This report discusses the current state of knowledge on how to build climate resilience in developing countries.

More than 13 million people are still affected by the crisis in the Horn of Africa. There were clear early warning signs many months in advance, yet there was insufficient response until it was far too late. This briefing, published jointly by Oxfam and Save the Children, examines the factors that allowed a drought in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti to develop into a full-scale crisis of hunger and livelihoods, such that millions of people suffered and thousands died. Its main focus is the response of international aid system, although the ultimate importance of enhanced resilience for the communities themselves is recognised. Recommendations: A change in approach to chronic drought situations is needed: managing the risks, not the crisis. This means that the all actors {u2013} national governments, donors, NGOs, and the UN need to: act decisively on information from early warning systems and not wait for certainty before responding; actively seek to reduce drought risk in all activities, ensuring that long-term development interventions increase resilience and adapt to the changing context; and change organisational structures, invest in people and provide flexible funding in order to break down the divisions between humanitarian and development work.

Since 9/11, the wars on terror, economic crises, climate change, and humanitarian emergencies have forced decision makers to institute new measures to maintain security. Foreign policy analysts tend to view these decisions as being divorced from ethics, but Unsettled Balance shows that arguments about rights, obligations, norms, and values have played a profound role in Canadian foreign policy and international relations since the 1990s. The contributors to this volume examine a range of topics – from funding for climate change adaptation to the militarization of humanitarian aid – to collectively explore three key questions. What is the meaning of “ethics” and “security,” and how are they linked? To what extent have considerations of ethics and security changed in the twenty-first century? And what are the implications of a shifting historical context for Canada’s international relations? Their conclusions are essential reading for anyone who wants to understand not only how Canada responds to global challenges but also why it responds the way it does.

A review of federal and decentralised systems of governance, and whether these facilitate or hinder climate change mitigation and adaptation.