Adaptation is a key feature of sustainable social-ecological systems, as well as a recent and increasing focus of research and policy regarding responses to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. This article examines the meaning of adaptation and its relationship to the concepts of resilience, vulnerability and sustainability. It illustrates that, in many cases, societies ‘manipulate’ their social-ecological contexts rather than adapt to them.

Read more: https://apmen.iom.int/en/research-database/item/113-adaptation-or-manipu...

Economy-wide and hydrological-crop models are combined to assess the economic impacts of historical climate variability and future anthropogenic climate change in Zambia. Accounting for uncertainty, results indicate that, on average, current variability reduces gross domestic product by 4% over a 10-year period and pulls 2% of the population below the poverty line. Socioeconomic impacts are much larger during major drought years, thus underscoring the importance of extreme weather events in determining climate damages.

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Even though energy poverty alleviation and climate change mitigation are inextricably linked policy goals, they have remained as relatively disconnected fields of research inquiry and policy development. Acknowledging this gap, this paper explores the mainstream academic and policy literatures to provide a taxonomy of interactions and identify synergies and trade-offs between them. The most important trade-off identified is the potential increase in energy poverty levels as a result of strong climate change action if the internalisation of the external costs of carbon emissions is not offset by efficiency gains.

Read more: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421511009918

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world and much of its rural population is at, or near, subsistence level. In recent years the timing and intensity of the monsoon in Nepal, as well as temperature extremities, have changed and this is severely impacting upon agriculture, the mainstay for over 80% of the population. Flash flooding and drought has led to landslides, water shortages and irrigation problems, which have adversely affected subsistence farming. This research conducted social surveys in rural locations to ascertain which adaptation initiatives have been implemented at the community level and determine how indigenous populations have adapted to climate-induced environmental change, with a focus on water resources.

Read more: http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-642-22266-5_36?LI=true

Effects of climate change tend to be more severe where people rely on weather dependent rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods. In rural mountain communities with limited livelihood options, adaptive capacity is low due to limited information, poor access to services, and inequitable access to productive assets. Few studies have reported on the current status of rural and remote mountain areas in Nepal with little known about adaptation strategies in use. This article is based on a study in the remote mountainous Jumla District of Nepal to explore how climate change is affecting the livelihood of local communities and how different wellbeing groups are differentially impacted.

Read more: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901112000445

The Global Climate Risk Index 2013 analyses to what extent countries have been affected by the impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heat waves etc.). The most recent available data from 2011 as well as for the period 1992-2011 were taken into account.

Most affected countries in 2011 were Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, El Salvador and the Philippines. For the period 1992 to 2011, Honduras, Myanmar and Nicaragua rank highest.

Read more: http://germanwatch.org/en/5696

The rise in global food prices and the ever-growing food import bill have prompted sharp attention on agricultural policies in Africa. African policy makers are grappling with what unstable food prices mean for their countries; how these price movements will affect their food security situation; how the private sector is likely to respond; and what governments themselves can do. In addition, they fear that global warming may significantly change the location of food production within Africa. This report discusses how opening up cross-border trade will boost the potential for greater food production in Africa and contribute to food security by improving poor people’s access to food and by increasing returns to poor farmers for the food they produce.

Africa Can Help Feed Africa by World Bank Publications

Mainstreaming adaptation into development planning has been promoted as an effective way to respond to climate change. The expected benefits include avoided policy conflicts, reduced risks and vulnerability, greater efficiency compared with managing adaptation separately, and leveraging the much larger financial flows in sectors affected by climate risks than the amounts available for financing adaptation separately. This report reviews the main approaches proposed and lessons learned from relevant experiences in the Asia-Pacific region. A regional forum convened by the Adaptation Knowledge Platform and its partners, held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok in 2010, provided the starting point for this analysis.

Download the report: http://weadapt.org/knowledge-base/adaptation-knowledge-platform-for-asia...

The objective of this study is to assist public authorities to identify and address the future challenges of urban water supply, sanitation, and flood management in cities. In order to do that, this report uses the conceptual framework of Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) as a holistic set of planning and management tools incorporating all components of the urban water cycle to help develop efficient and flexible urban water systems in the future.

Read more: http://www.scribd.com/doc/107140472/The-Future-of-Water-in-African-Citie...

This document is an output from RECOFTC’s case studies. The research and publication of these case studies was funded jointly by Adaptation Knowledge Platform, Climate Knowledge Development Network (CDKN), REDD-net and Raks Thai Foundation (CARE Thailand).

These case studies are based on local experiences in Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam in an attempt to explore how community forestry may contribute to adaptation and mitigation goals. They are exploratory and descriptive in nature and although not purporting to be representative of the region, they provide a foundation for a better understanding of these relationships.

Read more: http://www.climateadapt.asia/resources/publication/view/96