Agriculture and tourism are the old and the new of the Jamaican economy and have two crucial features in common: they’re both critical sources of income for the island and they are both on the front line of climate change.
As temperatures, sea levels and storm intensity rise, tourism and agriculture will be under assault and the ways that worked in the past will not be guarantees of prosperity in the future. Farmers may face lower yields, more crop failures and greater numbers of pests, while tourism operators may contend increased beachfront erosion, higher prices for imported food and infrastructure damage from flooding and storms.
In 2010, the Institute for Environment and Development with Oxfam enlisted CARIBSAVE to look at how climate change is likely to impact on tourism and agriculture and how that fallout affects socio-economic development, poverty and gender relations.
The researchers found that because tourism and agriculture are integral to the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Jamaicans, they are also central to any effort to adapt to climate change. However, the sectors differ in several key ways: tourism contributes about 5.8 percent of gross domestic product and directly employs around 80,000 people, whereas farming makes a similar contribution to the economy but employs many more people - about 230,000, most of whom are the poorest in the country.
Each sector has the potential to support the other as Jamaica tries to plan for and fortify itself against the effects of climate change. Stronger links between the two, such as greater use of local food in tourist resorts, can reduce tourism’s reliance on imports and raise incomes for Jamaican farmers. That kind of interdependence gives each party an interest in the other’s future, making otherwise separate needs, such as water supply, common.
The study also concluded that an understanding of the different roles men and women play in Jamaica is essential to any plans for the future. Labour is often defined along gender lines, exposing women and men to different risks and opportunities.
Temperatures are already on the rise in Jamaica and rainfall is varying from year to year. It’s a dynamic set of factors that will influence agriculture and tourism in disparate ways but in similar amounts - capitalising on this is the best survival strategy on offer.
[vc_row el_position="last"] [vc_column] [vc_message color="alert-info" el_position="first last"]
For further information contact: admin@caribsave.org
[/vc_message] [/vc_column] [/vc_row]
a global not-for-profit organisation that innovates, connects and implements practical solutions for sustainable development and climate change.
Monday, 12 August 2013
Sustainable Tourism Indicators
European Tourism Indicator System for Sustainable Management of Tourism Destinations
The tourism industry has long based its growth on visitor numbers but these rarely give the full picture. Data like visitor arrivals and room occupancy give a quick snapshot of a resort’s economic health but don’t show the full scope of an industry’s impact on the environment or local communities.
In 2012, the European Commission enlisted INTASAVE, the University of Surrey and Sustainable Travel International to come up with a series of measures that destinations could use to monitor the sustainability of tourism in their area.
The project - officially known as “A Study on the Feasibility of a European Tourism Indicator System for Sustainable Management at Destination Level” - is part of the European Commission’s drive to make the tourism industry more competitive and improve social, environmental and economic sustainability.
The first step in the project was to analyse the pros and cons of existing indicator systems. The lessons learned from this exercise were then fed into the development of a refined set of indicators, with a manual outlining a system to use for their implementation. This system and the revised indicators were then tested at workshops across Europe to see if they would be useful for every type of tourism destination, from ski centres to beach resorts.
The result is the European Tourism Indicator System, a set of, ready-to-use core measures to help all those connected with tourism at a destination build up an accurate picture of what is really going on. So for the first time sectors like waste disposal, utility companies, local planners, business owners, tourist authorities and others can come together to look at this picture and decide together on how they would like it to evolve.
As Malcolm Bell, from Visit Cornwall said: “The European Tourism Indicator System enables destinations to develop the tourism they want, rather than the tourism they end up with.”
The system was officially launched by the European Commission in Brussels in February 2013. Destinations across Europe are now adopting it to feed back into a revision planned for 2015, and the system is expected to continuously evolve.
[vc_message color="alert-info" el_position="last"]
For further information please contact: admin@intasave.org
[/vc_message]
[vc_row el_position="last"] [vc_column] [vc_toggle title="PROJECT SUMMARY" open="false" el_position="first last"]
European Union Indicators for Sustainable Management at Destination Level
A Europe-wide feasibility study and implementation of a system of indicators and toolkit for national and local stakeholders funded by the European Commission.
[/vc_toggle] [vc_separator]
[vc_cta_button title="DOWNLOAD" href="http://intasave-caribsave.intasave.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/09/EU-Indicator-Project-Summary.pdf" color="btn-info" size="wpb_regularsize" icon="none" target="_blank" position="cta_align_right" call_text="Download the EU Indicator Project Summary (PDF)"]
[/vc_column] [/vc_row]
Climate Change & Tourism Policies of SIDS, LDCs and Vulnerable Economies
Tourism is more than just visiting places of interest on a map. For small island states and less-developed economies in regions like the Caribbean, it sustains the lives of vast numbers of people and offers hope of a way out of poverty for many more.
But tourism is also highly vulnerable to the risks of long-term changes in the climate. The industry relies on holiday destinations having good weather to draw visitors, and changes to this delicate environmental balance can disrupt whole ways of life. In some cases, it can threaten a country’s political and economic foundations.
At the same time, tourism contributes to climate change, accounting for about 5 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, in large part due to air travel.
It’s essential then that governments integrate tourism into their decisions on climate change policy and aim to achieve a delicate balance between economic benefit and environmental impact.
In 2011, the British government’s Commonwealth Secretariat invited INTASAVE to contribute to a high-level discussion and prepare an analytical report on climate change and tourism policies in small island states, least developed countries and vulnerable economies.
The report is both specific and wide-ranging in one. It examines the role international tourism plays in social and economic development of these communities and the extent to which factors like rising sea levels, warming ocean temperatures, soil changes and more frequent forest fires will threaten the infrastructure supporting the industry.
The study also suggests action that governments in these countries can take to head off potential losses and identifies the gaps in knowledge and skills that prevent them from taking those steps. Every country faces its own set of challenges but there are precedents that each can use to adapt to and minimise the impact of climate change. Communities must also work together to reduce competition for increasingly scarce resources like water if entire populations are to navigate a course through the changing climate.
Smaller, vulnerable economies can improve their prospects of survival by sharing knowledge, skills and resources on a regional basis. It’s the most cost-effective way of tackling the issue and one that Caribbean countries, particularly members of the Caribbean Community, are already embracing.
[vc_row el_position="last"] [vc_column] [vc_message color="alert-info" el_position="first last"]
For further information contact: admin@caribsave.org
[/vc_message] [/vc_column] [/vc_row]
But tourism is also highly vulnerable to the risks of long-term changes in the climate. The industry relies on holiday destinations having good weather to draw visitors, and changes to this delicate environmental balance can disrupt whole ways of life. In some cases, it can threaten a country’s political and economic foundations.
At the same time, tourism contributes to climate change, accounting for about 5 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, in large part due to air travel.
It’s essential then that governments integrate tourism into their decisions on climate change policy and aim to achieve a delicate balance between economic benefit and environmental impact.
In 2011, the British government’s Commonwealth Secretariat invited INTASAVE to contribute to a high-level discussion and prepare an analytical report on climate change and tourism policies in small island states, least developed countries and vulnerable economies.
The report is both specific and wide-ranging in one. It examines the role international tourism plays in social and economic development of these communities and the extent to which factors like rising sea levels, warming ocean temperatures, soil changes and more frequent forest fires will threaten the infrastructure supporting the industry.
The study also suggests action that governments in these countries can take to head off potential losses and identifies the gaps in knowledge and skills that prevent them from taking those steps. Every country faces its own set of challenges but there are precedents that each can use to adapt to and minimise the impact of climate change. Communities must also work together to reduce competition for increasingly scarce resources like water if entire populations are to navigate a course through the changing climate.
Smaller, vulnerable economies can improve their prospects of survival by sharing knowledge, skills and resources on a regional basis. It’s the most cost-effective way of tackling the issue and one that Caribbean countries, particularly members of the Caribbean Community, are already embracing.
[vc_row el_position="last"] [vc_column] [vc_message color="alert-info" el_position="first last"]
For further information contact: admin@caribsave.org
[/vc_message] [/vc_column] [/vc_row]
Culture of Climate Change Index; Temperature Fluctuations for 27 Countries
The Culture of Climate Change Index accounts for a variety of factors and a wide range of data that set a benchmark for 27 countries to see how far each is along the road to sustainability.
Sponsored by the British Council (China), the index is a combination of soft and hard information that incorporates factors as diverse as public awareness and civil society to average surface temperatures and energy consumption.
INTASAVE provided the critical temperature data for each of the countries, spanning the globe from Australia to Sudan to Venezuela. These numbers are essential if the index is to have a solid foundation of climate science evidence on which to base later comparisons.
Using triangulated methodologies, INTASAVE’s researchers calculated and plotted mean average temperature fluctuations across each country over a five-decade period. It was a vast task that revealed significant variations in temperature in all but one of the countries over the study period.
Numbers are not solutions but they serve as important guides for measuring a country’s impact on the environment. The data provided and index, as a combined analysis, can also give impetus to action and point to models that other countries might follow to improve sustainability.
[vc_row el_position="last"] [vc_column] [vc_message color="alert-info" el_position="first last"]
For more information contact: admin@intasave.org
[/vc_message] [/vc_column] [/vc_row]
Socio-Economic Climate Change Risk and Vulnerability Assessments and Methodologies (SECCRVAM)
Some of the first climate change questions any community has to answer, is when and how to react to clear and present dangers and when and how to anticipate the threats that are to come.
Over the years, researchers and practitioners have crafted a wealth of increasingly sophisticated formulae - called risk and vulnerability assessments - for helping societies answer those questions.
The assessments aim to define where communities and nations are most exposed to the expected changes and why these systems are likely to be vulnerable. It’s a combination of causes and consequences on which individuals and policymakers alike can plan their future.
Over the past two decades, the methods and tools of these assessments have mushroomed as interest and urgency around climate change has grown. But this diversity of approaches raises its own question: just which method is the most effective?
In 2012, INTASAVE was enlisted by Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC) to survey the vast field of assessment methodology and report back on which ones worked best where and why, and in particular which would be most useful for China's communities and their developing country partners. The project was called SECCRVAM – Socio-Economic Climate Change Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Methodology Report.
In all, 28 of the most widely used methods were compared and contrasted using nine major criteria. The INTASAVE researchers examined the range of approaches – from top-down to bottom-up – to see how they shaped up on factors such as stakeholder engagement, costs and data requirements, among others.
The overall conclusion was that no one method is suitable for all countries and all contexts – the choice depends on conditions on the ground and the best approach is a combination of methods. The study also revealed the gaps and limitations of each method and a holistic incorporation of top-down and bottom-up methodologies.
Four approaches emerged from the pack with a number of common strengths. They proved to be the most flexible, broadly applicable, detailed, affordable and successful. These were:
For communities with scarce resources, the future depends on knowing what is susceptible and why and those answers depend upon the right research methods being applied and the most suitable analyses for each situation, this is what SECCRVAM provides.
[vc_message color="alert-info" el_position="last"]
For further information contact: admin@intasave.org or murray.simpson@intasave.org
[/vc_message]
[vc_row el_position="last"] [vc_column] [vc_toggle title="PROJECT SUMMARY" open="false" el_position="first last"]
This project is providing recommendations and a completed step by step guide for the implementation of a socio-economic climate change risk assessment methodology; as well as reviewing and assessing the current work on socio economic scenarios submitted by the China ASS funded by the Adaptation to Climate Change in China (ACCC) initiative conducted by DFID-China.
[/vc_toggle] [vc_separator]
[vc_cta_button title="DOWNLOAD" href="http://intasave-caribsave.intasave.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/09/SECCRVAM-FInal-Report-INTASAVE-ACCC-October-2012.pdf" color="btn-info" size="wpb_regularsize" icon="none" target="_blank" position="cta_align_right" call_text="Download the SECCRVAM Final Report (PDF)"] [/vc_column] [/vc_row]
Over the years, researchers and practitioners have crafted a wealth of increasingly sophisticated formulae - called risk and vulnerability assessments - for helping societies answer those questions.
The assessments aim to define where communities and nations are most exposed to the expected changes and why these systems are likely to be vulnerable. It’s a combination of causes and consequences on which individuals and policymakers alike can plan their future.
Over the past two decades, the methods and tools of these assessments have mushroomed as interest and urgency around climate change has grown. But this diversity of approaches raises its own question: just which method is the most effective?
