The latest issue of id21 focuses on climate change and vulnerability (see
below). Generally, I'd recommend id21 to anyone who wants to keep up with
the latest sustainable development research. Subscriptions are free
(details given below).
*** id21News Number 143, December 2004 ***
RESEARCH FOCUS: Securing development in the face of climate change -
insights #53
* Synergies and trade-offs in climate change responses
* International policy in supporting adaptation
* Responding to drought and food insecurity
* Living with variable climate in southern Africa
* Responding to climate change
* Knowledge about our future climate
* Focus on the Pacific Islands
* Justice and adaptation to climate change
* Variability and extremes in water resources in the Nile river basin
OTHER NEWS: Millennium Campaign launches global website against poverty *
Childhood under Threat - The State of the World's Children 2005 * One of
Every Five Children Suffers From Hunger in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru *
More women are migrating, facing greater risks * GDN Conference
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RESEARCH FOCUS: Securing Development in the face of climate change -
insights #53
Climate change poses a potentially major challenge to social and economic
development in all countries. It is widely accepted that at least part of
the earth's 0.6°C warming during the last 100 years is due to emissions of
greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, caused by human activities.
During this century, the world is expected to continue warming, by between
1.4 and 5.8°C. Other predicted impacts are a rise in global sea levels of
between 0.09 and 0.88 metres by 2100, and changes in weather patterns,
including an increased frequency and severity of extreme events such as
hurricanes, floods and droughts. How can developing countries and
development policies ensure progress in a changing climate?
http://www.id21.org/insights/insights53/insights-iss53-art00.html
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Synergies and trade-offs in climate change responses
Beyond the climate change community and the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), how much awareness of climate
change is there amongst development organisations? What steps have they
taken in response to climate change? The development community and
sectoral planners in several governments are increasingly asking how the
future impacts of climate change can be included within development
activities.
http://www.id21.org/insights/insights53/insights-iss53-art01.html
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International policy in supporting adaptation
The world is committed to a certain amount of human-induced climate change
over the next few decades. Some negative impacts of climate change are
inevitable. These impacts are likely to affect developing countries most
severely. Developed countries and wealthier people in less developed
countries may be able to cope with, or adapt to, these impacts. However,
poor people across the world may require assistance to adapt to climate
change and to offset its potentially unequal effects.
http://www.id21.org/insights/insights53/insights-iss53-art02.html
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Responding to drought and food insecurity
Science cannot predict with certainty how future climate change will
affect food security. Around 800 million people are currently
undernourished, and this number will probably grow as our climate changes.
How will the most vulnerable households and countries cope, when they are
likely to be the most seriously affected and have the least resources to
adapt?
http://www.id21.org/insights/insights53/insights-iss53-art03.html
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Living with variable climate in southern Africa
Southern Africa has experienced severe food shortages over the past few
years. These have been caused by several factors, including climate change
and variability, problems with governance (including poor risk-management,
and inadequate early warning systems) and wider structural issues (such as
globalisation). Many parts of the region are also vulnerable to the
impacts of large-scale environmental change, including land degradation
and biodiversity loss.
http://www.id21.org/insights/insights53/insights-iss53-art04.html
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Responding to climate change
The impacts of climate change are already being observed around the world,
from retreating glaciers to changing seasons and rainfall patterns.
Climate change is likely to be evident in the future through more frequent
storms, droughts, heat waves, floods and other extreme events. Each of
these may affect the security and sustainability of development throughout
the world. Developing countries, particularly least developed countries,
are likely to be exposed to the greatest impacts. However, climate change
is caused by current and past emissions from industrialised countries that
have more resources to cope with the impacts.
http://www.id21.org/insights/insights53/insights-iss53-art05.html
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Knowledge about our future climate
Whilst there is evidence that our climate is changing as a result of human
activities, forecasting future changes remains a significant challenge.
Despite the use of complex computer models, there is a high degree of
uncertainty in forecasts for the next 10 to 100 years. This uncertainty
tends to be greater for small spatial scales but government planners, the
private sector and non-governmental organisations need detailed regional
or local information. Providing this information is perhaps the biggest
challenge to climate science today.
http://www.id21.org/insights/insights53/insights-iss53-art06.html
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Focus on the Pacific Islands
Many Pacific islands are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate
change such as sea level rise. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change predicts that sea levels will rise by between 0.09 and 0.88 metres
by 2100 and continue rising after this. Higher sea levels will cause
coastal flooding and have adverse effects on biodiversity, soils and water
supplies. Pacific Islanders will be among the first people forced to adapt
or ultimately relocate. The impacts will be felt for many generations
because of the low adaptive capacity in these islands and high
vulnerability to climate-related natural disasters.
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Justice and adaptation to climate change
Climate change is very much an issue of justice. Our climate is changing
because developed countries have used fossil fuels to pursue economic
growth. Yet climate change will mostly affect developing countries that
have not contributed to the problem and have a weak capacity to cope with
it.
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Variability and extremes in water resources in the Nile river basin
Climate variability represents a significant challenge for water resources
management. Further changes in rainfall and river flows, caused by human-
induced climate change, undermine traditional methods of water resource
management. They increase the severity and frequency of floods and
droughts, and increase water scarcity. This is causing major problems for
people in the Nile river basin, from farmers in the Ethiopian highlands,
the main source area, to those in Egypt who are almost wholly dependent
upon water that originates from these highlands.
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OTHER NEWS:
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Millennium Campaign launches global website against poverty
What is keeping the world from achieving the Millennium Development Goals
is simply the lack of political will - both in rich and poor countries.
The Millennium Campaign encourages citizens around the world to hold their
governments to account for their promises in the Millennium Declaration
and Goals.
http://www.millenniumcampaign.org/
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Childhood under Threat - The State of the World's Children 2005 (UNICEF)
Why are millions of children loosing out on their childhood? This year's
report, titled Childhood Under Threat, focuses on how poverty, conflict
and HIV/AIDS threaten the idea of childhood as a period of time for
children to grow and develop to their full potential.
http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/index.html
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One of Every Five Children Suffers From Hunger in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru
To be poor and indigenous and live in marginal sectors on city edges or in
rural zones in the sierra and the altiplano is an almost certain recipe
for hunger in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. In the Andean subregion, one of
every five children suffers from chronic malnutrition (low height for age
between 0-5 years), according to a study presented by the Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the World Food
Programme (WFP) in Quito, Ecuador.
http://www.eclac.cl/cgi-bin/getProd.asp?
xml=/prensa/noticias/comunicados/2/20352/P20352.xml&xsl=/prensa/tpl-
i/p6f.xsl&base=%5Ctpl-i%5Ctop-bottom.xsl
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More women are migrating, facing greater risks
Migrant women boost economic development in both their country of
destination and at home, says a UN study marking International Migrants'
Day Saturday. More women are on the move today than ever before in human
history, and they face the "triple burden" of being female, foreign and,
often, working in dangerous occupations, the report noted.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=12794&Cr=migration&Cr1
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GDN Conference
The Global Development Network (GDN) will hold its Sixth Annual Global
Development Conference from January 24-26, 2005 in Dakar, Senegal. The
theme of the conference is 'Developing and Developed Worlds: Mutual
Impact'.
http://www.gdnet.org/activities/annual_conferences/sixth_annual_conference/
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id21News Number 143 December 2004
The id21 online collection contains thousands of policy-relevant research
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