natural disasters - lessons to be learnt - tiempo climate...

03 Community-based adaptation A participatory research approach10 natural disasters Linking climate adaptation 14 responding to Climate Change Remembering minorities

A bulletin on climate and development Issue 78 January 2011

#78

natural disasters - lessons to be learnt page 17

Issue 78 January 2011 www.tiempocyberclimate.org

03 engaging local societyLuong Quang Huy describes a participatory research approach designed to empower local communities.

10 adaptation and disaster risk Roopa Rakshit discusses ways to link disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

14 remembering minoritiesJames S Pender argues that minorities warrant greater consideration in responses to the climate threat.

17 sidr - what have we learnt?Md Nadiruzzaman argues that we should learn more from past experience of the impact of natural hazards.

9 News 20 Adaptation set in motion 22 Conferences 24 Progress in Cancún 28 Whose prize?

Cover photo: No home to go back to, a year after the cyclone, Bangladesh © Moneer ul Islam/Oxfam

Children, Vietnam Photo: © Richard Vignola/flickr 2 Tiempo Issue 78 January 2011

ItwasaroundlunchtimeonadayinlateSeptember 2005. Autumn was alreadyaroundthecornerbutthemiddayheat,ac-companiedbystrongwindfromtheopensea,madestandingontheareanexttotheseadykeinGiaoThuydistrict almostunbe-arable.Everythingaroundmyselfandmy

colleaguesseemedsoquietandpeaceful,adaylikeanyothersummerdayinthisruralareainthenorthofVietnam.Itwasalmostimpossibletobelieve,letalonetoproperlycomprehend,thatjustafewdaysagothisareasufferedfromoneoftheworstnaturaldisastersinthepast70yearsinthisarea-the Damreytropicalstorm.

NotfarfromwhereIwasstanding,afewmen and women were working on theirfamily rice field, trying to patch the dam-aged bank caused by the storm. Wipingthesweatonhisforehead,MrNguyenVanMinh, a typical rice farmer and a father offour, lookedupatuswithouttheslightestcuriosity when we approached him, and

main points

 the author outlines a parti-cipatory research approach addressing adaptation to socio-economic trends and climate change.  the project resul-ted in a framework that encouraged local communities to use reflexively what they already have, such as their knowledge and connections, and to

apply critical thinking on a daily basis. the most signifi-cant aspect proved to be the capacity to establish networks to make the best of available resources, not only to reduce vulnerability to long-term change, but also to improve social coherence and living standards in the present-day.

Engaging local society

Luong Quang Huy describes a participatory research approach designed to empower local communities in adapting to socio-economic and climate trends

asked: “You reporters come here to writeaboutthestorm?”

“No, we are researchers,” we answered,“butwedowanttolearnofwhathappenedtoyourfamilyandpeopleinthedistrict.”

“Oh,right,”hereplied,withwhatseemed

tobenosurpriseatall,fromhisfacialexpres-sion.“Whatareyouresearchingthistime?”

“Well,we’dliketoknowhowyourespondandcopewithdisasters,likethatStormNo.7,”we answered, trying to make conversation.“Howisyourfamilycoping?”

“Wejustwishwecouldhaveotherworktoearnmoremoney,thenwewouldnothavetorelyonthisricefield,andlosealmostallofit

typhoon damrey

Typhoon Damrey, known as Storm No.7 (2005) in Vietnam, struck northern Vietnam on September 27th 2005, affecting coastal provinces from Quang Ninh to Da Nang. The following day, heavy rains and wind triggered mudslides and flooding in the provinces of Yen Bai, Lao Cai and Phu Tho. Thousands of people were left homeless and many lost their means of income and subsistence as rice fields, ponds and farms were left damaged.

www.tiempocyberclimate.org 3

afterastormlikethis”,hereplied,andrathergaveusthesignal‘Donotdisturb’byturningbacktohisworkonthericefieldbank.Butjust before we left, he said, “Those shrimpfarmers out there,” pointing to the shrimpfarmingareabehindtheseadyke,“lostmorethanusbuttheyarestillalright.”

Andthatwastheendofourbriefconversa-tionwithMrNguyenVanMinh,alocalfarmerwhomostlyworksonhisricefieldandfamilylivestockbutsometimestravelstoHanoitoworkasaconstructionworkerbetweenthericeseasons.

The last thing that Mr Nguyen Van Minhsaidtouswasdifficulttounderstand.How

couldshrimpfarmers,wholostmost,orevenall,of their investmentontheshrimpfarmthatyearbe“stillalright”,asMrNguyenVanMinhputit?Thereseemedtobeatouchofenvy,perhapsresentment,inMrNguyenVanMinh’svoicewhenhereferredtothem.

Movingbeyondtheseadyketotheshrimpfarming area, we met Mr Tran Tuan Anh, ashrimp farm owner, who was supervisinghis workers. These workers, we later learnt,werelocalricefarmershiredforafewdaysto help deal with the storm damage to hisshrimpfarm.

We asked him about his loss caused bythe Damrey. “Yeah! my family lost quite a

lot, most of our investment this year, butit should be OK, we can reinvest with helpfromourextendedfamilyandothershrimpfarmers-itwillbequiteabitofinvestmentforthenextseason,butitshouldbeOK,”heanswered, with a calmness and confidencethatwedidnotfindinMrNguyenVanMinh.

ThisbriefvisittoacoastaldistrictinthenorthofVietnamwasundertakenduringpi-lotworkfortheresearchprojectthatformedthe basis of a postgraduate thesis under-taken in the Climatic Research Unit at theUniversityofEastAngliaintheUnitedKing-dom.Ithadalreadyraisedmanyquestionsregardingcopingandadaptivecapacityatthe local level in environment-dependent,developing communities - about the needforlivelihooddiversificationandhowthatrequirementcouldbemet,aboutdifferen-tial abilities to cope within a community,about why some people can meet disasterwithconfidenceandothersnot,abouthowinequitycanerodesolidaritywithinacom-munity and, last but not least, about theresponsibilityoftheresearcherwheninter-actingwithlocalpeopleintheaftermathofdisaster.

The starting point for the research wasthe concern that local knowledge and un-derstanding, a vitally important elementof social, economic and political lives inanygivencommunity,hashistoricallybeenundervaluedandunderusedinclimatevul-nerabilityandadaptationresearch.Aslocalknowledge evolves constantly in response

Fleeing typhoon damrey, giao thuy district, Vietnam Photo: © Luong Quang Huy

4 Tiempo Issue 78 January 2011

to changing conditions, it has in itself ahighlevelofadaptivecapacity.Buildingonthe inherent evolution of local knowledgeto develop new expertise, understandingandapplicationsmayhelplocalcommuni-tiesanalyseandanticipatefuturechanges,rather than simply observing events andrespondingtothemastheyoccur.Whilecli-matestudiesoftenmakeuseoflocalknowl-edgeas inputduringtheresearchprocess,participatory methods have tended to beinformation-extractive rather than -inter-active. Is it possible to empower individu-als and communities by developing localknowledgethroughgreaterengagementintheresearchprocessitself?

Theresearchwasbasedonfieldworkinthecasestudyarea,GiaoThuydistrict,andmadeuseofsurveys,interviews,focusgroups,par-ticipatory methods, scenario developmentandstatisticalanalysis.Theapproachtovul-

nerabilitydrewontheauthor’sinvolvementinresearchprojectsinthe RedRiverDelta ofnorthernVietnamconductedbytheUniver-sityofEastAngliaandthe CentreforEnviron-mentResearchEducationandDevelopmentin Hanoi. An initial assessment resulted ina framework of differential vulnerabilityamongst the livelihood groups within thecommunity, which was used as a basis forsubsequent analyses. A scenario develop-ment approach was then used to engagethelocalcommunityintheresearchprocessover a prolonged period, considering theircurrentsocio-economicandenvironmentalcircumstancesandpossiblefutures,exploredthroughreflectionregardingpersonalliveli-hoodsandcommunityprospectsandaspira-tions.Theprocess,whichwasconductedoveraone-yearperiod,wasdesignedtodevelop

giao thuy distriCt

Giao Thuy district is a coast-al area, covering 16,300ha of Nam Dinh province. The population stood at approxi-mately 212,000 by the end of 2007, with a steady growth rate of 1.4 to 1.5 per cent over the previous decade or so. The district is located in one of the fastest developing economic zones in Vietnam and local livelihoods are rel-atively diverse. Rice cultiva-tion remains the main eco-

nomic activity, but, as a result of the economic reno-vation process of doi moi, aquaculture, fishing, salt making, sea-food processing and other trading and servic-es related to the agricultural and aquacultural sectors now supplement the incomes of many households.

In what remains a predom-inantly agricultural commu-nity, the development of eco-nomic groups whose

livelihoods are largely inde-pendent of the environment, such as traders, now contrib-utes significantly to the local economy and assists a large number of households to di-versify their livelihoods. Nev-ertheless, a large part of the district’s population remains poor, income inequality is in-creasing and the majority of the population is highly de-pendent on the environment.

localknowledgeandunderstandingandtoshareperceptionsbetweengroupswithinthecommunity. Towards the end, local partici-pantswerequestionedabouttheimpactofengagementintheresearchprocessonlevelsofconfidence,perceptionsofempowermentandotherbenefits.

Thevulnerabilityanalysisconfirmedthattheprocessofeconomicrenovationhassig-nificantlyaffectedthedevelopmentofGiaoThuydistrict.Whilethecommunityhasbe-comewealthieroverall,incomeinequalityin-creasedsharplyduringtheearlyyearsofthepresent century. Vulnerability is also beingaffected,adverselyinmanycircumstances,bychangesinmarketpoliciesandthedisman-tling of agricultural cooperatives. Analysesofincomedisparityandotherfactorsaffect-inglocalvulnerabilityidentifiedfourmajor

shrimp farm, giao thuy, Vietnam Photo: © Luong Quang Huy


groupsinthecommunity:agriculture;aquac-ulture;tradingandservices;andmanufactur-ing, construction and industry. The formertwoaretermedtheenvironment-dependentgroups and the latter two environment-in-dependent.

The identification of these groups provedacriticalfindingoftheresearch.Theresearchcompared and contrasted the situation ofthese groups and their perceptions in orderto define how local knowledge and under-standing may be cultivated further and theimplicationsofthisdevelopment.Itemergedthat the newly established environment-in-dependentgroupsareheavilyreliantoncom-munitynetworkstosustaintheirlivelihoodsand, as a result, are enhancing their socialcapital, developing coping and adaptive ca-pacity.Suchnetworksareamajormeansbywhich local knowledge is shared. Membersofthesenetworksareseenasgainingcertainadvantages compared to those who are notactivelyinvolved.Networking,therefore,asameansofdevelopingcommunityknowledgeandunderstandingbecameaprincipalfocusoftheresearch.

Whileallfoureconomicgroupsshowedasimilarlevelofknowledgeandunderstandingacquired over the years with regard to theirimmediate livelihoods and related climateandsocio-economicconditions,theenviron-ment-independentgroupshavemadeuseofa considerably wider range of informationsources,facilitatedbythenetworksthattheydevelopedastheydiversifiedtheirlivelihoods.

Thisstrengthenedtheirabilitytoaccess,shareand make effective use of knowledge andunderstanding, and, therefore, of existingresources. It was widely accepted that thelevelofinformationandknowledgewasnotinitselfthepivotalfactorinbuildingcapacitytobettercopewithstress.Themostimportantfactorwasthecapacitytonetworkinordertoenhance social capital, obtain information,andmostimportantly,usesuchinformationandthesocialrelationshipstodiversifyeco-nomic activities, improve living standardsand,thereby,copewithstressmoreeffectively.

The agriculture group and, to a lesser ex-tent,theaquaculturegroupremainrelatively

isolated in terms of access to informationsources. They are reliant on sources close totheir households and do not benefit fromnetworking, in terms of widening access toinformationandideas.Theenvironment-in-dependentgroupshaveusedtheirresourcesto improve substantially their situation andincomes, in particular, by expanding intolower risk economic activities, sharing con-tributions towards improvements in theirhouseholds’ livelihoods and cooperatingwithothergroupstosharepossiblerisks.Theenvironment-independent groups have de-velopedastrongsenseofthevalueofwiden-ing their knowledge base, an appreciation

storm damage to coastal defenses caused by typhoon damrey, giao thuy, Vietnam Photo: © Luong Quang Huy


ingtostresses.Mostimportantly,itenabledthemtoacknowledgeothergroups’capaci-ties and limitations in a comparative man-ner, thereby recognising what they coulddo to improve their own adaptive capacity.In particular, the environment-dependentgroups recognised the advantages gainedbytheenvironment-independentgroupsindeveloping social networks through whichinformationwassharedandknowledgede-veloped.Theformeracknowledgedthattheyhadthecapacitytodevelopfurthertheirownnetworks.

A survey undertaken towards the end oftheyear-longfieldworkshowedthatamajo-rityofindividualsandhouseholdsinvolved

intheresearchacknowledgedasignificantlyhigher level of confidence, inspiration totakeactionandempowermentasaresultofengagementintheresearchprocess.Theyex-pressedtwoimportantbenefitsofhavingen-gagedintheresearchprocess,namelyrecog-nitionoftheimportanceofsocialnetworksincopingandadaptationandimprovedca-pacitytocopewithandadapttoclimateim-pactsandsocio-economicchangesthroughincreasedunderstanding.Anumberofhous-eholds and individuals had acted on theunderstanding gained during the scenariodevelopmentprocess,notonlybyaccessingfurtherinformationandknowledgebutalsobysettingupgroupsandnetworksbasedoncommonintereststotackledifficultiesindi-versifyingeconomicactivitiesandincreasingpreparednesstocopewithclimateimpacts.Duringthefinalstageoftheresearch,afram-eworkforinitiatingactivitiesaimedatthees-tablishmentofsocialnetworkstosupportli-velihooddiversificationandenhancecopingandadaptivecapacitywasproposedbytheparticipants, providing concrete evidencethatthelocalcommunityhadrecognisedtheimportanceandsignificanceofthecapacitytonetworkandfoundwaysofimplementingthis. A high percentage of individuals andhouseholdsregardedtheincreaseinempo-werment they perceived had occurred as aresultofengagementintheresearchprocessashighlyeffectiveinsupportoftheircapacityintoprepareforclimatehazardsand,inthelonger-term,developadaptationactivities.

rice field, giao thuy, Vietnam Photo: © Luong Quang Huy

notpreviouslymanifestedacrossthewholecommunity.Theactivitiesdevelopedbythesegroups contribute to lowering the level ofexposuretoriskamongthecommunity.

Community involvement in the develop-ment of a climate and socio-economic sce-narioforthemedium-termfutureprovidedameansofaddressingthepossibilityofem-powerment by engaging the local commu-nity in the research process. It was foundthat the research process enabled the par-ticipant households to think critically andreflexively by analysing the implications ofsocio-economicandenvironmentaldevelop-mentsinrelationtotheirpresentandfuturelives,especiallyintermsofcopingandadapt-


Themoststrikingandsignificantachieve-mentoftheprojecthasbeenaframeworktoencouragelocalcommunitiestoreflexivelyuse what they already have, such as theirknowledge and connections, and applycriticalthinkingonadailybasis.Acriticalaspect proved to be the capacity to estab-lishnetworkstomakethebestofavailableresources,notonlytoreducevulnerabilityto long-term change but also to improvesocial coherence and living standards inthepresent-day.Whilethisparticularcon-

clusion may be specific to the study area,it ishopedthattheparticipatoryresearchapproachcanbeapplied inotherpartsofVietnam and, taking account of culturaldifferences, to other nations. It remainsto be seen what the longer-term effectsof involvement in the project will be, butthe localpeople, throughengaging intheresearchprocess,havebytheirownassess-mentbeenempoweredtoanalysecriticallytheir situation, recognise problems andproposesolutions. ‡

about the author luong Quang huy is a member of the Department of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change of the Vietnam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in

the Standing Office of the Vietnam National Target Programme to Respond to Climate Change.

ContaCt luong Quang huy, Standing Office of the National Target Programme to Respond to Climate Change, Department of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, #8 Phao Dai Lang Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi, Vietnam. Fax: +84-4-37759770 email: [email protected] Web: www.monre.gov.vn/monreNet/default.aspx?tabid=252

aCknoWledgements This research was supported by various organizations including the Global Change System for Analysis, Research and Training, the International Foundation for Science and the University of East Anglia, to whom the author gives grateful acknowledgement. He would also like to thank the people of Giao Thuy district for their invaluable coo-peration. The research was supervised by Mick Kelly and Irene Lorenzoni at the Uni-versity of East Anglia and Nguyen Huu Ninh at the Centre for Environment Research Education and Development.

storm damage caused by typhoon damrey, giao thuy, Vietnam Photo: © Luong Quang Huy


nEwsemission Cuts

governments are risking human lives by underestimating the emissions cuts needed over the next 40 years, according to a new report from Friends of the earth (Foe).

For a reasonable 70 per cent chance of avoiding unacceptable impacts - a global temperature rise of less than two degrees Celsius - emissions would need to fall 16 per cent below 1990 levels by the year 2030. Govern-ment calculations are based on a 50 per cent probability. “This is a reckless gamble with the lives and livelihoods of millions of people on the planet,” said FOE’s Andy Atkins.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/45qc35h

Carbon permits

the european Com-mission suspended trading in carbon permits in January 2011 after permits worth millions of eu-ros were stolen in online attacks on electronic registries.

“It could be a concerted action by fraudsters to get access and steal per-mits from legitimate ac-counts to sell on spot markets before the thefts were discovered,” said Maria Kokkonen, speak-ing for Connie Hede-gaard, European commis-sioner for climate action. “By investing tens of thousands of euros to up-grade their IT systems, member states could pre-vent losses on the scale of millions of euros,” she said.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/4tj3dfl

disasters

the number of weather-related dis-asters in 2010 pro-vides “further evi-dence of advancing climate change.” according to re- insurance company munich re.

Nine hundred and fifty natural disasters were re-corded last year, the sec-ond highest number of natural disasters record-ed since 1980, and nine-tenths of them were weather-related events such as storms, floods or heatwaves. The death toll over 2010 exceeded 295,000 and economic losses amounted to US$130 billion.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/4l7f3nv

soil imports

the government of the maldives has opened discussions with bangladesh re-garding a means of reducing its vulnera-bility to climate change. “they want to import soil from our country in de-fense against rising sea levels,” said muhammad Faruk khan, bangladesh commerce minister.

The rivers of Bangladesh have to be dredged be-cause the large volume of sediment brought down from the Himalayas is making navigation diffi-cult. The Maldives needs sand for its coastal pro-tection measures. “We are more than happy if the deal works out because it will be beneficial for a brotherly nation,” Khan said.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/48rs4v2

biodiVersity

the united nations has approved the creation of the inter-governmental sci-ence platform on biodiversity and ec-osystem services (ipbes). the ipbes aims to catalyse a global response to the loss of biodiver-sity and the world’s economically- important forests, coral reefs and other ecosystems.

“IPBES represents a ma-jor breakthrough in terms of organizing a global re-sponse to the loss of liv-ing organisms and for-ests, freshwaters, coral reefs and other ecosys-tems that underpin all life, including economic life, on Earth,” said Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Envi-ronment Programme.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/4snnyvq


The Regional Climate Change Ad-aptation Knowledge Platform forAsia held the first of a series ofbi-monthly Knowledge Sharingand Learning Seminars on March31st 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand.Theseminarprovidedaninformal

setting that enabled over 70 adaptation,developmentandenvironmentpractition-ers, representatives of national, regionaland international organizations from 38organizations based in Bangkok, to meet,network, share and learn from discussionanddebate.

Thethemewaslinkagesbetweendisasterrisk reduction and climate change adapta-tion.Ensuingdeliberationswithactivepar-ticipation from the floor focused on fourguidedquestions:• Whatisthedifferencebetweenclimate

changeadaptationanddisasterriskre-duction?

main points  the author outlines the main conclusions of a se-minar on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.  she describes actions that the two communities can take to strengthen interac-tions between the

two sectors. improving com-munication with the general public on the need to reduce risk and vulnerability to natural hazards is the first urgent step in adapting to climate change.

Adaptation and disaster risks

Roopa Rakshit discusses ways to link disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation that emerged during discussions at a Bangkok seminar

• Adaptation and disaster risk reduction:twodistinctcommunities?

• Whataretheargumentsforstrongerlink-ages?

• Whatisthewayforward?Howdoweor-ganizeourselves?Thelinkagesbetweenclimatechangead-

aptation,disasterriskreductionandecosys-temsareincreasinglybeingrecognized.Itisgenerally understood that ecosystems help

reducenaturalhazardrisks,includingthoseexacerbated by climate change. The discus-sion revolved around how much evidencethere is around the world and if there is aneedformoreevidenceonecosystemspro-tecting communities from climate changeand natural disasters. Participants felt thatit was important to consider and note thatthe pace of recovery of ecosystems is cou-pled with that of the local community andto address not only the linkages betweendisaster risk reduction and climate changeadaptationbutalsoclimatechangemitiga-tionoptions.

For sustainable development, the impor-tanceoflinkagesbetweendisasterriskreduc-tion and climate change adaptation is para-mount and was duly recognized during thediscussion. Several issues were discussed. Forexample, ‘business as usual’ for ongoing de-velopment is no longer an option and earlyaction needs to be taken with vulnerability


Climate change adaptation disaster risk reduction

attributes

Policy relevant Moving toward public policy choices, including at local level as disaster risk reduction Following the global funding mandate

Action based (also policy relevant) Community-focused (long history of experiences at community lev-els), also requiring national policies

strengths

Can provide policy-envelope, including climate change scenario-based choices for develop-ment planning Can provide local and national government with problem statements toward modalities and planning of economic development

Can maintain communities’ commitment to adapt short-term coping practices through existing resources Also needs national policy development and integration into secto-ral policies

WeaknessesDownscaled data on projected climate change and its impacts at community levels are uncer-tain

Cannot rely on private funding or overseas development assistance The mechanism of securing public budget funding is not in place for disaster risk reduction at community levels

Challenges

Bringing long-term adaptation planning into communities - communities’ responses are most often short-term and protect immediate needs

Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into development planning at the national level Disaster risk reduction is mainly to be mainstreamed into climate change adaptation as a first priority in order to facilitate adaptation in all other sectors (agriculture, health, water, coastal zone manage-ment, and so on)

addressed in public policy strategies. In thatregard, linkages to foodsecurityandclimatechange mitigation were highlighted as waystowardssustainabledevelopment.

In some countries, there is evidence thatcertain types of development (for example,constructionofroads)leadtoincreasedvul-nerability and potential disasters affectingthe areas where the informal sector is con-centrated (landslides and floods in Mexico

were cited). In many cases, urbanization isoccurringtooquickly,which,inthecoastalzone, coupled with sea-level rise, can leadtomoredisasters.Irrespectiveofacountry’sdevelopmental situation and process, mostimportantforacountrytostrategizeclimatechange adaptation and disaster risk reduc-tion effectively is to have political stability,commitment from leaders and communityparticipation-allgovernanceissues.

Seminarparticipantsdiscussedactionthattheycouldtakeinthecontextoftheirownwork. While linkages between the sectorsareestablished,acertainonuslieswiththeclimatechangeadaptationanddisasterriskreductioncommunitiesofpractitioners.

Climate change adaptation practition-ers can play a role in further enabling andfacilitating policy dialogues between theclimate adaptation community and policy

Complementarity betWeen Climate Change adaptation and disaster risk reduCtion, highlighting potential synergies


processes related to the Hyogo Frameworkfor Action (HFA). They can support analy-sisandinterpretationofrisk issues innon-environmental government departments(in all sectors, as all are exposed to naturalhazards and, if vulnerable, these can leadto disasters). It is also important that theyshare concrete examples and case studiesof adaptation initiatives with disaster riskreductioncolleagues,usingmorenarrativesandexamplesandavoidingconceptual jar-gon.Finally,adaptationpractitionerscanfa-cilitateco-financingbetweenadaptationanddisasterriskreductionprojectsandconducteconomic valuation of adaptation impactsin particular countries and sectors, sharinginformation with disaster risk reductionpractitioners.

Likewise, disaster risk reduction practi-tionerscanconductmorescenarioplanningexercises, looking forward rather than ap-plying a planning envelope that is basedon historic hazard occurrences. They cansupportanalysisandinterpretationsofrisksin non-disaster management governmentdepartments, promote a multi-hazard ap-proach rather than single-hazard to earlywarning systems (these need to be hazard-specific but they can be developed, policy-wise,asadisasterriskreductioncomponentwithin a multi-hazard approach) and sup-port systematic management and analysisof hydro-meteorological data. Disaster riskreductionpractitionersneedtogetacquaint-ed and understand better climate change

and its potential impacts (for example, asclimate change increases the intensity andfrequencyofhazardshappeninginthesameareasastodayorcreateshazardshappeningin areas where they didn’t happen before).Most importantly, they need to appreciatethe potential impact of new hazards suchas the melting of glaciers, glacial lake out-breakfloods andimpactsrelatedtosea-levelandoceantemperaturerise.TheyshouldbeawareoftheSpecialReportonManagingRiskofExtremeEventsbytheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange,tobefinalizedin2011.

Seminarparticipantsalsoconsideredtheway forward. Information needs and avail-abilityandcommunicationsissuesprovedamajortheme.

It was concluded that the challenges ofdata availability must not be consideredan obstacle to addressing the needs of cli-mate risk management. The fact remains,however,thatthereareinformationgaps.Itis important to acknowledge the inherentuncertainties within the data and modelswhile communicating information on risksordecisionsthatleadtoplanningandpoli-cies.Anadequateapproachwouldbeneededto overcome the lack of data and this willhavebearingonuncertaintytrade-offswhilesimultaneously continuing to implementactionstostrengthentheresilienceoflocalcommunitiesandreducevulnerabilities.