In 2012, INTASAVE was enlisted by Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC) to survey the vast field of assessment methodology and report back on which ones worked best where and why, and in particular which would be most useful for China's communities and their developing country partners. The project was called SECCRVAM – Socio-Economic Climate Change Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Methodology Report.
In all, 28 of the most widely used methods were compared and contrasted using nine major criteria. The INTASAVE researchers examined the range of approaches – from top-down to bottom-up – to see how they shaped up on factors such as stakeholder engagement, costs and data requirements, among others.
The overall conclusion was that no one method is suitable for all countries and all contexts – the choice depends on conditions on the ground and the best approach is a combination of methods. The study also revealed the gaps and limitations of each method and a holistic incorporation of top-down and bottom-up methodologies.
Four approaches emerged from the pack with a number of common strengths. They proved to be the most flexible, broadly applicable, detailed, affordable and successful. These were:
- The UK’s Climate Change Risk Assessment; for national scale (top-down) vulnerability assessments
- The Community-based Vulnerability Assessment (CBVA) Framework; for community- and organization-level (bottom-up) vulnerability assessments
- The UKCIP Adaptation Wizard
- The UKCIP Business Areas Climate Assessment Tool (BACLIAT)
For communities with scarce resources, the future depends on knowing what is susceptible and why and those answers depend upon the right research methods being applied and the most suitable analyses for each situation, this is what SECCRVAM provides.
[vc_message color="alert-info" el_position="last"]
For further information contact: admin@intasave.org or murray.simpson@intasave.org
[/vc_message]
[vc_row el_position="last"] [vc_column] [vc_toggle title="PROJECT SUMMARY" open="false" el_position="first last"]
This project is providing recommendations and a completed step by step guide for the implementation of a socio-economic climate change risk assessment methodology; as well as reviewing and assessing the current work on socio economic scenarios submitted by the China ASS funded by the Adaptation to Climate Change in China (ACCC) initiative conducted by DFID-China.
[/vc_toggle] [vc_separator]
[vc_cta_button title="DOWNLOAD" href="http://intasave-caribsave.intasave.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/09/SECCRVAM-FInal-Report-INTASAVE-ACCC-October-2012.pdf" color="btn-info" size="wpb_regularsize" icon="none" target="_blank" position="cta_align_right" call_text="Download the SECCRVAM Final Report (PDF)"] [/vc_column] [/vc_row]
China and South-South Scoping Assessment for Adaptation, Learning andDevelopment (CASSALD)
Developing countries and small islands face huge challenges from global warming and climate change and few countries face greater impacts than China. All countries, particularly those in the developing world, can learn from the Asian giant’s experience and share each other's knowledge to assist one another.
INTASAVE’s goal with the China and South-South Scoping Assessment for Adaptation, Learning and Development project, or CASSALD, is to identify where and how 10 developing countries in three regions can use China’s knowledge of adaptation in their own communities. It also sets out how resources in China can best be channeled to those countries to make a difference and how South-South countries can help each other with adaptation to climate change.
China’s history of lifting millions of people out of poverty gives it a high level of respect in development work. It has an important role to play in global development and has much to offer in terms of practical knowledge and technical expertise such as weather forecasting, disaster prediction, sustainable agriculture and water conservation. It is also a growing source of conservation technology and training.
INTASAVE’s partner and donor in the project is Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC), an innovative research initiative that links climate research with policy and development at the highest levels.
Partnerships of this kind are essential if developing countries and their people are to flourish in an ever-changing natural environment. No one country has the resources to stand alone and no one nation is an island from the others’ actions. International exchanges can also steer partners clear of strategies that haven’t worked, conserving scarce resources and saving valuable time.
Over the life of this initial project, INTASAVE identified priority countries for exchanges and the ties between development and adaptation. It mapped out ways each partner could plug gaps in knowledge and analysed their relationship with China, now and in the future. The research was undertaken in Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, Grenada and Jamaica, spanning sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Caribbean.
The end result was a 12-point list of recommendations in which international development agencies could promote cooperation between China and the global South. Underpinning all recommendations is the need for every project to be driven by verifiable demand and with a long-term outlook and perspective.
