Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation Research Articles

Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation into Sectoral Plans: An Assessment Based on the Logical Framework Approach

Although climate change adaptation (CCA) and spatial planning are relevant to promoting climate resilience, Italy shows a certain lack of studies focused on the coherence between national CCA objectives and sectoral plans. We aim to investigate such a research gap and propose and apply a logical framework approach (LFA)-based method to assess the coherence of sectoral plans adopted in Sardinia (Italy) with the missions of the Italian National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (NCCAP). We apply LFA to analytically scrutinize sectoral plans by reconstructing their strategic framework—including objectives and actions—and comparing them to the CCA objectives established by the NCCAP. The purpose is to provide the regional administrations with a methodological approach and tangible findings, suggesting the need for updating plans lacking CCA contents and contributing to the drafting or updating of the regional strategy for CCA. The method adopted in this study allowed us to identify plan objectives and actions that fully or partially integrate NCCAP objectives. Then, plans partially (or not at all) consistent with the NCCAP can be integrated with CCA contents. This is relevant to promoting climate resilience issues in plans that have clear effects in terms of spatial, landscape, and urban planning, according to different governance levels.

Towards a standardized tool for improving the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation in Moroccan private companies

Climate change (CC) represents new and unprecedented challenges for businesses and is now viewed as a new business imperative. Unlike large multinationals, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are particularly vulnerable to climatic hazards, and often lack flexibility in the distribution of their risks. To preserve their business and sustainably strengthen their resilience and competitive advantages, SMEs must now systematically integrate adaptation to the impacts of CC in their business strategies and the various links in their value chain. Therefore, it is necessary to provide them with appropriate methodological tools dedicated to the assessment of their vulnerabilities and risks and the development of CC resilience strategies. Using an optimized approach to Moroccan SMEs, this research work provides a sequential flowchart to characterize and prioritize climate risks, identify potential business opportunities, and develop a coherent strategy to adapt to climate change, integrated with the Greenhouse Gas mitigation process. The development of this flowchart was guided by the results of the evaluation of the implementation of the Climate Expert tool to help analyze climate risks and opportunities- with several Moroccan companies and the benchmark of the instruments for screening and evaluating climate risks relevant to the Moroccan business context. Consequently, three main areas of impact have been identified, covering the company's core operations, the value chain and the external environment. Later, this flowchart will serve as the basis for developing an online tool for managers to assess vulnerability to climate risks at the scale of their companies and to identify and prioritize adaptation measures.

The agency of community groups in health and climate change adaptation governance and policy in SIDS: The case of in Toco, Trinidad and Tobago

Important development partners encouraged and supported the development of Caribbean islands’ recent action plans and targets on climate change and health. These developments are part of larger global trends around mainstreaming climate change adaptation into national health policy. Including community voices is crucial, yet the responsiveness of regional and national processes around climate change adaptation and health governance to local community concerns is poorly understood. This case study in rural Trinidad and Tobago sought to contribute to better understanding community led action on health and climate change adaptation by investigating community groups’ perceptions of the challenges faced and addressed by their community. The study contributes to climate change adaptation and health debates in three main ways. First, it develops a conceptual framework around agency in the context of health and climate change adaptation in community groups and local spaces. Second, it fills a gap in the literature by registering the voices and perspectives of coastal community groups regarding their development priorities in the context of climate change adaptation and health. Third, using the lens of agency, it highlights the disconnect between local voices and the urgency around the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation and health into regional and national climate change adaptation policies. This study contributes to wider debates around the power of external agents to shape local discourses and policy. The results contrast dominant global narratives underlying recent regional and national policies and suggest that this area is still one where there may be a disconnect between local development priorities and international policy.

Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation Planning in Tanzania’s City’s Master Plans. A Critical Review

Climate change and its impacts continue to affect urban areas globally. Apparently, despite the existence of international, regional, and national climate change development policies, city authorities in low and middle-income countries are daunting about the consideration of climate change in their undertakings. This paper explores mainstreaming climate change adaptation planning in the city's master plans of low and middle incomes developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, the paper assesses the extent of the integration of climate change adaptation planning in the city's development processes. Results of the study indicate that city authorities have not adequately considered climate change in their planning process because of multiple factors including institutional, financial, and technical capacity which seem to jeopardize long-term resilience to climate change

Planning for the Preservation of Biodiversity and Environmental Assets in Support of Sustainable Planning in Urban Areas, Case Study: Batu Licin City, Tanah Bumbu Regency, South Kalimantan

Planning for preserving biodiversity and environmental assets in urban areas is crucial in supporting sustainable planning. This study aims to design a strategy for preserving biodiversity and environmental assets in Batu Licin, Tanah Bumbu Regency, South Kalimantan, to support sustainable urban planning. The method used is field observation and literature study. The results showed that the Batu Licin area has a relatively high potential for biodiversity and environmental assets. However, along with the growth of the Batu Licin urban area in the future, it will undoubtedly be a source of pressure on biodiversity. Several strategies can be implemented to overcome this, including mainstreaming biodiversity in sectoral planning, strengthening the knowledge base on conservation, management, and use of biodiversity assets, increasing awareness and appreciation for environmental services and biodiversity, implementing area protection and restoration policies for high- value ecosystems and biodiversity assets, and mainstreaming climate change adaptation and mitigation. This strategy can become a reference for policymakers in planning sustainable development in the urban area of Batu Licin and other regions in Indonesia.

Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation into Rural Development Plans in Vietnam—How to Build Resilience at the Interface of Policy and Practice

The interconnectedness between climate change and development has generated an increasing interest amongst development organisations to integrate adaptation into government rural development plans in a way that effectively increases resilience at a local level. However, the nature of climate change resilience is widely debated in the literature, and there is a knowledge gap regarding the best way to address adaptation at the interface with development objectives as part of mainstreaming. This paper aims to address this knowledge gap via a case study of a community-based, Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) project in Vietnam. A case study approach was applied with fieldwork at one project site, complemented by semi-structured interviews with government stakeholders, key experts, and project leaders of related projects. The analysis identifies five key factors that enhance rural resilience in a smallholder agricultural context: (i) engaging local governments as partners, (ii) considering broader landscape issues such as markets, (iii) providing farmers with support to facilitate adoption of CSA practices, (iv) fostering community capacity building, and (v) promoting adaptive management and scenario planning to deal with uncertainty. The paper concludes that resilience is multidimensional and not solely in line with any one of the approaches dominant in the literature.

Mainstreaming Climate Adaptation Planning and Action into Health Systems in Fiji, Ghana, and Benin

Climate change is impacting human health and straining heavily burdened health services everywhere. Recognition of the linkages between climate change and health systems, such as shifts in vector-borne diseases and decreased access to services, is growing, yet many countries are still struggling both to mainstream, or integrate, climate adaptation into their health plans and to implement activities on the ground. This paper shares case studies from Fiji, Ghana, and Benin, three countries making progress with mainstreaming climate change adaptation into planning and implementation in health systems. The authors outline the enabling factors, challenges and lessons learned across these three countries, followed by recommendations to mainstream climate adaptation and build climate resilience in the health sector.

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into pro-poor development initiatives: evidence from local economic development programmes in Ghana

ABSTRACT Climate change remains a serious threat to climate sensitive pro-poor development interventions in the Pru District of Ghana. This study examined how climate change impacts on Local Economic Development (LED) interventions, the extent to which climate change adaptation (CCA) initiatives are integrated into LED and the challenges associated with the mainstreaming process. Qualitative research design and purposive sampling was used to collect data from 28 respondents at the Pru District Assembly with an interview guide. The results show that climate change adversely affects the following LED programmes; beekeeping, micro-credit for agricultural development programme, and fishing net and outboard motor programmes. The findings further indicate that climate-smart Agriculture, aquaculture (Fish Cage Culture) and Sustainable natural resource utilization and management the CCA initiatives mainstreamed into pro-poor LED in the Pru District to reduce the inevitable impacts of climate change. The study identified multifaceted challenges militating against CCA mainstreaming in the District to include inadequate resources for CCA, inactive stakeholder and institutional collaboration, and lack of continuity of CCA programmes. This paper recommends strong government support for CCA programmes, commitment of adequate resources and effective stakeholder and institutional collaboration. The paper concludes that effective integration of CCA into pro-poor LED is a panacea to achieving sustainable local development.

