Transcript Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change

The AIACC Project
Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations
to Climate Change
Ravi Sharma
United Nations Environment Programme-Global
Environment Facility
UNFCCC Workshop, Manila
29 April 2004
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AIACC Background
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GEF enabling project in climate change focal area
Geographic scope: Global
Project period: 2001-2005
Implementing Agency: UNEP
Executing Agencies: START & TWAS
Proposal developed as collaboration between authors
of IPCC Third Assessment Report, UNEP, START,
and TWAS
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AIACC Support
GEF
$7.5m
AIACC
$10m
Co-finance
$700,000
In-kind
$1.8m
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AIACC Objectives
• Build scientific and technical capacity to
support National Communications
• Advance scientific understanding of climate
change impacts, vulnerabilities and
adaptation opportunities
• Link science and policy communities for
adaptation planning
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AIACC Means for
achieving objectives
• Implement regional V&A assessments
– “Learning-By-Doing” capacity building
• Supplemented by mentoring, training, technical
support, and networking
• Engage stakeholders in the regional assessments
• Work with National Communications teams
• Regional workshops, publications, participation in
scientific and policy workshops, working paper
series, newsletter, website, synthesis
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Regional V&A Assessments
• Country owned
– Proposed, led and implemented by developing country
proponents
– Endorsed by GEF National Focal Points
– Focused on generating knowledge & capacity to support
regional priorities for adaptation
• Stakeholder participation
– Each regional assessment engages stakeholders from a
variety of institutions
• Selected through international review of 150
proposals based on
– Scientific merit, regional significance, policy
significance
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24 Regional Assessments Implemented
• V&A being assessed in 46 developing countries
• More than 150 institutions from 50 developing
and 12 developed countries participate.
• More than 300 developing country scientists,
stakeholders and students participate
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Africa: 11 projects
Asia: 5 projects
Latin America: 5 projects
Small Island Developing States: 3 projects
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Topics of Regional Assessments
(Number of projects addressing each topic noted in parentheses)
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Agriculture/food security (14)
Water resources (13)
Land use (7)
Rural livelihoods (5)
Coastal zones (5)
Biodiversity (3)
Aquatic ecosystems, fisheries (3)
Human health (2)
Extreme events (2)
Tourism (1)
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AIACC Accomplishments (1)
• Contributing to goals of UNFCCC
– Established ties to National Communications
• Working with appropriate agencies/persons in participating
countries
• Providing place specific V&A info for national communications
• Will provide evaluations & recommendations for adaptation
actions
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Contributed to NAPA guidelines & workshops
Adding to UNFCCC V&A methods/tools database
Contributed to UNDP’s Adaptation Policy Framework
Contribute to UNEP projects
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AIACC Accomplishments (2)
• Advancing knowledge & methods
– Participants published 5 papers in peer-reviewed
journals
• more papers in pipeline
• AIACC Working Paper Series, a peer-reviewed electronic
publication
– Advanced methods for:
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climate scenario generation
vulnerability indicators
livelihood approaches
integrated assessment modeling
benefit/cost analysis of adaptation
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AIACC Accomplishments (3)
• Building capacity
– Capacity for scientific/technical V&A assessment
• >200 scientists and >60 students in 46 developing countries
have benefited from “learning-by-doing” and training activities
– Capacity to engage with stakeholders and formulate
adaptation strategies and policies
• Have established networks that link science & stakeholder
institutions from 62 countries
– Stakeholder knowledge & awareness
• Numerous local workshops with stakeholders
– South-south capacity transfers
• AIACC participants have conducted several successful southsouth capacity transfer activities
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AIACC Accomplishments (4)
• Contributing to international science
– IPCC 4th Assessment Report
• Contributed to outline & plans for 4th Assessment Report
• Anticipate invitation of many AIACC participants to be authors of IPCC
AR4
– Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
• 2 projects contributing to MEA reports
– Global Environmental Change & Food Security (GECAFS)
• AIACC projects contributing to this joint project of IHDP & IGBP
– Presentations in international science meetings
• Human Dimensions of Global Change Open Meeting, Montreal, Sept 2003
• UNEP/SEI Adaptation Research Workshop, New Delhi, Nov 2003
• Stanford University EMF Workshop on Climate Change Impacts &
Integrated Assessment, Snowmass, Aug 2003
• Many others
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Upcoming AIACC Activities
• 3 Regional Workshops in 2004
• Continuation and completion of regional
assessments by late 2004/early 2005
• Synthesis of AIACC regional studies in
2005
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Regional Workshops in 2004
• Dates & venues
– Dakar, 24-27 March
– Buenos Aires, 24-27 August
– Manila, 18-21 October
• Participation
– Regional assessment investigators
– Local, regional & international stakeholders
• Purposes
– Share knowledge about regional activities, report progress
– Explore how to make AIACC assessments as useful as possible to
stakeholders
– Plan for synthesis
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Completion of Regional Assessments
• Assessment activities will continue through 2004
– Finalizing vulnerability analyses & scenarios
– Evaluating adaptation options
– Engaging stakeholders in evaluation of adaptation
options
– Communicating progress, results to in-country National
Communications teams
– Dissemination of information
• Regional assessments to be completed by late
2004 or early 2005
– Final reports from regional assessments by mid 2005
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Synthesis of AIACC Project
• Participants in AIACC will synthesize lessons
that transcend contexts of individual
assessments
– Nature and causes of vulnerability
– Effective adaptation and risk management strategies
– Methods for engaging stakeholders in generating and
communicating information for decision making
• 2 workshops to be held in 2005 to facilitate
– Synthesis book volumes to be completed by fall 2005
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Follow-up to AIACC
• AIACC partners planning activities to build upon
successes of AIACC project
– Encourage regional assessment teams to extend/apply
their work individually
• UNDP/GEF Small Grants Program
• Projects for “piloting an operational approach to
adaptation”
– Develop new suite of global activities with partners
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A new global project
• Retain proven elements of AIACC but include
innovations for greater impact:
– Stronger policy implementation focus
– Broaden scope beyond climate change to include other
focal areas
– Stakeholder engagement more integral
– Training and technical support to be lead by developing
country institutions, organized regionally
– Provide for more uniformity of approach
• Develop, test, evaluate and document a protocol for
participatory, policy-focused assessment
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Objectives of New Global Project
• Enhance capacities to evaluate, plan and
implement adaptation strategies related to
UNFCCC and other MEAs
• Advance knowledge needed to support
adaptation decisions and implement actions
• Develop regional “centers” to provide training
& technical assistance in their regions
• Strengthen networks for collaboration among
stakeholders & scientists on global
environmental problems
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