For further information contact: admin@intasave.org or murray.simpson@intasave.org
INTASAVE’s goal with the China and South-South Scoping Assessment for Adaptation, Learning and Development project, or CASSALD, is to identify where and how 10 developing countries in three regions can use China’s knowledge of adaptation in their own communities. It also sets out how resources in China can best be channeled to those countries to make a difference and how South-South countries can help each other with adaptation to climate change.
China’s history of lifting millions of people out of poverty gives it a high level of respect in development work. It has an important role to play in global development and has much to offer in terms of practical knowledge and technical expertise such as weather forecasting, disaster prediction, sustainable agriculture and water conservation. It is also a growing source of conservation technology and training.
INTASAVE’s partner and donor in the project is Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC), an innovative research initiative that links climate research with policy and development at the highest levels.
Partnerships of this kind are essential if developing countries and their people are to flourish in an ever-changing natural environment. No one country has the resources to stand alone and no one nation is an island from the others’ actions. International exchanges can also steer partners clear of strategies that haven’t worked, conserving scarce resources and saving valuable time.
Over the life of this initial project, INTASAVE identified priority countries for exchanges and the ties between development and adaptation. It mapped out ways each partner could plug gaps in knowledge and analysed their relationship with China, now and in the future. The research was undertaken in Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, Grenada and Jamaica, spanning sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Caribbean.
The end result was a 12-point list of recommendations in which international development agencies could promote cooperation between China and the global South. Underpinning all recommendations is the need for every project to be driven by verifiable demand and with a long-term outlook and perspective.
For further information contact: admin@intasave.org or murray.simpson@intasave.org
OVERVIEW
The overarching aim of Phase 1 of the China and South-South Scoping Assessment for Learning and Development initiative is to identify key opportunities and avenues for South-South learning and climate compatible development and how to best channel resources to share China's and developing countries' experiences of integrating climate adaptation into the development process. This project is being implemented in ten (10) countries across three regions including Africa (Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda); Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia) and the Caribbean (Grenada, Jamaica). Final outputs from Phase 1, including the Full Report and Country Reports follow details on the project below.
BACKGROUND
The project Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC) is an innovative policy research initiative focusing on linking climate change research with policy making and development. ACCC started in June 2009 as a collaboration between UK, China and Switzerland; it is funded by DFID China, the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation, DFID Research and the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC). ACCC is building on the results of a long standing collaboration between UK and China in the area of climate change adaptation. The main national institutional partner is the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) which is responsible for the formulation of Five Year National development plans and has also the mandate to coordinate climate change actions both in adaptation and mitigation.
CONTEXT
Climate change is a global problem with the need for collective action. Whilst the global element to action has traditionally been seen as emissions targets and mitigation ambition, how each country adapts to the impacts of climate change is also a trans-boundary issue. When done well, successfully replicating and learning from other’s adaptation experience can rapidly accelerate a country’s capacity to effectively adapt. Conversely, maladaptation poses the risk of aggravating tensions around resources and borders and can undermine a country’s mitigation efforts. For this reason, adaptation cannot remain a national issue and can be greatly enhanced by international sharing, particularly between developing countries who share similar challenges and contexts.
China has an important role to play in global development, climate resilience and South-South cooperation. Numerous Chinese ministries are working with developing countries on climate compatible development through adaptation strategies, science and technological advances across a range of sectors. During its 11th Five-Year Plan period, China established 121 assistance programmes for climate change implementation that provided capacity building to over 207,000 personnel. The 12th Five-Year Plan includes provisions to assist other developing countries even further to address climate change.
At COP 17, on 5 December 2011, Xie Zhenhua, NDRC Vice Minister and head of the Chinese delegation, announced 4 major areas of investment through South-South collaboration:
- Adaptation: help developing countries that are most vulnerable to extreme weather to develop weather forecasting, disaster prediction capacity, and improved early-warning capacities;
- Promotion of climate change adaptation technology, including sustainable agriculture assistance, and technology to help needy countries with drought resistance, water conservation, and biodiversity;
- Dissemination and donation of technology in energy conservation, water conservation, and renewable energy to small island developing states and least developed countries;
- Continuation of capacity building programs for developing countries that need it. In the next 3 years, China plans to continue to carry out a series of capacity building activities in climate change and train 1,000 officials in developing countries.
