COMMUNITY-BASED RISK SCREENING TOOL – ADAPTATION AND LIVELIHOODS

The document describes the Community-based Risk Screening Tool (CRiSTAL), a decision-support application used to integrate climate adaptation into local projects. It outlines the tool's objective to analyze how climate hazards affect livelihoods and project activities, its three-phase analytical approach, and the various training and consultancy services provided by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and its partners.

• CRiSTAL is designed to help users understand the relationship between climate hazards, local livelihoods, and project activities. Specifically, it assesses how current and future hazards affect project areas, how people respond to these impacts, which livelihood resources are most critical for response strategies, and how project activities influence the availability of those resources.
• The tool employs a three-phase analytical process: Phase A focuses on understanding the livelihoods and climate context; Phase B evaluates implications for the project; and Phase C supports monitoring and evaluation. The process involves five steps, including describing the livelihoods context, analyzing climate risks, revising existing activities, designing new activities, and identifying monitoring and evaluation framework elements.
• CRiSTAL utilizes a combination of desk-based reviews, expert interviews, and participatory community consultations to gather data on local livelihoods and coping strategies. It is available as a Windows-compatible desktop application in English and Spanish, with specialized versions available for forests, food security, and protected areas (CRiSTAL Parks).
• Since 2007, the tool has been implemented in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In 2014, it was recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a decision-support tool for adaptation risk management and has been included in resources from the World Bank, UNEP, and UNFCCC.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). COMMUNITY-BASED RISK SCREENING TOOL – ADAPTATION AND LIVELIHOODS. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/iisd-cristal-brochure-2015.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. COMMUNITY-BASED RISK SCREENING TOOL – ADAPTATION AND LIVELIHOODS. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/iisd-cristal-brochure-2015.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=COMMUNITY-BASED RISK SCREENING TOOL – ADAPTATION AND LIVELIHOODS |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/iisd-cristal-brochure-2015.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndcommunitybased, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{COMMUNITY-BASED RISK SCREENING TOOL – ADAPTATION AND LIVELIHOODS}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/iisd-cristal-brochure-2015.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }