Sustainable Food Futures [1]

Global human population is projected to increase from 7 billion today to more than 9 billion by 2050. To sufficiently feed these people, FAO projects that food availability will need to increase by at least 70 percent.

Meanwhile, close to one billion of the world’s poorest people remain under-nourished today. Despite its importance, much of the planet’s natural capital has been degraded through the extensification and intensification of food production. This environmental degradation, in turn, can undercut agricultural production; climate change will have profound effects on agriculture, freshwater availability may become a limiting factor for growing food in some areas, and diminishing ecosystem services will lead to reduced productivity.

These trends lie at the intersection of environment and development. Agriculture historically has been an underpinning of national economic development. Many of the world’s poorest people are themselves farmers. And women play a central role in farming, comprising 41 percent of the agricultural workforce worldwide and making up the majority of agricultural workers in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The convergence of these trends poses one of the paramount challenges―a sort of “great balancing act”―for the next 40 years: How can the world adequately feed more than 9 billion people by 2050 in a manner that reduces pressure on the climate, ecosystems, and freshwater while helping to build livelihoods and benefit women?

The World Resources Institute (WRI) will dedicate its next flagship World Resources Report (WRR) to tackling this question by breaking it into a portfolio of practical and scalable solutions. Each strategy that will be presented by the WRR can contribute to feeding the world in a manner that also helps steward natural ecosystems, protect the climate, sustainably use freshwater resources, advance development and livelihoods, and ensure gender benefits. No single solution will solve the challenge of the great balancing act, and which wedges are relevant will likely vary between countries, regions, and food chains.

Coming out in early 2013, the first WRR installment will pose the overarching challenge, and frame the structure for the rest of the series. Coming out thereafter on a rolling basis, each subsequent installment will delve into a separate piece of the food puzzle and provide concrete advice on how the planet can shift toward a sustainable food system that sufficiently feeds all people.

Photo Credits: WRR 2012-2014 slideshow picture from flickr.com/treesftf. Groundnut farmer picture from flickr.com/ILRI.

Brazil: Fire and Flood Responses in the Amazon [2]

Case Study [3]

Source: http://clim8news.blogspot.com

Downloads:

Full Case Study [4] (PDF, 231 Kb)

Summary:

Acre State, in Brazil’s Amazon, is the country’s most Western state, bordering Peru and Bolivia. In the past 6 years, the State has suffered two severe droughts; the 2005 drought was considered a 100 year event. It was followed five years later by another one of equal severity but more widespread in its impacts. In 2005, the early stages of the drought became evident in May; a ban on fires was declared in August, but it was not until late September that a state of emergency was declared by officials. By then, significant fire damage had occurred; it was not until October rains came that fires were completely controlled.

At the time of the fire ban, the government of Acre set up a fire response situation room to monitor the status of fire activity, to coordinate the activities of various government offices, and to direct fire-fighting resources to high priority areas. Using satellite data and information gathered by daily overflights, the situation room was able to coordinate what resources were available to fight fires; priority was given to the protection of rural population and infrastructure. Damage to both open areas and Amazon forest was extensive, nonetheless, with some 500,000 hectares affected.

With the onset of the drought of 2010, the Acre government responded sooner, with a state of emergency declared in early August and the situation room activated. Again, the goal of the program, given limited resources, was to direct fire-fighting responses to critical areas.

Based on its performance in 2005, the situation room model has been adopted by the Acre government for use in response to other extreme events; situation rooms were activated in 2006, 2009, 2010 and early 2011 for floods in the State.

About the Authors:

Foster Brown is an environmental geochemist whose research interests focus on global environmental change and sustainable development in the southwestern Amazon Basin. He coordinates the Center’s program dealing with climate change and land use in the trinational southwestern Amazonia. Dr. Brown spent over twenty years as a faculty member of the Graduate Program in Environmental Geochemistry at the Federal Fluminense University in Niteroi, Brazil, and is currently on the faculty of the Federal University of Acre, Brazil. He earned his doctorate in environmental geochemistry at Northwestern University.

George Luiz Pereira Santos is a Major of the State of Acre’s Military Firefighters Corp and has an undergraduate degree in economics and a Master’s in Regional Development. He teaches in Brazil’s National CIvil Defense System throughout Brazil as well as courses in administration at Uninorte in Rio Branco, Acre. His specialties include response to flooding and forest wildfires.

China's Agricultural Development: Adaptation in Action [5]

Case Study [3]

Downloads:

Full Case Study [6] (PDF, 860 Kb)

Summary:

The 3H Plain is a critical part of China’s agricultural economy. It contains 26% of the country’s arable land and represents almost one third (32.8%) of all the land under cultivation. At the same time, this is an area of China that is already water stressed; per capita availability was one third of the national average and only one half of UN standards.

When it became clear that climate change, in the form of increased temperatures and decreased rainfall, was impacting the future of agriculture, the government took action. Initially, the response came through a World Bank financed project beginning in 2004 that focused on improving irrigation in the region. World Bank project funding was supplemented in 2006 with a GEF grant dedicated to mainstreaming climate change adaptation into the agricultural sector in the 3H area.

Experts introduced a new variety of wheat in the area, but adoption took several growing seasons. Government-led pilot programs introducing new techniques to better manage irrigation water took hold after farmers saw benefits. Also, the formation of water users associations and the involvement of a prominent women’s’ organization provided forums to tell farmers about climate change impacts and to introduce training in new techniques. Initial outcomes include: the introduction of new wheat varieties more resistant to future growing conditions; major improvements in irrigation that reduces run-off as well as evaporation; and altered planting calendars to take advantage of changing conditions. The CAD continues to monitor farm activities in the area, as well as climate conditions to be able to help farmers make adjustments if necessary.

About the Authors:

Lanying Wang is is a senior water engineer and currently the Division Chief of the World Bank Project Management Division in the State Office of Comprehensive Agriculture Development under the Ministry of Finance in China. She has about 15 years experience on the project design and implementation management for the comprehensive agriculture development projects including the climate change adaptation and mitigation in irrigated agriculture sector in China, especially for the management of the World Bank, GEF, and the other international trust fund (TF) projects. Before 1997, she worked in the Information Research Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower under the Ministry of Water Resources in China for more than ten years, and focused on the practical study related to the new technologies and best practices in the world in water resources and irrigation management sector. She was a visiting research fellow in International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in USA in 2008, and has a bachelor degree in irrigation and drainage from the Water Resources and Hydropower University of North China.

Qun Li is a Senior Operations Officer and Task Team Leader with the World Bank. She is currently working in the Water Sector for the Middle East and North Africa Region, and was previously in the Social, Environmental and Rural development Sector of East Asia and Pacific Region. She has about 20 years of experience working on World Bank lending operations, much of it focused on a multi-sectoral project approach to rural and agriculture development, water resources and water saving irrigation development and management, rural institutional development for farmer water user association and farmer cooperative, and more recently climate change adaptation and mitigation in rural water and agricultural development. She had worked extensively with technical line agencies and ministries for agriculture and rural water, especially in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and recently in Egypt. She was previously employed by the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, Water Resource Management, Inc. in USA, and the Economic Research Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Social Science in China. She has a Masters degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University Minnesota, and some 8 years of direct rural and agriculture farming experience in China in the early 1970s.

South Africa: Ecosystem-Based Planning for Climate Change [7]

Case Study [3]

Photo credit: flickr/arnolouise

Downloads:

Full Case Study [8] (PDF, 376 Kb)

Summary:

South Africa is one of 17 mega-diverse countries on the planet, home to three biodiversity hotspots and almost 15% of known coastal and marine species. Over the last decade, South Africa has incorporated biodiversity information into spatial and development planning, and created a national strategy for expanding protected areas to conserve biodiversity and promote ecosystem resilience.

Biodiversity sector plans, which include maps of critical biodiversity areas and ecosystem support areas, are being used in seven of the country’s nine provinces. These plans are designed to guide land-use planning and decision-making by all sectors that impact biodiversity such as housing, agriculture, conservation and industry. Systematic biodiversity planning has also been used to map 44 important areas that capture the full range of South Africa’s biodiversity patterns and ecological processes and could form the basis for expansion of the country’s protected estate.

In some provinces and districts there has been significant progress in making the transition from having plans in place to actually implementing them on the ground, resulting in the real integration of biodiversity and climate change adaptation priorities into the policies, programs and day-to-day work of other sectors. However, these are not recognized as pressing national priorities, and compete for resources with many other development challenges. The lesson is that having state-of-the-art biodiversity planning products in place does not guarantee that they will be effectively used to guide appropriate development or wise biodiversity management; for this, more active capacity building efforts are required for land-use planners, decision-makers, scientists, NGOs and other implementers.

About the Authors:

Caroline Petersen is Learning Network Coordinator for the South Africa National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) [9], capturing and disseminating learning about best practice across SANBI’s bioregional programmes and the partnerships they support. In 2010 she worked with South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme, overseeing the development of a book entitled “Biodiversity for Development: South Africa’s Landscape Approach to Conserving Biodiversity and Promoting Ecosystem Resilience”. Caroline has a background in writing and policy formulation on environment and development issues. In 2005, Caroline was a lead author of the introductory chapter to the Global Environment Facility strategy document “Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Production Landscapes”. Caroline has an MPhil in Adult Education from UCT, and an MSc (Econ) in Economic History from the London School of Economics.

Dr. Stephen Holness is the Senior Manager for Strategic Conservation Planning for South African National Parks [10]. He is responsible for spatial biodiversity planning, including systematic conservation planning to support the establishment of new protected areas, the expansion of existing reserves, and the prioritization of land use within reserves. Recent major national projects in collaboration with the South African National Biodiversity Institute include the spatial assessment for the South African National Protected Areas Expansion Strategy, and marine, climate change and coastal components of the current National Biodiversity Assessment. At a more local scale he is interested in incorporating biodiversity issues (in particular spatial priorities for climate change response) into integrated land use plans, and has been involved with producing Critical Biodiversity Area maps for a number of districts including the Garden Route, the Overberg and the Karoo.

Rwanda: Ecosystem Restoration and Sustainable Hydropower Production [11]

Case Study [3]

View over Lakes Bulera and Ruhondo, Rwanda Photo credit: flickr/kookaburrakerry

Downloads:

Full Case Study [12] (PDF, 179 Kb)

Summary:

In 2003-04, Rwanda experienced a major electricity—and as a result, economic—crisis. This crisis was triggered by a steep decline in power generation at the Ntaruka hydropower station, attributed to a significant drop in the depth of Lake Bulera, the station’s reservoir. The water loss was precipitated by a combination of factors, including: poor management of the upstream Rugezi Wetlands; degradation of the surrounding Rugezi-Bulera-Ruhondo watershed due to human activity; poor maintenance of the station; and reduced rainfall in recent years.

In response to its energy crisis, Rwanda has sought to restore the degraded watershed by halting on-going drainage activities in the Rugezi Wetlands and banning agricultural and pastoral activities within and along its shores, as well as along the shores of nearby lakes Lakes Bulera and Ruhondo. But this left the region’s poor rural households no longer able to access key resources, jeopardizing their livelihoods. The Government responded with additional agricultural and watershed management measures including: building erosion control structures; planting a bamboo and grass belt around the Rugezi Wetlands; planting trees on surrounding hillsides; distributing improved cookstoves; and promoting both environmentally sound farming practices, and additional income-generating activities such as beekeeping.

Today, the Ntaruka hydropower station has returned to full operational capacity while local livelihoods are, in the main, more secure. The story of Rwanda’s electricity sector demonstrates the importance of integrated watershed management in pursuing energy security in a changing climate.

About the Authors:

Hilary Hove is a Project Officer with the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Climate Change and Energy Program. Her work involves research and project management responsibilities within both the mitigation and adaptation streams of the program. Current activities include research on nationally appropriate mitigation actions in developing countries, adaptation best-practices, and low-carbon development planning. Prior to joining IISD, Hilary worked as a Policy Analyst with the Federal Government of Canada, working on Canada-U.S. and international climate change policy. Hilary holds a Master of Arts from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) from McGill University.

Jo-Ellen Parry is the Program Manager, Climate Change and Energy, at the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Drawing on her experience and broad knowledge of climate change, natural resource management and community development, her recent research and project management work has focused on adaptation to the effects of climate change, giving particular attention to issues and responses in developing countries. This includes exploring ways in which to integrate adaptation into development processes at the national and community level, with a focus on adaptation action in Africa. Previously she has undertaken research on how adaptation to climate change might be addressed within a future international agreement on climate change under the UNFCCC. Within Canada, Ms. Parry undertakes selected policy research for the Manitoba government to foster efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change in this province. Prior to joining IISD, she held several research positions with various academic, NGO and private organizations. She holds a Master of Environmental Studies degree from York University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba.

Nelson Lujara is an Energy Expert in the Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA) of the Republic of Rwanda. He holds a D.Eng (RAU-South Africa), M.Eng (McGill-Canada) and B.Sc (Eng) from the University of Dar Es Salaam (UDSM) in Tanzania, all in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. A seasoned academic and professional engineer, Dr. Lujara worked for the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) from 2000-2006, where he rose to the rank of Associate Professor and held the positions of Dean of the Faculty of Technology, Director of the Centre for Innovations and Technology Transfer and Vice-Rector in charge of Academic Affairs. Prior to joining KIST, he was a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering of the UDSM. Dr. Lujara has more than 40 publications in the areas of renewable energy, power electronics, climate change and higher education.

Bangladesh's Comprehensive Approach to Disaster Management [13]

Case Study [3]

Flooding in Bangladesh Photo courtesy Abu M. Kamal Uddin

Downloads:

Full Case Study [14] (PDF, 273 Kb)

Summary:

Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone nations in the world. Every year, about 10 million Bangladeshi citizens are impacted by one or more natural hazards. In the past, the government of Bangladesh had a traditional reactive approach to addressing natural disasters that focused on relief and rehabilitation activities. This changed in the 1990s with recognition of the need for a more proactive approach that included “hazard identification and mitigation, community preparedness and integrated response efforts.” The result was the government’s Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme, which aims to move disaster management away from relief and rehabilitation and towards risk reduction.

Phase I of the program, which ran from 2004 – 2009, had several notable outcomes:

a Climate Change Cell to convert global forecasts into impact statements for Bangladesh;
a Disaster Management Information Center with communications links to all high-risk provinces in the country;
initiatives to evaluate the hazards, risks and vulnerabilities of communities, including earthquake risk assessments for three major cities in Bangladesh, and tsunami and storm surge risk mapping for the entire coastline, which feed into city planning and emergency response services.

Taken together, these initiatives have significantly increased the nation’s capacity to respond proactively to disasters, as illustrated by the successful large-scale evacuations that preceded Cyclone Sidr in 2007. The program has had exceptional support from Ministers and Secretaries who recognize the important role that disaster management planning can play in the national development process. However, action needs to be taken to increase community level support for disaster risk reduction in order to achieve long-term sustainability for the program.

About the Authors:

Kirsten Luxbacher is a freelance writer and researcher. Previously, she worked at the World Resources Institute to support the World Resources Report. She has an M.Sc. in Sustainable Development from Utrecht University, the Netherlands.

Abu Mostafa Kamal Uddin is a climate change specialist working for the United Nations Development Programme. His basic training is in Biology and he has over 20 years of work experience in natural resources management, of which the last six have been in the area of climate change and disaster management. As the program manager of the climate change cell in Bangladesh, he has facilitated the development of large numbers of knowledge products including reports on climate change adaptation research.

