Spotlight on China – the convergence of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in practice

This case study reports on a two-day meeting gathering Chinese government departments including agriculture, health, climate change, disaster management and meteorological office with Chinese Red Cross counterparts, where participants acquired a better understanding of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, each other's roles, cooperation opportunities, as well as measures to collectively address problems that vulnerable communities face. Sharing about the changes to climate that are occurring in the Fujian province of China, which goes from increased intensity of rainfall, hotter temperatures and heat-waves to more 'super typhoons' and increasing landslides, they discussed actions that can be taken across different time-scales to deal with these changes in climate from community level right up to provincial level.

The envisaged actions include defining more clearly roles and responsibility for various tasks, further dialogue and cooperation between departments with Chinese Red Cross, intensifying preparedness measures around landslide prone areas with communities, increase in pest control measures after flooding, creating community contingency plans for flooding, preventative health messages before a disaster, protection of crops such as strengthening banana trees through use of stakes, training of communities, reassessing infrastructure for its level of tolerance, conducting simulation drills and updating communication systems.