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International Telecommunication Union
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ICT AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION
VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM
23 SEPTEMBER, 2009
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Cosmas L. Zavazava, PhD
HEAD, LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES
AND EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS
TRENDS IN DISASTERS
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Natural Disasters – Reported 1900-2008
Much of the Increase in the number of hazardous
events reported is probably due to significant
improvement in information access and also
population growth but the number of floods and
cyclone being reported is still rising. What we must ask,
is Global warming affecting the frequency of natural
hazards?
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Mean 1961-1990
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Source : Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia and the Hadley Centre of the UK Meteorological Office.
CLIMATE CHANGE TRENDS
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 Mean temperature increases by the end of this century of up to 4%
centigrade and sea levels rising by up to 60 centimeters
 The 10 warmest years on record have all been since 1990
 Over the last century, average global temperatures have risen by 0.6
degrees Celsius being the most drastic temperature rises over 1000
years in the northern hemisphere.
 Glaciers are melting and Sea levels are rising and forecast to rise
another 88 cm by 2100
 Globally sea level rise threatens 100 million people living below this
level
 Number of people affected by floods worldwide has risen from 7 million
in the 1960s to 150 million today
 Overall, ICT could save 15% of the total greenhouse gas emissions
expected in 2020 or 7.8 billion tons of CO2 equivalent out of an assumed
total of 51.9 billion tonnes.
ICT and Climate Change Adaptation
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 A tool
for dissemination of information
on climate change
 A medium for increasing awareness and
facilitating dialogue about the effects
of climate change
 A tool for monitoring and measuring climate
change, assessing its effects, and controlling
interactions with the environment
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ITU WORK ON ADAPTATION
DELIVERING LAST MILE SOLUTIONS
 Environmental scanning to identify, assess, monitor, detect and predict
risks.
 Develop ICT infrastructure for accessibility and early warning systems
taking into account climate change impacts
 Design and develop new, creative and innovative practices to reduce
vulnerability and incorporate resilience through ICT
 Regeneration of ICT projects incorporating climate change measures
 Design National Emergency Telecommunication Plans to enhance
preparedness through institutional building.
 Develop standard operating procedures
 Develop guidelines on regulation and legal frameworks in the use of ICT
for disaster management and capacity building
 Design and develop ICT tools to support early warning systems
 Deploy remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems for
disaster preparedness
 Forge partnerships with communities, public – private sectors
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ITU Work on e-Environment
 ITU mandate on ICT applications and
strategies:
 Co-facilitator of WSIS Action
Line C7 on e-Environment
 Develop guidelines, training
materials and toolkits on
technology & policy aspects of
e-Environment applications
 Assist developing countries in
implementing relevant ICT
applications for environment
and sustainable development
Mandate: Resolution 35, ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (Kyoto, 1994) & Resolution 54, ITU
World Telecommunication Development Conference (Doha, 2006)
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ICTs for e-Environment Report
 Objective:
 Provide guidelines for
developing countries on the use
of ICTs for better management
and protection of the
environment as a key part of
their development process, with
particular focus on climate
change
 Examines six areas of ICT use:






Environmental Observation
Analysis
Planning
Management and Protection
ICT Mitigation and
Capacity Building
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/cyb
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Components of the
e-Environment Toolkit
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The Toolkit will include:
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Change




A list of first tier and secondary indicators
The e-Environment Readiness Index (EERI):
Methodology and calculations for assessing eenvironment readiness
Guidance for developing an e-sustainability
strategy
Online and other resources regarding
e-environment indicators
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ADAPTATION AND PRIORITIES OF THE HYOGO FRAMEWORK
 Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and local priority with a
strong institutional basis for implementation:
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o
o
o
Locally: To focus on severely impacted communities
Nationally: Strengthen existing policies to enhance a country’s ability to
respond to it’s vulnerabilities to climate change
Regional and sub- regional: Plan, harmonize and coordinate measures to be
taken.
 Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning
 Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety
and resilience at all levels
 Reduce the underlying risk factors
 Strengthen disasters preparedness for effective response at all levels
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KEY ADAPTATION ISSUES: DEFINITIONS
Adaptation: Study, evaluation and change of current policies and practices
to respond to climate change and it’s associative impacts.
Adaptation capacity: Ability of a system to adjust itself in order to cope with
climate change variability.
Flexibility: The ability to adapt to climate change through appropriate
judgment and strategies.
Mainstreaming: Taking on board climate change issues when designing
national policies, programmes and priorities (to include climate related
risk, vulnerability and options for adaptation in the ICT sector)
Vulnerability: Degree to which an area is susceptible to harm due to
exposure to
such as climate change
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EFFECTIVE APPROACHES TO ADAPTATION
 Engage stakeholders
 Identify and set priorities for action
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 Assign responsibility for action and monitor implementation
 Keep adaptation strategies under regular review
IMPORTANT
 Under – adaptation: Climate change factors are given insufficient weight
 Over – adaptation: Climate change factors are given too much weight
 Mal – adaptation: Decisions are taken resulting in more vulnerability to
climate change
 Adaptation = Flexibility
GUIDING PRINCIPLE: RESILIENCE
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VISION
EMPHASIS ON RESILIENCE
Prevent
Protect
Prepare
Detect
Respond
Review
ADAPTATION RESILIENCE STRATEGY
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RESILIENCE REINFORCES PRERAREDNESS
Advanced
Preparedness
Incident
Response
Capability
Resilience
Standard
Standard
Degree of
Functionality
Advanced
ICT ELEMENTS:CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION
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Observing Systems
EO satellites
Remote sensing
UAV
In-situ sensors
HALE
SensorWeb
Information Systems
Socio-economic data
Hazard, vulnerabily,
Common spatial
crisis maps
data infrastructure
Web services
Semantic web
Smart dust
Interoperable Command
Control Communication
systems
IPv6
Wimax
UMTS
CAP , TSO
TETRA/TETRAPOL Cell Broadcasting
Positioning systems
UWB
Telecommunications Systems
GIS: CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION
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Geographical information systems: For capturing, storing, analyzing,
management and presentation of data that refers to or is linked to location
(important for analyzing spatial information, edit data, maps).
Pre/post disaster satellite imagery
TIME
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Pre-Disaster: High Resolution Satellite Imagery
Post-Disaster: High Resolution Satellite Imagery
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CONCLUSION
Impacts transverses across many sectors:
forest, energy (power and transport),
agriculture, landfills and industry
Strategies to address Climate Change
Adaptation
Mitigation
Policy study on climate change will
consolidate national policy, which
provides the direction and the strategy to
address climate change
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Identify and set priorities for action
Forge multi-disciplinary
partnerships
Assign responsibility for action and
monitor implementation
Keep adaptation strategies under
regular review
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RECOMMENDATIONS
 Enhance Cooperation and Coordination among
scientific agencies and institutions to maximize
resource use
 Embark on institution building and
strengthening in this area
 Develop, deploy, and integrate low-cost,
affordable and innovative ICT systems into early
warning systems to facilitate universal
dissemination, and access to information at
local, national and regional levels
 Design and implement Emergency
Telecommunications Plans and Climate Change
Adaptation Plans
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THANK YOU
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[email protected]
www.itu.int/itu-d/emergencytelecoms
Tel: +41 22 730 5447