Climate Change Adaptation and Gender Inequality: Insights from Rural Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change impacts, especially from extreme weather events such as storms and floods. Thus, climate change adaptation is crucial, especially for natural resource-dependent farmers. Based on a qualitative research approach using a feminist political ecology lens, this article investigates gendered patterns of rural agrarian livelihoods and climate adaptation in the province of Thái Bình. In doing so, we identify differentiated rights and responsibilities between female and male farmers, leading to unequal opportunities and immobility for females, making them more vulnerable to climate impacts and threatening to reduce their capacity to adapt. This research also shows that demands on farmers to contribute to perpetual increases in agricultural output by the state poses a challenge, since farming livelihoods in Vietnam are increasingly becoming feminised, as a result of urbanisation and devaluation of farming. Past and present national strategies and provincial implementation plans linked to climate change do not consider the burden affecting rural female farmers, instead the focus lies on addressing technical solutions to adaptation. With little attention being paid to an increasingly female workforce, existing gender inequalities may be exacerbated, threatening the future existence of rural livelihoods and the viability of Vietnam’s expansion into global markets.

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LIFE URBANGREEN: Innovative technological platform to improve management of green areas for better climate adaptation

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20662 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Paolo Viskanic ◽

Alice Pasquinelli ◽

Alessio Fini ◽

Piotr Wezyk

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Remote Sensing ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Climate Impacts ◽

Extreme Weather Events ◽

Urban Green ◽

Urban Green Areas ◽

Green Areas

Climate change is a serious and cross-cutting issue: urban areas are particularly sensitive to climate impacts, especially to heatwaves, floods and droughts. Typically, urban phenomena (such as the &#8216;urban heat island effect&#8217; &#8211; where the urban area is significantly warmer than the surrounding rural areas) and the impacts of extreme weather events demonstrate the high vulnerability of cities.Specific urban adaptation strategies are therefore needed to make cities more resilient. In this context, green areas and green infrastructures are seen among the most widely applicable, economically viable and effective tools to combat the impacts of climate change and help people adapt to or mitigate adverse effects of this change.LIFE URBANGREEN is a European Funded project dealing with climate adaptation through the maximisation of ecosystem services provided by urban green areas maintained in an innovative way. The main expected result is a smart, integrated, geospatial management system, to monitor and govern all activities related to urban green areas, maximizing ecological benefits.Five innovative modules are being developed within the project, aimed at:<ul><li>providing irrigation to trees only when and where actually needed</li> <li>reducing the carbon footprint of maintenance activities through a more efficient job planning</li> <li>quantifying ecosystem services provided by green areas</li> <li>monitoring health conditions of trees using remote sensing data</li> <li>increasing citizen participation in urban green management</li> </ul>The project involves 5 Italian and Polish partners:<ul><li>R3 GIS (GIS software company and project coordinator, Bolzano, Italy)</li> <li>University of Milano (scientific coordinator, Milano, Italy)</li> <li>ProGea 4D (remote sensing company, Krakow, Poland)</li> <li>ZZM (manager of urban green areas in Krakow, Poland)</li> <li>Anthea (manager of urban green areas in Rimini, Italy)</li> </ul>Also, the National Central University (NCU) in Taiwan, under the coordination of Prof Yuei-An Liou, supports the project and participates as external partner and will test some innovations of the LIFE URBANGREEN Project in Taiwan.During the EGU conference, results obtained during the first two years of the project will be presented. More information on the project is available at www.lifeurbangreen.eu

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TOOLS FOR FINANCING ECOSYSTEM-BASED ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Environmental Economics and Sustainable Development ◽

10.37100/2616-7689.2021.10(29).10 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 77-86

Author(s):

Viktoriia Yashkina

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Policy Development ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Climate Impacts ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

Extreme Weather Events ◽

Practical Implementation ◽

Carbon Taxes ◽

Adaptation To Climate Change ◽

Adaptation Measures

The article aims to determine the "portfolio" of financing ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change based on the analysis of traditional market instruments used to preserve, maintain and restore ecosystem services and biodiversity. The definition of ecosystem-based adaptation, its qualification criteria and elements of their application in contrast to traditional economic measures for biodiversity and nature conservation are revealed. The relevance of using ecosystem and nature-based approaches to adapt to climate change and reduce the risk of natural disasters given the increasing frequency of extreme weather events associated with climate change – severe droughts, floods, heatwaves, storms and other hazards are explored. Accordingly, the urgency of adaptation to climate-related risks and hazards in different economic sectors, e.g. agriculture, land use, fisheries, and natural components with a focus on the climate impacts prognosis for the European region, using effective and affordable measures with additional long term social and environmental benefits are explained. Trends and specific gaps in the international experience in financing climate adaptation measures are considered. The most common instruments for financing nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change, which are already used in world practice or have the potential of their practical implementation in various sectors, including environmental and carbon taxes, subsidies, tradable environmental permits, risk insurance, obligations, debt and equity instruments, as well as innovative forms of green loans, green bonds, and climate-related insurance types are systematized and represented. The specifics of financing such measures through international funds, development banks and European Union funds are considered. Possibilities of integrating financing of ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change to the current processes of climate change adaptation policy development of Ukraine, particularly in the context of performance of obligations under the Paris climate agreement, are considered.

