Panel2 SMwakifwamba

ADAPTATION OPORTUNITIES, BARRIERS AND STRATEGIES : 

ADAPTATION OPORTUNITIES, BARRIERS AND STRATEGIES Panel Discussion on adaptation opportunities and barriers, strategies and requirement for effective adaptation and integration of the adaptation into development planning: at AIACC Africa Region Meeting, in South Africa 10 – 13th March 2003 by Stephen M. Mwakifwamba The Centre for Energy, Environment, Science and Technology (CEEST) B3-16 TIRDO Estates, Morogoro Stores, Oysterbay, P.O. Box 5511, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Tel: 255-22-2667569 Fax: 255-22-2666079 E-mail: ceest@intafrica.com website: www.ceest.com

Adaptation : 

Adaptation Adaptation to climate change is the process through which people reduce the adverse effects of climate on their health and well-being, and take advantage of the opportunities that their climatic environment provides (Burton, 1992 in UNEP/IVM 1998) The term adaptation means any adjustment, whether passive, reactive or anticipatory, that is proposed as means for ameliorating the anticipated adverse consequences associated with climate change (Stakhiv, 1993 in UNEP/IVM 1998) Adaptation is a process by which strategies to moderate, cope or even take advantage of the consequences of climatic events are enhanced, developed and implemented. Adaptation occurs through decisions made between individuals, groups and organizations and their networks. All these groups need to be brought together if we are to understand how these decisions are made and to identify the most appropriate forms of adaptation There are more definitions, but these few give a range of ideas included under the term adaptation

ADAPTATION OPORTUNITIES: 

ADAPTATION OPORTUNITIES Possible regional adaptation opportunities Water Resources There many international river basins and their total surface runoff give a broad idea of the water situation in the region For example The Zambezi basin occupies eight countries altogether, therefore, this is one of the areas of possibility for a common vulnerability and adaptation analysis on water resources in the region. The same to Nile River Basins Coastal resources (Sea-Level Rise) adaptation Countries share the coast line, which provides an opportunity for the possibility of a common adaptation analysis in the region. Miombo Network (forest) adaptation opportunity Most of the forest and land-use and terrestrial vegetation models for the analysis of vulnerability and adaptation perform better at regional or global scale e.g., Holdridge The region can take advantage of these models to explore the opportunity for the possibility of a common vulnerability and adaptation analysis on forest and land-use.

ADAPTATION BARRIERS: 

ADAPTATION BARRIERS The capacity of individuals, groups and societies to adapt to climate variability and change is determined by their resources, access to these resources and a host of institutional factors. Thus the challenge posed throughout adaptation process is to identify policy areas and specific interventions which can enhance the capacity to adapt and to reduce the vulnerability of individuals, localities and countries to make legitimate and sustainable decisions on adaptation in advance of potentially serious impacts. Socio-economic conditions of a country or society are important in determining adaptive capacity as they influence the availability of resources for adaptation and willingness to adapt.

ADAPTATION BARRIERS cont..: 

ADAPTATION BARRIERS cont.. Data Availability limited or insufficient data to use in conducting impacts assessments. Data collection may be a high priority in the region Models performance and availability require large amounts of data, computing power and technical sophistication. Sometimes are not working properly to our situation Sometimes are not available Limited expertise Institutional framework

ADAPTATION STRATEGIES: 

ADAPTATION STRATEGIES National sustainable development goals Poverty reduction programmes Develop guidelines for adaptation in national and sectoral planning Develop a portfolio of adaptations at various levels of society, including communities and individual. The highest priority needs to be given to ‘win-win’ policies, which promote all three elements of sustainable development (economic, social, environmental)

ADAPTATION STRATEGIES cont..: 

ADAPTATION STRATEGIES cont.. In most countries, studies of the impacts of climate variability and change may have already identified vulnerable systems led to policies in support of multilateral environmental agreements, national strategies for sustainable development, five year development plans, and/or poverty reduction strategies. These and other finance, planning, and natural resource policies may need to be augmented with further understanding of weather and climate issues that affect a community’s ability to achieve its development goals

ADAPTATION STRATEGIES cont..: 

ADAPTATION STRATEGIES cont.. A stakeholder involvement strategy is important as fundamental to the process of adaptation as it is who will sustain the process of enhancing adaptive capacity and become part of the “adaptation community”.