Mangrove Restoration and Rehabilitation for Climate Change Adaptation in Vietnam [15]

Case Study [3]

Mangroves Photo credit: flickr/Hopkinsii

Downloads:

Full Case Study [16] (PDF, 485 Kb)

Summary:

Located within the tropical monsoon belt, Vietnam is extremely vulnerable to climate change, particularly to increases in storm intensity and sea level rise. This case study examines Vietnam’s efforts to use mangroves as an adaptation approach, and illustrates how governance plays a crucial role in the success of such actions. Large-scale mangrove restoration and rehabilitation has been institutionalized as key adaptation interventions in Vietnam, with very different results in the north and south.

In the North, mangroves have been planted primarily to protect the coast from sea level rise and storms, without giving local inhabitants user rights. This has magnified conflicts of interest over claims to coastal wetlands between the lucrative shrimp aquaculture industry and mangrove plantations. Marginalized members of society have been displaced, in particular women dependent on access to the coast to harvest non-cultivated seafoods, such as clams and crabs.

In the South, mangrove restoration and rehabilitation has been designed more as a multi-functional approach to alleviate poverty and diversify livelihoods. Many plantations are both species-rich and managed under several land-use arrangements, with individuals allocated land ownership in some cases. Under such conditions, mangroves can provide both ecological goods and services and livelihood benefits. This is especially the case in areas where restoration has been coupled with capacity building and training, and the provision of social services, such as schools and health clinics, and of infrastructure such as roads and electricity.

Vietnam’s experience suggests that adaptation approaches with a single objective – such as protecting coastal infrastructure from sea level rise – can lead to conflicts of interest that hinder implementation, especially when local communities are not involved. Incorporating adaptation within a comprehensive development planning process has had greater success in providing benefits to all stakeholders.

About the Authors:

Neil Powell is a Senior Research Fellow and co-leader of the SEI theme, Transforming Governance. His research, teaching and development action is geared towards addressing intractable problems and resource dilemmas in the context of natural resource governance and management. The approach focuses on the inefficiencies and ambiguities of policy implementation in contexts characterized by abrupt environmental change and controversy. His work promotes understanding of how structures and stakeholder agency can be best deployed to reconcile contemporary intractable issues such as climate change adaptation and integrated agro-environmental actions. Just prior to joining SEI in 2006, Neil taught, supervised and undertook research as a Senior Lecturer at the Swedish Agricultural University, Uppsala. He was also worked as the program officer responsible for Swedish water resource development cooperation in Southern Africa at the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Neil Powell has actively worked in numerous number of country contexts in Europe, Southern Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Maria Osbeck is a researcher at the Stockholm Environment Institute [17]. She has worked on environmental issues in Asia since 2003 focusing on policy processes linked to terrestrial and coastal systems. She was involved in a EU-funded project on mangrove ecosystems in Southeast Asia between 2007-2010.

Dr. Bach Tan Sinh is the Director of the Department of Science and Technology Human Resource Policy and Organization, National Institute for Science and Technology Policy and Strategic Studies - a policy advisory institution to the Ministry of Science and Technology, Vietnam. He has more than twenty years experience on policy analysis and governance in science, technology, environment and development in Vietnam.

Vu Canh Toan is a researcher working at the National Institute for Science and Technology Policy and Strategy Studies (NISTPASS) under the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam since 2008. He has been involved in many projects linked to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction as well as water resources management.

Indonesia: Managing Peatland Fire Risk in Central Kalimantan Province [18]

Case Study [3]

Video about IRI, Bogor Agriculture University and CARE Indonesia’s efforts to manage peatland fire risk in Central Kalimantan (courtesy IRI).

Downloads:

Full Case Study [19] (PDF, 965 Kb)

Summary:

Uncontrolled spread of fires in peatlands poses a serious risk to public health, livelihoods, and conservation efforts in Indonesia, and contributes significantly to climate change. Since 2006, the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and Bogor Agriculture University have worked with government and NGO partners to help develop a seasonal early warning system for managing fires in the peatlands of Central Kalimantan.

