Search Climate Insights Directory

The report identifies significant climate risks to human health in Nicaragua, primarily driven by the interaction of extreme weather events—such as floods and droughts—with high social vulnerability, particularly lack of clean water and sanitation. Statistical analysis shows seasonal patterns for diarrhœa, dengue, and leptospirosis linked to rainfall and temperature. While Nicaragua has institutional frameworks for disaster risk and climate change, the report finds a lack of inter-institutional coordination with the health sector and deficiencies in data monitoring. Recommendations include expanding water and sanitation infrastructure, improving health services, and integrating climate risk into national health policies.

The report examines the vulnerability of La Mare de Tabalak, a Ramsar site in Niger's Tahoua region, to climate hazards, specifically recurring droughts and occasional floods. Using hydrological modelling (SWAT) and field surveys, the study finds that while the pond is vital for agrosilvopastoral activities, it is threatened by silting, invasive species, and high population pressure. It recommends improving intercommunal governance, establishing continuous environmental monitoring, and accelerating restoration efforts to ensure the wetland's sustainability.

The report examines the vulnerability of Peru's agricultural sector to climate variability and change, focusing on the Junín and Piura regions. It identifies key threats such as El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), droughts, floods, and frosts, and analyzes their impacts on priority crops like maize, potatoes, and mangoes. The document evaluates Peru's institutional capacity for risk management, noting a disconnect between disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation frameworks. It recommends improving agricultural practices, water management, and data collection, while calling for a comprehensive national program to integrate climate risk management into development planning.

The report examines the vulnerability of crop production in Uganda's Rakai and Kapchorwa districts, finding that increasing climate variability—specifically more frequent droughts and intense floods—threatens food security and livelihoods. While crop modelling suggests limited long-term yield declines for maize and beans by 2050, current climate hazards already disrupt farming calendars and reduce coffee quality. The study highlights that high poverty, land tenure issues, and HIV/AIDS exacerbate vulnerability, often leading to maladaptive coping strategies like wetland encroachment. It recommends a holistic approach combining small-scale irrigation, conservation agriculture, stress-resistant crop varieties, and improved meteorological information systems, supported by stronger national governance and coordination.

The report examines the vulnerability of the Tabalak pond, a Ramsar site in Niger, to climate risks, particularly droughts and floods. It finds that while the local population is highly dependent on the pond for agrosilvopastoral activities, they are severely affected by recurring droughts and environmental degradation. The document recommends improving governance through inter-communal cooperation, establishing continuous environmental monitoring, and accelerating restoration efforts to ensure the pond's sustainability.

The report examines the relationship between food price inflation, food security, and trade policy, using Morocco as a case study. It analyzes the drivers of global food price spikes and evaluates Morocco's 'Green Morocco Plan' and its 'guided liberalization' strategy. A specific focus is placed on the lentil market, where high import tariffs on Canadian lentils are argued to encourage irregular trade and increase costs for consumers. The document suggests that reducing these tariffs, combined with targeted social safety nets and productivity investments, could improve food security and accessibility for the Moroccan population.

The report argues for a paradigm shift in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from a focus on commodity production to the preservation of natural capital and ecosystem resilience. It identifies a 'triple challenge'—viable food production, sustainable resource management, and balanced territorial development—and proposes transition pathways including increased resource efficiency, embracing agricultural diversity, and expanding Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES). The analysis highlights the interdependence of these goals, noting that ecosystem degradation undermines both food security and the economic viability of rural areas, particularly in less prosperous regions.

The document details nine global case studies where public-private collaborations (PPCs) implemented resilience-building activities. These include logistics training for airports (GARD), IT-based fertilizer market intelligence in Sub-Saharan Africa, decentralized water kiosks in Zambia, multi-sectoral adaptation in Malawi, sustainable coffee supply chains in Rwanda, flood-resilient brick-making in Tanzania, water-efficient rice seeding in India, community micro-hydropower in Sri Lanka, and biomass energy combined with desertification control in China.

The document provides a multi-dimensional analysis of COVID-19 in Ethiopia, covering the health system's response, macroeconomic shocks, social vulnerabilities, and the intersection of the pandemic with political instability. It details government measures such as the state of emergency, financial support for banks, and public health campaigns, while highlighting critical gaps in digital governance and the risk of increased poverty.

The report details a workshop in Addis Ababa focused on the nexus of climate change adaptation and peacebuilding in Africa. It emphasizes that climate change exacerbates resource scarcity and conflict, necessitating 'conflict-sensitive' adaptation planning. The proceedings cover the application of the 'Do No Harm' (DNH) framework, the USAID Climate Change and Conflict Annex, and the role of population dynamics—particularly youth bulges and rapid urbanisation—in increasing vulnerability. Through a site visit to Sululta, Ethiopia, the report highlights the gap between conceptual tools and practical implementation. It concludes with recommendations to integrate conflict assessments into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and to sustain a multidisciplinary community of practice to influence policymakers and donors.

