ICIMOD is implementing, in collaboration with its partners, a project titled 'Too much water, too little water - adaptation strategies to climate-induced water stress and hazards in the greater Himalayan region', funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), from June 2008 to December 2010. The first phase was carried out from June 2008 to December 2009 during which five case studies which were carried out in: i) Yunnan province, China, by the Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB) in collaboration with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF); ii) Assam state, India, by Aaranyak; iii) Bihar state, India, by Winrock International, India (WII); iv) the Koshi basin, Nepal, by the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition - Nepal (ISET-N); and v) Chitral District, Pakistan, by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP).
Overall coordination of the study was provided by ICIMOD with support and guidance from a team from the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo (CICERO), UNEP-GRID Arendal, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), and Institute for Social and Environmental Transition (ISET).
The second phase broadens the focus from case studies to four thematic study areas of adaptation emerging out of the first phase studies: local water governance, a study to be led by Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP); agroforestry and agricultural diversification and intensification, to be led by the Kunming Institute of Botany and the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry ICRAF); flood mitigation infrastructure, to be led by Aaranyak; and livelihood diversification including migration, to be led by ICIMOD.
Parallel to these studies, a policy team lead by IIED coordinated policy studies on adaptation to climate change in India, led by National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM); in China by ICRAF; in Nepal by ISET-Nepal and in Pakistan by ISET-Pakistan.
The studies have brought forth several key messages which have been captured in different information products. This document provides an outreach plan for delivering key messages on adaptation to climate change to different target audiences. Since almost all individuals are somehow related to policies, the target audiences are segregated by their relation to national policies. These are discussed below:
Key messages
The messages coming out of the studies and that need to be clearly communicated are
Overall driving message:
Action on adaptation is urgent.
Key messages, field studies
Livelihood diversification is an important and widely employed adaptation strategy, but it requires institutional and policy support for long-term sustainability.
Social networks and local institutions play a vital role in enhancing adaptive capacity
Cultural norms affect people's adaptive behaviour; despite being deeply rooted, they can shift over time in response to needs.
With good governance and planning that takes account of climate risk, adaptive infrastructure development can contribute to enhancing water security and flood management.
Factors enabling adaptation may also constrain it.
Adaptation requires striking a balance between short-term priorities and long-term gains.
National institutions and policies strongly affect people's ability to adapt at the local level, but the national level is rarely informed by adaptation concerns and priorities.
Key messages, policy studies
People's ability to adapt is closely linked to their overall security.
Policies need to reach to households and communities, where responses to climate variability most frequently occur.
Aligning sector policies to adaptation objectives is one of the major challenges of planned adaptation.
Adaptation planning needs to be built from bottom-up for effective adaptation.
Adaptation is more than coping. In well-adapted systems people and the environment are doing well.
Adaptation never occurs in a policy vacuum, and the dichotomy between "local" (autonomous/spontaneous/endogenous) and "planned" (national, programmatic, exogenous) adaptation is false: the two are interlinked.
Adaptive capacity is a function of being healthy (wellbeing, security, health), wealthy (income, asset holdings enterprise), wise (access to information, knowledge) and well-governed (equity of access to resources, participation in decision-making and the governance system). Systems and institutions, and the opportunities and capabilities they provide, sustain these. Adaptive capacity within a population is greatest when these systems and institutions are robust.
Information products
The information products evolving out of the project and encompassing the above messages are:
Phase 1
Field study publication - Synthesis report on 'Local responses to too much and too little water', and 5 site specific case studies
Documentary films 'Living with floods' based in Assam and 'In the grip of drought' based in Nepal
Planned for Phase 2
Translated case studies (from Phase one)
Policy synthesis with full report
Thematic studies synthesis with full report
Policy package - information leaflets (2-4 pages crisp information)
Repackaged films for different media such as Youtube
2-minute video capsules to be captured during the writeshop
2-minute Slideshow media for use as screensavers and during breaks of workshops
Dissemination plan to reach out to different target audiences
Policy touches and impacts the lives of almost every individual. The linkage is therefore drawn upon to segregate target audiences for the purpose of disseminating the findings of this study. The following table offers ways of delivering the key messages and findings of the studies to different target audiences.
Target audiences
Key messages
Desired action or response
Products
Channels/platforms of communication
Mechanism
National policy makersin China, India, Nepal, Pakistan and elsewhere
Provision of basic needs is essential to people's ability to adapt
Emphasis on basic services, including energy, in adaptation plans and strategies
D, f, g, h
Side event at SIWI - International Water Week
Through NAPA processes, IIED and ISET initiated
Side event at COP 16
Inaugural events of workshops
Distribution of policy specific information products
Presentation at workshops followed by responding to questions and requests for information
Decentralization of services to local level can facilitate adaptive capacity
Policies that devolve management authority to local levels
Sector policies and programmes need to be informed by climate change scenarios and aligned to adaptation strategies and priorities
Sector policy reviews as part of national adaptation planning processes
Adaptation strategies and actions must be informed by local priorities, options and needs
Creation of mechanisms for incorporating local ideas and concerns into policy and planning processes
Policy influencers:International development organizations, NGOs, academia, donor agencies, the media
Specific target: development organisations - Adaptation policies must be strengthened through local needs, concerns, and specificities and their priorities
Provide platforms to bridge gap between local adaptation strategies and policy makers
Emphasise on policy makers that short term plans should be informed and fed into long term strategies
Advocate key messages in NAPA processes and national consultations
A, b, d, e, f, g
Workshops,
Ecohealth
PAC/BAC meeting
Websites, Social networks,
Press releases, media sensitization workshops and partner platforms
Proactive distribution of products on websites,
delivery of physical copies to audiences and
use of presentations during workshops and side events
use of information products, especially visual products, as educational materials at educational institutions
Adaptation strategies evolve locally but need institutional and policy support for strengthening the strategies and for their long term sustainability
Educate all stakeholders including grassroots and policymakers about effects of climate change on local adaptation strategies
Media:Recognise people's resilience and capacities to cope/ adapt and do not sensationalise issues but highlight facts
Presentation to students during Nepal Water week and at various British Council organised events on climate change adaptation
Development of educational materials
Promoting credible information about facts and figures.
Policy implementers:Governments, local governments and their partners
Cross sectoral approach and transparency of information among stakeholders is required to strengthen adaptation strategies which harmonise local needs, demands and knowledge.
Consultation among different sectors and authorities and the locals while implementing policies
A, b, c, e, f, g
Workshops
Through NAPA processes, IIED and ISET initiated
Distribution of information products
Presentation at workshops followed by responding to questions and requests for information
It also helps avoid deteriorants to future adaptation strategies
Work 'with' communities rather than 'for' them
Those affected by policy:Households, businesses, service providers, informal sector
Governance is not only about state and its machinery; people and peoples' institutions are an integral part of it
Communities and groups accept their responsibilities to strengthen their adaptation strategies and demand institutional and policy support
B, g, h
Interactive workshops &focussed discussions
Air on national TV Nepal (Janachaso)
Interactive programmes, films broadcast on national television, radio interviews
Enhancing their local adaptive capacities without deteriorating natural resources
Field based community interaction led by thematic teams and like-minded institutions
Policy learners and communicators: Global and regional networks and institutions
A more coordinated and collaborative approach (involving locals) will ensure a 2-way information traffic of information learning
Include and give importance to local and regional concerns
B, c, g, h
Networks and social media
Understanding the policies and strengthening the policies, is key to strengthen the adaptive capacity of the local community.
Local adaptation is key to understanding the climate changes occurring
Global and regional conferences
Stockholm International Water week
DRR Ministerial conference
Side event presentations
