Biblioteca

This manual provides a set of tools and methods to assess existing structures and capacities of national, district and local institutions with responsibilities for Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in order to improve their effectiveness and the integration of DRM concerns into development planning, with particular reference to disaster-prone areas, vulnerable sectors and population groups.

This manual includes 9 training modules on climate and flood forecast applications in agriculture. They were developed to build the capacity of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) of the government of Bangladesh to interpret probabilistic climate and flood forecast information, translate these into location-specific impact outlooks, prepare locally relevant response options, and communicate these to vulnerable farming communities to reduce disaster risks in agriculture.The modules are intended for participants in the related training workshops, as well as for the self-study learner.

This document summarizes the key points highlighted in the report «Climate Change and Food Security: a Framework Document». This provides background information on the interrelationship between climate change and food security, and ways to deal with the related vulnerabilities and threats. It also shows the opportunities for the agriculture sector to adapt, as well as describing how it can contribute to mitigating the climate challenge.

This policy document describes how climate variability and change may influence the fisheries sector and its future contribution to poverty reduction. It reports on a recent global assessment identifying regions where future climate change could have the most significant impact on the contributions of the sector to national economies. In addition, it proposes policy actions and initiatives to help governments and fishing communities maintain and build adaptive capacity to climate change.

This policy document consists of a strategic note that has been prepared for the High Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy, June 2008 in Rome. It presents the main conclusions of a study on climate and climate change in West Africa. Recalling main facts on the evolution of climate in Africa and possible impacts of climate change on food production and food security in the region, the note analyses Sahelian producers’ adaptation strategies. It highlights for decision makers the needed promotion of local knowledge to adapt to climate fluctuations in order to better define and implement adaptation policies at the national and regional level.

This analytical report presents the evolution of climate in West Africa and analyzes the possible impacts of climate change on food production and food security in the region. Climate variability is deeply rooted within West African society. The 1930-1960 wet period, the 1970-1980 droughts and the return of rainfall in the 1990s and 2000s illustrate this clearly and have demonstrated the population’s vulnerability, in particular in the Sahel zone.

This analytical report summarizes the main points highlighted in the report «Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication». This is among the key contributions of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to the Rio+20 process and the overall goal of addressing poverty and delivering a sustainable 21st century. The report makes a compelling economic and social case for investing two per cent of global GDP in greening ten central sectors of the economy in order to shift development and unleash public and private capital flows onto a low-carbon, resource-efficient path.

This analytical report demonstrates that the greening of economies is not generally a drag on growth but rather a new engine of growth. It can also be a net generator of decent jobs and a vital strategy for the elimination of persistent poverty. The report seeks to motivate policy makers to create the enabling conditions for increased investments in a transition to a green economy. It makes a compelling economic and social case for investing two per cent of global GDP in greening ten central sectors of the economy in order to shift development and unleash public and private capital flows onto a low-carbon, resource-efficient path.

This analytical report presents examples from Africa, Asia and Latin America to demonstrate approaches to integrate food and energy crops that offer benefits to poor rural communities. It describes the benefits of generating biogas for cooking, the reduction of time spent collecting fuel wood and the use of compost from generating biogas. The report underscores that integrating crops can be an effective climate change mitigation approach.

This technical document presents the priorities identified by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) to mobilise the skills and resources of the banking, investment and insurance sectors behind an effective, efficient and equitable global deal on climate change at COP15 in Copenhagen. The paper addresses the types of decisions that governments could take in Copenhagen to stimulate financial involvement and seeks to identify the priority actions that financial institutions need in a future agreement to enable them to provide the scale of finance and support required for both mitigation and adaptation.

This analytical report provides a comprehensive analysis of the state of the world’s freshwater resources. It includes a chapter on water and climate change. This phenomenon can directly affect the hydrologic cycle and, through it, the quantity and quality of water resources. It can lower minimum flows in rivers, affecting water availability and quality for its flora and fauna and for drinking water intake, energy production, thermal plant cooling and navigation. Anthropogenic climate change can also directly affect demand for water, when demand for crops increases in certain seasons, for instance for the implications of climate change on uncertainty in agriculture.

This activity report briefly presents the major activities implemented and the main results obtained by the UN-REDD Programme. This is the UN system’s collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) and supporting conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries. The UN-REDD Programme supports nationally-led REDD+ efforts and promotes the informed and meaningful involvement of all stakeholders in national implementation and international activities for REDD+.

This activity report briefly presents the activities implemented by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) respectively to reduce the impact of GHG emissions from international aviation on the global climate and to improve energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions from international maritime transport.

This activity report briefly presents UN system’s activities to address the health impact of climate change. These include: advocacy and awareness raising, strengthening partnerships, enhancing scientific evidence, and strengthening health systems.

This activity report briefly presents the main UN system’s activities to promote climate technology development and innovation. In particular it emphasizes the necessity of building a strong network of technology centres as this is critical to enable developing countries to leapfrog to low greenhouse gas emission development paths.

This activity report briefly presents UN system’s initiatives to promote access to climate finance. In particular, it introduces the Climate Finance Options platform which addresses information needs on the multitude of funds available for climate action in developing countries. This platform is managed by UNDP/World Bank Group and is complemented by the Finance Portal being developed by the UNFCCC secretariat. Both platforms ultimately help to catalyze financial and investment flows leading to more effective and efficient mitigation and adaptation measures.

This activity report briefly presents the UN system’s activities to support countries in building capacities to address climate change and achieve national development objectives. The UN system has the broad operational reach and vast network of regional, national and sub-national offices to deliver capacity development services at such scope and scale. As a trusted multilateral partner, it uses its global presence and experience to help nations strengthen their capacities so that they can perform better and contribute to the achievement of national development goals.

This analytical report takes a holistic view of the multiple ways in which forests support livelihoods. The chapters assembled for this issue of the State of the World’s Forests highlight four key areas that warrant greater attention: regional trends on forest resources; the development of sustainable forest industries; climate change mitigation and adaptation; and the local value of forests. The chapter on climate change discusses forests in the Kyoto Protocol, progress on forest-related climate change negotiations and forest carbon tenure, and calls for further work on the role of forests in adaptation in climate change policies and actions.

This analytical report presents the issues and requirements that Pacific islands face regarding the impacts of climate change on food sources and water. It includes national assessments in Vanuatu, the Republic of Marshall Islands and the Cook Islands and recommendations for national strategies to mitigate, adapt and respond to the challenges posed by climate variability on agriculture and food security. Finally it presents the report of a regional expert group of concerned partners which was formed to consider and regionalize the commitments made by the Rome Declaration of the High-Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate change and Bioenergy, 3–5 June 2008.

This analytical report aims to highlight the critical role of the oceans and ocean ecosystems in maintaining the Earth climate and to assist policy makers in mainstreaming an oceans agenda into national and international climate change initiatives. Improved integrated management of the coastal and marine environments, including protection and restoration of ocean’s blue carbon sinks, provides one of the strongest win-win mitigation efforts known today, as it may provide value-added benefits well in excess of its costs, but has not yet been recognized in the global protocols and carbon trading systems.