Strategies for climate change adaptationcannotbeachievedwithoutunderstanding

today’s risks, traditionally available in theform of disaster risk reduction for whichDisasterRiskManagementisthemaintool.While addressing disaster risk reduction,thereexistsacleargapinmethodsandguide-linesforrelevantandappropriateprobabilis-ticriskassessmentasbaselineelementsthateventuallyformabasistoclimateriskman-agement and adaptation. Seminar partici-pantsrecognizedthattoday’sexperiencesofadaptationarelimitedtogoodcopingmeas-uresratherthanfullandcomprehensivead-aptationstrategies.Therefore,anentrypointwithmethodsandguidelinesmayworkwell

house demolished by mud slide during tropical storm, gonaïves, haiti, 2008 Photo: © EC/ECHO/Raphaël Brigandi


inprovidingbothtechnicalandtechnologi-calneedassessmentacrossclimate-sensitivesectors.Notonlycopingbutalsolong-termadjustments are necessary: short-term cop-ingisneededbutitisessentialtodoitwithalong-termperspective.

Climate change adaptation/disaster riskreduction stakeholder mapping is recom-mendedtogenerateaninventoryofkeyplay-ers,initiatives,products,andsoon.Thiswillhelp organize the climate change adapta-tion and disaster risk reduction communi-ties.Commonstrategiesandplansneedtobedevelopedatalllevels(nationalandlocal)foraddressingclimatechangeadaptationwithclearriskreductionapproachesinallsectors.

Evenwheninformationonfutureclimaterisksisavailable,thechallengeliesinhowtounpack the information, how informationcanbeinterpretedfordecision-makersandhowtoimprovecommunicationstrategiestoconvince decision-makers to conduct long-termplanningandboostunderstandingofclimatechangeadaptationthroughstrategiccommunicationforitseffectiveuseandap-plicationsatvariouslevels.

Climatechangeisnotonlyariskforcom-munitiesbutalsoanopportunitytoengageinvestors. For example, it provides an op-portunityfortheprivatesectortobeinnova-tive and build the market for new demand(emergingoutofclimaticchangesacrossthesectors) beyond Corporate Social Responsi-bilities,notonlytobuildtheclientelebutalsotomeetthedemandbymakingitaffordable.

It was considered essential to improvecommunication with the general public bymakingabstractterminologiesconcreteandcreatingcommonmessagesandenhancingunderstanding.Decisionmakingandpolicymakingshouldbeunderstandableandtrans-parenttothepeopleforwhomitismade.Themedia,withadequateinformationandtrain-ing,canplayacrucialroleindisseminatingclimatechangeadaptationinformationtoawideraudience.

Improving communication strategies tointerpretdataandinformationfordecisionmakerstoconductlong-termplanningandknowledge-basedsolutionsisanurgentcall,as is ensuring local governments enhancetheir understanding of climate change ad-aptationanddisasterriskreductionthroughstrategiccommunications.Nevertheless,theneed to improve communication with thegeneralpublicontheneedtoreduceriskandvulnerability to natural hazards is the firsturgentstepinadaptingtoclimatechange.

The Regional Climate Change Adapta-tion Knowledge Platform for Asia will playasignificantroleinpromotinginstitutionalmechanisms to support decision-makingprocesses for managing risks at all levels(HyogoFrameworkforActionpriorityone).Itwillfacilitateinconductingclimatechangeadaptation stakeholder mapping and en-gage Corporate Social Responsibility agen-ciesandthemediatogettherightmessagesacrosstorelevantstakeholders. ‡

about the author roopa rakshit is senior knowledge management offi-cer at the United Nations Envi-ronment Programme Regional Resource Center for Asia and the Pacific.

ContaCt roopa rakshit, Knowledge Manage-ment Officer, United Nations Environment Programme Regional Resource Center for Asia and the Pacific, c/o Asian Institute of Technology, 3rd Floor, Outreach Building, PO Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand. Fax: +66-2-5246233 email: [email protected] Web: www.rrcap.unep.org

Further inFormation in the Cyberlibrary: The Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary lists selected websites cove-ring disasters and climate change at www.tiempocyberclimate.org/portal/disasters.htm.

aCknoWledgement The discussions were facilitated by Lisa Schipper, Stockholm Environment Institute, Asia Centre, and Jerry Velasquez, United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, Bangkok. The author acknowled-ges their contribution to this article.


Initially, action on climate change, in itsfocusonitsglobalimpacts,tendedtoover-look detail at a local level. Therefore, aworkingassumptionthatallcommunitiesandthosewithinthemwouldbeimpactedby climate change in somewhat similarwayswaspursued;soitcouldbesaidthat

initial initiatives tended to be both gender-blind and age-blind. Encouragingly, in thelast couple of years much has been writtenintermsoffocusingonthespecificneedsofwomenandtoalesserextentonthespecificneedsofchildren,withmorecomprehensiveapproachestomeetingtheparticularneedsof men, women and children being imple-mentedincommunityadaptationprojects.

Very little has, however, yet been writtenontheimpactsofclimatechangeonminori-ties, be they religious, ethnic, linguistic orcaste, so perhaps the adaptation commu-nity could still be termed ‘colour-blind’ inits approaches. This is despite the recogni-

main points the author argues that minoriti-es have been neglec-ted in the response to climate change. there is a need to desegregate data where necessary to ensure involvement in adaptation projects, and disaster manage-ment plans also need

to consider the needs of minorities and build inter-community harmony or make separate provision.  adequate repre-sentation in both national and inter-national processes planning adaptation and mitigation initia-tives is essential.

Remembering minorities

James S Pender argues that minorities warrant greater consideration in local, national and international responses to the climate threat

tioninthe FourthAssessmentReport oftheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChangethat: “Impacts of climate change are likelytobefeltmostacutelynotonlybythepoor,butalsobycertainsegmentsofthepopula-tion,suchastheelderly,theveryyoung,thepowerless, indigenous peoples, and recentimmigrants,particularlyiftheyarelinguisti-callyisolated.”MinorityRightsGroupInter-

nationalreportsthat,during floodingintheSlovakian community of Jarovnice in June1998, following Hurricane Katrina in NewOrleans in2005,and in Bihar, India, inAu-gust2007,minorities,namely Roma,African-Americans and Dalits, respectively, suffereddisproportionately.

Intermsoftheimpactofclimatechange,few places in the world will experience therange of effects and the severity of chang-es that will occur in Bangladesh. Potentialchanges include: average weather temper-atures rising; more extreme hot and coldspells; rainfall being less when it is mostneededforagriculture,yetmoreinthemon-soonwhenitalreadycausesfloods;meltingofglaciersinthesourceareasofBangladesh’srivers altering the hydrological cycle; morepowerful tornados and cyclones; and sea-level rise displacing communities, turningfreshwatersalineandfacilitatingmorepow-erfulstormsurges.


Bangladesh is relatively racially and reli-giously homogenous, with around 85 percent of its population being both Muslimand ethnically Bengali. Religious minoritiesinclude 12 per cent Hindus, many of whomare Dalits and considered “untouchables”(even by non-Hindus), with the remainingthree per cent including Christians, Bud-dhists, and Animists (following traditionalnature-worshipping religions). Many mem-bers of these minority religious groups arealsomembersofminorityethnicgroupsmak-ing them “double” minorities. In addition,thereareatleast27ethnicgroupsmakinguparound one per cent of the population andupto47languagegroupsinBangladesh.Sowhilethepercentageofminoritypopulationsisratherlow,thenumberofminoritygroupsandsub-groupsisverylarge,whileethnicmi-noritiesalonenumberoveramillionpeople.

Perhaps because Bangladesh’s minor-itycommunitiesaresofragmented,itmakesthem particularly vulnerable to discrimina-tion and negative socio-religious prejudice,forinveryfewplacesaretheyinamajorityandtheyarewidelymisunderstoodbytheMuslimBengali community. Being minorities thatare often despised by many in the majoritycommunity, these smaller communities arealreadyconsiderablydisadvantagedbymanysocial development criteria. For example,onlyhalfof languageminoritychildrenareenrolledinschoolwitharound60percentofthosedropping-outlater.Eighty-fivepercentofindigenousethnicminoritiesinnorth-west

Bangladesh are landless and 100,000 indig-enouspeoplefromtheChittagonghilltribeswere forced off their land to make way forsettlersfromthemajoritycommunity.

WorldBankGroup President RobertBZoel-lick putitwell,whileopeningaroundtablediscussion on Indigenous Peoples and Cli-mate Change in the United States in No-vember2009,whenhesaidthatindigenouspeoplescarrya“disproportionateshareoftheburdenofclimatechangeeffects,asclimatechange exacerbates the difficulties that in-digenouscommunitiesalreadyface-includ-inglossoflandandresources,lowerhumandevelopment indicators, discrimination,

unemployment,andeconomicandpoliticalmarginalization.”

In Bangladesh, a large proportion of in-digenous people are economically vulner-able, working as day-labourers, subsistencefarmers or hunter-gatherers, living in poorqualityhousingwithfewassets.Themajorityof these ethnic minorities are additionallylocatedinareashighlyvulnerabletotheef-fectsofclimatechange: RajshahiDivision inthe north-west vulnerable to drought; Syl-het inthenorth-eastandthe ChittagongHillTracts vulnerable to flash flooding; and onthe southern and south-western coasts vul-nerabletocyclones,stormsurgesandcoastalerosion.

