Your search found 86 records
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047688)
(0.43 MB)
Forest ecosystems are playing an increasingly important role in climate change mitigation through programs on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), which targets carbon sequestration. However, decades of environmental valuation studies evidence the economic benefits of other forest ecosystem services different than carbon, and there is no evidence on how these economic benefits differ in countries where REDD is to be implemented. To respond to this question, we conduct a global meta-analysis of forest primary studies published over the past 30 years in which we estimate the economic benefits related to different forest ecosystem services in targeted REDD countries, and discuss the implications of considering these economic figures in REDD decision making. A systematic review of the scientific literature leads to the selection of 52 original studies to conduct a meta-analysis on 205 observations. We obtain that the economic benefits of forest ecosystem services in REDD countries are always greater than in other countries, and provide economic ranges of services to serve as a reference to REDD decision making in relation to co-benefits and opportunity costs. The results have implications for future avoided deforestation programs, which should take co-benefits into account in order to better articulate payments for ecosystems and create proper incentives for forest conservation and sustain local livelihoods.
2 Vetter, S. H.; Sapkota, T. B.; Hillier, J.; Stirling, C. M.; Macdiarmid, J. I.; Aleksandrowicz, L.; Green, R.; Joy, E. J. M.; Dangour, A. D.; Smith, P. 2017. Greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural food production to supply Indian diets: implications for climate change mitigation. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 237:234-241. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.12.024]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047968)
(1.13 MB) (1.13 MB)
Agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. The growing global population is putting pressure on agricultural production systems that aim to secure food production while minimising GHG emissions. In this study, the GHG emissions associated with the production of major food commodities in India are calculated using the Cool Farm Tool. GHG emissions, based on farm management for major crops (including cereals like wheat and rice, pulses, potatoes, fruits and vegetables) and livestock-based products (milk, eggs, chicken and mutton meat), are quantified and compared. Livestock and rice production were found to be the main sources of GHG emissions in Indian agriculture with a country average of 5.65 kg CO2eq kg 1 rice, 45.54 kg CO2eq kg 1 mutton meat and 2.4 kg CO2eq kg 1 milk. Production of cereals (except rice), fruits and vegetables in India emits comparatively less GHGs with <1 kg CO2eq kg 1 product. These findings suggest that a shift towards dietary patterns with greater consumption of animal source foods could greatly increase GHG emissions from Indian agriculture. A range of mitigation options are available that could reduce emissions from current levels and may be compatible with increased future food production and consumption demands in India.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048304)
(1.16 MB)
This paper evaluates the role of trade liberalization and agricultural intensification in mitigating climate change cause and effects on land use and emissions using a computable general equilibrium model. Our results indicate that cropland expansion triggered by climate-induced crop productivity changes results in deforestation and increases emissions in South Asia and globally. Global full trade liberalization on all goods is the optimum policy for South Asia despite significant global deforestation, but for the world, unilateral partial trade liberalization on all goods is a more appropriate policy while ensuring a considerable emissions reduction for South Asia. These results indicate that mitigation responses to climate change are location specific and no one trade policy is suitable at the regional and global levels. Lastly, agricultural intensification by improving productivity growth is the best strategy in land-based emissions mitigation, thereby avoiding the transformation of forest and pasture lands for agricultural cultivation both at regional and global levels.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048429)
(0.82 MB)
Meeting global climate change mitigation goals requires the participation of developing countries in abatement programs to encourage low-carbon development pathways. Incentivizing developing countries to participate in climate change mitigation often requires a mechanism for developed countries to finance projects in poorer countries. While several funding institutions have been established, African country participation has been low. In this analysis, we conduct interviews with climate change policy stakeholders from across the continent and find a general consensus that a lack of institutional capacity has limited the participation of African countries in existing climate change mitigation programs. To confirm this qualitative observation, we use data from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Bank to examine the correlation between country-year measures of institutional capacity and the number of projects implemented by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and find that better institutional quality is associated with more GEF projects implemented in a country-year. We propose to address the lack of institutional capacity with the creation of regional institution, or Climate Change Mitigation Institution (CCMI), that specializes in building local capacity by leveraging external capacity as well as facilitates the integration of African countries into global climate change mitigation efforts by improving capacity, strengthening research and development, forming partnerships, and coordinating the disbursement of financing.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048595)
(2.10 MB)
This article is a collation and synthesis of the literature review with the focus on the vulnerability of rural women in developing countries to climate change on the one hand and being pro-active in adapting to climate change on the other. The geographic coverage of the literature is global but with specific examples from India. The information presented in this paper is derived from diverse sources including journal articles and thematic books, and indicates severe adverse impacts not only on women's livelihood opportunities but also on exacerbating the workload and fatigue while decreasing their self esteem and forcing them to undertake some high risks and hazardous activities. The literature indicates that poverty, gender inequality, insecure land rights, heavy reliance on agriculture, less access to education and information are among the principal reasons for their vulnerability to climate change. The vulnerability is also confounded by the meager asset base, social marginalization, lack of mobility and exclusion from the decision-making processes in response to a disaster. However, the literature also shows that women are not only the passive victims of climate change but are also pro-active and agents of hope for adaptation to and mitigation of abrupt climate change. They utilize their experience and expertise to reduce the adverse impacts by adopting prudent strategies. They are also concerned about environmental issues, and are highly supportive of policies regarding environmental restoration. Large knowledge gaps exist regarding the vulnerability of women to changing and uncertain climate especially in arid regions. Authors of this article suggest some action plans and strategies to minimize vulnerability to climate change such as empowering women economically and educationally, organizing training and outreach programmes, and involving them in formal climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and programmes. Authors also outline research needed in order to identify and implement strategies regarding climate change. Collective and continuous efforts are critical to finding the sustainable solutions for this global phenomenon which is adversely impacting the most vulnerable but critically important members of the society.
6 Nagothu, U. S. (Ed.) 2016. Climate change and agricultural development: improving resilience through climate smart agriculture, agroecology and conservation. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. 321p. (Earthscan Food and Agriculture Series)
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 630.2515 G000 NAG Record No: H049154)
(0.46 MB)
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049292)
(6.96 MB)
Land-use changes are critical for climate policy because native vegetation and soils store abundant carbon and their losses from agricultural expansion, together with emissions from agricultural production, contribute about 20 to 25 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions1,2. Most climate strategies require maintaining or increasing land-based carbon3 while meeting food demands, which are expected to grow by more than 50 per cent by 20501,2,3,,2,4. A finite global land area implies that fulfilling these strategies requires increasing global land-use efficiency of both storing carbon and producing food. Yet measuring the efficiency of land-use changes from the perspective of greenhouse gas emissions is challenging, particularly when land outputs change, for example, from one food to another or from food to carbon storage in forests. Intuitively, if a hectare of land produces maize well and forest poorly, maize should be the more efficient use of land, and vice versa. However, quantifying this difference and the yields at which the balance changes requires a common metric that factors in different outputs, emissions from different agricultural inputs (such as fertilizer) and the different productive potentials of land due to physical factors such as rainfall or soils. Here we propose a carbon benefits index that measures how changes in the output types, output quantities and production processes of a hectare of land contribute to the global capacity to store carbon and to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions. This index does not evaluate biodiversity or other ecosystem values, which must be analysed separately. We apply the index to a range of land-use and consumption choices relevant to climate policy, such as reforesting pastures, biofuel production and diet changes. We find that these choices can have much greater implications for the climate than previously understood because standard methods for evaluating the effects of land use4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 on greenhouse gas emissions systematically underestimate the opportunity of land to store carbon if it is not used for agriculture.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H049366)
(1.39 MB)
9 Sadoff, Claudia. 2019. Focus on water for adaptive solutions. Stockholm WaterFront, 3:8-11.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049414)
(0.46 MB) (1.54 MB)
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy SF Record No: H049478)
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049551)
(0.31 MB) (320 KB)
Climate-smart business models target multiple Sustainable Development Goals by fostering agricultural productivity, supporting farm and farmer livelihood resilience, and encouraging climate mitigation. While many business models (cl)aiming to create climate-smart value already exist both in agricultural development and business practice, little scholarly attention has so far been directed toward their functioning. In this paper, we argue that business models need to be inclusive and adaptive to generate climate-smart value equitably for all stakeholders involved and sustainably over time. Inclusivity involves not only providing the poor at the Bottom-of-the-Pyramid (BoP) with access to resources (e.g. finance, technology, access to markets) in business models but also, according to some scholars, with guaranteeing their representation in decision-making over the use of these resources. Adaptability entails the capacity to smoohtly adjust structures and processes of enterprise-BoP partnerships that underlie business models. We suggest that building inclusive and adaptive climate-smart business models is non-trivial work which, in the future, will require rapid cycles of collective experimentation and reflection between decision-makers in climate-smart business models and researchers studying them.
