Consultant Loss and Damage from Climate Extremes/CC

Background and Justification

Climate change associated risks (e.g. sea level rise, salinization, drought, extreme storms etc.) are expected to increase. The IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) (IPCC SREX 2012); as well as recent disasters, such as Cyclone Evan in Samoa in December 2012 and the combination of storm surges and high tides flooding in the Marshall Islands all underscore the necessity to revisit and enhance knowledge on how to reduce and prevent the risk of loss and damage. The project intervention is in line with the climate change priorities identified in the S.A.M.O.A pathway outcome document regarding the need to build strategies to deal with Loss and Damage from climate change and extremes events.

The project focuses on loss and damage from climate change associated impacts in the Asia-Pacific countries. It aims to generate and share new knowledge, improved understanding, and awareness on loss and damage to adverse impacts of climate change. It will also provide new insights into how to enhance tools and approaches to address loss and damage in the tourism and agriculture sectors in the Pacific and Southeast Asia LDCs/SIDS. It will cover four countries in the Pacific region namely: Cook Island, Solomon Island, Fiji, Samoa; and two countries in Southeast Asia: Timor Leste and Malaysia.

Objective

• To showcase loss and damage realities, experiences in LDCs/SIDS in the Pacific and Southeast Asia regions;
• To present best experiences and lessons learned as well as new insights into how to strengthen existing/new tools for reducing risk to loss and damage;
• To assess capacity needs on loss and damage in the agriculture and tourism sectors;
• To carry out capacity-building and training as well as share information on reducing risk of loss and damage;
• To build-up networks, share new knowledge, and provide relevant technical, policy and strategic recommendations regarding how to integrate improved knowledge and tools (risk information and EWSs) into planning and development process in the key economic sectors of the respective countries. This will also include providing scientific insights/advice to LDCs/SIDS on loss and damage negotiations
• To build-up networks, share new knowledge, and provide relevant technical, policy and strategic recommendations regarding how to integrate improved knowledge and tools (risk information and EWSs) into planning and development process in the key economic sectors of the respective countries. This will also include providing scientific insights/advice to LDCs/SIDS on loss and damage negotiations.

Activities

• To review climate exposure, vulnerability, risk and impacts in the tourism and agricultural sectors in the six selected countries;
• To organise a regional Think Tank meetings/panel discussion on Loss & Damage (UNESCO currently implementing this activity);
• To conduct field surveys and consultations in the six selected countries
• To identify climate change adaptation tools and methods used in the agriculture and tourism sector respectively;
• To identify /analyse gaps and limits of adaptation;
• To identify/propose new solutions/tools and methods to deal with L & D;
• To strengthened collaboration and networks with key partners and institutions in the Pacific and South-East Asia regarding L & D from climate change and climate variability;
• To share knowledge acquired through mini-training/ capacity building workshops;
• To prepare progress reports and final project report with key policy relevant recommendations.