As a result of project efforts, a 2008 regulation in Central Kalimantan integrated the use of seasonal climate information in assessments of fire risk and subsequent decisions on whether or not to allow controlled burning during the upcoming fire season. This superseded a previous regulation banning all use of fire, which had negatively impacted farmers who traditionally used fire to clear their land. A freely accessible early warning online system and training for key provincial and district staff on how to use the system have enabled a high degree of awareness about season-ahead fire prediction. However, widespread and formal use of this information has been limited by the fact that current institutions involved in fire management are designed to support reactive measures once fires have already occurred. They do not, as yet, have capacity to undertake proactive steps to reduce fire risk based on seasonal information.

Further, the design of appropriate incentive systems for farmers is crucial to the success of the fire risk regulation, and requires further research on alternatives to fire use, their costs, institutional mechanisms for offering incentives, and monitoring fire use. Currently, farmers, particularly those practicing shifting cultivation, do not have other economically viable options for land clearing besides fire. To avoid using fire, they would need to receive tangible support. The longer lead-time offered by the seasonal early warning system could be instrumental in developing an incentive-based fire management program that enables planning and action over a longer time horizon.

About the Authors:

Dr. Shiv Someshwar is a research faculty member at Columbia University in New York. He directs the Asia and Pacific Regional Program of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society [20], and the Adaptation Program of the Earth Institute’s Global Network for Climate Solutions. An expert in climate change adaptation and development policy, Dr. Someshwar has led numerous multidisciplinary projects that build resilience to climate risks in developing countries. He advises governments in identifying adaptation priorities, and serves as an advisor to UNDP’s Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery to integrate climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction efforts. He helped develop Columbia’s Masters program in Climate and Society, and is an adjunct professor at Columbia’s School for International and Public Affairs. Previously, he was at the Rockefeller Foundation and at the World Bank. Dr. Someshwar received his Ph.D. in environment and public policy from the University of California, Los Angeles, and was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University.

Esther Conrad is a doctoral student in the Society and Environment Division of the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the University of California, Berkeley [21]. From 2004 – 2010, she was Senior Staff Associate at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, where she contributed to interdisciplinary projects focused on the use climate information and forecasts in decision-making for agriculture, water and fire management in South and Southeast Asia. Previously, she worked at the United Nations Development Programme in the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme, analyzing community-based projects addressing climate change mitigation. She also worked for four years on policy advocacy for detained immigrants. Esther holds a Bachelor of Sciences in Earth Systems from Stanford University, a Masters in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge, and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University.

Dr. Rizaldi Boer is the Executive Director of the Centre for Climate Risk and Opportunity Management in Southeast Asia and Pacific [22] of Bogor Agricultural University [23] in Indonesia, where he also teaches at the Department of Geophysics and Meteorology and heads the Climatology Laboratory. Since 1995, he has been actively involved in various regional research activities related to climate variability and climate change. He is frequently invited by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat to be part of the expert review team of the National GHG Inventory of Annex 1 countries. He is currently the president of the Indonesian Society on Agriculture Meteorology and the chairperson of the RA V Working Group on Agricultural Meteorology for the World Meteorological Organization. He is also a co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC.

Increasing Food Security: Mali's National Meteorological Service Helps Farmers Manage Climate Risk [24]

Case Study [3]

Farmer in Mali Photo credit: flickr/Peter Casier

Downloads:

Full Case Study [25] (PDF, 319 Kb)

Summary:

In 1982, Mali’s national meteorological service initiated a project designed to provide farmers with seasonal climate information. The project responded to the critical link between climate and agricultural production, dramatically illustrated by a series of severe drought events that plagued the Sahelian region throughout the 1970s and 1980s. By providing farmers with information at critical points in the growing season, the project aimed to help rural communities manage the risks associated with variable rainfall.

Effective communication of information has been a major factor in this project. Climate information is processed by a working group into 10-day bulletins and 3-day weather forecasts. The former are given to national policy makers working on food security, and are broadcast through television and radio. The weather forecasts are downscaled to target regions and broadcast in local languages by radio stations, enabling them to reach rural farmers. However, obstacles still remain, such as low literacy among farmers and difficulties in translating technical terms into local languages.

