Adaptive Social Protection in Rwanda: A No-Regrets Approach to Increased Resilience in a Territorial Planning Context

This paper will highlight the potential for Social Protection (SP) policies and programs in Rwanda to increase household and community resilience by lowering vulnerability and increasing the capacity for poor and vulnerable households, by explicitly integrating SP with Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA). SP/DRM/CCA have a lot in common, but they have historically been dealt with by different disciplines and communities of practice, operating in different institutions and using different conceptual and analytical frameworks and terminologies. All three agendas attempt to manage hazards/risks by transforming, strengthening and protecting assets and livelihoods,including efforts to improve institutional capacities, and to decrease vulnerability and build resilience and thereby promote poverty-reducing sustainable growth. However, each has a different focus in terms of timing, purpose and target groups.