Over the past three years RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have brought together regional experts to reflect on the outcomes of the 15th, 16th and 17th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The resulting booklets “Forests

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What does successful adaptation look like? This is a question frequently asked by planners, policy makers and other professionals charged with the task of developing and implementing adaptation strategies. While adaptation is increasingly recognized as an important climate risk management strategy, and on-the-ground adaptation planning activity is becoming more common-place, there is no clear guidance

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Mongabay: In Climate Myths: The Campaign Against Climate Science, Dr. John J. Berger deconstructs the climate change denialists’ myths in simple, easy-to-read terms. According to the Pew Research Center: “Nearly seven-in-ten (69%) [Americans] say there is solid evidence that the earth’s average temperature has been getting warmer over the past few decades, up six points

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Scientific skepticism is healthy. In fact, science by its very nature is skeptical. Genuine skepticism means considering the full body of evidence before coming to a conclusion. However, when you take a close look at arguments expressing climate ‘skepticism’, what you often observe is cherry picking of pieces of evidence while rejecting any data that

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EU Climate Adaptation Platform: The preparation of these guidelines has benefited from useful inputs from a range of stakeholders, who had the opportunity to comment on a preliminary draft. Those include representatives from the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, KPMG, Network Rail, the European Institute for Environmental Policy, and KfW.

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Springer: Climate Change and the Law is the first scholarly effort to systematically address doctrinal issues related to climate law as an emergent legal discipline. It assembles some of the most recognized experts in the field to identify relevant trends and common themes from a variety of geographic and professional perspectives. In a remarkably short

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weAdapt: Climate change vulnerability and adaptation planning can be taken into consideration across many sectors and at different levels and scales. Different scales of planning have different contexts and may require different approaches. In a landscape context, inter-linkages between sectors within the landscape form the context of adaptation planning, as the response of any one sector may have consequences

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TERI: Recently the need for a greater understanding on linkages between biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation and the livelihoods of the local communities has increased the attention of the world leaders. The threat of climate change, which cuts across national and international boundaries, has further catalyzed the importance of the issues and facilitated

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Winner of the Asia Society’s Bernard Schwartz 2012 Book Award The battles of yesterday were fought over land. Those of today are over energy. But the battles of tomorrow may be over water. Nowhere is that danger greater than in water-distressed Asia. Water stress is set to become Asia’s defining crisis of the twenty-first century,

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This book provides a great overview of practical and early examples of actual adaptive actions already taking place across Europe. It provides detailed information on each identified measure: to which sector it belongs, (i.e. water safety, agriculture, cities), specific climate effects adapted to, length of the project and costs and benefits, including the proportion of

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UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark today launched UNDP’s 2013 Human Development Report, which charts the unprecedented rise of developing countries to create a new “global middle class.” “The development landscape is very different today from when the first Human Development Report was launched 23 years ago,” Helen Clark said, releasing UNDP’s 22nd flagship

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According to many authorities the impact of humanity on the earth is already overshooting the earth’s capacity to supply humanity’s needs. This is an unsustainable position. This book does not focus on the problem but on the solution, by showing what it is like to live within a fair earth share ecological footprint. The authors

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PR Web: University of Massachusetts Boston professor and leading conservation biologist Kamal Bawa and conservation photographer Sandesh Kadur announce the release of their book Himalaya: Mountains of Life. Five years in the making, the book focuses on the Eastern Himalaya—the first time the region’s threatened biodiversity and cultures have been documented together by a preeminent

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IISD: Reports summarizing the risks associated with climate variability and change in selected sectors, ecosystems and/or regions in three African and four Latin American and Caribbean countries are now available. African reports: Kenya: Climate risk management for malaria control in Kenya: the case of the western Kenyan highlands Niger: Sustainable wetland management in the face

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The book is the first to provide a complete overview of international climate finance. In the Copenhagen Accord of 2009, developed countries jointly committed to mobilize US$100 billion per year to address climate change in developing countries. The book presents the best information available on this subject: an overview of current international climate finance, estimates