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Climate Change Adaptation Strategies of Local Governments in Japan

10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.597 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kenshi Baba ◽

Masahiro Matsuura ◽

Taiko Kudo ◽

Shigeru Watanabe ◽

Shun Kawakubo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Local Government ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Local Governments ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Climate Impacts ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

Sports Science ◽

Climate Change Adaptation Strategies ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

The latest climate change adaptation strategies adopted by local governments in Japan are discussed. A nationwide survey demonstrates several significant findings. While some prefectures and major cities have already begun to prepare adaptation strategies, most municipalities have yet to consider such strategies. This gap must be considered when studying the climate adaptation strategies of local governments in Japan, as municipal governments are crucial to the implementation of climate adaptation strategies due to high diversity in climate impacts and geographical conditions among municipalities within each prefecture in Japan. Key challenges for local governments in preparing adaptation strategies are the lack of expert knowledge and experience in the field of climate change adaptation, and compartmentalization of government bureaus. To address these issues, an interview study of six model prefectures in the SI-CAT (Social Implementation Program on Climate Change Adaptation Technology) project by the MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) was conducted in order to understand the details of challenges raised by adaptation among local governments in Japan. The survey results reveal that local government officials lack information regarding impact projections and tools for evaluating policy options, even though some of them recognize some of the impacts of climate change on rice crop, vegetable, and fruit production. In addition, different bureaus, such as agriculture, public health, and disaster prevention, focus on different outcomes of climate change due to their different missions. As this is the inherent nature of bureaucratic organizations, a new approach for encouraging collaboration among them is needed. The fact that most of the local governments in Japan have not yet assessed the local impacts of climate change, an effort that would lay the groundwork for preparing adaptation strategies, suggests the importance of cyclical co-design that facilitates the relationship between climatic technology such as climate models and impact assessment and local governments’ needs so that the technology developments clarify the needs of local government, while those needs in turn nurture the seeds of technology.

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The Cultural Theory of Risk for Climate Change Adaptation

Weather Climate and Society ◽

10.1175/wcas-d-13-00027.1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 506-519 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Shannon M. McNeeley ◽

Heather Lazrus

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Cultural Theory ◽

The United States ◽

Climate Impacts ◽

Climate Change Risk ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Cultural Worldviews ◽

The Way

Abstract The way in which people perceive climate change risk is informed by their social interactions and cultural worldviews comprising fundamental beliefs about society and nature. Therefore, perceptions of climate change risk and vulnerability along with people’s “myths of nature”—that is, how groups of people conceptualize the way nature functions—influence the feasibility and acceptability of climate adaptation planning, policy making, and implementation. This study presents analyses of cultural worldviews that broaden the current treatments of culture and climate change mitigation and adaptation decision making in communities. The authors use insights from community-based climate research and engage the Cultural Theory of Risk conceptual framework to situate community understandings of, and responses to, climate impacts. This study looks at how the issue of climate change manifests socially in four cases in the United States and Tuvalu and how ideas about climate change are produced by the institutional cultural contexts across scales from the local to the global. This approach helps us identify local and regional priorities and support the development of new relationships for adaptation research and planning by helping to diagnose barriers to climate change adaptation, assist improved communication through framing/reframing climate issues based on shared understandings and collective learning, and help move from conflict to cooperation through better negotiation of diverse worldviews.

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Do Invasive Mammal Eradications from Islands Support Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation?

Climate ◽

10.3390/cli9120172 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 172

Author(s):

Peter J. Kappes ◽

Cassandra E. Benkwitt ◽

Dena R. Spatz ◽

Coral A. Wolf ◽

David J. Will ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Invasive Species ◽

Biodiversity Conservation ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Native Species ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Climate Impacts ◽

