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The world warmed by about 0
.7°C in the 20th century. Every year in this century has been warmer than all but one in the last (1998, since you ask). If carbon-dioxide levels were magically to stabilise where they are now (almost 390 parts per million, 40% more than before the industrial revolution) the world would probably warm by a further half a degree or so as the ocean, which is slow to change its temperature, caught up. But CO2 levels continue to rise. Despite 20 years of climate negotiation, the world is still on an emissions trajectory that fits pretty easily into the “business as usual” scenarios drawn up by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
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Groot, A.; Werners, S.; Regmi, B.; Biemans, H.; Gioli, G.; Hassan, T.; Mamnun, N.; Shah, H.; Ahmad, B.; Siderius, C.; Singh, T.; Bhadwal, S.; Wester, P.
This document discusses and provides a rationale behind the concept of ‘critical climate-stress moments’ in the context of weather variability and climate change (hereafter: critical moments)
. It also describes a ‘critical-moments assessment’ methodology. It further serves as a guide to implement a critical-moments assessment in HI-AWARE study areas. Users of this guide would include HI-AWARE consortium members and partners, but it will also be of interest to others working in the field of climate-change adaptation and decision-making. Sections up to 3.3 target a broad audience. After section 3.3 the report is specific to the HI-AWARE initiative. The detailed description of methods and research questions are likely to be of use to HI-AWARE partners mainly. ‘Critical climate stress moments’ are defined as those moments when households, communities, and the livelihood systems they depend on, are especially vulnerable to climate and weather-related risks and hazards. These include events at different spatial and temporal scales (such as heat waves, cold spells, floods, droughts, and hail. In other words, critical moments are a combination of (context-) specific present and past conditions, in which climate stresses are particularly likely to be risky and adverse to a particular household or community and the livelihood system they depend on. A ‘moment’ refers to a time period shorter than a year. A ‘moment’ may be days, weeks, or even months
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‘Ecosystem Services’, defined as “the benefits people obtain from ecosystems” is an evolving concept that connects ecosystem with human wellbeing through provisioned services
. Safeguarding ecosystems is one of the Aichi Targets (Target 14) for biodiversity conservation under the Convention on Biological Diversity. These services can be categorized as supporting services that uphold living conditions, such as soil formation and nutrient cycling; provisioning services that contribute to livelihoods and the economy, such as food and water; regulating services that aid regulation of ecosystem processes, such as regulation of floods, drought, land degradation, disease, etc.; cultural services that provide nonmaterial benefits, such as recreation, religious, or spiritual and historical sites. Since ecosystem services are not sufficiently understood and prized (in pecuniary terms), they are unappreciated and do not register with many policy makers. On the other hand, the demand for ecosystem goods and services is growing due to an increasing human population and globalization. When beneficiaries are obsessed with short-term economic growth and are less concerned with nature, mainstream decision making is less inclined to incorporate ecosystem services in conservation. Resource users will not respond to the degradation of ecosystem services in their resource management decisions until and unless these services are assessed and their values recognized. The diverse ecosystems found in Nepal are the major sources of ecosystem services supporting more than 70% of the rural communities directly. The low-income economy is highly dependent on ecosystem services and other natural capital, including tourism. It is estimated that the total contribution of environment-related income to the country’s economy may be over 50%. Agriculture, combined with forestry and fisheries, accounts for more than 38% of the country’s GDP. About 80 to 90% of the population is dependent on forests and subsistence agriculture for their rural livelihoods. Significant portions of the power, water, manufacturing, trade, and tourism sectors are also dependent on the environment in one form or another. It is estimated that the forestry sector alone contributes 15% to the GDP of the country. Similarly, non-timber forest products contribute about 5% of GDP. Tourism, much of which is nature-based, provides about 2% of the total GDP and about 25% of the total foreign exchange earnings. Therefore, the wise management of ecosystems and natural resources can be a key to sustainable economic development and poverty alleviation strategies in Nepal. There is an urgent need to comprehend the complexities of the ecosystems and the bio-socio-economics related to its management so that appropriate policies and strategies can be developed to address emerging threats to ecosystems and to enhance services to benefit both nature and humans alike. The Support to Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalaya (Himalica) initiative is aimed at supporting poor and vulnerable mountain communities in the HKH to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts through collaborative action research and pilot activities. The objective is to help build the capacity of institutions working on resilience to climate-induced vulnerability, which will subsequently improve the livelihoods of the mountain communities in the HKH. However, it is assumed that adaptive capacity can only be attained when the value of the ecosystem services provided by mountain communities to themselves and those downstream is understood, recognized, and maintained. Thus, ICIMOD in collaboration with BCN and with financial support from European Union conducted an assessment of the ecosystem services in Rauta VDC, Udayapur District, Nepal. The report highlights integrated ideas and scenarios of the state and dynamics of ecological, socioeconomic, and livelihood aspects of the study area. It also summarizes people’s perceptions on climate change scenarios and potential impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and their livelihoods. It highlights the overuse of resources, with an emphasis on land use and land cover change, and discusses the factors affecting people’s vulnerability, including adaptive capacity, livelihood options, and adaptation practices adopted by local communities in response to environmental and socioeconomic changes. Finally, the report develops knowledge products to share and ensure mainstreaming for the effective planning and management of ecosystems