Sea-levelriseandlossofcoastalland,bothphysicallyandduetosalinization,raisesfur-ther threats. Will it lead to those displacedfromthemajoritycommunityinturnforcingminorities off their lands? This may espe-ciallybethecase inanareaperceivedtobeemptyareasuchastheChittagongHillTracts(although cultivable land there is limited).Resettlement will be even more of a chal-lenge for the large numbers of Hindus andBuddhiststhatresideinthecoastalzoneduetoprejudices.

Whatcanbedone?First,thereisaneedtoconsidertheneeds

of minorities and desegregate data wherenecessarytoensuretheirinvolvementinad-aptation projects. Their needs may be dif-ferentinmanyareasduetovaryingculturaltural practices, natural resource usage and

discussing change in climate at a pahari village Photo: © James S Pender


remote locations. For example, in the Bar-ind Tract, indigenous communities suchas Santals and Paharis were formerly muchmore reliant on wild animals, plants andbirds for food than the agriculturalist Ben-galis.Duetoamorearidenvironment,aswellasthelossofcommonlandtosettlerfarm-ers, these food sources have dramaticallyreducedwithahugeimpactonnutritionfortheseminorities.Theidentificationandcul-tivationof ‘wild’plants, formerlyharvestedfrom fallow/common land, in householdkitchen gardens is one such approach thatthe Church of Bangladesh Social Develop-ment Programme, with the support of theDepartmentofBotanyof RajshahiUniversity,isdeveloping.

Second, disaster management plans alsoneedtoconsidertheneedsofminoritiesandeither build inter-community harmony or

make separate provision. For example, inthe Sundarbans,membersofthe Munda com-munitywerenotwelcomeincyclonesheltersas they are considered ‘untouchable’ by themajority community. They were ignored bymainstream relief efforts following CycloneSidr due to their small and remote villagesintheforest.

Third, minorities need adequate repre-sentationinbothnationalandinternationalprocessesthatareplanningadaptationandmitigationinitiatives,suchasincountry-levelplanslike NationalAdaptationProgrammesofAction orintheclimatetreatynegotiationswhereuntilnowtheyhavebeenlargelyside-lined.Itisessentialthatminoritiesshouldbeassisted in becoming part of local, regionalandnationalplanningonadaptationormiti-gation.Iftheycannotparticipateinthedeci-sionsthatwillaffecttheoutcomesofglobalwarming, then the chances are that theirneedswillbeignored.

Fourth,onapositivenote,toquoteRobertBZoellickagain,“indigenouscommunities,with their long experience in managingnaturalresources,andadaptingtonaturalchangesintheclimatecanalsoaddtoourknowledgeandunderstandingofhowbesttocopewiththecomplexchallengeofhu-mancausedclimatechange.LearningfromIndigenous Peoples will make our discus-sionsricherandouractionsmoreproduc-tiveinrespecttoclimatechangeadaptationandmitigation.” ‡

santal man Photo: © James S Pender

about the author James s pender is development and natural resource management advisor with the Church of Bangladesh Social Develop-ment Programme.

ContaCt James s pender, Christian Mission Hospital, Kazihata, Rajshahi 6000, GPO Box #25, Rajshahi District, Bangladesh. email: [email protected]

Further inFormation in the Cyberlibrary: The Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary lists selected websites covering climate change and Bangladesh at www.tiempocyberclimate.org/portal/bangladesh.htm and indigenous peoples at www.tiempocyberclimate.org/portal/indigenous.htm. on the Web: A report, Climate Change, its Impacts and Possible Community Based Responses in Bangladesh, by the author, is available at tinyurl.com/457mxp9.


Bangladesh has been subjected tofrequent natural disasters in manyforms, particularly cyclonic stormsandtidalsurges.From1797to1998,67majorcyclonestormsandtidalsur-ges have been reported, indicatingthatBangladeshispronetoamajor

cyclone on average every three years. Thenationexperiences53percentoftheworlddeathsfromtropicalcyclones.The1970 Bholacyclone, which killed 500,000 people, hasbeenthesingledeadliesteventsofar.Fromknownhistory,thereareeightrecordsofsix-figuredeathtollsfromcyclonesandtidalsur-gesandfiveofthemoccurredinBangladesh.

CycloneSidr struckBangladeshonNovem-ber15th2007andcausedseveredevastationandlossoflife.Sidrleft3500deadandthou-sandsmissing.Twomillionpeopleweredis-placedand1.2millionhomesweredamaged.SidrwasthemostpowerfulcyclonetoaffectBangladeshsinceastormofsimilarstrength

main points

 the author con-siders the impact of Cyclone Sidr, which made landfall on the Bangladesh coast in November 2007.  despite evidence that the effects were exacerbated by cer-tain development

projects, similar mis-takes are still being made.  there is a pres-sing need to learn from experience of past events in order to cope more effecti-vely in the future.

sidr - what have we learnt?

Md Nadiruzzaman argues that we need to learn more from past experience of natural hazards if we are to deal effectively with these events in the future

onApril29th1991killed138,000peopleontheChittagongcoast.

OnthemorningfollowingSidr’sdevasta-tion, Mr Alamgir, who lives in the villageof Royenda in the local growth centre inGabtola in southern Bangladesh, set off onfoot at dawn to his village and arrived atdusk.Thoughitwasjusttenmilesaway,themain obstructions on the roads were up-rootedtrees.Thiswasthesameproblemthat

Flooding two miles from the baleshwar river after the tidal surge created by cyclone aila on may 25th 2009 Photo: © Md Nadiruzzaman


Bywayofexplanation,theNGOsblamedtheir donors for allocating insufficientmoneytobuyappropriateplants.Butinmyconversations with donors, they claimed averygoodcooperationwiththeirpartners,especially in regard to funds. The govern-mentrunsamonitoringdevicebyempower-inglocalgovernmentexecutivestoauthorizeand approve any development project, buttheyremainsilentasretiredformerbosses,

thatwereunabletowithstandhighvelocitywindsandtheybecamedeadlyairbornemis-silesinthehighwindsofCycloneSidr.

After Sidr, there was direct and indirectsupportfrommanyinternationalnon-gov-ernmentalorganizations(NGOs)anddonoragencies.Despiteknowledgeofthepoten-tial risks of growing plants without roots,the same quality of plants was distributedtothevictims.

a tree with its main root intact survived the storm (left) while another fell down (right) Photo: © Md Nadiruzzaman

dissuaded many people from leaving theirhomestotakerefugeattheirnearestcycloneshelter.Anumberwerekilledbyfallingtreesandflyingdebris.Itisreallyagreatwonderfor me that, while the whole world is cam-paigningforagreenerworld,thisbecameanirony at Gabtola, the area most affected bySidrasittrackedalongtheBaleshwarRiver.

Interestingly,mostoftheuprootedplantswerenotlocalspecies.Theywereimportedfrom different parts of Bangladesh morethan two decades ago as a part of a socialforestryprogramme.Linkedwithapovertyalleviation programme, the programmestrove to inspire peasants nationwide toplanttimbertreeslikechamble,mahogany,shirish,raintree,andsoon,sothatthepeas-antscanhavepettycashbysellingmaturetimber.

Severalsmallandmediumentrepreneursrespondedtothiscampaign,whichgaveriseto a significant number of plant nurseriesall over the country. These nurseries triedtomaximizetheirprofitbyincreasingtheirproductivityinalimitedspace.Thisledthemto cut the main root of the growing plantssothattheycouldbegrownoncompostina small plastic container. There was also ademandbyfarmerstohavetheplantsatandabove a certain height so that their cattlecouldnotreachthetopofthoseplants.How-ever, while these plants grew bigger, theirroots expanded only horizontally in loosealluvialsoilbecauseofthisseveringofthetaprootataveryearlystage.Itwastheseplants


whoarelikelytohaveverygoodconnectionswith the high-rank government executives,have joined the NGOs as consultants. Thus,theissuesremainunaddressed.

Over the past couple of decades, naturalhazard events have increased dramaticallyand, in 2004-5, climate-induced casualtieshaveincreasedby18percentovertheworldasawhole.Statistical,satelliteandobserva-

tional data suggest that both the intensityandmagnitudeofstormswillincreaseinthefuture.Thereareseveralissueslikeourengi-neeredplantsthatneedtobeunderstoodandaddressed. Otherwise, what we have learntfromourlivedexperienceswillhavenouse. ‡

about the author md nadiruzzaman is a doctoral fellow with the Institute of Hazard and Risk Research at Durham Univer-sity in the United Kingdom.

ContaCt md nadiruzzaman, Institute of Hazard and Risk Research, Geography Department, Durham University, Science Site, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom.Fax: +44-191-3341801 email: [email protected] Web: www.dur.ac.uk/ihrr/

Further inFormation in the Cyberlibrary: The Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary lists selected websites on climate change and Bangladesh at www.tiempocyberclimate.org/portal/bangladesh.htm and on climate change and disasters at www.tiempocyberclimate.org/portal/disas-ters.htm.

house of landless people on the baleshwar river embankment Photo: © Md Nadiruzzaman


adaptation set in motionsummit agreement

sven harmeling argues that, as far as adaptation is concerned, the Cancún Climate summit was a small step in the right direction.

