Integrating Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change into Sustainable Development Policy Planning: Implementation in Eastern and Southern Africa

This fact sheet describes a four-year project led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and executed by the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). The project aims to integrate climate change vulnerability and adaptation into sustainable development planning through pilot projects in Kenya, Mozambique, and Rwanda, focusing on agriculture, forestry, and energy production.

• The project's primary goal is to reduce community vulnerability to climate change impacts to protect livelihoods and improve well-being. It seeks to mainstream adaptation into sustainable development plans via pilot projects in Kenya, Mozambique, and Rwanda, focusing on the energy, forestry, and agriculture sectors.
• In Mozambique, the project addresses the issue of over 40 million hectares of land burning annually. The strategy includes training 40 community rangers in forest fire management in 2006 across the Sofala and Inhamabane provinces, establishing a provincial multi-stakeholder roundtable for wildfire coordination, and working toward a satellite early warning system with the Southern Africa Fire Network.
• In Rwanda, the project focuses on the energy sector's vulnerability, specifically declining river flows affecting hydropower productivity. Efforts are centered on increasing the resilience of the Ntaruka and Mukungwa hydropower stations in the Northern Province through natural resource management in three villages, including erosion control and agro-forestry, and promoting changes to the national energy strategy.
• In Kenya, the project has established 40 demonstration sites to introduce farmers to agro-forestry techniques and drought-resistant crop varieties. Future initiatives include the introduction of biogas systems, sand dam construction, and a micro-credit scheme for self-help groups, with the goal of integrating these findings into Kenya's National Water Management Policy.
• The project facilitates regional knowledge sharing and capacity building among the three pilot countries, as well as observer countries Tanzania and Madagascar. A regional meeting was held in Nairobi in February 2007, with a second meeting planned for June 2008 to present field project outcomes to policy-makers.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Integrating Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change into Sustainable Development Policy Planning: Implementation in Eastern and Southern Africa. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/prepare_climate.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Integrating Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change into Sustainable Development Policy Planning: Implementation in Eastern and Southern Africa. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/prepare_climate.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Integrating Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change into Sustainable Development Policy Planning: Implementation in Eastern and Southern Africa |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/prepare_climate.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndintegrating, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Integrating Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change into Sustainable Development Policy Planning: Implementation in Eastern and Southern Africa}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/prepare_climate.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }