ACDI ADAPTATION SEMINAR SERIES

 Join us for a lunch-time, weekly seminar series where we will hear from and engage with various academics and practitioners working in the climate change adaptation space.

Where: Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Studio 5, Upper Campus, University of Cape Town.

 When: Wednesday, 26 March 2014 from 13h00-14h00.

 

Dialogue and risk communications framework for development: coping, building resilience and adapting to climate change” Ronald Mukanya (CDKN)

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It is clear that to improve Africa's resilience to climate change, pests and disease, adaptation has a key role to play. In all scenarios, the capacity of African communities to cope with the effects of climate change on different economic sectors and human activities is expected to be significantly challenged, and potentially overwhelmed, by the magnitude and rapid onset of climate change impacts. To reduce the magnitude of the impacts and their repercussions for African livelihoods, resilience and adaptation measures at different levels, from households to national and regional levels, need to be planned, implemented, further supported and strengthened.

Resilience measures can include: (1) The development of early-warning systems for floods, droughts or fires to help populations anticipate and prepare for the occurrence of extreme events; (2) Irrigation, improvement in water storage capacity, reforestation to protect surface water systems, sustainable use of groundwater resources, desalinization of seawater, and rainwater catchments and storage to maintain sufficient and reliable access to freshwater for human and agricultural needs; (3) City infrastructure protection measures such as seawalls, dykes, wave breakers and other elements of coastal zone management, as well as city-level food storage capacity and urban agriculture to enhance food security; (4) Improving design and drainage technology of sanitation facilities to reduce the risk of water-borne diseases in the aftermath of extreme weather events.

 

The majority of these resilience and other adaptation measures require an anticipatory and planned approach, as well as both small and large investments. The need for resiliently planned capital-intensive adaptation is even greater. In this seminar I will discuss development resilience, highlight what it could mean in a typical African setting and talk about the resilience challenges faced by developing countries, particularly in Africa. As a development practitioner with the Climate & Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), I will use an example from CDKN's work - in Ghana - to illustrate how effective mainstreaming of climate compatible development (CCD) at all levels of planning can help make development resilient to the impacts of climate change. Similarly, how policymakers would be able to identify opportunities that bring development  co-benefits of proactive adaptation. 

Bio

Ronald deals with the project management aspects of the CDKN research programme, which supports cutting edge research on climate-compatible development. He previously worked on a range of projects in the private, public and non-governmental sectors including coordinating the Good Governance Learning Network, where he focused primarily on urban policy, cities and sustainable development on a wide range of scales: from the national government to local government level. Ronald holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development, Planning and Managemen

 

Who to expect next :

26 March: James Cullis (Aurecon) " Integrated assessment modelling of the biophysical and economic impacts of climate change in South Africa”

 

*Bring your lunch along, refreshments will be provided