Community Based Adaptation and Resilience in East and Southern Africa’s Drylands

Adaptation Learning Programme in Africa, ALP

Addis Ababa 1-4th September 2014Fiona Percy

grazing

What do we find in the drylands?

Arid lands livestock

drought pastoralists

Poor roads/services

Trade/

enterprise

migration

Semi-arid

farming

Scarce water resources

conflict

Mobile phones

recurrentcrisis

Degraded land

hot

Highlyvulnerable

Land grabs

mobility

etc.

People are at the centre

Pastoralists, farmers, entrepreneurs, traders – their aspirations, agency and livelihoods

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The people who feel the impacts of climate change most :

• depend on climate sensitive, natural resource based livelihoods – which are rapidly changing

• live in areas exposed to climate risks – droughts, floods• are marginalised and vulnerable – o limited agency - voice, access or control over decisions that

affect them o face multiple challenges and causes of vulnerabilityo Poor, isolated communitieso Pervasive gender inequalities

• Often excluded from ‘modern’ developments, which ignores or undermines or conflicts with the value of their knowledge and resources they use

Climate change worsens existing risksApril 8, 2023

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Resilience

Different interpretations by different disciplines:

(IPCC, UNISDR, DFID, FAO etc)• bouncing back from shocks• maintaining function of a system in spite of a

disturbance • long term resilient development pathways• secure livelihoods, absorbing and adapting to

shocks, managing growing risks, addressing underlying causes of vulnerability, transforming lives in response to new hazards and opportunities.

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Resilience - many questions:

• Whose resilience? To what? • What is resilience in a changing and uncertain

context? • Uncertain climate, economy, governance, security….

• Bouncing back - to chronic poverty, inequality? • Covering up differences in and causes of

vulnerability?• Who is responsible for vulnerability in drylands

and who is responsible for realising resilience? • How does climate change affect resilience?

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Climate change impacts on resilience

• Is happening now, changing variability, seasonal patterns, intense / extreme events, unpredicted, volatile and previously unknown weather, CC is not going away

• New normal of constant change, volatility & uncertainty Transformation to new situations and livelihoods, access to new development opportunities?

• Large scale of challenge, but localised impacts: Vulnerable people need to adapt themselves

• Vulnerabilities differ across and among communities, gender and wealth groups, but all have complementary capacities to respond

• The science and access to information is becoming a valuable resource - but a long way to go

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Adaptive capacity has some answers

The ability to constantly adjust livelihood and risk

management strategies in response to new and changing

circumstances (IPCC)In an uncertain climate, adaptive capacity is an increasingly critical aspect of resilience April 8, 2023

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Community Based Adaptation?

Evolving approach supporting climate vulnerable communities to:

• analyse their vulnerabilities, risks and capacities

• strengthen their adaptive capacity • decide on and engage in actions that are

sustainable, climate resilient and responsive to local realities, climate information & changing risks.

• make choices in an uncertain climate April 8, 2023

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CBA = Multi-level action with a community focus

• Multi- stakeholder, sector and level, not only in communities.

• Anticipation of regular and new shocks requires:• thoughtful and joined up responses, • working with communities knowledge and aspirations.

• Local and national actors support with:

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► Capacity building ► Systems and services ► Information ► Technology► Policies ► Finance► Programmes

A CBA Framework

WWW.CARECLIMATECHANGE.ORG

COMMUNITY-BASED

ADAPTATION

Local adaptive & organisational capacity

Addressing underlying causes of

vulnerability

Disaster risk reduction

Climate-resilient

livelihoods

Influencing enabling policy environment

Climate change knowledge

Risk and uncertainty

CBA and Resilience - Combining approaches?

• Integrate humanitarian, DRR, social protection, climate change adaptation, natural resource management, good governance and sustainable development actions, in all sectors – informed by Climate Change.

• Empower dryland communities and actors to innovate, work collaboratively with others, access and control resources and information, make informed and flexible decisions for adaptation and moving out of poverty in the face of worsening climate shocks and uncertainties.

• Invest in long term coordinated multi-stakeholder responses to underlying causes of vulnerability, safety nets, early warning, enabling policy for inclusion and equity.

SOUNDS GREAT – yes, but realistically how do we do this?April 8, 2023

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We have 4 days to combine our knowledge and generate answers to:

• How / why vulnerabilities and opportunities are changing with the climate?

• What does it take to achieve resilience for everyone in a changing climate? Is that enough?

• Drivers and barriers to change & transformation, synergies and trade offs involved?

• The added value can CBA bring to achieving resilience in dryland communities?

• Working together, coordinating across silos - an integrated and coherent approach?

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Thank you

alp@careclimatechange.orgwww.careclimatechange.org/adaptation-initiatives/alp