Ecosystem Resilience ◽

Invasive Mammals ◽

Adaptation And Mitigation

Climate change represents a planetary emergency that is exacerbating the loss of native biodiversity. In response, efforts promoting climate change adaptation strategies that improve ecosystem resilience and/or mitigate climate impacts are paramount. Invasive Alien Species are a key threat to islands globally, where strategies such as preventing establishment (biosecurity), and eradication, especially invasive mammals, have proven effective for reducing native biodiversity loss and can also advance ecosystem resilience and create refugia for native species at risk from climate change. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that successful eradications may also contribute to mitigating climate change. Given the cross-sector potential for eradications to reduce climate impacts alongside native biodiversity conservation, we sought to understand when conservation managers and funders explicitly sought to use or fund the eradication of invasive mammals from islands to achieve positive climate outcomes. To provide context, we first summarized available literature of the synergistic relationship between invasive species and climate change, including case studies where invasive mammal eradications served to meet climate adaptation or mitigation solutions. Second, we conducted a systematic review of the literature and eradication-related conference proceedings to identify when these synergistic effects of climate and invasive species were explicitly addressed through eradication practices. Third, we reviewed projects from four large funding entities known to support climate change solutions and/or native biodiversity conservation efforts and identified when eradications were funded in a climate change context. The combined results of our case study summary paired with systematic reviews found that, although eradicating invasive mammals from islands is an effective climate adaptation strategy, island eradications are poorly represented within the climate change adaptation and mitigation funding framework. We believe this is a lost opportunity and encourage eradication practitioners and funders of climate change adaptation to leverage this extremely effective nature-based tool into positive conservation and climate resilience solutions.

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Understanding institutional barriers in the climate change adaptation planning process of the city of Beirut: vicious cycles and opportunities

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change ◽

10.1007/s11027-021-09961-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Leonardo Zea-Reyes ◽

Veronica Olivotto ◽

Sylvia I. Bergh

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Planning Process ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Data Bank ◽

Institutional Barriers ◽

Political Interference ◽

Poor Individual ◽

Competing Priorities

AbstractCities around the world are confronted with the need to put in place climate adaptation policies to protect citizens and properties from climate change impacts. This article applies components of the framework developed by Moser and Ekström (2010) onto empirical qualitative data to diagnose institutional barriers to climate change adaptation in the Municipality of Beirut, Lebanon. Our approach reveals the presence of two vicious cycles influencing each other. In the first cycle, the root cause barrier is major political interference generating competing priorities and poor individual interest in climate change. A second vicious cycle is derived from feedbacks caused by the first and leading to the absence of a dedicated department where sector specific climate risk information is gathered and shared with other departments, limited knowledge and scientific understanding, as well as a distorted framing or vision, where climate change is considered unrelated to other issues and is to be dealt with at higher levels of government. The article also highlights the need to analyze interlinkages between barriers in order to suggest how to overcome them. The most common way to overcome barriers according to interviewees is through national and international support followed by the creation of a data bank. These opportunities could be explored by national and international policy-makers to break the deadlock in Beirut.

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Interrogating Climate Adaptation Financing in Zimbabwe: Proposed Direction

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13126517 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 6517

Author(s):

Innocent Chirisa ◽

Trynos Gumbo ◽

Veronica N. Gundu-Jakarasi ◽

Washington Zhakata ◽

Thomas Karakadzai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Developing Countries ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Global Climate ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Extreme Weather Events ◽

Infrastructure Development ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Coastal Zones ◽

Resource Base

Reducing vulnerability to climate change and enhancing the long-term coping capacities of rural or urban settlements to negative climate change impacts have become urgent issues in developing countries. Developing countries do not have the means to cope with climate hazards and their economies are highly dependent on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water, and coastal zones. Like most countries in Southern Africa, Zimbabwe suffers from climate-induced disasters. Therefore, this study maps critical aspects required for setting up a strong financial foundation for sustainable climate adaptation in Zimbabwe. It discusses the frameworks required for sustainable climate adaptation finance and suggests the direction for success in leveraging global climate financing towards building a low-carbon and climate-resilient Zimbabwe. The study involved a document review and analysis and stakeholder consultation methodological approach. The findings revealed that Zimbabwe has been significantly dependent on global finance mechanisms to mitigate the effects of climate change as its domestic finance mechanisms have not been fully explored. Results revealed the importance of partnership models between the state, individuals, civil society organisations, and agencies. Local financing institutions such as the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) have been set up. This operates a Climate Finance Facility (GFF), providing a domestic financial resource base. A climate change bill is also under formulation through government efforts. However, numerous barriers limit the adoption of adaptation practices, services, and technologies at the scale required. The absence of finance increases the vulnerability of local settlements (rural or urban) to extreme weather events leading to loss of life and property and compromised adaptive capacity. Therefore, the study recommends an adaptation financing framework aligned to different sectoral policies that can leverage diverse opportunities such as blended climate financing. The framework must foster synergies for improved impact and implementation of climate change adaptation initiatives for the country.

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Indigenous climate change adaptation: New directions for emerging scholarship

Environment and Planning E Nature and Space ◽

10.1177/25148486211022450 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 251484862110224

Author(s):

Danielle Emma Johnson ◽

Meg Parsons ◽

Karen Fisher

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Food Sovereignty ◽

Small Body ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Cultural Continuity ◽

Power Dynamics ◽

Indigenous Development

Although Indigenous peoples’ perspectives and concerns have not always been accommodated in climate change adaptation research and practice, a burgeoning literature is helping to reframe and decolonise climate adaptation in line with Indigenous peoples’ lived experiences. In this review, we bring together climate adaptation, decolonising and intersectional scholarship to chart the progress that has been made in better analysing and responding to climate change in Indigenous contexts. We identify a wealth of literature helping to decolonise climate adaptation scholarship and praxis by attending to colonial and neo-colonial injustices implicated in Indigenous peoples’ climate vulnerability, taking seriously Indigenous peoples’ relational ontologies, and promoting adaptation that draws on Indigenous capacities and aspirations for self-determination and cultural continuity. Despite calls to interrogate heterogenous experiences of climate change within Indigenous communities, the decolonising climate and adaptation scholarship has made limited advances in this area. We examine the small body of research that takes an intersectional approach to climate adaptation and explores how the multiple subjectivities and identities that Indigenous peoples occupy produce unique vulnerabilities, capacities and encounters with adaptation policy. We suggest the field might be expanded by drawing on related studies from Indigenous development, natural resource management, conservation, feminism, health and food sovereignty. Greater engagement with intersectionality works to drive innovation in decolonising climate adaptation scholarship and practice. It can mitigate the risk of maladaptation, avoid entrenchment of inequitable power dynamics, and ensures that even the most marginal groups within Indigenous communities benefit from adaptation policies and programmes.

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Public Perceptions of Climate Change in the Peruvian Andes

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13052677 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 2677

Author(s):

Adrian Brügger ◽

Robert Tobias ◽

Fredy S. Monge-Rodríguez

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Low Income ◽

Public Perceptions ◽

Climate Impacts ◽

Vulnerable Groups ◽

Extreme Weather Events ◽

High Mountain ◽

Peruvian Andes ◽

Food Shortages ◽

Education Levels

How people subjectively perceive climate change strongly influences how they respond to its challenges. To date, relatively little is known about such perceptions in the Global South. This research examines public perceptions of climate change in the Peruvian Andes, a semi-arid high-mountain region that is highly exposed and vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change. Based on questionnaire data collected through face-to-face interviews (N = 1316), we found that respondents identify various climate-related issues as the most important challenges for their country. Many of these issues are related to water. Respondents also noticed more subtle changes and expected them to continue (e.g., extreme temperatures, food shortages). Climate impacts were clearly seen as negative, which was also reflected in the presence of emotions. When compared to previous research, more respondents had personally experienced extreme weather events (80%) and they were more certain that the climate is already changing, is caused by human activity, and is affecting distant and close places similarly. A comparison of the perceptions along different socioeconomic characteristics suggests that more vulnerable groups (e.g., rural, low income and education levels) tended to perceive climate change as more consequential, closer, and as a more natural (vs. anthropogenic) phenomenon than those from less vulnerable groups. The salience of water-related problems and personal experiences of climate-related events, as well as differences between various subgroups, could be used to improve measures to adapt to the consequences of climate change by correcting misconceptions of the population and of decisionmakers.

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From vision to action: roadmapping as a strategic method and tool to implement climate change adaptation – the example of the roadmap ‘water sensitive urban design 2020’

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2016.065 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 73 (9) ◽

pp. 2251-2259 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

J. U. Hasse ◽

D. E. Weingaertner

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Urban Design ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Regional Climate ◽

Adaptation Measures ◽

Support Tool ◽

Process Support ◽

Development Processes ◽

Water Sensitive Urban Design

As the central product of the BMBF-KLIMZUG-funded Joint Network and Research Project (JNRP) ‘dynaklim – Dynamic adaptation of regional planning and development processes to the effects of climate change in the Emscher-Lippe region (North Rhine Westphalia, Germany)’, the Roadmap 2020 ‘Regional Climate Adaptation’ has been developed by the various regional stakeholders and institutions containing specific regional scenarios, strategies and adaptation measures applicable throughout the region. This paper presents the method, elements and main results of this regional roadmap process by using the example of the thematic sub-roadmap ‘Water Sensitive Urban Design 2020’. With a focus on the process support tool ‘KlimaFLEX’, one of the main adaptation measures of the WSUD 2020 roadmap, typical challenges for integrated climate change adaptation like scattered knowledge, knowledge gaps and divided responsibilities but also potential solutions and promising chances for urban development and urban water management are discussed. With the roadmap and the related tool, the relevant stakeholders of the Emscher-Lippe region have jointly developed important prerequisites to integrate their knowledge, to clarify vulnerabilities, adaptation goals, responsibilities and interests, and to foresightedly coordinate measures, resources, priorities and schedules for an efficient joint urban planning, well-grounded decision-making in times of continued uncertainties and step-by-step implementation of adaptation measures from now on.

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