The project ‘China and South-South Scoping Assessment for Learning and Development’ (CASSALD) focuses on addressing climate adaptation needs and potential for south-south learning in 10 developing countries.
AIM
To identify key opportunities and avenues for South-South learning and climate compatible development and how to best channel resources to share China's and developing countries' experiences of integrating climate adaptation into the development process.
OBJECTIVES
- Identify priority countries and regional and national partners in the 'south' regions
- Identify how development and adaptation are linked in the selected countries
- Establish a framework for a learning-centred approach across regions and countries for south-south learning and collaboration with China on climate compatible development
- Identify and evaluate the 'gaps' and 'needs' of each country and region in relationship to their existing needs, practice and experience
- Examine, analyse and report the regions' and countries existing relationships with China and their potential to work with China on climate compatible development
- Establish and recommend how international development agencies (ACCC-DFID-China) can engage with these countries to best channel resources most effectively
SCOPING ASSESSMENT
Framework for Assessment
- national adaptation strategies and capacity
- main actors and responsibilities
- adaptation mainstreaming into decision-making processes
Needs assessment
- climate impacts and priorities
- external input needs and benefit of Chinese engagement
- operationalising international sharing
Attitudinal assessment
- political will to act on climate change and political drivers
- Development priorities
- policy makers information sources
- perspectives on working with China
Existing links evaluation
- Chinese contacts and context
- South-South learning underway
OUTPUTS
Final outputs from Phase 1, which include the Final Report, Executive Summary and Country Reports (Appendices) are available for download from the INTASAVE Asia-Pacific website.
Global Islands' Vulnerability Research, Adaptation, Policy andDevelopment (GIVRAPD) Project
[vc_row el_position="first"] [vc_column] [vc_column_text el_position="first"]
Farming has long been a mainstay of St Lucia’s economy but for one grower living in the hills of Soufrière there’s no telling how long it can be a source of income. Climate change is altering the environmental balance, tipping life on the land into even greater uncertainty.
“You don’t know when to plant and when to not plant. When you’re waiting for rain, you’re not getting rain. When you’re waiting for sun, you’re not getting sun,” the farmer says.
Townspeople are also still struggling with the fallout from environmental disasters years after severe storms have made their deadly sweeps through the region.
“For me, around here it’s not safe anymore. When it’s raining I leave. For me, it hasn’t stopped,” a survivor of 2010’s Hurricane Tomas says.
But the residents of Soufrière are not alone. Half a world away, islanders in communities across the Indian Ocean are facing similar environmental upheavals and working out ways to cope with them. Each community has much to learn from the others and GIVRAPD – the Global Islands’ Vulnerability Research Adaptation Policy Development research project – makes that sharing possible. GIVRAPD is a unique project that overcomes great physical distances to tie together the experience of four small island communities – two in the Caribbean (St Lucia and Jamaica) and two in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius and Seychelles).
It’s just one more way that INTASAVE is helping developing countries access resources and knowledge elsewhere in the global South.
Over two years, researchers will catalogue the vast range of socioeconomic, governance and environmental conditions that make island towns and villages particularly vulnerable to climate change. Through dozens of interviews with residents, the team will define the risks ahead and what stands in the way of adaptation. Whether its agriculture, fishing or tourism, researchers will look for the specific factors that determine whether those economies have a future.
The team will also chart the likely changes in the environment and, together with a cross-section of community representatives, map ways residents can continue to earn a living in the long term. The broader goal is to give townspeople the information they need to make their own decisions.
In addition, the team will investigate the viability of weather-related micro-insurance as a safeguard for low-income residents against disastrous losses.
The project, funded by the Climate Development Knowledge Network, is being led by INTASAVE in partnership with the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University. Contributions will also come from four other universities, including the University of Mauritius and the African Climate and Development Initiative based at the University of Cape Town.
[/vc_column_text] [vc_message color="alert-info" el_position="last"]
For more information contact: admin@intasave.org and see the website: www.givrapd.org
[/vc_message] [/vc_column] [/vc_row] [vc_row el_position="last"] [vc_column] [vc_toggle title="PROJECT SUMMARY" open="false" el_position="first last"]
The project is designed to utilize a common community-based vulnerability assessment (CBVA) framework to integrate scientific and local knowledge from comparative 'learning sites'. The aim is to understand the multi-scale socioeconomic, governance and environmental conditions that shape vulnerability and capacity to adapt to climate change within and between small and medium sized coastal communities. The objectives are to address key data and knowledge gaps, develop and evaluate practical local adaptation and climate compatible development (CCD) portfolios, facilitate the mainstreaming and scaling-up of adaptation and CCD, establish scientific and professional networks and build capacity. More information on the GIVRAPD project is available on the project website: givrapd.org.
[/vc_toggle] [vc_separator]
[vc_cta_button title="DOWNLOAD" href="http://intasave-caribsave.intasave.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/09/GIVRAPD-Summary-2pp.pdf" color="btn-info" size="wpb_regularsize" icon="none" target="_blank" position="cta_align_right" call_text="Download the GIVRAPD Summary (PDF)"] [/vc_column] [/vc_row]
Farming has long been a mainstay of St Lucia’s economy but for one grower living in the hills of Soufrière there’s no telling how long it can be a source of income. Climate change is altering the environmental balance, tipping life on the land into even greater uncertainty.
“You don’t know when to plant and when to not plant. When you’re waiting for rain, you’re not getting rain. When you’re waiting for sun, you’re not getting sun,” the farmer says.
Townspeople are also still struggling with the fallout from environmental disasters years after severe storms have made their deadly sweeps through the region.
“For me, around here it’s not safe anymore. When it’s raining I leave. For me, it hasn’t stopped,” a survivor of 2010’s Hurricane Tomas says.
But the residents of Soufrière are not alone. Half a world away, islanders in communities across the Indian Ocean are facing similar environmental upheavals and working out ways to cope with them. Each community has much to learn from the others and GIVRAPD – the Global Islands’ Vulnerability Research Adaptation Policy Development research project – makes that sharing possible. GIVRAPD is a unique project that overcomes great physical distances to tie together the experience of four small island communities – two in the Caribbean (St Lucia and Jamaica) and two in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius and Seychelles).
It’s just one more way that INTASAVE is helping developing countries access resources and knowledge elsewhere in the global South.
Over two years, researchers will catalogue the vast range of socioeconomic, governance and environmental conditions that make island towns and villages particularly vulnerable to climate change. Through dozens of interviews with residents, the team will define the risks ahead and what stands in the way of adaptation. Whether its agriculture, fishing or tourism, researchers will look for the specific factors that determine whether those economies have a future.
The team will also chart the likely changes in the environment and, together with a cross-section of community representatives, map ways residents can continue to earn a living in the long term. The broader goal is to give townspeople the information they need to make their own decisions.
In addition, the team will investigate the viability of weather-related micro-insurance as a safeguard for low-income residents against disastrous losses.
The project, funded by the Climate Development Knowledge Network, is being led by INTASAVE in partnership with the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University. Contributions will also come from four other universities, including the University of Mauritius and the African Climate and Development Initiative based at the University of Cape Town.
[/vc_column_text] [vc_message color="alert-info" el_position="last"]
For more information contact: admin@intasave.org and see the website: www.givrapd.org
[/vc_message] [/vc_column] [/vc_row] [vc_row el_position="last"] [vc_column] [vc_toggle title="PROJECT SUMMARY" open="false" el_position="first last"]
The project is designed to utilize a common community-based vulnerability assessment (CBVA) framework to integrate scientific and local knowledge from comparative 'learning sites'. The aim is to understand the multi-scale socioeconomic, governance and environmental conditions that shape vulnerability and capacity to adapt to climate change within and between small and medium sized coastal communities. The objectives are to address key data and knowledge gaps, develop and evaluate practical local adaptation and climate compatible development (CCD) portfolios, facilitate the mainstreaming and scaling-up of adaptation and CCD, establish scientific and professional networks and build capacity. More information on the GIVRAPD project is available on the project website: givrapd.org.
[/vc_toggle] [vc_separator]
[vc_cta_button title="DOWNLOAD" href="http://intasave-caribsave.intasave.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/09/GIVRAPD-Summary-2pp.pdf" color="btn-info" size="wpb_regularsize" icon="none" target="_blank" position="cta_align_right" call_text="Download the GIVRAPD Summary (PDF)"] [/vc_column] [/vc_row]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)