Chapter 5

1. Chapter 5 Building Resilience

2. Introduction • The next coming years and decades will be affected by tremendous changes. • Low and middle income nations like the poorest regions will be the most affected. • We had already showed how changes in climates could affect the food production. • Now we are about to demonstrate how rising in temperature can also affect human health by generating many diseases such as diarrheal illnesses,cardiorespiration diseases and infections. • The most important thing to know is what can be done to prevent all this to happen? • Some farmers tried many approaches such as switching in certain crops production depending on the season and the temperature. .

3. Continued … • And local government agencies and others are being supporting those ideas. • In addition, the world population will be affected unequally. • The countries that have profited from high levels of GHG emissions are the ones that will be least affected by climate change, while countries that have made only minimal contributions to the problem will be among the most affected • Adaptation and resilience seem to be the best option for now. • They can reduce the risks from climate changes and also improve living conditions and meet broader development objectives around the world. • Even though this two elements can help to solve some world issues, they still require human acceptance of the reality. • The interactions between human and natural systems and realizing that resilient social systems and resilient natural systems exhibit a high degree of co-dependence.

4. Vulnerability, Adaptation and Resilience • Vulnerability is the basic condition that makes adaptation and resilience necessary. • Adaptation is a related concept that refers specifically to the adjustments made in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected threats. • They are unequally distributed, and it is the most vulnerable individuals and communities who are least able to adapt. • If everything is properly done, adaptation strategies can help humans in many cases. • It can help limit the loss of life and livelihoods from changes in mean temperature. • Vulnerability is a particular state and adaptation is a set of activities in response to it, resilience is a less distinct concept. • It has many meanings when it is used in different contexts.

5. Continued … • For example in engineering it means the ability of a material to return to its original state after being subjected to a force, whereas in ecology it often means the time taken for a system to return to its original state after being subjected to a force. • Resilience seems to be the basic concept we should all be preoccupied by. • It is in this order of ideas that the IPCC defines it as “the ability of a social or ecological system to absorb disturbances while retaining the same basic structure and ways of functioning, the capacity of self-organization, and the capacity to adapt to stress and change.” • It takes into account the economic,social,psychological,physical and environmental factors that are necessary for humans to survive and thrive.

6. Resistance and resilience are shaped by a person access to rights resources, and assets. • Resilience has many components as we stated it earlier. • Some of them are more pertinent to human systems or to ecological systems. • Both human and natural systems require a capacity for self-organization in order to deal with threats, and diversity is a key element for both types of systems too. • People rely on variety of assets and entitlements to support in difficult times. • A person access to rights, resources and assets are the important elements the resistance and resilience are based on. • This can only be accomplished properly if local institutions provide the framework they can function.

7. Linking Ecological and Social Resilience • The resilience of ecosystems to climate change depends in large part on the stresses, human and other wise that we are being faced with today. The resilience of our ecosystem depends largely on the extent we exploit it during times of stress. The problem occuringtoday is that we depend on natural resources like the oceans as a livelihood. The chapter gives examples of how overfishing is and has been the reason why the resilience of nature to adapt to our needs is being tested severely. An example of socioeconomic resilience can be found in the Nagasaki Oil Spill of 1992. Only the lives of those who actively were involved in the fishers’ market were drastically affected by the resilience of the ecosystem. Others who were not fishers, or in the fishing trade suffered little to no consequence because of the spill.

8. Building Rural Livelihoods that are more Resilient • The percentage of rainfall in other countries, particularly poor countries, is either diminishing, causing the problem of drought, or is causing crops to be destroyed because of flooding. This vulnerability is a cause for some concern because approximately 1.2 billion people who rely on the earth to produce natural functions for their livelihood have no way of financially coping with this loss. From 1968-1988 in Bangeldash, farmers lost about half a million tons of rice annually as a result of flooding. The people who this mainly affects are in desperate need of tools to help them strengthen and adapt to the ever-changing landscape of climate change in their communities. In other Countries, drought is the cause of crop failure. The DNM, or the Direction Nationale de la Meteorologie, in Mali, is an example of when a government institution helps step up and teach rural and poorer communities how to manage climate risks on crop yields.

