Climate change adaptation is the way we cope up with the already changed climatic conditions. People adapted with changing environmental conditions since long ago and it is a very general phenomena. Many historic and archaeological evidences are available of adaptation to changing environmental conditions in different parts of the world.
But recent changes in climatic conditions are more rapid and induced by human activities. People are changing the natural systems for the sake of development (?).
In order to understand climate change adaptation we need to first understand the impacts of climate change on various facets of the environment including human life and livelihood and the socio-economic condition of people and the state.
Recent changes in the climate is the result of adverse impacts of increasing human activities like, increased GHGs emission, modification of natural systems including ecosystems. For these reasons the world's climate is changing gradually.
Global warming,
Heat waves,
Forest fire,
Increasing and prolonged droughts,
Frequent devastating floods,
Tidal and cyclonic coastal inundation,
Increasing attacks of pests, insects,
Changes in crop production hampering food security,
Melting of mountain glacial ice and continental ice sheets etc. are many of such impacts.
Extreme climate events are destroying human properties and lives. Poor people, indigenous marginal people, people based on primary economic activities, people living in coastal areas, people in low lying urban lands are already facing many problems and challenges in their life and livelihood. .
Adaptation strategies
Adaptation strategies should be based on the nature and extent of present climate change and future projections, the level of socio-economic condition of people affected by climate change and their progress towards development, and the technological level and economic structure of the affected country or nation. So there are many dimensions of climate change adaptation as the mitigation measures are also going side by side to reduce the climate change phenomena in the near future. In India and south asian countries where the majority of the world population live, the majority of poor people live are facing serious climate shifts in the near future.
Adaptation to climate change in these developing countries is vital and has been highlighted by them as having a high or urgent priority. Although uncertainty remains about the extent of climate change impacts, in many developing countries there is sufficient information and knowledge available on strategies and plans to implement adaptation activities now. However, developing countries have limitations in capacity making adaptation difficult. Limitations include both human capacity and financial resources.
Strategies and programmes that are more likely to succeed need to link with coordinated efforts aimed at poverty alleviation, enhancing food security and water availability, combating land degradation and reducing loss of biological diversity and ecosystem services, as well as improving adaptive capacity.
Sustainable development and the Millennium Development Goals are a necessary backdrop to integrating adaptation into development policy. Poverty reduction policies are also important elements of adaptation.
The lack of funding available in various forms, as well as difficulties in accessing the funds which are available, represents a major barrier for adaptation, particularly for local community action.
Many developing countries face difficulties in integrating climate change concerns into national policies due to a lack of resources and institutional capacities. Capacity-building, for example to integrate climate change and socio-economic assessments into vulnerability and adaptation assessments, helps to better identify effective adaptation options and their associated costs.
Sustainable development planning and practices is very essential for effective adaptation to climate change and the adaptation strategies should be integrated to main development policies. Capacity building of people through awareness, education and training is also necessary for better adaptation.
Adapting to climate change will entail adjustments and changes at every level – from community to national and international. Communities must build their resilience, including adopting appropriate technologies while making the most of traditional knowledge, and diversifying their livelihoods to cope with current and future climate stress. Maladaptive practices like deforestation, illegal mining, river encroachments must be prevented and removed.
Adaptation strategies also include sector wise plans as different sectors are affected differently focussing on the existing indigenous knowledge and practices that are climate resilient as well as new technological measures. Multi-sectoral strategies are also taken into consideration as adverse impacts on one sector might influence other sectors. The adaptation strategies must be coordinated with the current and future disaster risk management policies and programmes. Disaster relief funds, disaster management infrastructure are also important for adaptation.
IPCC, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and many other organisations are working hard to help people adapt and make themselves climate resilient.
The most common climate change impacts are the changes in precipitation pattern leading to flood or droughts. Thus we need to change our crop production system and the land use to minimise the impacts of climate change on people’s livelihood.
Urban flood due to heavy rain can be minimised by adopting proper drainage system in the city, restoration of wetlands, and landscape modification as per the slope, water runoff and wind.
Coastal surge of water and flooding is another common problem due to climate change. Sea level rise due to melting of ice resulting in more tidal spread of water causing coastal flooding. Modification of coastal drainage, constructing embankments, planting of native plants, changing crop patterns may help people become more climate resilient. Knowledge of the native indigenous people may help much in this regard.
Coastal low-lying inundation due to sea level rise is another threat to many people living in villages and cities of south-East-Asian countries and the island nations. Many highly populated areas of these regions are in danger of permanent sea water inundation making them climate refugees and sometimes stateless. One report in India saied, 75% of Indian districts are prone to climate extreme events like flooding, droughts, cyclones and thunderstorms.
Increasing events of cyclones in the tropical areas are another serious issue of climate change impacts. Deforestation in coastal lands makes the problem more acute. More cyclone resistant trees should be planted in coastal areas e.g. mangrove forest regeneration, coastal embankment to protect land from flooding and siltation of salt in soil after flood, changing cropping pattern towards more saline water resistant crops, etc.
Priority adaptation projects identified by NAPAs include:
improved forecasting for farming, extreme events and disaster management;
improved water management for drinking and agriculture through understanding water flows and water quality, improved rainwater harvesting and water storage and diversification of irrigation techniques;
improved food security through crop diversification, developing and introducing drought, flood and saline tolerant crops, improving livestock and fisheries breeding and farming techniques, developing local food banks for people and livestock, and improving local food preservation;
better land and land use management through erosion control and soil conservation measures, agroforestry and forestry techniques, forest fire management and finding alternative energy sources to wood and charcoal, as well as better town planning;
coastal zone management including coral monitoring and restoration and improving coastal defences through afforestation, reforestation, set-back areas and vegetation buffers;
improved health care through flood shelters and assistance shelters as part of community emergency preparedness programmes, better health education, better access to primary health care such as distribution of treated mosquito nets and better malaria surveillance programmes and habitat clearance;
capacity-building to integrate climate change into sectoral development plans, involving local communities in adaptation activities, raising public awareness and education on climate change, and enabling representation at international meetings;
and promotion of sustainable tourism.