12 Harou, J. J.; Matthews, J. H.; Smith, D. Mark; McDonnell, Rachael A.; Borgomeo, E.; Sara, J. J.; Braeckman, J. P.; Matthews, N.; Dalton, J.; Young, M. D.; Ovink, H. W. J.; Mumba, M.; Shouler, M.; Markkanen, S.; Vicuna, S. 2020. Water at COP25: resilience enables climate change adaptation through better planning, governance and finance. Editorial. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Water Management, 173(2):55-58. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1680/jwama.173.2020.2.55]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049592)
(0.13 MB) (132 KB)
13 Edberg, S.; Rodriguez, D. J.; Bernardini, F.; Koeppel, S.; Plotnykova, H.; Colombo, C. C.; Gaillard-Picher, D.; Gartner, T.; Amarnath, Giriraj; Hedger, M.; Kjellen, M.; Matthews, J.; Mauroner, A.; Pories, L. 2020. Climate finance: financial and economic considerations. In UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP); UN-Water. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2020: water and climate change. Paris, France: UNESCO. pp.160-171.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049606)
(2.46 MB) (37.7 MB)
This chapter addresses the current state of water and climate finance, the costs of inaction versus the benefits of action, and several ways to access climate finance flows to improve water management as well as water supply and sanitation services, while synergistically mitigating and/or adapting to climate change.
14 Smakhtin, V.; Perera, D.; Qadir, M.; Aureli, A.; Carvalho-Resende, T.; Dhot, N.; Findikakis, A.; Villholth, Karen G.; Gurdak, J. J.; Zandaryaa, S.; Hulsmann, S.; Medlicott, K.; Connor, R.; Timmerman, J. 2020. Water availability, infrastructure and ecosystems. In UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP); UN-Water. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2020: water and climate change. Paris, France: UNESCO. pp.46-57.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049601)
(2.21 MB) (37.7 MB)
This chapter establishes linkages between climate change and various aspects of water management. Adaptation and resilience-building options are presented with respect to water storage – including groundwater – and water supply and sanitation infrastructure, and unconventional water supply options are described. Mitigation options for water management systems are also presented.
15 De Souza, M.; Nishimura, Y.; Burke, J.; Cudennec, C.; Schmitter, Petra; Haileslassie, Amare; Smith, Mark; Hulsmann, S.; Caucci, S.; Zhang, L.; Stewart, B. 2020. Agriculture and food security. In UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP); UN-Water. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2020: water and climate change. Paris, France: UNESCO. pp.78-95.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049604)
(2.05 MB) (37.7 MB)
This chapter highlights where land–water linkages are expected to become apparent in terms of climate impacts and where practical approaches to land and water management offer scope for both climate adaptation and mitigation though agriculture. It also provides an agricultural perspective from which to further engage the United Nations Climate Change Conference in terms of water management.
16 Kjellen, M.; White, M.; Matthews, J.; Mauroner, A.; Timboe, I.; Burchi, S.; Dhot, N.; van Waeyenberge, T.; El Fenni, Y. R.; Lohani, A.; Newton, J.; Imamura, Y.; Miyamoto, M.; Moors, E.; de Oliveira, V. G.; Schmeier, S.; Crespo, C. C.; Gutierrez, M. T.; Welling, R.; Suhardiman, Diana; Hada, R.; Saji, M.; Jimenez, A.; Lymer, B. L.; Saikia, P.; Mathews, R.; Bernardini, F.; Koeppel, S.; Aureli, A.; Resende, T. C.; Avellan, T.; Hahn, A.; Kirschke, S. J.; Perera, D.; Loeffen, A.; Turner, R.; Pories, L.; Aldaco-Manner, L.; Daher, B.; Willemart, S.; Schillinger, J. 2020. Water governance for resilience to climate change. In UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP); UN-Water. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2020: water and climate change. Paris, France: UNESCO. pp.150-159.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049605)
(1.77 MB) (37.7 MB)
This chapter outlines legal, institutional and political means to support climate change adaptation and mitigation, to enhance resilience, and to reduce vulnerability through more inclusive water management, especially at the country level.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049577)
(2.03 MB)
In many parts of the world, especially in metropolitan areas with dry climates, shortages of freshwater resources have become a significant challenge in water resources management. Rapid population growth and climate change in these areas impose additional burdens on water consumption, especially on surface water resources, which are increasingly becoming scarce. In this study, a change from the Standard Operating Policy (SOP) to the Modified Linear Decision Rule (MLDR) policy is considered as a solution to mitigate the impacts of climate change on dams and reservoir operation. The two policies were compared by using five reservoir system performance indices (reliability, resiliency, vulnerability, sustainability and meeting demands) and three hydropower energy generation indices. This study pertained to the Karaj hydropower dam reservoir in Iran and speculated on 2020–2039. Changing the operation policy from current SOP to the MLDR policy can mitigate the adverse effects brought by climate change. According to the results, the SOP policy works best for reservoir operation if there is enough water (optimistic scenario). In the case of pessimistic scenarios (shortage of water), operating the reservoir system with SOP policy would turn into a crisis in supplying drinking water. On the other hand, the MLDR policy prevents the complete draining of the reservoir. In all water-demand scenarios, the MLDR policy reduces the amount of time (by over 90%) in which the reservoir remains empty, compared to the SOP policy. The final results demonstrate how the MLDR policy can mitigate the undesirable effects of climate change.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049676)
(0.36 MB) (364 KB)
Climate change and land are linked – politically. Climate change politics intersects with the global land rush in extensive and complex ways, the impacts of which affect villagers profoundly. These interconnections occur in direct and indirect ways and are often subtle, but that does not make them less important; it only makes the challenge of governing such dynamics in the interests of marginalized working poor people even more difficult. In this paper, we focus our analysis on indirect and subtle interconnections. Examining empirical cases in Northern Shan State in Myanmar, we conclude that these interconnections occur in at least three broad ways, in which climate change politics can be: (i) a trigger for land grabbing, (ii) a legitimating process for land grabs, or (iii) a de-legitimating process for people’s climate change mitigation and adaptation practices. These interconnections in turn stoke old and provoke new political axes of conflict within and between state and social forces.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049677)
(0.34 MB)
Crops, livestock and seafood are major contributors to global economy. Agriculture and fisheries are especially dependent on climate. Thus, elevated temperatures and carbon dioxide levels can have large impacts on appropriate nutrient levels, soil moisture, water availability and various other critical performance conditions. Changes in drought and flood frequency and severity can pose severe challenges to farmers and threaten food safety. In addition, increasingly warmer water temperatures are likely to shift the habitat ranges of many fish and shellfish species, ultimately disrupting ecosystems. In general, climate change will probably have negative implications for farming, animal husbandry and fishing. The effects of climate change must be taken into account as a key aspect along with other evolving factors with a potential impact on agricultural production, such as changes in agricultural practices and technology; all of them with a serious impact on food availability and price. This review is intended to provide critical and timely information on climate change and its implications in the food production/consumption system, paying special attention to the available mitigation strategies.
20 Joshi, Deepa; Platteeuw, J.; Teoh, J. 2019. The consensual politics of development: a case study of hydropower development in the eastern Himalayan region of India. New Angle: Nepal Journal of Social Science and Public Policy, 5(1):74-98. (Special issue: Water Security and Inclusive Water Governance in the Himalayas)
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049736)
(3.69 MB) (3.69 MB)
Criticism and contestation of large dam projects have a long, strong history in India. In this paper, we analyze diverse civil-society responses to large dam projects in the Eastern Himalaya region of India, which has in the past decades been presented as a clean, green, climate-mitigating way of generating energy, but critiqued for its adverse impacts more recently. We draw our findings primarily based on interviews with NGOs involved in environmental and/or water issues in Darjeeling, interviews with those involved in a local people’s movement ‘Affected Citizens of Teesta’, and participatory research over the course of three years between 2015 and 2018. Our findings show how doing development for the state, the market and/or donor organizations compromises the ability of NGOs in the Darjeeling region to hold these actors accountable for social and environmental excesses. In the same region, dam projects in North Sikkim led to a local people’s movement, where expressions of indigeneity, identity and place were used to critique and contest the State’s agenda of development, in ways that were symptomatically different to NGOs tied down by relations of developmental bureaucracy. Our findings reveal how the incursion of State authority, presence and power in civil-society undermines the civil society mandate of transformative social change, and additionally, how the geographical, political, institutional and identity-based divides that fragment diverse civil-society institutions and actors make it challenging to counter the increasingly consensual politics of environmental governance.
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