Iterative risk management for climate change adaptation policy and practice
Governments around the world are starting to acknowledge and prepare for the impacts of climate-related risks. During the last decade, climate change adaptation policies are being established and integrated in disaster risk reduction and/or development programs. However, many of these strategies remain relatively ‘static’ vis-à-vis the varying complexities and uncertainties surrounding climate change. To address this, the IPCC highlights the concept of iterative risk management. Accordingly, decisions in relation to climate change are not a once-and-for-all event. They are likely to take place over decades in what is called an iterative risk-management process, learning from and taking advantage of new information for midcourse corrections.
The concept of iterative risk management is not new, but its application in climate change adaptation policy and practice remains limited. This training, therefore, builds on, and expands, the use of the concept in present and future planning and policy decisions. Frameworks and principles from such disciplines as disaster risk reduction and development are integrated in a risk-based approach to guide policy and action.
Objectives
The training shall assist participants in designing and implementing iterative and flexible risk management plans. It specifically helps them:
- Understand the iterative risk management process in view of the complexities and uncertainties inherent in climate-related risks; and
- Establish ways to ensure continuous re-evaluation of their risk management plans so that new information is considered and incorporated at regular intervals
Structure
The 5-day training features: i) a 3-day series of presentations and discussions, and ii) a 2-day guided planning workshop aimed at helping participants design Iterative Risk Management Plans for their respective organizations.
Part 1: Lecture and presentation series
These sessions are designed to introduce the risk-based approach to climate-related risks. It orients participants to the process, with the aim of equipping them with concepts and strategies in planning for and designing risk management plans.
Day 1, Module 1: Risk-based approach to climate change adaptation
- Climate-society interactions
- Status of climate change science
- Evolution and convergence of frameworks: Development, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaption and iterative risk management
Day 2, Module 2: The iterative risk management (IRM) approach
- The iterative risk management process
- Application of IRM in development and DRR
- Case studies
Day 3, Module 3: IRM and the policy environment for climate change adaptation
- IRM and the international and national policy environment for adaptation
- Opportunities and issues for using IRM at international, national and local levels
Part 2: Guided planning workshop.
This intensive workshop assists participants in understanding and addressing the risks that their organizations face through the design of a flexible risk management plan.
Day 4, Designing an iterative risk management plan
- Steps in the iterative risk management process
- Identifying and prioritizing critical climate risk issues
- Iterative risk management in planning, policy and practice
Day 5, Towards a sustainable and disaster-resilient future
- Integration of IRM plans in adaptation programs/projects
Method and scope
The training will be conducted in English. It will involve presentations that highlight case studies and good practice examples, interactive discussions among participants, and panel discussions with leading experts and practitioners from RIMES and partner agencies. The guided planning feature of the training ensures that participants go back to their respective organizations with tangible outputs, in this case, a draft of an iterative and flexible risk management plan, tailored to the needs of the participant’s organization.