Search Climate Insights Directory

The report 'Beyond the Stripes' by WWF International demonstrates that tiger conservation serves as a catalyst for broader environmental and human benefits. It highlights how protecting tiger landscapes safeguards biodiversity hotspots, secures water for millions, mitigates climate change through carbon storage, and supports local economies and traditional cultures across Asia.

The Government of Zambia has made progress in establishing a national framework for climate change adaptation and institutionalizing disaster prevention at district and community levels through District Disaster Management Committees. However, the document notes that community-level mechanisms often become defunct between major disasters and that urgent responses to floods and droughts frequently overshadow adaptation to gradual climate change. To improve impacts, the briefing recommends strengthening the mandate and financing of district institutions and improving coordination between Local Government, NGOs, and donor-funded programmes.

The review of 15 African and Asian countries reveals consistent adaptation priorities in agriculture, fresh water, and human health, with significant activity in the agriculture sector. While most countries have initiated National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes and integrated climate change into national development plans, progress is limited in subnational mainstreaming and the establishment of monitoring and evaluation systems.

The document analyzes adaptation efforts in 15 countries across Africa and Asia, highlighting a universal prioritization of the agricultural sector and significant gaps in subnational planning and monitoring systems. While national-level policy frameworks are advancing, the review identifies a persistent lack of adaptation programming in health, forestry, and fisheries, and notes that progress is driven more by political leadership and donor priorities than by development status or climate risk levels.

The paper explores how learning within and across organizations can enhance disaster risk reduction (DRR) and community resilience. It identifies key facilitators of learning, such as high leadership commitment and skilled mediation, and barriers, including the exclusion of stakeholders and unclear project aims. The document details the EDUCEN project's application of social learning, social network analysis, and knowledge transfer to integrate cultural aspects into DRR. It emphasizes that resilience requires adaptive governance and the ability of communities to learn from past disasters to improve future risk reduction measures.

The document outlines a multi-hazard study funded by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network for the Government of El Salvador, which modeled nearly 100 hazard scenarios affecting critical infrastructure. The study found that the long-term average annual loss to analyzed infrastructure is estimated at US$35.5 million, with earthquakes and floods accounting for nearly 80% of these losses and schools identified as the infrastructure type most at risk. The brief recommends using these estimates to prioritize retrofits, integrating results into local planning, expanding risk metrics, analyzing climate change impacts on specific hazards, and improving inter-ministerial collaboration.

The report identifies climate change as a significant threat to Tanzania's development due to rising temperatures, sea-level rise, and altered precipitation patterns. While the government has established institutional structures and strategies, the report emphasizes the need for better implementation and integration of climate change into sectoral policies, particularly in water, health, agriculture, and disaster risk reduction.

The report identifies Pakistan's vulnerability to climate change due to its geography, dependence on the Indus Basin, and socioeconomic challenges. While the government established a National Climate Change Policy in 2012 and an implementation framework in 2013, the report notes limited progress in executing these actions. Current adaptation efforts are primarily discrete, internationally funded programs focusing on agriculture, water resource management, and disaster risk management, particularly in Sindh, Punjab, and high mountain regions.

The report assesses Namibia's vulnerability to climate change, identifying six key sectors at risk and noting that while the government has established a national climate change policy, adaptation efforts remain limited and heavily dependent on donor funding.

The briefing identifies six critical challenges to connecting climate action and sustainable development: creating a unified national narrative, developing integrated planning and policies, ensuring institutional coherence, adopting a whole-of-society approach, reforming finance, and aligning monitoring and reporting systems. It emphasizes that because climate change impacts development and the sectors driving development are the same as those critical for mitigation, treating these agendas as separate risks undermining both. The document highlights examples of integrated strategies in Ethiopia, Colombia, France, Gabon, and Bangladesh, while calling for a shift from fragmented bureaucratic silos toward systemic transformation and inclusive governance.

The research reviews the SDMPs of Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Odisha, and Uttarakhand, finding that while they provide a foundation for coordination, they overemphasize response and relief over prevention and risk reduction. The report recommends clarifying institutional responsibilities, innovating financing models, mainstreaming risk reduction across state departments, and better incorporating socioeconomic vulnerabilities and climate change risks into assessments.

The report reviews the SDMPs of Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Odisha, and Uttarakhand, finding that while they are sophisticated in disaster response, they lack sufficient focus on risk reduction, socioeconomic vulnerability, and climate change integration. It recommends clarifying institutional roles, operationalising risk-reduction funds, and aligning state plans more closely with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.

The document outlines a bottom-up risk assessment of seven infrastructure categories in El Salvador, estimating an average annual loss of US$35.5 million. It identifies earthquakes and floods as the primary drivers of loss and recommends integrating these findings into local planning and climate change adaptation strategies.

The document argues that gender-sensitive approaches lead to more sustainable climate and development outcomes by recognizing different needs and addressing power imbalances. It notes that while international frameworks are improving, women's views and leadership are often excluded, and they are frequently viewed only as victims. Based on case studies from Peru, India, and Kenya, the guide emphasizes that gender inequalities exacerbate vulnerability to urban risks and that promoting gender equality must be an explicit goal from the start of any project.

The brief examines gender-sensitive approaches to climate compatible development in urban Peru, specifically focusing on Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Networks (GRIDES). It finds that while women's leadership in these networks leads to implicit gender approaches in local government proposals, a lack of explicit understanding of gender results in a failure to include concrete measures for tackling gender inequality.

The document details a CDKN-supported project (2013–14) that used Regional Climate Models (RCM) to assess future flood risks in Jamaica. Key findings include the high vulnerability of coastal tourism infrastructure in Negril to sea-level rise and the critical intersection of major roadways with high-likelihood floodplains. The study emphasizes that current risk assessments are hindered by low-resolution climate models (50 km) and a lack of high-quality topographical and hydro-meteorological data. It recommends the adoption of laser technology for terrain mapping and continuous GIS training for local government staff to improve disaster management.

The document argues that gender-sensitive approaches are essential for the sustainability and impact of climate resilience efforts in urban India, noting that urban vulnerabilities differ significantly from rural ones due to complex social dimensions of caste, class, and gender.

The document examines the role of gender in urban climate-compatible development in Peru, using the GRIDES networks in Cajamarca and Huaraz as case studies. It finds that while women's participation has led to implicit gender considerations in local government plans, gender is often narrowly viewed as a 'women's issue' rather than a structural power dynamic. The brief identifies significant political, socioeconomic, and cultural barriers—including a lack of political will and patriarchal beliefs—that hinder the implementation of transformative gender approaches. It recommends 'de-womenizing' the gender approach, strengthening institutional capacities, and aligning local actions with Peru's National Gender and Climate Change Action Plan.

The brief finds that while women's participation in GRIDES has led to an implicit gender approach in local government plans, gender is often narrowly perceived as a 'women's issue' rather than a transformative process. It identifies political, socioeconomic, and cultural barriers—including a lack of political will and patriarchal beliefs—that hinder the implementation of concrete measures to tackle gender inequality in climate adaptation. The document recommends 'de-womanising' the gender approach, strengthening civil servant capacity, and aligning local initiatives with Peru's National Gender and Climate Change Plan.

The report examines how gender-sensitive programming in urban India can enhance climate resilience and people's empowerment. Using the ACCCRN project in Mahewa ward, Gorakhpur, as a case study, it finds that while the project began as gender-blind, its evolution toward a gender-sensitive implementation phase significantly improved the sustainability of interventions in water, sanitation, and agriculture. The study highlights that urban gender dynamics differ from rural ones due to weaker social cohesion and higher dependence on external services. It concludes that women's active participation as agents of change, rather than mere recipients, drives better outcomes, though deep-seated patriarchal structures and a lack of gender-disaggregated data in planning remain significant barriers.