As climate change adaptation rises up the international policy agenda, matched by increasing funds and frameworks for action, there are mounting questions over how to ensure the needs of vulnerable people on the ground are met. Community-based adaptation (CBA) is one growing proposal that argues for tailored support at the local level to enable vulnerable people to identify and implement appropriate community-based responses to climate change themselves. Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change: Scaling it up explores the challenges for meeting the scale of the adaptation challenge through CBA. It asks the fundamental questions: How can we draw replicable lessons to move from place-based projects towards more programmatic adaptation planning? How does CBA fit with larger scale adaptation policy and programmes? How are CBA interventions situated within the institutions that enable or undermine adaptive capacity? Combining the research and experience of prominent adaptation and development theorists and practitioners, this book presents cutting edge knowledge that moves the debate on CBA forward towards effective, appropriate, and ‘scaled-up’ adaptive action.

Focuses on the approaches to climate change adaptation which are community-based and participatory. This title highlights the participatory methods to help communities analyze the causes and effects of climate change, integrate scientific and community knowledge, and plan appropriate adaptation measures.

Community-based adaptation (CBA) to climate change is based on local priorities, needs, knowledge and capacities. Early CBA initiatives were generally implemented by non-government organisations (NGOs), and operated primarily at the local level. Many used ‘bottom-up’ participatory processes to identify the climate change problem and appropriate responses. Small localised stand-alone initiatives are insufficient to address the scale of challenges climate change will bring, however. The causes of vulnerability - such as market or service access, or good governance - also often operate beyond the project level. Larger organisations and national governments have therefore started to implement broader CBA programmes, which provide opportunities to scale up responses and integrate CBA into higher levels of policy and planning. This book shows that it is possible for CBA to remain centred on local priorities, but not necessarily limited to work implemented at the local level. Some chapters address the issue of mainstreaming CBA into government policy and planning processes or into city or sectoral level plans (e.g. on agriculture). Others look at how gender and children’s issues should be mainstreamed into adaptation planning itself, and others describe how tools can be applied, and finance delivered for effective mainstreaming. This book was published as a special issue of Climate and Development.

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - Topic: Development Politics, grade: Merit, University of Birmingham, course: International Development, language: English, abstract: Climate change is a global concern with its impending threats to economies, human development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Climate change impacts are currently being observed and studies show that poor countries are the most vulnerable. Using Bangladesh as a case study, this research examines the impacts of climate change to poor, rural communities and further explores the measures that are carried out to combat its existing and future threats. This research also aims to look into the existing socio-economic vulnerabilities of Bangladesh in order to establish the linkage between climate change and development. Findings of this study show that poor communities are impacted by climate change through the loss of lives, assets and livelihoods. Adaptation to climate change is therefore necessary and should be integrated in development planning and objectives, to ensure that the most vulnerable groups are represented. Overall this research has observed that Bangladesh is still lacking this capacity, despite the spontaneous adaptation being practised by local communities. This study has further observed that the most common response in addressing climate change impacts to vulnerable communities in Bangladesh is community-based adaptation, which focuses on local coping strategies and mechanisms. Community-based adaptation in the context of this research is focused on securing livelihoods and building a knowledge base for climate change awareness, among poor, rural communities and households. The findings of this study affirms that CBA programmes are increasing the resiliency of poor communities to climate change impacts however, certain limitations still exist which are further linked to policy formulation and integration, along with structural weaknesses in relation to addressing climate change in Bangladesh at the national level. Effective adaptation strategies that address climate change induced stresses are based on the participation of stakeholders and the key actors in policy making at the local, regional and national levels. This research demonstrates that this is the challenge currently facing Bangladesh and the overall conclusion presents that coordination, development and implementation of a national adaptation strategy that addresses climate change at all sectors, should help establish the framework in reducing the country’s present and future vulnerabilities, in relation to climate change.

As climate becomes less predictable and extreme weather events become more frequent, there is an urgent need for support that will help communities to prepare and adapt to changing conditions. This support is needed at the local level as well as the national, and must be framed by appropriate policy that secures real benefits for those most at risk. 'Community-based adaptation' (CBA) has been extensively piloted by the NGO community to analyse and understand the impacts of climate change. It is vital that development practice on the ground, as well as the knowledge and capacity of those most affected, keeps pace with lessons that have emerged from more than a decade of action and research. This book's findings reflect on experiences of CBA in practice to frame lessons for adaptation planning in developing countries and deepen understanding of CBA among researchers, students and practitioners with an interest in climate change adaptation.

Ecosystems are often examined from a ecological perspective because of the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem services. This book makes a case for ecosystem-based adaptation by arguing that ecosystems and its services are critical in the climate change and disaster risk reduction fields.