http://iucn.org/cem

Draft Principles and Guidelines for Integrating Ecosystem-based approaches to Adaptation in

Project and Policy Design

Angela Andrade , Rocío Córdoba, Radhika Dave, Pascal Girot, Bernal Herrera-F., Robert Munroe, Judy Oglethorpe, Emilia Pramova, James Watson, and Walter Vergara.

Ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation (EbA):

'the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change'

‘… may include sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems, as part of an overall adaptation strategy that takes into account the multiple social, economic and cultural co-benefits for local communities'.

Introduction

1. Promotes the resilience of societies and ecosystems:

Understands what makes resilient ecosystems and the services they supply. Works with communities and vulnerable peoples to create local ownership

and resilient local institutions. Ensures that local stewardship enhances livelihoods and ecosystem

management.

Principles for EbA

Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia- CI : Ecological and community risk assessments in 6 areas are being developed.- Empowerment of communities to develop joint activities and management practices to enhance food security and livelihood resilience. -Building Institutional capacity, access to information and development methods to use flooded forest habitats. - Ecological indicators established to understand long term impacts.Local people are being informed by mapping important zones vulnerable to changes in the extent and duration of Lakes’ annual flood pulse.

2. Promotes multi-sectoral approaches, and ensure:

Collaboration between sectors managing ecosystems and those benefiting from Ecosystem Services.

Cooperation across multiple levels and sectors to avoid conflicts.

Multi-stakeholder processes when developing adaptation policy.

Principles for EbA

3. Operates at multiple geographical scales:

Landscape approaches and impact assessments to identify cumulative and indirect drivers of vulnerability.Lessons from integrated approaches for natural resource and ecosystem management.Develop strong and multi-scale linkages, as ecosystems do not necessarily relate to political or administrative units, or to the scale in which the private sector operates.

Principles for EbA

African Wetlands- Hadejia – Nguru, Nigeria- BirdlifeMulti-scale considerations to capture upstream-downstream effects of seasonal pools which support essential ES. Climate change has compounded wetland shrinkage caused by upstream dams built to provide a more consistent supply of water for irrigated agriculture in response to droughts that were affecting communities both upstream and downstream. Adaptation actions restored a more ‘natural’ flood pattern and increased household incomes. Multi-stakeholder action groups, to counter the mal-adaptation impacts of the dams by restoring wetland ecosystems through clearing of Typha fields.

4. Integrates flexible management structures that enable adaptive management:

Decentralized management to the lowest appropriate level to foster greater efficiency, effectiveness, equity and ownership, as advocated by the Ecosystem Approach.Addressing the lack of resources at these levels of management to ensure that ecosystem processes and services are not adversely affected.Enabling local institutions to be key actors in adapting planning. Sustainable, long-term monitoring systems to enable multi-stakeholder learning and adoption of new management decisions.

Principles for EbA

Kubulau District, Fiji. A flexible and responsive governance model for a ridge-to-reef protected area network is being developed. In order to improve socio-ecological resilience, WCS is working with village chiefs and local committees to adapt the protected area network, as well as make the EBM plan more “climate-ready. To strengthen social resilience new communications tools are being developed, to deliver conservation and management messages.

”.

5. Minimizes tradeoffs and maximizes benefits with development and conservation goals to avoid unintended negative social and environmental impacts.

Participatory planning, recognizing the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable.

Multiple benefits of EbA channeled to the stakeholders and local communities.

Principles for EbA

6. EbA is based on the best available science and local knowledge and should foster knowledge generation and diffusion.

Facilitate networks to ensure that information is updated and provided in usable forms.Best available scientific knowledge and climate modeling used in conjunction with local knowledge.Sharing and incorporating indigenous and local knowledge.

Principles for EbA

Climate change scenarios have been developed by IDEAM (INAP) in Colombia, based on updated climate variability and climate change information. These scenarios have been used for the development of national policies and mainstreamed in sectors such as agriculture, health and energy. Monitoring stations that measure more than 15 oceanographic parameters in the Caribbean sea were installed, as well as 7 coral reefs stations and water and carbon monitoring stations in high mountain ecosystems and models of glacier dynamics have been installed in order to better know ecological process and the ecosystems services they provide. These information is permanently disseminated to all stakeholders through the web page of IDEAM, INVEMAR and other institutions and it is being appropriately translated to local people.