The 2013 SAIIA Young Leaders Declaration outlines youth-led priorities for the global development agenda following the Millennium Development Goals. It calls for the reduction of structural inequalities, the protection of refugees and displaced persons, and the implementation of sustainable environmental practices. Key recommendations include the creation of 'Green Jobs' in Africa, the adoption of renewable energy systems in South African housing, and the establishment of a global disaster relief network. The declaration emphasizes the need for youth participation in governance and the alignment of national policies with the Sustainable Development Goals and South Africa's National Development Plan for 2030.

The document defines indirect climate change impacts as risks observed in one location but caused by climate events elsewhere, transmitted via biophysical, trade, finance, people, and global security pathways. It highlights a significant gap in national adaptation strategies, noting that a text analysis of 25 countries' National Communications to the UNFCCC shows that keywords related to international risks are rarely used to describe climate risk profiles. The briefing emphasizes that while the private sector often manages these transboundary risks through supply chain analysis, public sector integration remains limited, as evidenced by a UK case study where international dimensions were largely omitted from the formal Climate Change Risk Assessment. The 'Adaptation Without Borders' project aims to provide conceptual frameworks and decision-support tools to help governments identify and manage these interdependencies.

The Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013 provides a framework for understanding the interdependence of Arctic social and ecological systems. It identifies biophysical thresholds—such as sea-ice loss and permafrost degradation—and social thresholds that threaten the well-being of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. The report emphasizes that resilience is not merely the ability to maintain a state but includes the capacity for adaptation and transformation. It highlights the critical role of traditional knowledge and the need for adaptive governance to manage the cumulative impacts of climate change, industrial development, and geopolitical shifts.

The report finds that the implementation of Indonesia's National Action Plan Addressing Climate Change (RAN-PI) has been generally poor, particularly at the local and community levels, due to a lack of national legal foundations and poor vertical communication. While some provincial and district offices report adaptation activities like reforestation and coral transplantation, village-level communities often remain unaware of national policies and struggle with immediate climate impacts such as water scarcity, crop failure, and coastal erosion. The assessment emphasizes the need for a bottom-up approach that integrates traditional indigenous knowledge with modern science and calls for the empowerment of 'local champions' to build community resilience.

The report identifies a high demand for knowledge resources to overcome financial and technological barriers to knowledge management in AAP countries, with the greatest need for climate change risk and impact assessments. Specifically, respondents highlighted the most urgent needs for knowledge to address water shortages, food security, and the loss of livelihoods.

The document outlines several CDKN-supported initiatives in Nepal, most notably a project launched in October 2012 to calculate the economic costs of climate change within the water and agriculture sectors. It also highlights efforts to strengthen Nepal's strategic engagement with the UNFCCC, including the training of a Core Negotiating Team and Nepal's election as chair of the LDC Group. Other mentioned projects include the integration of climate indicators into the Food Security Monitoring System (NeKSAP), the development of the Nepal Climate Change Knowledge Management Centre (NCCKMC), and research on disaster risk reduction in the Koshi River Basin.

The document explores the nexus between services trade liberalization and food security in ASEAN, focusing specifically on financial and logistics services. It argues that while liberalization alone is insufficient to overcome structural barriers—such as the reluctance of banks to lend to smallholder farmers or poor infrastructure in least-developed member states—strategic reforms in these sectors could reduce food costs, improve supply chain efficiency, and enhance rural financial access. The authors highlight a correlation between poor logistics infrastructure and high food insecurity in countries like Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines, and suggest that food security should be more prominently integrated into regional logistics and financial policy debates.

The document analyzes South Africa's role as a 'middle power' and 'systems stabiliser' within the G-20 and BRICS. It argues that while South Africa uses these platforms to enhance its global profile and champion the 'African Agenda', its positions on finance and food security are often generalist rather than grounded in specific domestic strategies. The paper evaluates the potential of the BRICS Bank to address infrastructure gaps in Africa and highlights the lack of a cohesive collective identity among BRICS members, which limits their ability to act as a unified counterweight to the G-7. It concludes that South Africa must better align its external engagements with measurable domestic development imperatives to avoid 'bureaucratic capture' and ensure tangible benefits for its citizens.

The document analyzes India's relationship with the KAS guidelines, a framework for global economic governance. It argues that while India supports the guidelines in the realm of financial market regulation, it faces significant domestic hurdles in implementing them within its 'real economy'—specifically regarding agriculture, land rights, and social welfare. The author highlights a tension between India's role as a G-20 member and its internal needs as a developing economy with a large rural population and complex federal politics.

The document assesses Kenya's National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) and its Action Plan (NCCAP) through the lens of Climate Compatible Development (CCD). It highlights that while agriculture is central to Kenya's economy—contributing 26% to GDP—it is highly vulnerable to climate variability, with 80% of land being arid or semi-arid. The study finds a lack of clear synergies between adaptation and mitigation specifically regarding food security, noting that policy actors often struggle to distinguish between the two. It identifies institutional silos and a lack of specialized climate knowledge as primary barriers. Financially, the report notes that while Kenya has attracted significant international funding (e.g., $2.3 billion for various activities), these resources are fragmented, and the agricultural sector receives almost no domestic public climate finance. The document advocates for the establishment of a Climate Change Authority to act as a 'gatekeeper' for funds and the mainstreaming of CCD to build strategic partnerships for food security.