The challenge of adapting to climate change in developing countries

Climate change poses a huge threat to humans, particularly in developing countries. Until recently, however, donors and governments have done little to prepare for the impacts. A recent report highlights the progress and challenges in enabling development to adapt to a changing climate.

Adaptation to climate change is the ability to respond and adjust to the actual or potential impacts of changing conditions, in order to reduce harm or exploit opportunities. A report from the Institute of Development Studies in the UK and Tearfund, a development charity based in the UK, reviews the progress made by developing countries and donor agencies in ‘mainstreaming’ adaptation. This means including climate change in other development programmes and budgeting plans.

Many countries have carried out impact assessments to determine how climate change will affect them. The small island developing states in the Caribbean and the Pacific, which are extremely vulnerable to climate change, have made good progress. Wider progress on mainstreaming climate adaptation has been limited, however. In particular, mainstreaming adaptation into existing frameworks, such as national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, has been poor.

Challenges to mainstreaming climate change adaptation in developing countries include:

• A lack of awareness amongst many policymakers and development workers about the potential impacts of climate change, and little information about how these relate to development priorities.
• Institutions with little policy influence, such as environmental organisations or meteorological departments, often deal with climate change. There is poor coordination between organisations working on climate change and those involved with development and disaster risk reduction.
• Policymaking related to climate change often overlooks important groups of actors, particularly civil society.
• There is a risk of ‘mainstreaming fatigue’ if efforts to integrate climate change adaptation are not successful. This means that adaptation may not receive the attention it deserves if staff are under-motivated or overworked. Also, donors and planners may not accept the costs of changing their working practices.
• Developed countries, largely responsible for climate change, must assist developing countries’ adaptation, through provision of financial and technical assistance. However, current levels of funding and support are woefully inadequate.

Climate change is likely to affect developing countries most significantly. They are more reliant on agriculture, which is closely linked to climatic conditions. They are also more vulnerable to changes in coastal environments and water resources, and have limited money or expertise to cope with damaging changes. It is vital, therefore, that adaptation strategies become a central part of development planning. Key recommendations include:

• Governments need to work closely with the scientific community to help it provide information that is easy to understand and more relevant to development activities.
• A broad range of stakeholders should be involved in climate change policy-making, including civil society, sectoral departments and senior policymakers.
• Funding for adaptation will need to increase well beyond current levels.

Source(s):
‘Overcoming the Barriers: Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in Developing Countries’, Tearfund Climate Change Briefing Paper 1, Tearfund: Teddington, by Tom Mitchell, Thomas Tanner and Emily Wilkinson, 2006 (PDF) Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 2 March 2007

Further Information:
Thomas Tanner
Institute of Development Studies
University of Sussex
Brighton, BN1 9RE
UK

Contact the contributor: t.tanner@ids.ac.uk

Institute of Development Studies, UK

Rachel Roach
Tearfund
100 Church Road, Teddington
Middlesex, TW11 8QE
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8977 9144
Fax: +44 (0) 20 8977 3594
Contact the contributor: ppadmin@tearfund.org

Tearfund

Other related links:
Linking Climate Adaptation Network

id21 insights 53 'Securing development in the face of climate change'

'Adapting to climate change – how do poor people cope?'

'Adapting to climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean'

'Changing farming systems to adapt to climate change in Senegal'

'How communities are preparing for climate change in the Philippines'