Farmers who have participated in the project consistently report higher yields, and correspondingly higher incomes, from fields where agro-meteorological information is used. The evidence suggests that farmers affiliated with the project are able to use climate information to take more risks, invest in new technologies, and seek information from other sources in order to increase production and, ultimately, income.

About the Authors:

Dr. Molly Hellmuth received her Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Colorado (USA), while working at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Austria). She specializes in the economics of climate risk management, and has contributed to the Stern Review and is cited extensively in the IPCC Working Group II Fourth Assessment Report. Dr. Hellmuth is currently based at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) at the Earth Institute of Columbia University (USA), where she is an Associate Research Scientist and the Director of the publication series, “Climate and Society.”

Daouda Zan Diarra leads the Agrometeorological Division of Mali’s Direction Nationale de la Météorologie. For more than 20 years, Diarra has coordinated DNM’s agrometeorological project, providing climate and weather information to rural Malians and helping to foster adaptation to climate change. Diarra was trained in agrometeorology at the AGRHYMET Center in Niamey, Niger. He is a member of the African Association of Remote Sensing and the Environment and of the Association for the Promotion of Sustainable Development.

Cathy Vaughan is a staff associate at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, where she coordinates the Latin American program and contributes to the Climate and Society publication series. The co-author of Climate Change: A Reference Handbook, Cathy previously served on the secretariat of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change. She holds master’s degrees from Columbia and Yale universities and served with the U.S. Peace Corps in Zambia.

Rémi Cousin is a member of IRI Data Library Team, where he works to develop new functionalities and enable climate information communication and dissemination to end users. He holds a degree in engineering with majors in geo-sciences from l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Nancy. He has previously worked for Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS) at Mercator-Océan (Toulouse, France) and at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL, Pasadena, CA).

Nepal: Responding Proactively to Glacial Hazards [26]

Case Study [3]

Glacial lake in Nepal Photo credit: flickr/magical-world

Downloads:

Full Case Study [27] (PDF, 638 Kb)

Summary:

Glaciers in Nepal are shrinking due to warmer temperatures, forming glacial lakes which can burst and cause destructive glacial lake outburst floods (known as GLOFs) in downstream valleys. The Tsho Rolpa glacial lake is the largest of its kind in the Nepali Himalayas, and the threat of it flooding led the Government of Nepal to take proactive measures in the late 1990s. These included setting up an emergency warning system to alert local communities, and lowering the lake’s level by three meters. These measures, taken in 1997-98 are thought to have averted the prospect of a disastrous flood.

In addition, after detailed scientific and technical studies, a flood prevention system was put into place. This consisted of a channel cut to allow water to flow out of the lake, with the overflow used to power a micro-hydro plant. A permanent maintenance staff was also hired and the structures remain well-maintained. The early warning systems, however, ceased to be operational in 2002 despite the fact that a robust system was commissioned using the latest technology. This failure can be attributed to an absence of funding for maintenance, as well as lack of response by local communities, whom, the authors argue, had not been adequately educated about the risks of floods or trained in how to use the early warning system.

About the Authors:

Arun Bhakta Shrestha is a Climate Change Specialist in the Integrated Water and Hazard Management Program at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) [28], a mountain-focused institution working in the eight countries of the Himalayas. His main areas of expertise include climate change, glaciers and glacial hazards, glacial lake outburst mitigation, atmospheric environment, remote sensing, and hydrological modeling. He was actively involved in the Tsho Rolpa Risk Reduction Project and was on the scientific team preparing the First National Communication of Nepal to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Arun has a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the University of New Hampshire, USA, and a Master’s degree in Hydraulic Engineering from Minsk, Belarus.

Susan Tambi Matambo has a Master’s degree in environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies [29]. At Yale, she focused her masters research study on the influence of global institutions on domestic environmental policy. She worked in various capacities for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Secretariat and Evaluation Office from 2004-2010, as well as with the Wildlife Conservation Society in Africa. Susan has lived in Africa, South East Asia and the United States and is currently an independent consultant working on climate change issues.