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Around 2 years ago, I was honoured to be invited by geologist and long-time educator Tom Farmer to collaborate on a textbook that expounded on the principles of climate science as well as put climate change denial in perspective. That collaboration has now been published by Springer; the textbook is Climate Change Science: A Modern

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The UN-REDD Programme is pleased to launch the UN-REDD Programme Guidelines on Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) (Working Final version). Recognizing the critical role of indigenous peoples and other forest-dependent communi­ties to the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of REDD+, the UN-REDD Programme has prioritized stakeholder engagement from its inception. Recognizing that a key component

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FIELD: The purpose of this guide is to assist developing country negotiators and others who are working on REDD-plus*. FIELD provides this information on a neutral basis. The guide is available in English, French and Spanish. Electronic versions can be found at www.field.org.uk This version has been updated in February 2013. Please note that final

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The GLOBE Climate Legislation Study THIRD EDITION. A Review of Climate Change Legislation in 33 Countries. On 14 January 2013 the Global Legislators Organisation (GLOBE International) released the 3rd Climate Legislation Study – produced in partnership with the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics. This is the most comprehensive research project that

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UNDP: Poverty reduction and economic growth can be sustained only if natural resources are managed on a sustainable basis. Greening rural development can stimulate rural economies, create jobs and help maintain critical ecosystem services and strengthen and strengthen climate resilience of the rural poor. Conversely, environmental challenges can limit the attainment of development goals. The

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Book: This paper examines the public financingof climate change actions in Nepal, including the role played by communities, civil society, the private sector and international support. The objective of the study has been to develop an appropriate methodology and then conduct an exploratory Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR), at both the national and

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NCCARF: This project examines the likely impacts on the built environment of increased intensities in weather-related natural hazard events, in order to identify the possibilities of using the regulatory mechanisms of building construction, housing insurance and planning in climate change adaptation. The research findings are restricted to these three aspects of the built environment, and

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Book Review by Dr. Sudhirendar Sharma: The resolute perseverance with which Dinesh Kumar Mishra has chronicled major rivers, flowing through the flood plains of Bihar, during past three decades makes one realise if this civil engineer could have been anything but a ‘river biographer’. Meticulous with details, ranging from mythology to hydrology, the narrative weaves

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Springer: There has been some degree of reluctance in the past to consider disaster risk management within the mainstream of adaptation to climate variability and climate change. However, there is now wide recognition of the need to incorporate disaster risk management concerns in dealing with such phenomena. There is also a growing awareness of the

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Toward Resilience: A Guide to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) is an introductory resource for staff of development and humanitarian organizations working with people whose live and rights are threatened by disasters and climate change. The guide provides essential introductory information, principals of effective practice, guidelines for action in a range

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IEA: The role of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and the Green Climate Fund to realise the potential of energy efficiency in developing countries. Improving energy efficiency (EE) can reduce energy demand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and deliver a range of other benefits such as improved air quality, enhanced economic competitiveness and, at the national

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Smart climate finance In order to achieve a 50 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, total financing to 2050 of around EUR 30 trillion will be required. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has concluded that a significant majority of this investment will need to come from the private sector. Public

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CSD-I: Tim Magee, and his colleagues at CSDi, are to be commended for producing a book which should change the way development is practiced, and so directly contribute to the improvement of millions of lives around the world.’ – Howard White, Executive Director, 3ie, USA ‘A fascinating and informative guide to a subject of growing

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Climate change is expected to have significant impacts on Europe that will affect its economic sectors and the distribution of  economic activity. While some of those climate-change impacts can be alleviated by mitigation action, some degree of climate change cannot be avoided anymore. This makes adaptation an essential component in addressing the impacts from climate

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ADB’s corporate mandate is to help achieve an Asia and Pacific region that is free from poverty. During more than 40 years of operation, ADB has successfully addressed this challenge by providing projects and programs to its DMCs focusing on economic growth as the foundation of poverty reduction efforts. As ADB’s development work in the

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ClimateAdaptAsia: This report scopes out knowledge gaps and unmet needs relating to climate change adaptation in China, and proposes ways to address them. It is the product of an international collaboration between Stockholm Environment Institute(SEI) Asia and Beijing Zhi Dao He Xie Management Consulting Co. Ltd., and their work with local and community development organisations.