7. EbA is participatory, transparent, accountable, culturally appropriate and actively embracing equity and gender issues.

Recognize the underlying causes of vulnerability: power imbalances and entitlements to resources.Focus on equality and the special needs of marginalized social groups and full participation of stakeholders.Vulnerability assessment and adaptation must be gender sensitive.Empower local people as directors of their own future.

Principles for EbA

Northern landscapes of Mali. Local people depend on natural resources: pasture, fodder and water. Surveys developed by CIFOR showed different views of climate change impacts and vulnerability: Vulnerability assessments capture different perceptions, otherwise they may lead to mal-adaptation or inefficient adaptation efforts. Power relationships, interests, norms and values may influence the judgment about who is more or less vulnerable.

1. Prepare project structure

- Define core multidisciplinary teams.- Identify ecosystem boundaries.- Scope potential climatic and non climatic threats that contribute to vulnerability.

2. Gather relevant data and expertise

- Synthesize available information knowledge from different disciplines and sectors on important socio-ecological system components.

- Obtain/ develop climatic projections, on ecologically and socially variables, and spatial and temporal scales.

- Obtain science based information and traditional/ local knowledge on past and current climate variability, and impacts.

- Identify key ecosystem services and stakeholders.- Map, model and evaluate the multiple flows of ecosystem services to diverse users.- Understand key social processes between system components and institutions.- Evaluate data on ecosystem services and climate change impacts to identify gaps for

research and elements to monitor.

Guidelines for designing EbA projects

3. Conduct integrated vulnerability assessments and impact projections with flexible criteria that address the linkages between human and environmental systems:

₋ Determine the exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacities of vulnerable groups and ecosystems.

₋ Analyze past and current coping strategies to assess their sustainability under climate change and for their effect on critical ecosystem services and other process.

₋ Assess overall vulnerability of ecosystems and communities.₋ Identify feedback linkages and loops between ecosystems and people.₋ Analyze existing policy and institutional frameworks in the context of adaptation, and

identify strengths, constraints and opportunities.₋ Conduct participatory scenario exercise to consider how vulnerable groups, communities

and ecosystems under different, management and climatic projections.₋ Document levels of confidence or uncertainty in assessments.

4. Projects should be located within robust national and subnational frameworks so as to enhance the long term chances of success.

- Understand national and subnational frameworks and share results. - Ensure that planned activities are recognized in relevant strategies.

Guidelines for designing EbA projects

5. Proceed with integrated planning

₋ Consider the maintenance of ecosystem services and biodiversity in plans based on people´s needs for livelihood improvement.

₋ Share assessment results with stakeholders and decision makers.₋ Agree on the spatial and temporal scales for plans.₋ Identify adaptation measures.₋ Ensure that short term adaptation measures do not compromise long term

options, which should focus on building resilience.₋ Ensure that adaptation strategies and plans are coherent with other sector

policies.₋ Make EbA resilience focused, or based on transformative change.

Guidelines for designing EbA projects

6. Ensure the sustainability of monitoring and adaptive management:

₋ Ensure sufficient resources for monitoring and support adaptive ‘learning-by-doing’;₋ Design monitoring systems to cover an adequate time period and operate at the most

appropriate scale to assess project effectiveness and any changes in vulnerability;₋ Involve local communities in monitoring.₋ Choose indicators that reflect resilience of all the components of the human-

environment system and their inter-linkages.₋ Regularly evaluate and adapt the effectiveness of adaptation actions by using

monitoring results, and use a participatory process.₋ Design knowledge dissemination and learning mechanisms for effective learning.

Guidelines for designing EbA projects

•Expand target audience to different sectors.

•Adjust principles/guidelines accordingly.

•Principles to be considered in medium-long term adaptation planning process.

•Updated version to be presented in WCC in Jeju. EbA Journey

Next Steps

http://data.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/2011-064.pdf