon Stibbs
BOGOTA (AlertNet) - Widespread flooding in Bolivia, which prompted the government to declare a national emergency last week, shows the vulnerability of one of South America's poorest countries to changing weather patterns linked to climate change.
Water security and climate change: how science can help
Body:
SCIDEVNET
David Dickson
Policymakers need better information about the regional impact of climate change on water supplies, and on ways of adapting to it.
For centuries, food production — and thus social development — has depended heavily on access to the water needed to grow crops or rear livestock.
ALM Case Study 2010 - Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change through Coastal Afforestation
Submitted by andrea on Mon, 2011-02-07 21:54
Summary:
Vulnerability in Bangladesh is worsened due to the high dependence of a majority of the population on climate-sensitive sectors, such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Compounding these vulnerabilities, Bangladesh is challenged with weak infrastructure facilities, institutional mechanisms and a lack of financial resources. Given the general lack of institutional capacity to systematically identify and address climate-driven changes in risk patterns, the Government of Bangladesh is implementing a project to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities to climate change-induced risks in 4 coastal districts. The project is based on enhancing the resilience of coastal communities and protective ecosystems through community-led adaptation interventions. Efforts are also being made to enhance national, sub-national, and local capacities of government authorities and planners to understand climate risk dynamics in coastal areas. In short, the project is focusing on reviewing and revising coastal management practices and policies to increase community resilience to climate change impacts in coastal areas. Project outcomes include developing a functional system for the collection, distribution and internalization of climate-related knowledge. Key lessons learned from the project thus far indicate the need to actively involve stakeholders from different government departments and ensure on-going cooperation and consistent support between the stakeholders and the government.
Adaptation Experience:
Coastal communities are highly resource poor and extremely vulnerable to anticipated climate induced threats. Given the general lack of institutional capacity to systematically identify and address climate-driven changes in risk patterns, the Government of Bangladesh is proposing a project to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities to climate change-induced risks in 4 coastal districts (Barguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Noakhali, and Chittagong) under 4 coastal forest divisions.
Results and Learning:
Progress to date: In a poverty stricken coastal zone, land and farming are the limiting factors for poverty alleviation where rational use of land comes to the fore. The major contribution of Fish, Fruit and Forest (FFF) model is that it ensures livelihood security by accommodating 15 families/ha and appears as one of the pioneering rational land use model for a highly land scarce country like Bangladesh. Besides, in terms of rational income, the outcome of the model is highly rational for participating communities because it provides two to threefold added income in addition to their routine livelihood activities. FFF Model differs in that it comprises the following Early, Mid-term, Mid/long-term and Long-term resource generation options for livelihood security of coastal communities. It provides opportunity to grow large number of improved variety vegetables on the 2.7m × 86.7m long top surface of the mound. Moreover, further expansion is possible through special supporting arrangements (scaffold) on the margins of ditch to support hanging vegetables for growing country bean, cucumber, bottle, bitter and sweet gourds (cucurbitaceous vegetables) and other creeper vegetables.Key lessons learned:
- Involve stakeholders from different government departments to create appropriate adaptation measures: Identifying different needs and implementing them with multiple perspectives. Given the multitude of stakeholders, integrated communication and coordination will be key to success. The project aims to address these potential risks by coordinating closely with ongoing activities of the government and International Union for Conservation of Nature.
- Ensure that there is on-going cooperation and consistent support between the stakeholders and the government: Communication with stakeholders, project team, sponsors and people of Bangladesh. In the absence of an integrated coastal development strategy which incorporates climate risks for the Government to utilize over the coming decades, the current set of ad-hoc activities is unlikely to address emerging climate change, including variability, problems coherently. There is a need to develop strategies based on existing opportunities, understanding of the level of climatic risks, political and economic feasibility of adaptation to climate change response options.
- Involve district authorities and local communities at an early stage of project design: Involving local residents in various stages of the project has been beneficial. Awareness-raising of projected impacts and potential solutions has been conducted through local media and other appropriate channels.
- Identify risk management/ vulnerability and areas for synergies with other sectors during the initial stages of the project: Identify complementarities and establish linkages with other programmes and sectors (e.g. disaster risk management). The project will further generate adaptation benefits by facilitating the integration of climate risk into existing poverty reduction and rural development strategies, especially as they pertain to coastal regions.
Sustainability:
The recurrent income generation from continuous flow of resources will increase the adaptive capacity of the coastal people and such recurrent livelihood support might sustain the Fish, Fruit and Forest (FFF) model in any anticipated stressed conditions, induced by climate change. Additional measures necessary to ensure the sustainability of the proposed interventions, including those that focus on management and technical capacity, will be identified and incorporated into the project design. The project design will be informed by an in-depth root-cause analysis which will be guided by the principles of the UNDP APF. This approach will ensure that the implementation of the NAPA priority profiles is not undertaken in isolation but contributes to ongoing activities by government and other donors who are actively working towards coastal development.Institutional linkages will be strengthened, and community-based adaptation measures will include innovative mechanisms for sustainable livelihoods, which in turn will enhance the sustainability of project outcomes. The capacity-building components of the project will empower stakeholders at all levels—from community members to district authorities to policymakers—with a greater understanding of climate change risks, adaptation options, and enhanced adaptive capacity.
Replication:
In regards to replicability and integration, the project will further generate adaptation benefits by facilitating the integration of climate risk into existing poverty reduction and rural development strategies, especially as they pertain to coastal regions.Once the project demonstrates the viability of adaptation interventions and effectively builds national and local adaptive capacity, there will be opportunities for further up scaling and replication in other coastal sites exposed to climate-induced hazards. Learning is ensured through activities in Outcome 4, including contributions to the Adaptation Learning Mechanism, so that government ministries and other organizations will have access to new knowledge and resources developed through the project. National and international dialogue forums will provide opportunities for identifying similarly vulnerable areas within and outside of Bangladesh. The approach used will be replicated in other non-coastal areas where climate change-induced risks are very high, for example, the haors, or low-lying floodplain depressions located mostly in the north-eastern region of the country and covering about 25% of the entire region. In the northeast, flash floods have been occurring earlier in the season and with increasing intensity, causing much damage to crops and livelihoods.
Image(s):
Funding Source:
Climate Adaptation and Rural Forested Communities: Funding Opportunity
Body:
Model Forest Policy Program
The Model Forest Policy Program (MFPP) is now accepting applications for 2011 Climate Solutions University: Forest and Water Strategies (CSU). This program offers rural communities the opportunity to protect their natural resources and be part of the climate adaptation solutions urgently needed across the country. Applications are due by 5:00 PM CST, September 15th, 2010.
Guidance on Water and Adaptation to Climate Change
-
Project details
-
Implementing Agency and Partnering Organizations:
UNECE, WMO, WHO-EURO, Netherlands, Germany, ItalySummary:
Most extreme climate events involve too much or too little water. Like climate change, water knows no borders. Countries must adapt - and work together when doing so. Adaptation measures, especially structural measures such as dams, reservoirs or dykes can have significant effects on other riparian countries. What to do if an upstream country unilaterally builds a dam to retain water for its population during droughts, but the water downstream is drastically reduced?
Project Components:
This Guidance aims at providing step-by-step advice for the development of sound adaptation strategies and thereby supporting implementation of the Water Convention in the context of climate change.
Expected Outputs:
The Guidance places special emphasis on the specific problems and requirements of transboundary basins. Its objectives include:
**1.** Preventing, controlling and reducing transboundary impacts of national adaptation measures.
**2.** Preventing and resolving possible conflict.
**3.** Encouraging cooperation in adapting to climate change in transboundary basins to share the costs and benefits of adaptation measures.
**4.** Managing uncertainty to find better and more cost-effective solutions.Contacts:
Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes Environment, Housing and Land Management Division
Economic Commission for Europe Palais des Nations
8 -14 avenue de la Paix 1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland
Tel: 00 41 22 9172463
Fax: 00 41 22 9170107
E-mail: Water.Convention@unece.org
Website: http://www.unece.org/env/water/welcome.htmlProject Status:
Project complete.
Albay, first province to use SimCLIM software to examine effects of climate change
Body:
Balita-Dot-Ph
LEGAZPI CITY, May 13 -– The province of Albay is the first provincial government unit in the country to use the customized SimCLIM software, a computer model system for examining the effects of climate variability and change over time and space.
Center for Initiative and Research Center for climate Adaptation (CIRCA) executive director Nhong Rangasa explained that SimCLIM is an open framework modeling system which allows user to customize t
Bahamas spends $4m over climate change
Body:
The Tribune
Chester Robards
Business Reporter
crobards@tribunemedia.net
THE BAHAMAS has thus far spent more than $4 million on learning about climate change and how to combat its effects, which could drive the cost of living through the roof in the future, the director of the Bahamas Environmental, Science and Technology (BEST) Commission said yesterday.
Philip Weech said the Government has received much of this money for major climate change studies and alternative energy reviews from entities such
