Climate Change Adaptation in a Changing Environment

INTRODUCTION

Climate change impacts will affect social and ecological systems in complex and broad-ranging ways as technological, economic, social and ecological changes take place across regions, groups and sectors. Many of these impacts, such as impacts on ecological systems, have cascading effects on social, economic and health outcomes. In order to respond to climate change, more vigorous actions are required to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and to adapt to unavoidable consequences that are increasing vulnerability around the world. This training places local sustainability, its development challenges and local vulnerabilities in the context of climate changes at regional and global levels in order to understand their linkages. It is well recognized that a response strategy to climate change is an additional and new area of sustainable community development, that in addition to many other local priorities like reducing poverty, improving sanitation and safe access to fresh water, health issues and diminishing ecological resiliency.

DURATION

5 days.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

• Conduct and interpret vulnerability assessments by understanding its key components of exposure, sensitivity and capacity
• Identify impacts of future climate change and climate variability on human well-being and environment
• Identify key areas of integration, in which adaptation to climate change goes hand-in hand with other development priorities and building resilience in natural and human systems;
• Identify and develop basic elements of an implementation plan to progress with adaptation options.

COURSE OUTLINE

Module 1:

Principles and key concepts

• Introduction to climate change and climate change adaptation
• Strategy development and planning for Climate Change Adaptation
• Legal frame work for Climate Change Adaptation
• Characteristics of Vulnerability and Scope of the Assessment
• Vulnerability Assessments and the DPSIR Framework
• Defining vulnerability
• Vulnerability to climate change
• Monitoring Vulnerability

Module 2:

Introduction to GIS for Climate change

• Introduction to GIS software
• Planning for a GIS system installation
• Working with a GIS software
• Introduction to GPS
• GPS data collection
• GPS data download