Integrating climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and urban planning: A review of Nicaraguan policies and regulations

Abstract

The integration of risk reduction and climate change adaptation has become an urgent task in addressing increasing urban risk more effectively and efficiently. This paper analyses the extent to which climate change adaptation is integrated into the policies and regulatory frameworks that guide urban risk reduction in Nicaragua, and discusses related progress. The results reveal significant progress in integrating climate change adaptation into the policy and regulatory frameworks of the three relatively new fields of (a) disaster risk reduction, (b) environmental management and (c) urban planning. They show that differences in the degree of integration relate to the development and updates to policy instruments in each field, and the extent to which they are related to the implementation of international climate change agreements. Although initially climate change adaptation integration was focused on the protection of natural resources in general, and food production in particular, since 2008 authorities have shown increasing interest in a more comprehensive and integrated approach. Nevertheless, the integration of climate change adaptation into disaster risk reduction and urban planning still lags behind the advances made in the environmental management field. It is concluded that in order to achieve greater and more coherent integration of CCA and, ultimately, improve the way climate-related risks is dealt with, urban authorities need to systematically review current policies and regulations to assess the synergies and gaps. This requires inter-sectoral and participative work with the actors concerned at national and local level, as well as the establishment of related monitoring and learning mechanisms.