Regional workshop on strategic assessment for climate change adaptation in natural resource management

Purpose

To enhance the capacity of policy makers in agricultural sector in obtaining reliable climate information and assessing risks associated with climate changes and effectiveness of adaptation strategies and measures in mitigating such risks.

Background

Identifying and implementing adequate response to climate change poses tremendous challenge to all countries. While climate change may generate economic opportunities in some parts of world, accepting it and adapting to it is an urgent issue for least developed economies. Developing countries of the Asia-pacific region will suffer most from the adverse consequences of climate change, and some highly vulnerable regions and people are already being affected. ADB studies on climate change observed that adaptation requires immediate action in the key sector of agriculture. This is also elaborated in 2008 Human Development Report, which focuses on climate change, and concludes that successful climate change adaptation, coupled with stringent mitigation, holds key to the prospects for the 21st Century and beyond.

Basic requirement to plan for adaptation is being able to forecast and assess the actual and potential effects of climate change. At the international level, knowledge of the consequences of human behaviour on climatic system – for example, in the IPCC assessment reports- are well founded and adequate for policy makers. However, more specific information is needed for the implementation of concrete adaptation measures at national and local level.

In order to make necessary sectoral level actions, policy makers must have adequate capacity to assess various aspects of climate information and identify appropriate adaptation strategies and policy responses. In the last ADBI workshop on climate change adaptation, it has been pointed out that lack of such knowledge is one of the severe bottlenecks for mainstreaming climate change adaptation. This is in part attributable fact that awareness of the need for adapting to climate change is relatively recent.

This workshop therefore is designed to provide a framework for assessing the climate information and managing adaptation strategies which will contribute to the integration of climate change considerations into appropriate policies, plans and implementation programmes.

Objectives

- To understand key developmental risks posed by climate change and the required actions by decision makers and planners to address these risks.
- To create awareness on the tools and methods available to assess the risks of climate change and impacts of key adaptation strategies.
- To exchange experiences and empirical evidences on assessment techniques that lead to successful adaptation programs and measures across key vulnerable areas and stakeholders.
- To identify modalities for fostering cross sectoral collaboration for integrating scientific information and advances in assessment methods into resource planning

Outputs

- Exchange of experiences on adaptation tools and methods used successfully.
- Improved capacity to acquire necessary climate information, design and implement climate change adaptation measures at sectoral and local levels.
- Policy advisory notes and executive summary.

Responsibilities

- Prepare a country report sharing country practices and sectoral experiences
- Active participation in discussions
- Use the content of the workshop to train others