9. Continued … • There is a necessary link between assets, communities and institutions in building resilience. • This will involves small livestock distribution, organic farming, seed and fruit distribution and sloping agricultural land technologies. • There is also a management group which is responsible for helping communities to achieve government goals. • The lack of access to national financial market, lack of support for marketing the surplus might be some issues.

10. Financing Resilience • Funding major issue –World Bank estimates investments in developing countries between $10-$40 billion • Issues not taken into consideration: • Climate-proofing existing supplies of natural and physical capital • Financing new investments specifically to deal with climate change • Adaptation costs faced by households and communities • With these factors considered…investment over $50 billion • Funding for Resilience only available by way of two avenues • UNFCCC • Various national mechanisms for official development assistance (ODA)

11. Financing continued • Funding for Adaptation available through four funding streams under the UNFCC: • LDCF (Least Developed Countries Fund)-established to help developing countries prepare and implement NAPA (National Adaptation Programmes of Action) • Small fund based on voluntary pledges from donors • SCCF (Special Climate Change Fund)- intended to support climate change activities such as mitigation and technology transfer • Small fund also based on voluntary pledges and contributions • Both the LDCF and SCCF combined only equal about $114 million • GEF (Global Environment Facility)Trust Funds Strategic Priority for Adaptation (SAP) • co-financing criteriaPilots operational approaches to adaptation • Contains $50 million • Developing countries have difficulty in obtaining funds due to burdensome reporting and

12. Financing continued • AF (Adaptation Fund)- According to Kyoto Protocol, intended to help developing countries carry out adaptation activities. • Not managed by the GEF, but by a board of independent governors with representatives from the five U.N.regions • Financed by a 2% levy on transactions in the CDM (Clean Development Mechanism), the mechanism that generates greenhouse credits for projects that offset emissions in developing countries . • Greatest potential to generate largest amount if funds; the CDM alone is projected between $160-$950 million • Countries can make submissions for aid directly to the Fund without having to go through other avenues; governments can designate own implementing agencies • Future talks of applying levy to international air travel will produce $4-$10 million annually • Issue, international efforts have not facilitated significant adaptation agenda

13. Financing continued • Other Funding Options: • Resilience building through ODA • Way to improve long term issues of climate change such as: • Improving living conditions • Providing general education and health services • Reducing poverty • Not a means of plugging gap in adaptation funding, but should be used in addition to, to optimize results. • Premise that the “polluter pays” promotes responsibility in an industrial country, which could cut down on use of funding • ActionAid; Advocates that funding is owed to vulnerable countries by industrialized nations to help with the effects of climate change. • To avoid duplication of funding efforts, possible to implement country-owned multi donor trust funds such as in Bangladesh (launched in 2008)-hoped to reduce transaction costs as well • In addition… • Index-based insurance programs, (India) used to facilitate adaptation by farmers, but it has not fulfilled expectations in encouraging adaptive strategies of poor or vulnerable farmers • Reason; high cost of the insurance product, many poor cannot afford it

14. Linking mitigation and adaptation: • Mitigation is necessary to ensure long term resilience. • Mitigation and adaptation are considered separate. • Mitigation is the method used in industrial countries, while adaptation is used in developing countries. • Mitigation offsets carbon in developing countries through CDM • Linking mitigation and adaptation can be problematic . • Mitigation project has clear potential for contribution to climate change in rural areas. • Linking mitigation at the project level is one way to achieve integrated approach to build local and global resilience now and for the future.

15. Bouncing forward to greater resilience: • Low and middle income countries and poor people are the frontline of climate change. • Living standards should be improved in a way that does not make climate change worse. • Water supplies should be built. • Child mortality figures should be improved. • Resilience should be thought of as bouncing forward where we can deal with stress in better manner. • Commitment is required from important figures to bounce forward