The CancúnClimateSummit resultedintheadoptionofacomprehensivesetofdecisionsaddressingmanyaspectsoftheclimatede-bate.Itmustbeseenasamilestoneonalongjourney that will continue to be hard anddusty.Amongstotheroutcomes,theCancúnAdaptation Framework was adopted. Thisagreementmarksanimportantintermediatestep in the adaptation negotiations, whichstarted in Bali in 2007 and which duringthe Copenhagen Climate Summit progres-sedmorethanmanyotherbuildingblocksofthe United Nations Framework ConventiononClimateChange (UNFCCC)negotiations.

TheCancúnAdaptationFrameworkcoversa range of aspects, from principles guidingadaptationactiontoalistofactivitieswhichcountriescanundertakeunderthisumbrel-la,fromtheneedtostrengthenregionalco-operationtotheinvitationtomultiplestake-

holderstocontributetotheimplementationof the framework. During the negotiationsin Cancún, it was mostly those issues witha concrete operational relevance that weremost controversial and absorbed most oftheadaptationnegotiatingtime.Attheend,negotiatorsarrivedatsomeconclusionsthatcanhaveimpactontheground.

For Least Developed Countries (LDCs), itwas decided to establish a process whichassists them in their national adaptationplanning efforts, for example, if they wantto develop national adaptation plans orcomprehensive climate change strategies.Building on the experience of the NationalAdaptationProgrammesofAction (NAPAs),theUNFCCCwillsupportthroughtheprepa-ration of guidelines and the facilitation ofexchangeofexperience.

AnAdaptationCommitteewasestablishedtopromotecoherenceonadaptationunderthe Convention. There was a long strugglebetween developed and developing coun-triesonthefunctionsthatshouldbepursuedas well as on the question, whether such acommittee would be the right approach toperformthesefunctions.Onlywhennegotia-

tionswenttotheministers’levelcouldagree-mentbereached.

The need to address loss and damage- those impacts that remain unaddresseddespitebestmitigationandadaptationef-forts - was highly controversial. The Alli-ance of Small Island States (AOSIS) haspromoted an international mechanism toaddress loss and damage from extreme aswellasfromslow-onsetevents,suchassea-level rise. The mechanism was supposedtoincludeinsuranceapproachesaswellasaspectsofcompensationandrehabilitation.Intheend,Partiesagreedtoelaborateaworkprogrammeonseveralissuesconnectedtolossanddamage,which,althoughlessthandemandedbyAOSIS,mustbeseenasadeci-sioninfavourofthemostvulnerablecoun-tries.Theissuewillbekeptonthepoliticalagenda,evenifitisonlyafirststeptowardsactionsforthisproblem.

Akeyproblemwassolvedwhichforlonghas hindered serious action on adaptationunder the Convention, the issue of adapta-tiontotheso-calledresponsemeasures.Thisrefers to adaptation to the adverse effectsof emission mitigation actions, when, for


example, OrganizationofthePetroleumEx-portingCountries perceive loss inrevenuesbecause developed countries reduce theiroilconsumptionasaresultoftheirclimatepolicies.Unfortunately,theConventioncon-nects both aspects - adaptation to climatechange impacts and to response measures-inonearticle.Asalwayswhentherewastheattempt to scale-up action on adaptation,Saudi Arabia and other oil producers de-mandedtobenefitfromadaptationactionsaswell.Clearly,itisimmoraltoputthelosses

fromthereductioninharmfulactivitiesonanequalfootingwiththeimpactsofclimatechangeonthemostvulnerablewholargelybarenoresponsibilityfortheprobleminthefirstplace.The CopenhagenAccord failedinseparatingresponsemeasuresfromadapta-tion to climate impacts. Cancún, however,achieved the outcome that response meas-uresaredealtwithinthemitigationsection,andnotaspartofadaptation.

Partially,thedecisionsinCancúnalreadyshapethedebatesforthe nextclimatesum-

mit,the17thConferenceofthePartiestotheclimatetreatyinDecember2011inDurban,SouthAfrica.Forexample,themodalitiesfortheAdaptationCommitteeaswellastheLDCsupportprocesswillhavetobeworkedoutduring2011,withaviewtoagreeonopera-tionalizationinDurban.Withregardtotheworkprogrammeonlossanddamage,itwasagreed that Parties and relevant organiza-tionscanmakesubmissionsbyFebruary21sttotheUNFCCCSecretariatontheelementstobeincludedintheworkprogramme,whichwillendatthe18thConferenceofthePartiesin2012.

Of course, in the end, all this will not besufficient to save vulnerable countries andpeople if it is not underpinned by strongfinancialsupportfromdevelopedcountries,and if the world’s largest emitters, in par-ticular,developedcountries,donotstepuptheir mitigation ambition. In both regards,theCancúnClimateSummitwasonlyasmallstepforward,butastepintherightdirectionnevertheless.

 Further information: Germanwatch has published a briefing paper on the adapta-tion negotiations at www.germanwatch.org/klima/ad-cph-canc.htm. The author can be contacted at Germanwatch eV, Büro Bonn Dr Werner-Schuster-Haus Kaiserstr 201, D-53113 Bonn, Germany. Fax: +49-228-6049219. Email: [email protected]. Web: www.germanwatch.org.

thousands of demonstrators marched in Cancún to ask negotiators to achieve a fair deal against climate change Photo: © Ainhoa Goma/Oxfam


5th international Conference on Community-based adaptation to Climate Changedhaka, bangladesh: 24-03-2011 to 31-03-2011Conference aims to share the latest developments in adaptation planning and practices, priority sectors and measures at different levels and dis-semination of knowledge among stakeholders and communities. In-cludes three days of field visits.Details: Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, House 10, Road 16A, Gulshan-1, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh. Fax: +880-2-8851417 Email: [email protected]: www.bcas.net

greenhouse 2011Cairns, australia: 04-04-2011 to 08-04-2011Conference is the latest in a series or-ganized by CSIRO. Aimed at scien-tists and representatives from indus-try and government involved in the research and application of climate change science. Main topics for dis-cussion include: Pacific nations and climate change; atmosphere; climate variability; impacts and adaptation; oceans; biodiversity; and communi-cating climate change.Details: Greenhouse 2011 Secretariat, CSIRO, PMB 1 Aspendale, Victoria 3195, Australia. Fax: +61-3-92394444 Email: [email protected]: www.greenhouse2011.com

11th international Coastal symposiumszczecin, poland: 09-05-2011 to 14-05-2011Organized by the Coastal Education and Research Foundation, the confer-ence also marks the 20th Anniversary of the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at the University of Szc-zecin. Conference themes will in-clude: beach processes; barrier is-lands; coastal ecosystems; climate change; coastal geomorphology; im-pact of extreme storms; human im-pacts; and coastal dunes.Details: ICS2011 Conference, Zaklad Teledetekcji i Kartografii Morskiej, Un-iwersytet Szczecinski, ul Mickiewicza 18/402, 70-383 Szczecin, Poland. Fax: +48-914-442451 Email: [email protected]: www.ics2011.pl

World environmental & Water re-sources Congresspalm springs, usa: 22-05-2011 to 26-05-2011Co-organized by the Environmental and Water Resources Institute. Will include plenary sessions, technical presentations (focusing on Bearing Knowledge for Sustainability) and various symposia. Session topics will include: urban water resources; wa-tershed management; water and wastewater engineering; and interna-tional projects. Symposia to cover arid lands, climate change and sustaina-bility.Details: American Society of Civil Engi-

neering (ASCE), 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA 20191-4400, USA. Fax: +1-703-2956333 Email: [email protected]: www.content.asce.org/conferences.ewri2011/index.html

international transport Forum 2011: transport & societyleipzig, germany: 25-05-2011 to 27-05-2011It is intended that participants will be represented by decion makers from around the globe from politics, civil society, business and other interested parties. Focus for discussion is the role that transport will play in future society.Details: 2011 Transport Forum Organiz-er, OECD, 2 rue Andre Pascal, 75775 Paris, Cedex 16, France. Fax: +33-1-45248500 Email: [email protected]: www.internationaltransportforum.org/2011/index.html

Fourth united nations Conference on the least developed Countriesistanbul, turkey: 30-05-2011 to 03-06-2011Main purpose of the conference is to assess the results of the 10-year ac-tion plan for the Least Developed Countries which was adopted at the 3rd UN Conference on LDCs in Bel-gium in 2001. Participants will also adopt new measures and strategies for the sustainable development of the LDCs into the next decade. Open to all stakeholders, governments, inter-

national organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector.Details: Ricardo Dunn, LDC’s Confer-ence Organizer, One United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA.Email: [email protected]: www.un.org/wcm/content/site/ldc/home

2nd international exergy, life Cy-cle assessment & sustainability Workshop & symposiumnisyros, greece: 19-06-2011 to 21-06-2011Workshop and symposium are organ-ized under the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), COST Action C24 (COSTeXergy) and UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. Four main themes are exergy analysis and exergoeconomics, life cycle as-sessment, energy and environment, and sustainable development.Details: Christopher Koroneos, Labo-ratory of Heat Transfer and Environ-mental Engineering (LHTEE), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Box 483, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece Fax: +30-2310-996012 Email: [email protected]: www.elcasnet.com

confEREncEs


progress in Cancúnsummit

the Cancún climate summit proved an unexpected success, though critical issues remain unresolved. tiempo editors sarah granich and mick kelly report on the lead-up to the summit and its outcome.

AsthefinalnegotiationsbeforetheCancúnclimatesummittookplaceinTianjin,China,during October 2010, Christiana Figueres,executive secretary of the United NationsFrameworkConventiononClimateChange,urgedPartiestotheclimatetreatyto“movebeyondtheirnationalinterestsinpursuitofacommongood.”Theaimwouldbetofocusonmanageableaspectsoftheclimatenego-tiationsattheDecembersummit,withcon-tentiousissuestoberesolvedatalaterdate.

Tension between China and the UnitedStatesthreatenedtoovershadowtheTianjintalks,withChinawarningthattherewouldbenocompromiseontheinterestsofdevelop-ingcountries.“Wearelosingtrustandconfi-dence,”saidforeignministryrepresentativeHuang Huikang. The Chinese response was

triggered by comments by Jonathan Persh-ing, United States deputy special envoy onclimate change, who said that the UnitedStateswasdisappointedwiththepaceofthenegotiations and might pursue an alterna-tivetotheUnitedNationsprocess.Pershingalso accused some countries of attemptingto “relitigate” agreements embodied in theCopenhagen Accord. “A developed countryI won’t name hasn’t done a job for itself,”said Xie Zhenhua, China’s head negotiator.“Ithasnotprovidedfinancingortechnologytoothercountries,yetitasksthemtoacceptstringentmonitoringandvoluntarydomes-tic actions. It’s totally outrageous. It’s quiteunacceptable,”hecontinued.

AstheTianjinnegotiationsended,Figuereswaspleasedthatparticipantshadcomeclos-ertodefiningwhatcouldbeachievedattheforthcomingsummitinCancún.“Thisweekhasgotusclosertoastructuredsetofdeci-sionsthatcanbeagreedinCancún.Govern-mentsaddressedwhatisdo-ableinCancún,and what may have to be left to later,” shesaid.Actionthatcouldbeagreedatthesum-mit was about turning “small climate keysthatunlockverybigdoors,”generatinganew

levelofclimateactionamongrichandpoor,businessandconsumers,governmentsandcitizens. “If climate financing and technol-ogy transfer make it possible to give thou-sandsofvillagesefficientsolarcookersandlights,notonlydoanation’sentirecarbonemissionsdrop,butchildrengrowhealthier,women work easier and families can talk,read and write into the evening,” she said.Thisisaboutrealpeoplebeinggiventheop-portunitytotakecontroloftheirfuturesta-bility,securityandsustainability,sheadded.

Prospects for Cancún were eroded withRepublicangainsinthemid-termelectionsintheUnitedStatesunderminingplansforadomesticcapandtradeapproachtomitiga-tionandhenceparticipationininternationalefforts. Nevertheless, the European Union,planningtocutcarbonemissionsto20percentbelow1990levelsoverthenexttenyearsand considering further action, held to itsposition.“ThegoalforCancúnremainsabal-ancedsetofdecisionswhichkeepupthemo-mentumtowardaninternationalframeworkto keep global temperature increase belowtwo degrees Celsius,” said José Manuel Bar-roso,presidentoftheEuropeanCommission.


InNovember2010,fifteencountries,meet-ingattheTarawaClimateChangeConferenceinKiribati,signedtheAmboDeclaration.TheDeclarationcallsfordecisionsonan“urgentpackage” for concrete and immediate im-plementationtobeagreedtoattheCancúnclimatesummittoassist those inmostvul-nerablestatesonthefrontlinetorespondtothechallengesposedbytheclimatecrisis.Theaimofthemeetingwastoholdaconsultativeforum between vulnerable states and theirpartners,creatinganenablingenvironmentformulti-partynegotiationsundertheaus-picesoftheclimatetreaty.ColonelSamuelaSaumatua,Fijianenvironmentminister,saidthat the location of the meeting was idealfor dialogue. “The spirit of discussion wasveryhelpful,veryPacific,”hesaid.“It’safar

cryfromCopenhagen,andherepeoplesug-gested things, instead of saying you can’thavethat,theysaiditmaybebettertolookatitthisway.Sothat’sthespiritofthings.”TheDeclarationwassignedbyAustralia,Brazil,Canada, China, Cuba, Fiji, Japan, Kiribati,Maldives, Marshall Islands, New Zealand,Solomon Islands and Tonga. Kiribati presi-dentAnoteTongreportedthathewasdisap-pointedthattheUnitedStatesandtheUnitedKingdom opted out of the declaration bytakingupobserverstatus.

Small Island States announced that theywantanend-2011deadlineforanewclimateagreement.“Inthecaseofclimate,emergen-cyrequiresspeed,”saidDessimaWilliamsoftheAllianceofSmallIslandStates.“AnythingthatisnotconcludedinCancúnshouldnotbeputoffintotheindefinitefuturebutcouldeasilyandshouldbereferencedtoSouthAf-rica[the2011climatesummit],”sheargued.

As the summit approached, Figueres re-mained confident of a positive outcome.“EverythingIseetellsmethatthereisadealtobedone,”shesaid.Whatmightemergeisasetofinterlockingagreements.“Countrieshaveactuallylearnedforthemselves...thatthereisnosuchthingasoneall-encompass-ingsolution,”Figueressaid.“Theyalsoseemto be setting out to develop the buildingblocksuponwhichtheycanbuildrealisticaction on the ground, because countriesreallyneedresultsonthegroundrightnow.AndIdon’tseethemveeringawayfromthatinanysuddenway.”

“Climatechangeisanissuethataffectslifeonaplanetaryscale,”saidMexicanpresidentFelipeCalderónastheCancúnclimatesum-mitgotunderway.“Whatthismeansisthatyou will not be here alone negotiating inCancún.Byyourside,therewillbebillionsofhumanbeings,expectingyoutoworkforallofhumanity,”hecontinued.Around15,000peopleparticipatedinthesummit.

Japan created widespread consternationin the summit’s opening days when it an-nouncedthatitwouldnotsupportextensionof the Kyoto Protocol from 2012. Environ-ment minister Ryu Matsumoto describedthe treaty as “outdated” as it only coverednationsresponsiblefor27percentofworldemissions. Japan wants a global treaty. “Itdoesnotmakesensetosetthesecondcom-mitment period under the Kyoto Protocolas the current Kyoto Protocol is imposingobligationononlyasmallpartofdevelopedcountries,” said Japanese negotiator HidekiMinamikawa.“Withthisposition,Japaniso-lates itself from the rest of the world. Evenworse, this step undermines the ongoingtalksandisaseriousthreattotheprogressneededhereinCancún,”saidYuriOnoderaof Friends of the Earth Japan. Developingnations see progress on the future of theKyotoProtocolasaprerequisiteforabroaderglobalagreement.

The atmosphere during the negotiationswas,inthemain,farmoreconstructivethanat the previous summit. “There is more ca-maraderiethanIsawinCopenhagen,more

Cancún - mexican farmers’ sand sculpture Photo: © Oxfam International


dialogue and much more intense engage-mentbetweentheUnitedStatesandChina,andlessshadowboxing,”commentedIndianenvironmentministerJairamRamesh.

After over-running on the final day, thetalksendedwithtwomajoragreements.Thedevelopednations,recognizingtheirhistoricresponsibility,“musttaketheleadincombat-ing climate change and the adverse effectsthereof,”statestheagreementonlong-termcooperativeaction.Developingcountries,fortheir part, will take “nationally appropri-atemitigationactionsinthecontextofsus-tainabledevelopment,”subjecttoadequatefinancial and technical support. A compro-miseagreementwasreachedonaninterna-tionalinspectionregimeforthesenations,adevelopmentthatChinahadopposed.Underthe second agreement, the Kyoto Protocolwill continue beyond 2012, though critical

details, such as national emissions targets,have still to be negotiated and there mustremain doubt regarding the future of theProtocol. The overarching goal of the twoagreementsistoholdtheincreaseinglobalaverage temperature to below two degreesCelsiusabovepre-industriallevels.Thisgoalwillbereviewedafterfiveyearsandtheneedtorestrictthetemperatureriseto1.5degreesCelsiuswillbeconsidered.

Twodecadeson,adaptationisatlonglastgiven equal weight with mitigation in theinternationalresponsetothethreatofclimatechange.Thewide-rangingCancúnAdaptationFrameworkcovers:planningandimplement-ingadaptationactions;impact,vulnerabilityand adaptation assessment; strengtheninginstitutional capacities; building social andecologicalresilience;enhancingdisasterriskreductionstrategies;measuresregardingcli-

mate change-induced displacement, migra-tion and planned relocation; developmentand transfer of technologies, practices andprocessesandcapacitybuilding;strengthen-ing data, information and knowledge sys-tems, education and public awareness; andimproving climate-related research and sys-tematicobservation.Aprocesswillbeestab-lished that enables least developed countrynationstoformulateandimplementnationaladaptationplans.

The Green Climate Fund will provide“scaled-up, new and additional, predictableandadequatefunding”fordevelopingcoun-tryactivitiesandwillberunbydevelopinganddevelopedcountries,resolvingcontentionre-gardingtheroleoftheWorldBank.SupportwillrisetoagoalofUS$100billionayearin2020. Agreement has also been reached onfinancetosupportdevelopingcountrieslimitemissionsbyforestprotection.

Inhisclosingaddress,MexicanpresidentFelipe Calderón declared the conference asuccess,sayingthattheagreements“alteredtheinertiaandhavechangedthefeelingofcollectivepowerlessnessforhopeinmultilat-eralism”thathadsettledoverrecentnegotia-tions.TheroleofexecutivesecretaryFigueres,inpushingthroughthetwoagreementswashighlycommended.Shewasdescribedasa“goddess”byRamesh.

ReactiontothetwinagreementsreachedattheCancúnsummitwasgenerallypositive.“Wehavestrengthenedtheinternationalcli-materegimewithnewinstitutionsandnew

Cancún - indigenous peoples’ caucus Photo: © Oxfam International


funds,” said European Union climate com-missioner Connie Hedegaard. “Market par-ticipantsdidn’treallyexpectmuchandwhatwe saw was a clear political commitment,”said Martin Schulte, a director at First Cli-mate.“We’vegotoutofthecompletestand-still,”heconcluded.

JakeSchmidtoftheNaturalResourcesDe-fense Council in the United States, citingprogress on emissions reductions, greatertransparency, forest preservation and thecreation of the green fund, described theagreementsasadetailedsetofvisionary,yetpragmatic principles that provide a solidfoundationfromwhichtobuildupon,“TheCancúnAgreements,combinedwiththeef-fortsofmillionsofpeoplearoundtheworldworking at the personal, local, state andregional levels to deal with this problem,signify real progress,” he said. There was averypositiveresponsetothepossibilitythatChina will accept a degree of internationalverification of its emissions control. “It’s ahuge step in the right direction,” said FredBoltzofConservationInternational.

Saleemul Huq from the International In-stituteforEnvironmentandDevelopment,aTiempoeditor,commentedthat“we’reonaverygoodstart”withtheGreenClimateFund.“ThetwothingsthatwedidachieveinCan-cún,againstexpectationssomewhatinfact,wenowhavethenewclimatefundandcoun-trieshavestartedpledging,”heexplained.

Agreement on Reducing Emissions fromDeforestation and Forest Degradation

(REDD) was a major outcome of the meet-ing.GreenpeacespokesmanSteveCampbellsaid that the REDD mechanism could be amajorstepforwardforforests,though“thedevil isreallygoingtobe inthedetail.”Hewaspleasedthatforestswillnotbeincludedincarbonmarkets.BenPowlessfromtheIn-digenousPeoples’ForumonClimateChangewelcomedtheforestagreementbutwarnedthat the language on safeguarding indig-enous peoples’ rights was weak. “That stillmaintainsthepossibilitytoprivatizealargepartofournaturalresources,ourlandsandterritories. And really the ones who wouldsufferfromthatwouldbeindigenouscom-munitiesaswellasbiodiversity,”hesaid.

TherewerereservationsregardingthelackofanyconcretemitigationcommitmentsintheCancúnagreements,withnoglobalemis-sions reduction target for 2050, no targetfor a peaking year and no firm emissionsreduction targets for developed countries.AsSunitaNarainfromtheCentreforScienceandEnvironmentinIndiacommented,“themoveistoreplacethe[existing]regimewithvoluntarytargetsforall.”Thisissuelookssettodominatenegotiationsleadingtothe2011summitinSouthAfrica.

In a letter sent to the Mexican presidentMohamedNasheed,presidentoftheMaldives,pledgedhiscountry’sbackingfortheCancúnAgreementsandcongratulatedCalderónforhisgovernment’s“remarkableachievementinsuccessfullybrokeringthebalancedpackageofdecisions.”

Inthesummit’saftermath,Figuerescalledfortherapidlaunchofthenewinstitutionsandfundscoveredbytheagreementstocon-firmthataneweraofinternationalcoopera-tiononclimatechangeisanestablishedfact.“Many millions of the poor and vulnerablepeopleoftheworldhavebeenwaitingyearstogetthefull levelofassistancetheyneed.Industrializednationswillsoonhaveaclear,comprehensivestructureintowhichtheycandirectthefundingtheyhavepromised,”shesaid.Sheaskedallcountries,particularlytheindustrializednations,todeepentheiremis-sionsreductionscommitments.“Cancúnwasabigstep,biggerthanmanyimaginedmightbepossible.Butthetimehascomeforallofus toexceedourownexpectationsbecausenothinglesswilldo.”

Existingpledgesandpromisestocontrolnational emissions, if fully realized, coulddeliveraround60percentofthereductionsneededtolimittheriseinglobaltemperaturetotwodegreesCelsiusoverthe21stcentury,accordingtoarecentreportfromtheUnit-ed Nations Environment Programme. Thisleaves,though,alarge“gigatonnegap”stilltobeaddressed.

 Further information: The Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary provides weekly cover-age of news at www.tiempocyberclimate.org/newswatch/. For detailed discussion of all climate negotiating meetings, visit the Earth Negotiations Bulletin at www.iisd.ca/process/climate_atm.htm.


a gaunt VieW © 2011 lawrence moore

Issue 78 January 2011ISSN 0962-7030

editorial team: Saleemul Huq, Hannah Reid, Sarah Granich, Mick Kelly, Johan Kuylenstierna

editorial liaison: Richard Klein

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Issue 78 January 2011 Visit www.tiempocyberclimate.org/newswatch/ for the latest news and debate

Whose prize?

sunita narain is director general of the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi and editor of Down To Earth.email: [email protected]: www.cseindia.org

The Cancún summit has concludedandadealhasbeengavelledintoex-istencebythechair.CommentatorsandclimateactivistsintheWesternworld are ecstatic. Even the criticssaypragmatismhasworkedandtheworldhastakenasmallstepaheadin

its battle to fight emissionsthatdetermineitsgrowth.

Let’s assess the outcomeat Cancún to see if this isindeed a step forward. Atthe Bali climate conferencein2007,thetargetplacedonthe table was for the indus-trialized countries to cut emissions 20-40percentby2020,overtheir1990levels.Theactualnumberwastobefinalizedatsubse-quentmeetings.SowhatdoesCancúndo?Itmouthssomeplatitudesthattheindustr-ialisedcountrieswillscaleuptheirmitiga-tioneffortsbutdoesnotspecifyatarget.

Instead,itendorsesanarrangementthatemissionreductioncommitmentsofindus-trialized countries will be decided on the

voluntarypledgestheymake.Theywilltellushowmuchtheycancutandbywhen.TheUnitedStates,whichhasbeeninstrumentalingettingthedealatCancún,isthebiggestwinner.Ifitstargettoreduceemissionswerebased on its historical and current contri-bution to the problem, the country would

have to cut 40 per cent by2020, over 1990 levels. Nowit has pledged that it willcut zero percentage pointsin this period. The Cancúndeal legitimizes its right topollute.

This is not all. Under theCancúndeal,allcountries,includingIndiaand China, are now committed to reduceemissions. If you compare the sum of the‘pledges’madebytheindustrialisedcoun-tries against the ‘pledges’ made by devel-oping countries, including China and In-dia,acuriousfactemerges.Whilethetotalamount the rich will cut comes to 0.8-1.8billiontonnesofcarbondioxideequivalent,poor developing countries have agreed to

cut2.3billiontonnesby2020.Theprincipleofequityinburden-sharinghasbeencom-pletelydoneawaywith.

All previous drafts of this agreementstated that developing countries wouldhaveequitableaccesstotheglobalcarbonbudget.Thishasbeencruciallydiluted intheCancúnagreement. Itreadsinafuzzyand meaningless way that there will be“equitable access to sustainable develop-ment.” We have surrendered our demandtoapportiontheglobalatmosphericspacebasedonourrighttodevelopment.

The Western media is hailing Cancúnasthemuch-neededbreakthrough.That’sbecause the Cancún deal protects the in-terestsoftherichpolluters.Itistheirprize.

the Final Word

sunita narain argues that the Cancún outcome favours only the rich

natural disasters - lessons to be learnt - tiempo climate...

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