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The Resilient Mountain Solutions (RMS) approach combines economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development with climate change adaptation, resilience, and preparedness for future risks towards an integrated approach to resilient mountain development
. It aims to equip communities with the tools and knowledge necessary to improve their resilience to change while fostering sustainable development
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HIMAP is an important collaboration among experts from the Hindu Kush Himalaya and around the globe to fill critical data gaps and generate evidence for action to sustain a globally significant region
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One of the world’s Global 200 ecoregions and a freshwater biodiversity hotspot, Inle Lake is the in the top 10 most popular tourism destinations in Myanmar
. The lake was formed 1.5 million years ago and is the second largest lake in Myanmar after Indawgyi. It is also a major source of hydropower for southern Myanmar. The remnant elongated lake is aligned on a north-south axis. Although the documentation of the flora and fauna of Inle Lake is limited, there are a number of records available from the early 20th Century and research interest has increased in the lake in recent years. The diverse fauna that inhabit the lake and its surrounding include species that are listed as critically endangered, vulnerable, or nearly threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Many of the species of mammals and endemic fishes that inhabit the lake are listed in the IUCN red List. The lake is famous for its floating gardens, which are based on hydroponic cultivation. Plants from the families Gramineae and Cyperaceae, form tightly interwoven beds of running stems, roots, rhizomes, and hair-like roots, creating water mattresses that contain large blocks of rich organic soil. Major crops like tomatoes and beans are grown here hydroponically. The lake also supports livelihoods of fishermen (famous for their one-leg rowing technique), as well as numerous local businesses including tourism and agriculture
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The HICAP regional workshop on ‘Adaptation Outlook for the Hindu Kush Himalaya’ brought together experts, policymakers, researchers and practitioners working on climate change policies in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) countries
. The two-day event sought to lay the groundwork for a region-wide assessment of existing adaptation policies in different sectors as well as critical policy gaps and opportunities. The assessment incorporated feedback from policy experts invited to the workshop on climate change adaptation in mountain regions, with a particular focus on relevant policies and institutions
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The overwhelming focus on causal linkages between environmental stressors and the migration decision making, disagreement among stakeholders regarding the positioning of migration within CCA discourse, and the lack of empirical evidence surrounding the role of migration as adaptation have been major impediments to mainstreaming migration in adaptation policies
. There is a growing consensus among migration scholars regarding the potential contribution of migration to the lives and livelihoods of the migrants and their families left behind. However, the extent to which migration can contribute to climate change adaptation (CCA) in migrant-sending households, origin communities, or origin countries is a complex issue and requires further exploration. This thesis attempts to fill some of this knowledge gap by developing a conceptual approach to understand the effects of migration in the context of adaptation to extreme events such as drought and floods. As such, it is not concerned as to why someone migrates, but purely on its effects. This thesis shifts the focus to consequences of migration outcomes. The discourse on migration and adaptation has witnessed the same contestations of structuralism, neo-classical, and pluralist viewpoints with reference to effects of migration on development of migrant-sending households and origin communities. These lessons are pertinent for migration and adaptation discourse, and I use these lessons to build the conceptual framework of this thesis. It attempts to understand how the choices on remittance usage already made by households affects the CCA to extreme events. This thesis adopts a mixed-methods and comparative approach to validate the conceptual framework, based on case studies from Baoshan County of Yunnan Province in China and Upper Assam in India. A key component of CCA is the reduction of vulnerability of a system to climate change and variability. The vulnerability concept provides a framework to unpack the constituents of vulnerability. A reduction in vulnerability to an extreme event requires a reduction in sensitivity and enhancement of capacity to adapt. This thesis analyses the vulnerability of the remittance-recipient households compared to households that do not have access to remittances. It also characterises sensitivity and adaptive capacity of the remittance-recipient households in context of duration for which a household has received remittances and distance to destination. Results suggest that remittances affect certain sub-dimensions and attributes of vulnerability and these affects vary in different contexts. The mobility patterns and its consequences within a country are shaped by a wide range of policies and institutions. The creation of an enabling condition for adaptation remains a critical function for the governments, thus migration could not be a substitute for public investment in development and adaptation in origin communities. The availability of an enabling environment and reduction in structural constrains would reduce the risks from migration and help remittance-recipient households to leverage remittances for CCA
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The overarching recognition in all the literature is that climate change will have huge and largely detrimental impacts on vulnerable communities, and that gender will be a defining feature in shaping individuals’ experiences of adverse circumstances
. However, there is to date little research on how actual and potential climate change impacts are and will affect women and men, on adaptive capacities at community or household levels, and on the ways in which gender and social differences are expressed in and reflected through inequalities and discrimination in policies, institutions and practices
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