The concept of resilience currently infuses policy debates and public discourse, and is promoted as a normative concept in climate policy making by governments, non-governmental organizations, and think-tanks. This book critically discusses climate-resilient development in the context of current deficiencies of multilateral climate management strategies and processes. It analyses innovative climate policy options at national, (inter-)regional, and local levels from a mainly Southern perspective, thus contributing to the topical debate on alternative climate governance and resilient development models. Case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America give a ground-level view of how ideas from resilience could be used to inform and guide more radical development and particularly how these ideas might help to rethink the notion of 'progress' in the light of environmental, social, economic, and cultural changes at multiple scales, from local to global. It integrates theory and practice with the aim of providing practical solutions to improve, complement, or, where necessary, reasonably bypass the UNFCCC process through a bottom-up approach which can effectively tap unused climate-resilient development potentials at the local, national, and regional levels. This innovative book gives students and researchers in environmental and development studies as well as policy makers and practitioners a valuable analysis of climate change mitigation and adaptation options in the absence of effective multilateral provisions.

This book describes the urgent challenge faced by cities worldwide to become resilient to climate change impacts. This challenge goes further than the ability to resist the impacts of extreme weather conditions. Coping with climate impacts and the ability to recover from them are equally important, as well as the capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change and the ability to transform the entire urban system. The book explores how the resilience journey for coastal cities in particular encompasses using scientific knowledge but also the knowledge of citizens and practitioners. Measures and strategies on different scales are needed, from national scale all the way down to neighbourhood, street level and building level. Representing the holistic nature of climate resilience, this collection contains unique insights from leading scientists and practitioners in areas of expertise such as engineering, social sciences and urban design. It will be a valuable resource for scholars, students, practitioners and policy makers interested in the development of resilient and sustainable urban environments.

If not addressed in time, climate change is expected to exacerbate Nigeria’s current vulnerability to weather swings and limit its ability to achieve and sustain the objectives of Vision 20:2020 [as defined in http://www.npc.gov.ng /home/doc.aspx?mCatID=68253]. The likely impacts include: • A long-term reduction in crop yields of 20–30 percent • Declining productivity of livestock, with adverse consequences on livelihoods • Increase in food imports (up to 40 percent for rice long term) • Worsening prospects for food security, particularly in the north and the southwest • A long-term decline in GDP of up to 4.5 percent The impacts may be worse if the economy diversifies away from agriculture more slowly than Vision 20:2020 anticipates, or if there is too little irrigation to counter the effects of rising temperatures on rain-fed yields. Equally important, investment decisions made on the basis of historical climate may be wrong: projects ignoring climate change might be either under- or over-designed, with losses (in terms of excess capital costs or foregone revenues) of 20–40 percent of initial capital in the case of irrigation or hydropower. Fortunately, there is a range of technological and management options that make sense, both to better handle current climate variability and to build resilience against a harsher climate: • By 2020 sustainable land management practices applied to 1 million hectares can offset most of the expected shorter-term yield decline; gradual extension of these practices to 50 percent of cropland, possibly combined with extra irrigation, can also counter-balance longer-term climate change impacts. • Climate-smart planning and design of irrigation and hydropower can more than halve the risks and related costs of making the wrong investment decision. The Federal Government could consider 10 short-term priority responses to build resilience to both current climate variability and future change through actions to improve climate governance across sectors, research and extension in agriculture, hydro-meteorological systems; integration of climate factors into the design of irrigation and hydropower projects, and mainstreaming climate concerns into priority programs, such as the Agriculture Transformation Agenda.

Abstract: Prepared by the Committee on Adaptation to a Changing Climate of ASCE Civil infrastructure systems traditionally have been designed for appropriate functionality, durability, and safety for climate and weather extremes during their full-service lives; however, climate scientists inform us that the extremes of climate and weather have altered from historical values in ways difficult to predict or project. Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Adaptive Design and Risk Management, MOP 140, provides guidance for and contributes to the developing or enhancing of methods for infrastructure analysis and design in a world in which risk profiles are changing and can be projected with varying degrees of uncertainty requiring a new design philosophy to meet this challenge. The underlying approaches in this manual of practice (MOP) are based on probabilistic methods for quantitative risk analysis, and the design framework provided focuses on identifying and analyzing low-regret, adaptive strategies to make a project more resilient. Beginning with an overview of the driving forces and hazards associated with a changing climate, subsequent chapters in MOP 140 provide observational methods, illustrative examples, and case studies; estimation of extreme events particularly related to precipitation with guidance on monitoring and measuring methods; flood design criteria and the development of project design flood elevations; computational methods of determining flood loads; adaptive design and adaptive risk management in the context of life-cycle engineering and economics; and climate resilience technologies. MOP 140 will be of interest to engineers, researchers, planners, and other stakeholders charged with adaptive design decisions to achieve infrastructure resilience targets while minimizing life-cycle costs in a changing climate

Climate resilience, or the capacity of socio-ecological systems to adapt and upkeep their functions when facing physical-chemical stress, is a key feature of ecosystems and communities. As the risks and impacts of climate change become more intense and more visible, there is a need to foster a broader understanding of both the impacts of these disruptions to food, water, and energy supplies and to increase resilience at the national and local level. The Handbook of Climate Change Resilience comprises a diverse body of knowledge, united in the objective of building climate resilience in both the industralised and the developing world. This unique publication will assist scientists, decision-makers and community members to take action to make countries, regions and cities more resilient.

Urban communities around the world face increased stress from natural disasters linked to climate change, and other urban pressures. They need to grow rapidly stronger in order to cope, adapt and flourish. Strong social networks and social cohesion can be more important for a community’s resilience than the actual physical structures of a city. But how can urban planning and design support these critical collective social strengths? This book offers blue sky thinking from the applied social and behavioural sciences, and urban planning. It looks at case studies from 14 countries around the world – including India, the USA, South Africa, Indonesia, the UK and New Zealand – focusing on initiatives for housing, public space and transport stops, and also natural disasters such as flooding and earthquakes. Building on these insights, the authors propose a 'gold standard': a socially aware planning process and policy recommendation for those drawing up city sustainability and climate change resilience strategies, and urban developers looking to build climate-proof infrastructure and spaces. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of urban studies, resilience studies and climate change policy, as well as policymakers and practitioners working in related fields.