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The contribution of tourism to climate change, and the likely consequences of climate change for key tourist destinations, has been well reported and discussed. Yet, there is a lack of evidence-based systematic practical advice as to how the tourism industry should respond to the challenge of climate change. Building on a sound conceptual understanding of

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SEI: This policy brief, based on SEI research for the High-Level Panel of the CDM Policy Dialogue, shows how large-scale power supply projects may undermine the value and integrity of the CDM and proposes transitioning away from them. Despite years of development, experience, and revision, the Clean Development Mechanism’s method for assessing additionality remains controversial

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World Bank: This report provides a snapshot of recent scientific literature and new analyses of likely impacts and risks that would be associated with a 4° Celsius warming within this century. It is a rigorous attempt to outline a range of risks, focusing on developing countries and especially the poor. A 4°C world would be

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Mr. Shankar Sharma: Energy has become a crucial part of the modern society, so much so that per capita availability of energy is considered as an indicator of Human Development. However, the social, economic and environmental impacts of demand/supply of energy are so great that only a holistic and objective consideration of all the related

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IEG of World Bank: Developing countries are not yet well adapted even to current climate risks: floods, droughts and storm.  Yet those risks are becoming harsher as the world warms, climate extremes become more intense, and the oceans rise – the consequences of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. This evaluation draws lessons from World Bank Group

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Times of India: The warning is ominous — climate change and global warming will make vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria- already causing havoc in the country more lethal. A landmark report on climate change and health, published by the World Health Organization on Monday, said that in the last 100 years, the world has

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The Climate Institute: China has long been perceived as a laggard on climate action, and used as scapegoat by other countries, like Australia, to delay action. But this argument is increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to make given China’s recent policies. China will soon have the world’s second largest carbon trading scheme and is aggressively

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Chinawaterrisk: At the 2009 climate summit in Copenhagen, China announced that it would reduce its carbon intensity at least 40% by 20201.Achieving this ambitious goal has become an overriding priority for the Chinese government ever since. As a result, the latest 12th Five-Year Plan 2011-2015 (12FYP) has been described as China’s “greenest” five-year plan to

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University of Leeds: Research released today shows that within the next 10 years large parts of Asia can expect increased risk of more severe droughts, which will impact regional and possibly even global food security. The report, led by the University of Leeds and published by the UK-based Centre for Low Carbon Futures, highlights China,

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The National Academics: Scientific evidence shows that most glaciers in South Asia’s Hindu Kush Himalayan region are retreating, but the consequences for the region’s water supply are unclear, this report finds. The Hindu Kush Himalayan region is the location of several of Asia’s great river systems, which provide water for drinking, irrigation, and other uses

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Adaptasiapacific: Turning tables on climate change: indigenous and local community assessments of impacts and adaptation In recent years there has been a growing awareness that scientific knowledge alone is inadequate for solving the climate crisis. The knowledge of local and indigenous peoples is increasingly recognized as an important source of climate knowledge and adaptation strategies.

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UNESCO: We must not miss the opportunity of the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development to set a new agenda for a sustainable 21st century. In Rio, we must see where we stand, cast a cold eye on our successes and failures and draw a new road map for the future. We are not starting

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WRI Publication: This report introduces the National Adaptive Capacity (NAC) framework, a tool to help governments bring institutional capacity development into their adaptation planning processes. The NAC framework enables its users to systematically assess institutional strengths and weaknesses that may help or hinder adaptation. National adaptation plans may then be better designed to make best

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Oxfam: Climate change is fast pushing the poorest and most marginalized communities beyond their capacity to respond. This report draws on case studies from around the world and on Oxfam’s experience working with rural communities. It sets out what is needed to enable people living in poverty to adapt to climate change, and a range

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This book provides an interdisciplinary view of how to prepare the ecological and socio-economic systems to the reality of climate change. Scientifically sound tools are needed to predict its effects on regional, rather than global, scales, as it is the level at which socio-economic plans are designed and natural ecosystem reacts. The first section of

