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Climate Resilience: Putting Ecosystem-Based
Adaptation to Work
Dr Mark Smith
Head
IUCN Water Programme
Gland, Switzerland
Water Day
Barcelona
November 2009
Water, ecosystems & climate change
• Water is at the centre
Impact
Infrastructure
Services
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drought
flood
storms
melting ice
sea-level rise
lakes & upland soils
floodplains
wetlands
groundwater
mangroves & sediments
storage
supply
flood control
disaster protection
coastal defence
• Ecosystems provide vital services… the ‘natural infrastructure’ for adaptation
• What has IWRM taught us about adaptation and the role of ecosystems?
– what needs to be done
– how it needs to be done
• Where does EbA fit into climate resilience?
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Climate vulnerable basin
• weak hydrological buffering
• narrow economic & livelihood dependency
• infrastructure that can’t cope
• infrastructure that impairs hydrological
buffering and livelihood diversification
• vulnerable people not empowered to act:
centralised decision making
• conflict destroys coordination
• ossified institutions
• new information & knowledge not available
or in use
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Climate resilient river basin
• buffering moderates the hydrograph
• diverse livelihoods and economy
• sustainable infrastructure portfolios:
engineered & natural
• infrastructure management for watershed
services and economic diversification
• vulnerable people empowered to act:
governance enables self organisation
• adaptive institutions, set up for learning
• accessible information, knowledge &
skills
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Resilience shift: KYB / Lake Chad
• drought aggravating poverty
• failed dam & irrigation projects
• siltation & weed infestation
• rising conflict
• paralysis
• shared information
• consensus management plan
• pilot ecosystem & livelihood restoration
• conflict resolution
• water charter: participatory governance
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Resilience shift: Tacanà, Guatemala
• deforested watersheds
• degraded farming systems
• social upheaval
• downstream disaster
• weak coordination
• local coordination of priorities
• landscape restoration & diversification
• social entrepreneurship
• municipal – provincial liaison
• disaster planning
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Resilience in practice
1. Diversity
• economy
• livelihoods
• nature & services
• Tacana
• Attapeu
2. Sustainable
Infrastructure &
Technologies
• engineering responses
• natural infrastructure
• sustainable & adaptable mgt
• Pangani
• KYB / L Chad
3. Self-Organisation
• participatory governance
• empowerment
• adaptive institutions
• Volta
• Mekong
4. Learning
• knowledge & skills
• climate information
• new adaptive strategies
• Okavango
• BASIM
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Key messages
1. Water is the medium for climate change impacts
– adaptation will be more effective where it uses and builds on lessons from WRM
2. EbA builds adaptation solutions
– what: building ecosystem services and natural infrastructure
– how: fostering decentralisation and empowerment
3. Climate resilience is key
– people-centred, putting EbA to work
– 4 components, ecosystems embedded
– coherent, coordinated, multi-sectoral policy and practice
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE