Climate change adaptation practice in semi-arid regions : views and insights by practitioners

This report elaborates recommendations aimed at ASSAR’s Regional Research Teams (RRT) as they enter the transition between the Regional Diagnostic Studies (RDS) and the Regional Research Programmes(RRP), and as such, recommendations hope to influence the design and refining of research questions. The Oxfam team is committed to supporting the RRTs in this transition process by offering them tailored support.Funded by IDRC and DFID, and implemented by a consortium of five core partners: The University of Cape Town, the University of East Anglia, START, Oxfam GB and the Indian Institute for Human Settlements.: http://www.assar.uct.ac.za

Finding ways together to build resilience the vulnerability and risk assessment methodology

The VRA in the Bobirwa Sub-district, Botswana, was conducted in collaboration with ASSAR partners University of Botswana, University of Cape Town and University of Namibia. ASSAR is one of five research programmes funded under the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA), with financial support from the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DfID) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. Oxfam is one of the consortium leads of ASSAR. The views expressed in this report are solely those of the authors. ASSAR is not responsible for its content.agriculture; food security; livelihoods; climate change adaptation; resilience; Vulnerability; risk; Social groups; Gender; Development; Landscape; Afghanistan; Armenia; Bangladesh; Botswana; Ghana; Myanmar; Philippines

Participatory processes build adaptive capacity and agency and can help transform systems : an ASSAR cross-regional insight

The research assessed interpretations of system transformation in climate change and development circles, as well as types of participatory processes, in order to better understand the potential for pathways to adaptation. The scale and speed of climate change events require systemic and behavioural changes that are major departures from current mindsets. Universal principles of social justice, human rights and Sustainable Development Goals could serve as pillars of reference against which to consider the implications of possible transformations. Existing power imbalances in climate governance structures at local to global levels demonstrate that power relations need re-balancing.UK Government’s Department for International Development (DfID

Vulnerability and Risk Assessment in Botswana's Bobirwa Sub - District: Fostering People - Centered Adaptation to Climate Change

In November 2015, ASSAR’s (Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions) Southern Africa researchers from the University of Botswana (UB), University of Cape Town (UCT), University of Namibia (UNAM) and Oxfam, conducted a two-day Vulnerability Risk Assessment (VRA) in order to bring stakeholder groups closer to ASSAR’s work. Based on the findings, the aim was to reassess ASSAR’s priorities. The workshop was attended by various government officials, Village Development Committee (VDC) members, local community members, and representatives from farmer committees

Stakeholder and influence network mapping exercise with the government, development and research actors in Namibia

This report summarises the outcomes of the Stakeholder and Influence Network Mapping exercise were undertaken on the 23rd of July 2015 in Windhoek, Namibia. ASSAR southern African Team members: Margaret Angula, Nahas Angula, Nguza Siyambango (UNAM); Dian Spear, Salma Hegga (UCT); Hillary Masundire and Chandapiwa Molefe (UB) assisted and participated in the stakeholder mapping workshop facilitated by Daniel Morchain (Oxfam). This event brought together 11 national stakeholders from the government (Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development, Namibia Energy Institute), NGOs (NNF, IRDNC) and Researcher/ Academic institutions (SASSCAL, DRFN & UNAM) (see Annex 9.2for a list of participants). The Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid (ASSAR) a multi-institutional and multi-national study investigates the factors that restrict effective adaptation to climate change impacts in agriculture-dependent communities in north-central Namibia. A multi-method approach including literature review, household surveys and semi-structured interviews is used to: i) explore the drivers of vulnerabilities to floods and droughts; 2) identify adaptation strategies; and 3) identify the barriers that impede successful adaptation. This report contains five main sections. Section 2 introduces the aims and objectives of the mapping exercise to ASSAR research. The Third section describes the methodology and approaches used, while section 4 describes the framing and analysis procedures employed. Section 5 presents the findings of the Network Influence Mapping exercise from the three groups of stakeholders attending the workshop. The discussion of the results and implication of the results are presented in section 6 and 7, respectively

