Climate change affects the development process seriously, as it has impacts on its inputs as well as its outputs and outcomes of development and development cooperation. The United Nations Framework convention on Climate Changes highlights two avenues to address climate change: mitigation and adaptation. Adaptation looks at reducing the negative impacts and using new opportunities related to changes in the climatic system. As the poorer social groups tend to be more vulnerable to changes in temperature and rain patterns as well as to increases in extreme events, these groups need special support in adapting to climate change. Such support should be included in the bilateral cooperation. Responding to this consideration, SDC/NRE asked the Climate Change Group of Intercooperation to undertake an assessment on climate change, adaptation and the impacts on the development cooperation, with special regard of the cooperation in the area of natural resource management. The goal of this assessment is to evaluate the effects of the Swiss bilateral cooperation on the adaptive capacity on a national, regional and local level in SDC’s current countries of concentration.