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This was commissioned by infoDev in collaboration with DFID and UNIDO to develop practical recommendations on the design of Climate Innovation Centres (CICs) in 2010. Based on rigorous analysis by Professor Ambuj Sagar and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the report shows how CICs can: develop and deploy appropriate technologies to mitigate and adapt to climate

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This week, WRI released a new report summarizing assessments of institutional readiness for adapting to climate change. The report, Ready or Not, focuses on pilot applications of the National Adaptive Capacity (NAC) framework in three countries: Bolivia, Ireland, and Nepal. Co-authors Heather McGray and Aarjan Dixit respond to questions about the NAC framework, which provided

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GIZ: The Indo-German project Climate Change Adaptation in Rural Areas of India (CCA RAI, www.ccarai.org) is pleased to announce the launch of the book “Adaptation to Climate Change with a Focus on Rural Areas and India“. The publication provides an overview of the main issues in current adaptation discussions and suggests adaptation options in six

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Improved integrated water management practices could increase agricultural production, protect natural systems and improve regional food security A major new survey of the likely effects of climate change on India’s water resources identifies huge challenges to maintaining adequate supplies in the next few decades, but argues that these can be overcome with an integrated, multi-sectorial

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Book: This review examines the provisions in Nepal’s legal framework related to climate change and the local community’s rights. The review starts with the broader international climate change regime, the nuances of the international climate justice, and key aspects of international climate policy. After laying background on the concept and status of global climate change

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Practical Action Handbook from Nepal: This handbook is aimed at practitioners who seek examples of how the V2R framework can be used in practice, based on examples from Nepal. It offers a step process, workbooks and tools.  It includes guidance on how to include long-term trends in programming with a focus on climate change. It

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Deccan Chronical: Praful Bidwai’s book The Politics of Climate Change and the Global Crisis: Mortgaging Our Future is written at a time of deep diplomatic despondency. It is brutally honest about what is at risk if no action is taken at the national and international level. It exposes the false solution offered by India in

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A Technical Paper by European Tropical Center: This project builds on the preceding phases of work on climate change adaptation indicators undertaken by AEA and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) for the European Environment Agency (EEA). It uses the ‘high-level’ adaptation indicator categories proposed for biodiversity (Harley & van Minnen, 2010) as a starting

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You are an expert in disaster risk management/reduction, working in tough conditions with little time to process huge amounts of information. You make life-or-death decisions about disaster programmes or policies. You know a lot about what you do. But knowing is not enough. We need to integrate DRM/DRR, development and climate change adaptation. Changing climate,

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Book: Because of the importance of mountains and the many services they provide, sustainable mountain development does not only regard mountain communities, but is a global concern.. Climate change, increasing natural disasters, food and energy crises, population growth, water scarcity and desertification, loss of biodiversity, degradation of ecosystems, migration, and growth of cities – the

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The Friday Times: As Pakistan and its citizens reel under the impact of two devastating floods within two consecutive years, the realization that climate change is upon us has begun to sink in – what with over 20 million people displaced from the northern tip of the country to the southernmost in 2010, and another

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Chinadilogue: In his alarming Tropic of Chaos, Christian Parenti sees a “new geography of violence” as political, economic and environmental disasters collide and climate change multiplies the threats. This book is a must-read, says Jan McGirk. Investigative journalist Christian Parenti’s latest book, Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence, is a

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Controlling Climate Change, by Dr. Bert Metz and published by Cambridge University Press, provides an unbiased and comprehensive discussion of what can be done to solve the problem of man-made climate change. It gives an in-depth overview of issues, useful for both students and professionals, while using a minimum of technical jargon, and is accessible

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Book: Climate Change: IPCC, Water Crisis, and Policy Riddles With Reference to India and Her Surroundings  Author: Binayak Ray    Lexington Books, Maryland    234 pages, $45 book review `Concerned about effects’ by: Dr. Sudhirendar Sharma For anyone struggling to comprehend what climate change might mean to life-support systems and policy arena in the sub-continent, Binayak Ray

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