Technologies for climate change adaptation: agricultural sector

This Guidebook presents a selection of technologies for climate change adaptation in the agricultural sector. A set of twenty two adaptation technologies are showcased that are primarily based on the principals of agroecology, but also include scientific technologies of climate and biological sciences complemented with important sociological and institutional capacity building processes that are required to make adaptation function. The technologies cover monitoring and forecasting the climate, sustainable water use and management, soil management, sustainable crop management, seed conservation, sustainable forest management and sustainable livestock management. Technologies that tend to homogenize the natural environment and agricultural production have low possibilities of success in conditions of environmental stress that are likely to result from climate change. On the other hand, technologies that allow for, and indeed promote, diversity are more likely to provide a strategy which strengthens agricultural production in the face of uncertain future climate change scenarios. In this sense, the twenty two technologies showcased in this Guidebook have been selected because they facilitate the conservation and restoration of diversity while at the same time providing opportunities for increasing agricultural productivity. Many of these technologies are not new to agricultural production practices, but they are implemented based on assessment of current and possible future impacts of climate change in a particular location. Agro-ecology is an approach that encompasses concepts of sustainable production and biodiversity promotion and therefore provides a useful framework for identifying and selecting appropriate adaptation technologies for the agricultural sector. The Guidebook provides a systematic analysis of the most relevant information available on climate change adaptation technologies in the agriculture sector. It has been compiled based on a literature review of key publications, journal articles, and e-platforms, and by drawing on documented experiences sourced from a range of organizations working on projects and programmes concerned with climate change adaptation technologies in the agricultural sector. Its geographic scope is focused on developing countries where high levels of poverty, agricultural production, climate variability and biological diversity currently intersect. Key concepts around climate change adaptation are not universally agreed. It is therefore important to understand local contexts – especially social and cultural norms - when working with national and sub-national stakeholders to make informed decisions about appropriate technology options. Thus, decision-making processes should be participative, facilitated, and consensus-building oriented and should be based on the following key guiding principles: increasing awareness and knowledge, strengthening institutions, protecting natural resources, providing financial assistance and developing context-specific strategies. For decision-making the Community–Based Adaptation framework is proposed for creating inclusive governance that engages a range of stakeholders directly with local or district government and national coordinating bodies, and facilitates participatory planning, monitoring and implementation of adaptation activities. Seven criteria are suggested for the prioritization of adaptation technologies: (i) The extent to which the technology maintains or strengthens biological diversity and is environmentally sustainable; (ii) The extent to which the technology facilitates access to information systems and awareness of climate change information; (iii) Whether the technology support water, carbon and nutrient cycles and enables stable and/or increased productivity; (iv) Income-generating potential, cost-benefit analysis and contribution to improved equity; (v) Respect for cultural diversity and facilitation of inter-cultural exchange; (vi) Potential for integration into regional and national policies and can be scaled-up; (vii) The extent to which the technology builds formal and information institutions and social networks. Finally, recommendations are set out for practitioners and policy makers: • There is an urgent need for improved climate modelling and forecasting which can provide a basis for informed decision-making and the implementation of adaptation strategies. This should include traditional knowledge. • Information is also required to better understand the behaviour of plants, animals, pests and diseases as they react to climate change. • Potential changes in economic and social systems in the future under different climate scenarios should also be investigated so that the implications of adaptation strategy and planning choices are better understood. • It is important to secure effective flows of information through appropriate dissemination channels. This is vital for building adaptive capacity and decision-making processes. • Improved analysis of adaptation technologies is required to show how they can contribute to building adaptive capacity and resilience in the agricultural sector. This information needs to be compiled and disseminated for a range of stakeholders from local to national level. • Relationships between policy makers, researchers and communities should be built so that technologies and planning processes are developed in partnership, responding to producers’ needs and integrating their knowledge

Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation: Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

This Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) has been jointly coordinated by Working Groups I (WGI) and II (WGII) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report focuses on the relationship between climate change and extreme weather and climate events, the impacts of such events, and the strategies to manage the associated risks. The IPCC was jointly established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in particular to assess in a comprehensive, objective, and transparent manner all the relevant scientific, technical, and socioeconomic information to contribute in understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, the potential impacts, and the adaptation and mitigation options. Beginning in 1990, the IPCC has produced a series of Assessment Reports, Special Reports, Technical Papers, methodologies, and other key documents which have since become the standard references for policymakers and scientists.This Special Report, in particular, contributes to frame the challenge of dealing with extreme weather and climate events as an issue in decisionmaking under uncertainty, analyzing response in the context of risk management. The report consists of nine chapters, covering risk management; observed and projected changes in extreme weather and climate events; exposure and vulnerability to as well as losses resulting from such events; adaptation options from the local to the international scale; the role of sustainable development in modulating risks; and insights from specific case studies

International program for Earth observations

During the 1990 summer session of the International Space University, graduate students of many different countries and with various academic backgrounds carried out a design project that focused on how to meet the most pressing environmental information requirements of the 1990's. The International Program for Earth Observations (IPEO) is the result of the students labor. The IPEO report examines the legal and institutional, scientific, engineering and systems, financial and economic, and market development approaches needed to improve international earth observations and information systems to deal with environmental issues of global importance. The IPEO scenario is based on the production of a group of lightweight satellites to be used in global remote sensing programs. The design and function of the satellite is described in detail

National Energy Policy: Alternative and Renewable Energy

This Energy Policy is a panoptic view of the current state of electrical energy in the Unites States of America. It contains modeling and research on all major sources of energy, recommendations on how each can change to improve our nation in terms of more available and cheaper energy, and less adverse effects on both the natural environment and daily life. Included in the policy is a notional view of two possible futures: one with plentiful energy and another without

Scientific visualization of multi-temporal remotely-sensed data for monitoring drought-related famine conditions : nutritional, socio-economic & climatic vulnerability in Sudan's Gezira

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1999.Vita.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-202).This study addresses the design and deployment constraints and potential utility of an emerging analytical concept for planning adaptive response and mitigation of the regional impact of global climate change, within the context of a complex region in Sudan, with multiple biogenic and anthropogenic vulnerabilities. The specific conceptualization is referred to herein as the Temporal Analysis, Reconnaissance, and Decision Integration System (TARDIS). TARDIS is conceived as a composite planning tool, incorporating virtual temporal analysis, virtual spatial analysis, change detection for archival remotely-sensed data, trend extrapolation, generation of alternative future what-if scenarios and integration with both quantitative and rule-based decision-support. The rationale for developing the specifications for the TARDIS proof-of-concept is the observation that decisions concerning complex phenomena, involving multiple intractable problems, deserve to be made in an information-rich environment. Moreover, it is contended that such decisions could benefit both from an historical perspective and from the luxury of a comparative visualization of possible future outcomes of past trends, current policies and putative what-if constructs. The broad parameters for multi-variable factors affecting food security and the potentially significant regional impact of global climate change on Sudan's Gezira are presented. Also described are the potential contributions of the TARDIS in supporting planners and decision-makers, whose decisions might benefit from visualization of archival satellite data and from visualization of alternative future scenarios. I am primarily concerned with a triad of issues, in the order presented, and their interaction with one another: > FOOD SECURITY, WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO THE SUDAN > GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON FOOD PRODUCING REGIONS, SUCH AS SUDAN'S GEZIRA > VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR TIME-SERIES SATELLITE DATA TO SUPPORT DECISION ANALYSIS, UNDER CONDITIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLEXITY, TYPIFIED BY THE SUDAN CASE STUDY Under this broad rubric, I seek to define a discrete area of concentration, namely, the articulation of design specifications for a proof-of-concept composite prototype decision support tool, incorporating scientific visualization of remotely sensed data. Although this tool potentially has generic applicability to decision-making and planning within diverse disciplines and geographic locations, the intended application, herein, is as a tool supporting decisions regarding future food security for Sudan's Gezira agricultural area, with specific reference to food crop, dhurra, (Sorghum bicolor) and cash crop, long staple cotton, (Gossypium Barakatensis) sustainability, under anticipated hotter and more arid climate conditions. The objective of applying this tool to the Sudanese context is to facilitate long-term planning and decision-making related to food security issues in the Gezira, given the climatological threat of future increased temperature and decreased precipitation. Accordingly, the first demonstration of the TARDIS proof-of-concept will be a simulated test run (STR) of data pertinent to Sudan's Gezira. The results of this STR will be evaluated in Chapter 4, and, based upon the outcome, recommendations for regional adaptive response are offered and refinements and modifications will be suggested to improve TARDIS utility and functionality. This research seeks to establish a role for state-of-the-science visualization of remotelysensed data, as a tool for planning adaptive responses to impending climatic change and to food insecurity. Moreover, the study hypothesizes that informed decision-making and policy formulation can be facilitated, through an analysis of the archival satellite and meteorological data for Sudan's Gezira, combined with an assessment of selected current conditions (e.g. civil war, political instability and international isolation, insect infestation in the irrigated agricultural schemes, prevalence of diseases such as schistosomiasis, malaria and cholera), and with an analysis of alternative future what-if scenarios. Potential vested constituents for such technology include various bi-lateral and multi-lateral entities with trade, aid or oversight relationships with Sudan. For purposes of this study, one such agency has been selected, namely, the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS), a newly established umbrella entity within the United Nations, whose mission is "to provide policy makers, resource managers and researchers with the data they need to detect, quantify, locate and understand changes (especially reductions) in the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to support sustainable development." Accordingly, GTOS has been identified as a potential TARDIS enduser, under the proposed auspices of the prototypical joint Food and Agricultural Organizattion (FAO)/ World Food Programme (WFP) annual Crop Survey and Nutritional Needs Assessment Mission to Sudan.by Gilbert Leonard Rochon, III.Ph.D

African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation

This open access book discusses current thinking and presents the main issues and challenges associated with climate change in Africa. It introduces evidences from studies and projects which show how climate change adaptation is being - and may continue to be successfully implemented in African countries. Thanks to its scope and wide range of themes surrounding climate change, the ambition is that this book will be a lead publication on the topic, which may be regularly updated and hence capture further works. Climate change is a major global challenge. However, some geographical regions are more severly affected than others. One of these regions is the African continent. Due to a combination of unfavourable socio-economic and meteorological conditions, African countries are particularly vulnerable to climate change and its impacts. The recently released IPCC special report "Global Warming of 1.5º C" outlines the fact that keeping global warming by the level of 1.5º C is possible, but also suggested that an increase by 2º C could lead to crises with crops (agriculture fed by rain could drop by 50% in some African countries by 2020) and livestock production, could damage water supplies and pose an additonal threat to coastal areas. The 5th Assessment Report produced by IPCC predicts that wheat may disappear from Africa by 2080, and that maize— a staple—will fall significantly in southern Africa. Also, arid and semi-arid lands are likely to increase by up to 8%, with severe ramifications for livelihoods, poverty eradication and meeting the SDGs. Pursuing appropriate adaptation strategies is thus vital, in order to address the current and future challenges posed by a changing climate. It is against this background that the "African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation" is being published. It contains papers prepared by scholars, representatives from social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies, undertaking research and/or executing climate change projects in Africa, and working with communities across the African continent. Encompassing over 100 contribtions from across Africa, it is the most comprehensive publication on climate change adaptation in Africa ever produced