DGIS Climate Risk Project

Objectives build practical experience in identifying climate risks for development investment; build practical experience in scoping out adaptation options; raise awareness of climate risk within DGIS and the development community within the Netherlands; increase DGIS’ knowledge and experience in the area of climate adaptation.

What has been done?

Quick Scans in 3 countries Bangladesh Bolivia Ethiopia

What happened in each country? Netherlands embassy made documents available 2 consultants hired (2 per country, 6 in total) 1-2 weeks desk study in country 3 country reports produced

Terms of reference for consultants Get general overview of projects and programmes Identify areas/sectors at risk Classify activities as low, medium or high risk (green, orange, red). Zoom in on two or three case studies for detailed study Produce specific suggestions on how to reduce risk and outcomes.

Conclusions from the country reports

Bangladesh Higher incidence of disasters Risk to national food security Migration to urban areas Deterioration of conditions for urban poor Ecosystems at risk Health risks to children and elderly Out of 12 DGIS projects:  1 project at high direct risk;  8 projects may become unsustainable over time;  7 projects could trigger developments that increase vulnerability

Bolivia Water resources at risk Risks to agriculture Diseases expanding Ecosystems under threat Out of 17 DGIS projects:  5 project at high risk  5 at medium risk Agricultural production chains project: Quinoa and other products affected by climate change Watershed Program: threats from floods and landslides, risk of triggering new vulnerabilities

Ethiopia Increasing droughts and floods Lives and livelihoods at risk Agriculture Health risks Out of 17 DGIS projects:  5 project at high risk  5 at medium risk Koka Dam needs to integrate climate risk management Kafa Development Program promoting new crops and livelihoods diversification neeeds to take account of changing climate

Bangladesh Study Bolivia Study Ethiopia Study Synthesis Report Key Findings Suggested Actions Donor agencies NGOs Knowledge institutions

Key findings # 1: Climate change is a significant threat to poverty reduction. # 2: Urgent action is required. # 3: Climate risk management is not receiving the attention it requires. # 4: There are options available to reduce climate risk. # 5: A ‘quick scan’ is an effective first step.

Suggested actions for DGIS and other donor agencies #1: Increase awareness within the organization #2: Make climate risk management part of normal good practice #3: Pay attention to national and sectoral strategic planning #4: Improve coordination between donor agencies #5: Support local NGOs #6: Assess the costs and benefits of adaptation to climate change

Suggested actions for development NGOs # 7: Implement systematic climate risk management # 8: Improve coordination with other development actors # 9: Share knowledge and experience # 10: Advocacy for adaptation

Suggested actions for knowledge institutions #11: Strengthen capacity to produce and communicate climate information #12: Strengthen interfaces between the producers of climate information and the end users.

And then…?

Expert Meeting and Public Debate The Hague, 21 March 2007 Development NGOs, researchers and government officials debated the findings in expert meeting Minister of Development responded to report in public debate

Next steps? Select 2-3 projects identified as high risk Support embassy staff and project/programme staff to reduce risk Use these as examples to show that climate risks can be reduced relatively easily

Reports free to download: