Climate challenges: bridging the knowledge gap

This document is a summary of findings, including conclusions about the way to address climate change impacts and data gaps that remain to be filled.

The research outlined represents Mercy Corps' first step in trying to merge climate science with practical ways to address the threats of climate change at local, community levels (vis a vis adaptation). To address both data gaps and confusion surrounding the application of climate research, Mercy Corps partnered with the M.Sc. Environment and Development course from The University of Edinburgh to make sense of climate data through seven studies in countries where the agency works from across the world.

Different scales and types of impacts are described from urban, forest, mountain, desert and steppes landscapes from Africa, South and South East Asia. Some studies give stark warnings about impacts communities need to prepare for, while others identify critical information gaps that need to be filled before preparations for climate change impact can be effectively designed.