Inside story : lessons from mainstreaming climate change in Namibia

This inside story forms part of the CDKN Knowledge for Change series, which reflects on the common challenges, lessons, and successes CDKN and its partners have encountered in facilitating evidence-based decision-making to accelerate climate action. The aim of this work is to better understand how knowledge and evidence on climate change can inform and translate into policy and implementation. This refection process has investigated different tools and approaches for enhancing the use of knowledge in decision-making, the barriers encountered in facilitating change, and lessons useful for others who navigate similar challenges.Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherland

Avenues of understanding : mapping the intersecting barriers to adaptation in Namibia

This paper considers the barriers to climate change adaptation in Namibia through the lens of the ‘adaptation activity space’ – a framework that positions the adapting system in relation to its environment. For instance, although reasons for the slow adoption of novel farming practices are complex, the problem can be attributed to a policy framework for climate smart agriculture that is not matched with supportive resources needed on the ground. Thus, despite a relatively enabling national policy environment, adaptation efforts at the grassroots level have been incremental and reactive, comprising an array of short-term coping mechanisms and technological fixes.Great Britain. Dept for International Developmen

Lessons from mainstreaming climate change in Namibia

This learning story forms part of the CDKN Knowledge for Change series, which reflects on the common challenges, lessons, and successes CDKN and its partners have encountered in facilitating evidence-based decision-making to accelerate climate action. The aim of this work is to investigate different tools and approaches for enhancing the use of knowledge in decision making, the barriers encountered in facilitating change, and useful lessons for others who navigate similar challenges.Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherland

Vulnerability and risk assessment in Omusati Region in Namibia Fostering people-centred adaptation to climate change

Synthesis and analysis reportInternational Development Research Centre, Canada and UK's Department for International Developmen

Vulnerability and risk assessment in Omusati region in Namibia : fostering people-centred adaptation to climate change

The vulnerability assessment analyzes the levels of exposure and sensitivity of a social group, or a livelihood activity, in relation to pre-agreed key hazards and issues. The aim is to achieve a clearer understanding of who and what is vulnerable, including values for exposure and sensitivity to hazards such as drought and floods. This paper provides details of the assessment process and results. The Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) with Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) aims to build the resilience of vulnerable populations and their livelihoods in three climate change hot spots in Africa and Asia.International Development Research Centre (IDRC)UK’s Department for International Development (DFID

Vulnerability and responses to climate change in drylands : the case of Namibia

This paper covers climate trends and projections; impacts of climate change on Namibia’s economic sectors; vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Vulnerability to climate change in Namibia is driven by underlying structural factors, including a history of inappropriate economic policies, gender disparities and colonization, which have led to chronic poverty and inequality. Climate change intersects with these existing structural vulnerabilities and can accentuate or shift the balance between winners and losers. Climate change scenarios and potential impacts should be integrated into development planning so that future development takes place in a ‘climate compatible’ manner.International Development Research Centre (IDRC)UK’s Department for International Development (DFID

Indigenous peoples and the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic scoping review

Past influenza pandemics including the Spanish flu and H1N1 have disproportionately affected Indigenous Peoples. We conducted a systematic scoping review to provide an overview of the state of understanding of the experience of Indigenous peoples during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, in doing so we capture the state of knowledge available to governments and decision makers for addressing the needs of Indigenous peoples in these early months of the pandemic. We addressed three questions: (a) How is COVID-19 impacting the health and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples, (b) What system level challenges are Indigenous peoples experiencing, (c) How are Indigenous peoples responding? We searched Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases and UN organization websites for publications about Indigenous peoples and COVID-19. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. A total of 153 publications were included: 140 peer-reviewed articles and 13 from UN organizations. Editorial/commentaries were the most (43%) frequent type of publication. Analysis identified Indigenous peoples from 19 different countries, although 56% of publications were centered upon those in Brazil, United States, and Canada. The majority (90%) of articles focused upon the general adult population, few (<2%) used a gender lens. A small number of articles documented COVID-19 testing (0.04%), incidence (18%), or mortality (16%). Five themes of system level challenges affecting exposure and livelihoods evolved: ecological, poverty, communication, education and health care services. Responses were formal and informal strategies from governments, Indigenous organizations and communities. A lack of ethnically disaggregated health data and a gender lens are constraining our knowledge, which is clustered around a limited number of Indigenous peoples in mostly high-income countries. Many Indigenous peoples have autonomously implemented their own coping strategies while government responses have been largely reactive and inadequate. To ‘build back better’ we must address these knowledge gaps