Transcript Measures to Facilitate Adequate Adaptation to Climate Change

PRESENTATION ON MEASURES TO
FACILITATE ADEQUATE ADAPTATION TO
CLIMATE CHANGE:
SAMOA
21–23 MARCH 2011 ST. ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION
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Country Context and status of National Communication
National climate change priorities, socio-economic
scenarios and the driving forces
Climate Risk Profile (CRP) as a tool for vulnerability and
adaptation assessment with key results on analysis of
current and future climate risks
Key climate change adaptation strategies
Best Practices
Barriers and Constraints
Key Lessons Learned & Recommendations
COUNTRY CONTEXT AND STATUS OF THE NATIONAL
COMMUNICATION
Samoa is a small volcanic island in the southwest Pacific,
comprised of four main inhabited islands and six smaller,
uninhabited islands . Samoa has a total land area of roughly
2,900 km2. The capital, Apia, is in the northern part of Upolu.
NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE PRIORITIES
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Adaptation & Mitigation strategies are an integral part of Samoa’s national response
to climate change
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Climate change adds to the urgency of other environmental and sustainable
development priorities
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Climate change brings new risks that we have not faced in the past that will require
new strategies
Sea level rise, drought, forest fires, climate related diseases
Priorities - NAPA & SNC
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Water - Securing Community Water Resources
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Forestry Reforestation and Rehabilitation and Community Forest Fire Prevention
Program
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Health - Climate Health Program
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Climate Services - Climate Early Warning System
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Agriculture - Agriculture and Food Security Sustainability
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Land use Planning - Zoning and Strategic Management Planning
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Coastal Ecosystems - Implementing CIM Plans for Highly Vulnerable Districts
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Environment - Establishing Conservation Programme in highly Vulnerable Marine &
Terrestrial Areas
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Tourism - Sustainable Tourism Adaptation Program
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Strengthen early warning capacity to deal with extreme events (cyclones,
flooding, drought etc)
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Climate Health :
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Improve monitoring of health concerns relating to Climate Change
Integration of meteorological data with health data
Enhance capacity development within Health sector
Build village resilience through improved management of natural resources
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Improved early warning systems for extreme climatic events and Seasonal
Forecasting
Improve climate and weather forecast to assist relevant sectors.
Mangroves
Coral reefs
Forests
Water catchments etc
Food Security
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Improve management of village and commercial agricultural activities in
line with climate related risks.
Practical adaptation measures to enhance resilience to climate change
CLIMATE RISK PROFILE (CRP) AS A TOOL FOR VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION
ASSESSMENT WITH KEY RESULTS ON ANALYSIS OF CURRENT AND FUTURE CLIMATE
RISKS
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Part of the V&A process included updating Samoa’s Climate Risk Profile (CRP),
which assesses the current and future climate risks for Samoa.
CRP - Provides an analysis of local HISTORICAL climate data and OUTPUTS FROM
global climate models
CRP Summarizes the climate risk for Samoa (current and future)
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Two key messages about Samoa’s CRP can be highlighted:
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1. Samoa’s climate is already changing: Based on observed data (see
table below), an extreme event of daily rainfall of 200mm was an
11-year event for the period 1960–1979. This same extreme event
now has a return period of three years. (A return period is the
average number of years between a given extreme event.) Similar
trends have been shown for other extreme events, such as extreme
maximum temperatures, sea-level rise, and droughts, which clearly
indicates that Samoa’s climate is undergoing significant changes.
2. Samoa’s climate will continue to change: Based on recorded data
and global climate models, projections show Samoa’s climate will
continue to change, taking into account a certain degree of uncertainty.
SAMOA’S CLIMATE IS ALREADY CHANGING
Example:
Return Periods (yrs) – Daily Rainfall, Apia
Daily Rainfall of at
Least (mm)
1960-1979
1980 - 2006
200
11.6
3.0
250
60
5.5
300
318
10
350
1700
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Return Period: The average number of years between a given extreme event
CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS FOR SAMOA
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Trend, plus
increased
variability
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Maximum temperature, by year, for Apia (Young, 2007)
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Year
2006
2003
2000
1997
1994
1991
1988
1985
1982
1979
1976
1973
1970
1967
1964
1961
1958
1955
1952
1949
1946
1943
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1940
Annual Maximum Temperature (C)
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KEY CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION STRATEGIES
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Cabinet approved the National Climate Change Policy in early 2008,
providing “a national framework to mitigate the effects of climate
change and adapt to its impacts in an effective and sustainable
manner.”
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The Strategy for the Development of Samoa (SDS) is Samoa’s main
planning document, outlining a five-year program for national
development. The latest update of the strategy covers the period
2008-2012 and includes a number of activities that are relevant to
climate change.
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Second National Communication - planning document for all sectors
not only for adaptation but also for mitigation efforts
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NAPA - National Adaptation Strategy for Samoa
V&A ASSESSMENT: BEST PRACTICES
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Followed IPCC, UNFCCC and Pacific community-based
V&A methodologies, adapted to Samoa
Used a risk-based approach where appropriate
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Facilitates a strong link between impacts and adaptation
Assessments grounded on up-to-date, factual, and often
quantitative information
Teams made up of individuals who are experts in their
sectors
Built on the considerable body of existing information
(e.g. NAPA, CRP) – rather than starting from scratch
GAPS AND UNCERTAINTIES
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At least one key sector not included in assessment; no
direct involvement of NGOs and private sector;
communities involved indirectly
Insufficient information to describe the baseline (i.e.
current) conditions
Incomplete information on:
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Future climate of Samoa, at specific locations and for
relevant variables
Future economic, social, cultural and environmental
changes
Future impacts of climate change
Adaptation measures that will reduce adverse impacts
RECOMMENDATIONS
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Build on:
 Traditional knowledge and practices
 Existing coping mechanisms
Use existing information to identify consequences of current
climate variability and extremes
Develop simple models to:
 Illustrate impacts of climate change on key sector
components
 Assess effectiveness of adaptation measures
Fill gaps (e.g. no tourism) and reduce uncertainties (e.g.
improve information access)
Improve engagement of NGOs, private sector and community
stakeholders
Institutionalize technical level of CC country team – based on
leaders of the sector teams, etc.
KEY MESSAGES
Climate change is already happening, with adverse
consequences for Samoa
 Despite international efforts to prevent further
changes, the climate will continue to change, and
at an increased rate in at least the present century
 Adaptation is therefore essential
 Proactive adaptation is preferable
 There are limits to adaptation – not all adverse
impacts can be avoided through adaptation
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THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION