Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the Inland Fisheries of Arid and Semi-Arid Regions of Africa

Inland fisheries of arid and semi-arid regions of Africa are seriously threatened by negative impacts of climate change. Literature and several models show increase in temperature of 1.1oC in some areas. Sea level rise is projected to increase to 0.8 m by the year 2100. Fish yields have increased almost linearly by around half a million metric tons per decade over the past 60 years, while clear cyclical variations in the residuals of about 20 years' periodicity above and below the trend line have been observed. Although fisher folks, their communities, and local institutions are already constantly adapting to various forms of change, flimsiness in the wider governance and macro-economic environment has weakened the overall adaptive capacity of these regions and fishers are vulnerable to projected climate change. For significant benefits of inland fisheries to be accomplished, planned adaptation at scales from the local to the regional is very necessary.

Climate change and adaptation practices in the forestry sector of the Russian Federation

Over the past 10 years, the country’s legal and regulatory framework has been developing instruments related to sustainable development and security in the context of climate change. To investigate the practice of planning measures for adaptation of the Russian forestry sector to climate change, an analysis has been made of the information on planned measures for the conservation of the ecological potential of forests, adaptation to climate change and increasing forest resilience provided in the forest planning documents of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The information in the Forest Plans shall be correlated with the results of the vulnerability and risk assessment carried out for the specific forestry conditions and forms an appropriate set of adaptation measures. The conducted study showed that 100% of the constituent entities whose forest plans contain adaptation indicators have planned to carry out adaptation measures to the risk associated with the increased frequency of wildfires. The analysis showed no correlation between the amount of work and the cost of implementing each of the planned adaptation actions and events. At the same time, the validity of risk adaptation priorities in some constituent entities probably requires further refinement and clarification.

Ontario's public infrastructure : adapting to climate change

The rapid pace at which the climate is changing has forced governments globally to focus on adaptation techniques for their built environment. This paper will define and explain Ontario's current management framework over its building portfolio and identify gaps in planned adaptation strategies and recommend solutions to fill these gaps. This research will be informed by current literature that details the most appropriate and successful approaches to managing a building portfolio in the face of climate change. Recommendations will be made as to how Ontario's public infrastructure frameworks and strategic approaches can be modified to embody a more holisitic, realistic and result-based approach to built form adaptation.

Ontario's public infrastructure : adapting to climate change

The rapid pace at which the climate is changing has forced governments globally to focus on adaptation techniques for their built environment. This paper will define and explain Ontario's current management framework over its building portfolio and identify gaps in planned adaptation strategies and recommend solutions to fill these gaps. This research will be informed by current literature that details the most appropriate and successful approaches to managing a building portfolio in the face of climate change. Recommendations will be made as to how Ontario's public infrastructure frameworks and strategic approaches can be modified to embody a more holisitic, realistic and result-based approach to built form adaptation.

Community Adaptation to Climate Change: Case of Gumuz People, Metekel Zone, Northwest Ethiopia

The effect of climate change on agricultural-dependent communities is immense. Ethiopia in which more than 85% of its population is agrarian is affected by climate change. Communities in different parts of the country perceived climate change and practice different climate change adaptation strategies. This chapter was initiated to identify adaptation strategy to the impact of changing climate. Data on a total of 180 households were gathered using structured and semi-structured questioners. Focus group discussion and key informant interview were also used for data collection. Climatic data from the nearest meteorological stations of the area were collected and used in this chapter. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The upshot indicated that all the respondent communities experienced at least one of autonomous/self-adaptation strategies to cope and live with the impacts of changing climate. Though 33.6% complained on its accessibility and pricing, 66.4% of the respondents reviled as they do not have any awareness on improved agricultural technologies. The major adaptation strategies identified were collecting and using of edible wild plants and other forest products, hunting, renting/selling of own farm lands, livestock sell, selling of household materials/assets, collecting and selling of wood and wood products and depending on well-off relatives, using drought-resistant crop variety, changing cropping calendar, replanting/sowing, and increasing farmland size. Nevertheless, the communities are not yet fully aware and accessed to policy-driven options for climate change adaptation. Although they used different autonomous adaptation mechanisms, the households are not resilient to the current and perceived climate change. Finally, based on the findings, the recommendation is that besides encouraging the existing community-based adaptation strategies planned adaptation strategies have to be implemented: such as early-warning and preparedness programs have to be effectively implemented in the area, introduction of different drought-resistant locally adapted food crop varieties, and expansion of large-scale investment in the area has to be checked, and give due recognition to forest ecosystem–based adaptation mechanisms of the local community in the area.

Exploring Sustainability Features and Determinants of Agricultural Insurance Programmes in Low-income Countries

Agriculture is the main occupation and source of livelihood for the majority of the inhabitants in low-income countries. However, agricultural activities in these countries are confronted with a plethora of challenges, including production and marketing risks. Some of the farmers in low-income countries have been employing autonomous and planned adaptation strategies, including agricultural insurance contracts to cope with the agricultural risks. Agricultural insurance has been acclaimed to possess enormous potential for managing agricultural risks in low-income countries. This study employed the literature review approach to identify the features and determinants of sustainable agricultural insurance programmes in low-income countries. The study found that the appropriate institutional arrangements, socio-economic and ecological pillars could interact to make agricultural insurance programmes in low-income countries sustainable. Since most low-income countries are still piloting and up scaling their agricultural insurance programmes, I recommend incorporating the institutional, socio-economic and ecological dimensions into the design and implementation of their agricultural insurance schemes.

Public health evidence for the UK’s Third Climate Change Risk Assessment

Background The UK has a statutory requirement under the Climate Change Act (2008) to undertake a Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) every five years. The Evidence Report for the Third CCRA, due 2021, will identify the most important current and future risks and opportunities to public health from climate change. It also considers whether present and planned adaptation strategies to are sufficient to manage the risks or additional action is required. Methods The analysis underpinning this review assesses whether risks and actions improve or exacerbate adverse health outcomes and inequalities. This paper reports on the CCRA3 evidence review, which considers the current and likely future impacts of changing flood risk, heatwaves, coastal change, air pollution, vector-borne disease and water quality on public health and healthcare delivery. All risks are assessed by their magnitude, as well as scored by urgency to address them. Results This paper presents the findings for two risks - from heat and coastal flooding impacts on population health and communities. A key focus has been to explore how climate change and policy responses affect the health of vulnerable groups and who could be further disadvantaged by inappropriate adaptation policies. This includes new analysis of the climate risks to health within the built environment and within the health and social care sector. The long-term health consequences of climate change have been considered through potential policy, building and environmental “lock-in”. Such lock-ins include potential risks to inhabitants from overheating due to building regulations failing to address increasing ambient temperatures or homes being built on flood plains. Conclusions Climate change presents challenges to deliver national policy responses ensuring that adaptation remains equitable and optimal for health. The CCRA3 Evidence Report will inform the third UK National Adaptation Plan, setting out Government actions for 2023-2028. Key messages Assess current and future risks and opportunities to public health from climate change. Assess present and planned adaptation strategies for management of risks.