Local Coping Strategies
There is a large body of knowledge and experience within local communities on coping with climatic variability and extreme weather events.
In Asia, farmers have traditionally observed a number of practices to adapt to climate variability, for example intercropping, mixed cropping, agroforestry, animal husbandry, and developing new seed varieties to cope with local climate. Various water use and conservation strategies include terracing, surface water and groundwater irrigation; and diversification in agriculture to deal with drought. Structural and non-structural measures are used to deal with flood and coastal inundation.
For example, in the Philippines, after Typhoon Sisang in 1987, which completely destroyed over 200,000 homes, the Department of Social Welfare and Development decided to instigate a programme of providing typhoon-resistant housing designed to withstand wind speeds of 180 km/h for those living in the most typhoon prone areas.
In Bangladesh, the Cyclone Preparedness Program has been set up over 11 coastal area districts by the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, and is partly funded by the government. The south-west region of Bangladesh faces problems of water logging caused by the combined effect of siltation of estuary branches, higher river bed levels, reduced sedimentation in flood protected areas, and impeded drainage, exacerbated by heavy rainfall and sea level rise. This adversely affects available agricultural land, impacting food production, soil productivity, and agricultural livelihoods. The Institute of Development Education for the Advancement of the Landless (IDEAL) is implementing a project called Reducing Vulnerability to Climate Change (RVCC), where the initiatives promoted in Subarnabad focus on new livelihood strategies for income and food generation. These include goat, duck, and hen rearing, chicken and crab farming, tree planting, introduction of salt-water tolerant vegetable gardens and handicraft production. IDEAL has also helped raise awareness about climate change, personal hygiene, sanitation, and the construction of latrines and deep tube wells.
In Bangladesh, ongoing projects intend to address food insecurity and food production shortfalls by crop diversification and generation of other employment opportunities aiming at community development, agricultural development, credit facilities, and infrastructure improvement. All these developmental programmes play an important role in enhancing the resilience of the poor. Rain water harvesting and integrated development of watersheds in rainfed areas help in increasing agricultural resilience to erratic weather events under a climate change scenario.
Bangladesh has its own Participatory Disaster Management Programme (PDMP) with the focus towards disaster management and prevention, and also adaptation to climate change. There is no national policy in place yet to comprehensively address climate change risks. The disaster management project mainly focuses on soft measures to reduce the impact of disasters in Bangladesh. In particular, it aims to increase awareness on practical ways to reduce disaster risks and losses, to strengthen national capacity for disaster management (with emphasis on preparedness), enhance knowledge and skills of key personnel in handling disasters, establishing disaster action plans in the most disaster prone areas promoting local–level risk reduction measures, and improving early warning systems.
India is doing many things for climate change adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction. Relief funds both at central and state level, disaster management team (NDRF and SDRF), area specific regional and human development programme- drought prone area programme, coastal zone development programme, hill area development programme, desert development programme, integrated watershed development programme, The National Watershed Development Programme in Rainfed Areas etc. are some of the examples. Highly developed weather forecast system helps alert people and prepare disaster management teams. India's public distribution system works well during food shortages.
Housing programmes for the poor and rural communication through metalled roads are also important initiatives for poverty alleviation and climate change adaptation strategies.
Inclusion of climatic risks in the design and implementation of development initiatives is vital to reduce vulnerability and enhance sustainability. Developmental efforts can help build adaptive capacity through two levels of interventions:
climate-specific interventions such as drought proofing, rainwater harvesting, awareness about available drought-resistant varieties, better access to medium/long-range weather forecasts, and possibly early warning networks.
broader capacity building through education, access to agricultural credit, health care infrastructure, etc
NAP - National Agriculture Policy,
NAIS - National Agriculture Insurance Scheme,
DPAP - Drought Prone Areas Programme
IWDP - Integrated Watershed Development Programme
NAMP - National Anti-Malaria Programme,
NVBDCP - National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme
ECA - Electricity Conservation Act,
APDP - Accelerated Power Development Programme,
CDM - Clean Development Mechanism
JFM - Joint Forest Management CRF -
Calamity Relief Fund,
NCCF - National Calamity Contingency Fund,
CZM - Coastal Zone Management
SGSY - Sampoorna Grammen Swarozgar Yojana,
SGRY - Swarnajayanti Grammeen Rozgar Yojana
The World Bank project “Addressing Vulnerability to Climate Variability and Climate Change through an Assessment of Adaptation Issues and Options” has the overarching goals of enhancing the consideration of climate and climate-related issues in India’s development process, and achieving a more effective integration and mainstreaming of climate issues in the Bank’s project preparation and appraisal processes. Activities include
ƒ identification of policies, measures and practices that might be modified to reduce vulnerabilities
ƒ analysis of appropriate institutional and participatory mechanisms to merge current community driven development priorities with the need to address wider environmental externalities such as adaptation to climate change
ƒ assessment of the climate-related risks associated with a subset of Bank operations in India.
Other relevant programmes in South Asian countries include the Village Aid Programme and the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) facilitating digging canals, increasing connectivity and adaptation of improved farm practices in Pakistan; the IRDP and the Minimum Needs Programme for infrastructure development and programmes on watershed management and on capacity building in India; Grameen Bank programme for rural credit to rural poor and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee on providing education and training in Bangladesh and irrigation projects in Sri Lanka.
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