Advancing climate change adaptation in Ugandas agricultural programming for sustainable development: Key milestones and constraints

Climate change remains a crucial threat to sustainable development, particularly to the farming communities, which are more vulnerable to climate impacts. Uganda has made commendable steps in building an institutional framework for addressing climate change. However, the framework remains scattered in several documents making it difficult to track and conceptualize. This paper provides a one-stop center for understanding how effectively climate change is institutionalized in the agricultural sector and identifies the critical issues for future actions towards effective mainstreaming of climate change in agricultural programming. Findings in this paper are based on data collected through document review and a case study of Bududa district, representing the local governance of climate change adaptation mainstreaming. The paper observes that significant steps have been taken to mainstream climate change adaptation in agricultural programming, but adoption of adaptation measures will necessitate robust institutionalization of agricultural insurance as a climate change adaptation strategy particularly in the context of the rural, resource-constrained farming communities which are also more vulnerable to climate change hazards. Secondly, effective mainstreaming of climate change adaptation in agricultural programming in local governments will necessitate increased budget support from the central government towards addressing the critical institutional capacity gaps which hinder climate change adaptation programming and implementation of adaptation measures in local governments of Uganda. Key words: Climate change adaptation, agricultural programming, institutional frameworks for adaptation, Uganda regulatory frameworks for adaptation.

Adapting to Climate Change at the National Level in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Small island developing states (SIDS) are distinctively more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change than other developing countries. The focus of this paper is the Caribbean region that is described as one of the most vulnerable regions in the world and highly affected by the impacts of climate change. This paper applies a case-study approach and focuses on the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). With limited efforts to understand the adaptation, vulnerabilities, and challenges at the national level in these SIDS, this paper helps to fill this gap and has two main aims. First, it identifies SVG’s main focus on climate change adaptation. Second, it identifies the barriers to climate change adaptation in SVG. To fulfil the aims of this paper, content analysis, and semi-structured interviews with 32 stakeholders from the public and private sector were applied. This paper finds that SVG is mainly adapting to changes in hurricane, rainfall, drought, and soil and coastal erosion patterns. It also finds that many factors are limiting national-level adaptation. The three main reported barriers are a lack of financial, human resources, and technical capacity. These findings are important for the government of SVG and international donors and agencies. This will help them to identify and fill the gaps in their adaptation actions and prioritising finance. This paper’s findings also highlight the importance of mainstreaming climate change adaptation in sectoral plans and work programs and improving SVG’s access to international climate change adaptation funding.

Approaches and practices of mainstreaming climate change adaptation and mitigation issues into development planning in Ethiopia

Approaches and practices of mainstreaming climate change adaptation and mitigation issues into development planning in Ethiopia

Climate change adaptation mainstreaming in the planning instruments of two South African local municipalities

ABSTRACT This article reflects on the role of urban planning in climate change adaptation and the role of planning instruments in facilitating the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation. An analytical framework is introduced to analyse primary spatial and integrated planning instruments in the City of Cape Town and Thulamela Local Municipality in South Africa, as comparative cases with core similarities and contextual differences. The findings are discussed in terms of where adaptation should be included throughout the planning process and the extent to which the cases have been able to mainstream climate change adaptation within their planning instruments. The findings show that local municipal plans and policies are recognising the impact of climate change on settlements and the role of planning in responding to these impacts. However, there is little evidence of addressing these long-term impacts through programmatic and coherent approaches using short- to medium-term planning instruments.

Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in Kenya: Lessons from Makueni and Wajir Counties

Intensifying climate change impacts, such as more frequent, prolonged droughts, threaten to unravel the progress that Kenya has made advancing its sustainable development agenda and to stymie future gains. Like many policymakers around the world, Kenyan officials recognize that mainstreaming adaptation into their development plans and policies across all sectors can improve the resilience of development outcomes, maximize the efficiency of limited resources and help decision-makers avoid maladaptive investments. At the national level, Kenya has made considerable progress in building resilience through its National Adaptation Plan, and the government is now supporting local efforts to mainstream adaptation into County Integrated Development Plans (CIPDs) by establishing County Climate Change Funds (CCCFs). These innovative institutions provide the financial and technical assistance that county officials need to propose, prioritize and implement climate resilience actions. Analyzing progress made mainstreaming adaptation into five counties’ CIPDs, this working paper identifies two local governments that have emerged as early leaders: Makueni and Wajir. It examines the challenges that all counties have faced, highlights factors that have enabled Makueni and Wajir to overcome these barriers faster than the others and recommends strategies that can support efforts to integrate resilience into CIPDs across Kenya’s 47 counties. More specifically, it assesses the extent to which the CCCFs have accelerated both planning and implementation of mainstreamed adaptation actions as well as evaluates preliminary indications that the newly created projects are beginning to build resilience. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to mainstreaming, this paper underscores the important role that access to finance, robust stakeholder engagement and capacity building can play in advancing the implementation of climate-resilient, sustainable development initiatives around the world.

Quantifying the Effects of Climate Change on Crop Production

Abstract This study attempts to analyze the impact of climate change on crop production using household consumption survey collected by the national institute of statistics and data imported from the department of statistics of ministry of agriculture and rural development. The main research question is: what is the relationship between climate change and crop production? Methodologically, used is made of instrumental variable and control function models to compute for the data. We realized that to a lesser extent climate change has an effect on agricultural production and more of a fishing phenomenon. In terms of policy, mainstreaming climate change adaptation into national development strategy and budgets could promote proactive engagement on the formulation and implementation of climate change adaptation strategy; this is a wise step towards increasing crop production and malnutrition reduction.

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into sectoral policies in Nepal: A review

Nepalese people have experienced climate variability for a long time and the mitigation and adaptation responses they have made to reduce the effect of climate variability are not new phenomena for Nepal. However, mainstreaming climate change issues into sectoral policies from the government can be seen as recent activities in Nepal. Nepal has contributed negligible amount of emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) of global greenhouse gas, it is the fourth most vulnerable country in the world. In this context, this paper aims to review climate change adaptation policies in terms of sectoral integration. This paper has adopted text-mining method for information retrieval and knowledge mining and followed step-by-step approach to undertake review of policies. It concludes that National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) in 2010 can be a milestone in sectoral adaptation of climate change issue largely because it has provided the national framework for sectoral adaptation to climate change. However, NAPA ignores the importance of structural and institutional reforms needed for mainstreaming climate change adaptation into sectoral agencies. Climate change Policy, 2011, Local Adaptation Plan of Action (LAPA) 2011, Constitution of Nepal, 2015, Local Government Operation Act (LGOA) 2017, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, 2017 and National REDD+ Strategy, 2018 are other prominent legislative and policy frameworks that have significant contribution in sectoral integration of climate change adaptation issues. However, lack of climate change act in order to implement fully these policies into practice for its implementation can be a major obstacle to achieve the goal. In this context, strong legislative foundation with effective institutional mechanism among different sectors will be very crucial to capture the spirit of new Federal Constitution of Nepal.

Adoption for adaptation: A theory-based approach for monitoring a complex policy initiative

This paper explores some of the challenges involved in designing a monitoring framework for a complex policy initiative designed to support climate change adaptation in a highly varied and dynamic implementation environment. It looks specifically at the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) initiative called Action on Climate Today, a five-year programme that aims to support the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation into policy systems in five countries and ten locations in South Asia.This paper presents a theory-based approach to designing a monitoring system for the ACT programme that seeks to account for the programme’s design and implementation complexities. It does so by providing an example for monitoring the causal processes and mechanisms that underpin the programme’s theory of change. The paper highlights a systematic approach to context monitoring through periodic context assessments and evaluative indicators; the use of categorical indicators to capture a diverse portfolio of support; and a flexible results framework structured around the adoption and implementation of programme outputs into the targeted policy systems.

Community based initiatives to mainstream climate change adaptation into disaster risk reduction: evidence from the Hunter Valley (Australia)

ABSTRACTIn Australia, local communities often enact Community-Based Initiatives (CBIs) to respond to climate change through Climate Change Adaptation (CCA). CBIs can also be integrated into the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) agenda. The paper explores the extent to which CBIs promote the mainstreaming of CCA into DRR. Primary data were obtained from interviews with representatives of CBIs and supporting organisations in three local governments of the Hunter Valley (New South Wales, Australia). Findings show that CBIs recognise the potential contribution of climate change in modifying the local hazard profile. CBIs mainstream CCA into DRR by following four approaches: environmental and social justice; sustainability and transition; ecosystem-based approach; and adaptive planning. Partnerships were identified both among CBIs and between CBIs and City Councils; however, conflicts between CBIs, City Councils and business actors emerged, and a lack of commitment by multi-level governments in responding to climate change was revealed. The findings show that CBIs consider CCA and DRR within a broad everyday context related to vulnerability and local development. But we argue that assigning responsibility for climate change issues to CBIs is not a panacea and should not be the only local climate change response. Instead, CBIs need to be included in a larger and long-term commitment by actors that possess access to resources, such as higher levels of government. The paper provides a local Australian perspective on the effectiveness of mainstreaming CCA into DRR and furthers the conversation for the benefit of other communities facing similar challenges.

How do staff motivation and workplace environment affect capacity of governments to adapt to climate change in developing countries?

Government ministries are increasingly mainstreaming climate change adaptation within policies and plans. However, government staff in key implementing ministries need to be empowered to ensure effective delivery of policy goals. Motivation to act on climate change, combined with the capacity to make decisions and apply resources to programmes, is crucial. Informed by theories of motivation and workplace environments from social psychology and organisational theory, this paper reports findings from a questionnaire of government staff (103 respondents) in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. The questionnaire was designed using self-determination theory to investigate the role of external influences, institutional structures and resources and how these, in turn, affect staff motivation and capacities to design and implement new policies and strategies. The study finds that whilst external influences and hierarchical structures are recognised, these do not have a strong direct influence on staff motivation, but they do appear to inhibit capacities to act. The results show that lack of staff and limited government-allocated budget reduce the ability of ministries to be self-determined and set their own agendas. Instead they are dependent on donor-determined projects which may be selective in the aspects of climate change adaptation plans and policies they support and even divert focus away from government priorities.

Implementing climate change adaptation: lessons from India’s national adaptation fund on climate change (NAFCC)

ABSTRACTWith poverty alleviation and sustainable development as key imperatives for a developing economy like India, what drives the resource-constrained state governments to prioritize actions that address climate change impacts? We examine this question and argue that without access to additional earmarked financial resources, climate action would get overshadowed by developmental priorities and effective mainstreaming might not be possible. A systematic literature review was carried out to draw insights from the current state of implementation of adaptation projects, programmes and schemes at the subnational levels, along with barriers to mainstreaming climate change adaptation. The findings from a literature review were supplemented with lessons emerging from the implementation of India’s National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change (NAFCC). The results of this study underscore the scheme’s relevance.Key policy insightsExperience with NAFCC implementation reveals that states require sustained ‘handholding’ in terms of financial, technical and capacity support until climate change issues are fully understood and embedded in the policy landscape.Domestic sources of finance are critically important in the absence of predictable and adequate adaptation finance from international sources.The dedicated window for climate finance fosters a spirit of competitive federalism among states and encourages enhanced climate action.Enhanced budgetary allocation to NAFCC to strengthen the state-level adaptation response and create capacity to mainstream climate change concerns in state planning frames, is urgently needed.

Barriers and Drivers of Planning for Climate Change Adaptation across Three Levels of Government in Canada

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the factors that constrain and enable adaptation planning for increasing flood risk in Canada. It uses a multiple-methods, multi-scalar approach to identify interconnected barriers and drivers that operate across municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government in Vancouver and Surrey, British Columbia. Through a policy content analysis (n = 54) and in-depth interviews with planners and other practitioners (n = 31), the study finds five major barriers to the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation: inadequate collaboration, absence of senior level political leadership, lack of public awareness, insufficient financial and staff capacity, and misalignment of policies within and between levels of government.