Information for climate change adaptation: lessons and needs in South Asia

This wokring paper aims to identify barriers to information use for climate adaptation in South Asia. It serves as background for a South Asian regional workshop that will bring together adaptation information users and producers to inform likely new investments in the information base for climate adaptation. This paper aims to support progress toward the regional workshop's objectives by: (i) identifying barriers to effective information production, access, and application in the South Asian region; (ii) posing a practical vocabulary for characterizing relevant information types; (iii) articulating a concise set of uses for information in adaptation; and (iv) raising a set of critical issues around which to frame workshop discussions.

This paper draws on desk and interview research conducted by the World Resources Institute from November 2011 through February 2012, as well as feedback obtained from a dinner roundtable held on the margins of the 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC.