PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Session 2: What is Eco-Disaster Risk Reduction? Session 2.2 – Linking eco-DRR to climate change adaptation Consultation Workshop on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction for Sustainable Development

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Where we are now

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Outline PART IManaging climate risks PART IIEcosystem-based adaptation (EbA)

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Climate change: rising temperatures Source: IPCC, 2007

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction More climate-related disasters Source: GEO-4 Source: CRED/EM-DAT More people affected by climate- related disasters, especially in developing countries More extreme weather events

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Climate change: increased vulnerability of communities to hazards © A. Oswell/WWF-Canon © S. Morola/IRIN changes in livelihoods © M. Deghati/IRIN ECOSYSTEM DEGRADATION WATER AND FOOD SCARCITY CHANGES IN LIVELIHOODS

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Weather or climate? WEATHER = variability in atmospheric conditions on a day-to-day basis CLIMATE = long-term average weather; global background conditions that determine weather patterns Source: adapted from IPCC, 2007

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Variability or change? CLIMATE VARIABILITY = Variations in the mean state and other statistics (i.e. occurrence of weather extremes) of the climate beyond that of individual weather events, arising from either natural causes, or human activity CLIMATE CHANGE = change in the climate that persists for decades or longer, arising from either natural causes or human activity Source: adapted from IPCC, 2007; UNISDR, 2009

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction PUBLIC HEALTHECOSYSTEM SERVICES COASTAL SYSTEMSWATER RESOURCES FORESTRY AGRICULTURE Infectious, respiratory, water-borne, vector-borne diseases, heat Less predictability, changing yields, changing irrigation demand, pest infestations Forest composition, range, health & productivity More variability in water supply, changes in water quality/ distribution, competition Erosion, inundation, salinisation, stress on mangroves, marshes, wetlands Loss of habitat & species, migration Changes in: Precipitation Soil evaporation, evapo-transpiration Physical geography Sea level Frequency & intensity of extreme weather Ecosystem distribution & composition 1. Managing climate risks: disasters and climate change Climate change impacts across sectors

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Country example: Vietnam (film screening)

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Adapting to the impacts What climate adaptation means to you? What is climate adaptation in your daily work?

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Outline PART IManaging climate risks PART IIEcosystem-based adaptation (EbA)

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Ecosystem-based Adaptation “Integrates the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services into an overall strategy to help people adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. It includes the sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems to provide services that help people adapt to both current climate variability and climate change.” Source: Colls et al, 2009 CLOSELY LINKED TO ECO-DRR Reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience to both climate and non- climate risks Providing additional multiple economic, social, and environmental benefits Recognising the role of healthy and well-managed ecosystems in supporting communities to prevent, prepare for, cope with and recover from disaster situations and the impacts of climate change

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Multiple benefits from ecosystem-based adaptation Disaster risk reduction Livelihoods and food security Sustainable water management Biodiversity conservation Carbon sequestration © M. Deghati/IRIN

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction EbA is an effective approach to climate change adaptation  Readily available to the rural poor  Can be integrated into community-based adaptation  Ecosystems as natural buffers against hazard impacts are often more effective and cheaper to maintain than engineering structures, such as concrete walls  Healthy ecosystems have a greater potential to adapt to climate change themselves, and to recover more easily from extreme weather events

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Principles for effective EbA strategies 1.Address non-climate stresses to ecosystems (i.e. unsustainable harvests) 2.Involve local communities 3.Develop multi-partner, multi-sector strategies 4.Build upon existing good practices in natural resource management 5.Adopt adaptive management approaches 6.Integrate Ecosystem-based Adaptation with wider climate adaptation strategies (i.e. EWS, engineered infrastructure) 7.Communication and education (i.e. knowledge transfer, awareness raising)

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Examples of Ecosystem-based Adaptation Sustainable river basin and wetland management: water provision and quality, water storage, flood regulation Food security: indigenous knowledge on varieties, agrobiodiversity, agricultural landscapes Maintenance/restoration of mangroves and other coastal ecosystems to address coastal hazards Management/restoration of forests and shrublands to stabilize slopes, regulate water flows, and control wildfires Sustainable management of grasslands and rangelands for pastoral livelihoods and resilience to drought and flooding Protected area systems that ensure continued delivery of ecosystems services © UNDP / SGP © UNEP © UNDP/SGP © K.Holt/IRIN © M.Harvey/ WWF - Canon © ORMA/IUCN

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Case Study analysis © Tamelander /IUCN Sri Lanka © apes_abroad /flickr © IUCN/Water Programme © TNC Tsunami affected coasts Papua New Guinea Tanzania

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction KEY MESSAGES: Multiple benefits of ecosystem services for DRR and CCA Ecosystems Provide indispensable benefits: provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural services Reduce disaster risk in two important ways: –reduce physical exposure to hazards –increase resilience and reduce social- economic vulnerability to hazard impacts (sustaining livelihoods, providing goods) Provide multiple valuable services to urban settings –water provision and treatment, hazard protection, noise reduction, climate regulation, etc. Provide resources for local coping and recovery strategies © M. Deghati/IRIN

PEDRR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction KEY MESSAGES: Multiple benefits of ecosystem services for DRR and CCA Climate change mitigation (carbon sequestration) and adaptation (hazard mitigation and livelihood resilience) Environmental safeguards can and should be integrated in all phases of disaster management Ecosystem-based DRR interventions, like all DRR activities, reduce but do not remove risk EbA is closely related to ecosystem- based DRR: healthy and well-managed ecosystems in preventing, preparing for, coping with and recovering from disasters and the impacts of climate change © M.al-Jabri/IRIN