GECHS

GECHS Associate Siri Eriksen and IPO staffer Kirsten Ulsrud, along with co-authors Jeremy Lind and Bernard Muok, have published a policy brief for the African Centre for Technology Studies on the “Urgent Need to Increase Adaptive Capacities”. The article presents new research on the interactions between conflicts and climate change adaptation, and makes recommendations for actions to assist the adaptation and development process of people in a constant state of crisis. The findings are derived from a three-year project on climate adaptation as a livelihood struggle among dryland populations in Kenya. [Download the policy brief]

GECHS is pleased to announce its endorsement of FAVAIA, a joint project of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).

The central concept of FAVAIA is vulnerability, which is one of the cross-cutting themes of GECHS. The interdisciplinary team has begun by analyzing vulnerability to climate change, but their research is also looking at vulnerability to natural hazards and vulnerability with respect to poverty. Building on a strong conceptual and theoretical basis, FAVAIA also develops tools for vulnerability assessment and investigates ways to strengthen policies for adaptation. The current project team of around twenty researchers includes geographers, mathematicians, computer scientists, geo-ecologists, an anthropologist, a sociologist, an oceanographer and several other disciplines.

For more information please visit the project web site and search for their series of Working Papers or complete list of publications.

A summary of the workshop that was held in January on climate change and poverty is now available. The objective of this workshop was to discuss climate-poverty links relevant to mainstreaming adaptation to climate change into official development assistance. Participants from development agencies and academia shared experiences and information needs, including the challenges of linking scientific research on vulnerability with development projects aimed at reducing poverty.

The GECHS project recently organized a workshop on Climate Change and Poverty. The objective of this workshop was to discuss climate-poverty links relevant to mainstreaming adaptation to climate change into official development assistance. Participants from development agencies and academia shared experiences and information needs, including the challenges of linking scientific research on vulnerability with development projects aimed at reducing poverty. The workhop was held from 9-10 January 2006 in Oslo, Norway. It was organized by GECHS Associates Siri Eriksen and Richard Klein, with support from Norad.

Download the agenda and the workshop summary. Presentations are available below:

Session I: Climate change as a development and poverty issue

• Siri Eriksen: Objectives of the workshop
• Karen O’Brien: Climate change and human security–implications for development
• Richard Klein: Climate change mitigation and adaptation–the role of development institutions
• Siri Eriksen: Climate change poverty linkages–what do we know?
• Ian Noble: Climate change poverty linkages–what do we need to know?

Session II: Experiences and institutional challenges

• Richard Klein: Analysis of past assessments of development aid and climate change
• Richard Klein: Case study–climate change in GTZ
• Lorenz Petersen: GTZ adaptation efforts
• Frode Neergaard: DANIDA approach to adaptation in development
• Kristinn Einarsson: ICEIDA climate and energy in development
• Siri Eriksen: Case study–climate change in Norad
• Pernille Holtedahl: Norad climate and adaptation priorities

Session III: Information needs and international collaboration

• Ian Noble: Experiences of international collaboration in climate change
• Thomas Tanner: National information needs–climate change and disaster risk assessment in Bangladesh