Stakeholder and influence network mapping exercise with the government, development and research actors in Namibia

This stakeholder and influence mapping exercise served to introduce the concept of power relations/dynamics and explore its use within the Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) Research into Use Strategy (RiU). The aim was to identify key stakeholders that influence climate change adaptation in north central Namibia (for example main channels of information, technical services, flow of funds), explore the links between them and identify how influential these networks are. The outcome of this exercise can be used for RiU planning purpose to ensure effective use of ASSAR research.Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) through the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA)

Vulnerability and risk assessment in Botswana's Bobirwa sub-district fostering people-centred adaptation to climate change

Synthesis and analysis reportThis report outlines the findings of a Vulnerability Risk Assessment (VRA) exercise carried out in Eastern Botswana in the village of Bobonong in Bobirwa sub–district in the context of the project Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR). The workshop provided participants with key aspects in understanding and determining adaptive capacity of communities. Limited awareness of climate change is a serious issue for those who depend on land and other natural resources for their livelihood. The stakeholders, or workshop “knowledge group” indicated that crop farmers and livestock keepers are most affected.International Development Research Centre, UK's Department for International Developmen

Interrogating 'effectiveness' in climate change adaptation: 11 guiding principles for adaptation research and practice

The Paris Agreement articulates a global goal on adaptation, which aims to ensure an ‘adequate adaptation response’ to the ‘global temperature goal’, and requires countries to report progress through periodic global stocktakes. However, there remain conceptual and methodological challenges in defining an adaptation goal and mixed evidence on what effective adaptation looks like and how it can be enabled. In this review, we demonstrate how different normative views on adaptation outcomes, arising from different epistemological and disciplinary entry points, can lead to very different interpretations of adaptation effectiveness. We argue that how effectiveness is framed will significantly impact adaptation implementation and outcomes. This, furthermore, represents a way of exercising influence in adaptation decision-making. Eleven principles of effective adaptation are distilled as a way to pluralize guidance in international processes such as the Global Stocktake as well as national and sub-national exercises on tracking and monitoring adaptation

Building transformative capacity in southern Africa : surfacing knowledge and challenging structures through participatory vulnerability and risk assessments

Participatory assessments that recognise the social roots of vulnerability are critical in helping individuals and institutions rethink their understanding of, and responses to climate change impacts. This paper interrogates the contribution of Oxfam’s ‘Vulnerability and Risk Assessment’ methodology to enabling transformation at both personal and institutional levels. Capacity building should not be exclusively understood as, or aimed solely at building technical skills; leadership and process facilitation skills are key elements. The assessments take an initial step towards collaboratively identifying transformation pathways in development practices through adaptation responses

Large-scale transdisciplinary collaboration for adaptation research: Challenges and insights

An increasing number of research programs seek to support adaptation to climate change through the engagement of large-scale transdisciplinary networks that span countries and continents. While transdisciplinary research processes have been a topic of reflection, practice, and refinement for some time, these trends now mean that the global change research community needs to reflect and learn how to pursue collaborative research on a large scale. This paper shares insights from a seven-year climate change adaptation research program that supports collaboration between more than 450 researchers and practitioners across four consortia and 17 countries. The experience confirms the importance of attention to careful design for transdisciplinary collaboration, but also highlights that this alone is not enough. The success of well-designed transdisciplinary research processes is also strongly influenced by relational and systemic features of collaborative relationships. Relational features include interpersonal trust, mutual respect, and leadership styles, while systemic features include legal partnership agreements, power asymmetries between partners, and institutional values and cultures. In the new arena of large-scale collaborative science efforts, enablers of transdisciplinary collaboration include dedicated project coordinators, leaders at multiple levels, and the availability of small amounts of flexible funds to enable nimble responses to opportunities and unexpected collaborations