How are Individuals and Communities Already Adapting?

The experiences of the men, women and children discussed in this publication show that they are already deeply engaged in the process of adaptation to climate change - although they cannot meet these challenges single-handedly. People and communities are active and effective agents of change. They are aware of the big issues affecting their lives and livelihoods, and of the immediate steps they can take to address these. However, taking these steps requires support. Often, this will be financial support - after all, these individuals are living in some of the poorest parts of the world. The absence of reliable estimates for these costs is impeding development efforts. At the same time, transferring knowledge, technical capacity and experience is equally important to generate long-term and sustainable solutions.

As shown by the accounts in this report, people and communities are active agents of change in addressing the issues that affect them directly and indirectly. Community based adaptation is increasingly recognised as a key way for the world's poorest and most vulnerable people to build capacity to cope with the impacts of climate change. All of the accounts in this publication are evidence of the ingenuity of local people and their ability to initiate projects and to share knowledge. This was shown, for example, in the story "Miraculous Harvests in a Starvation Area" where farmers have been teaching their peers about the methods they have used which have been successful. The Lead Farmer in this case gives knowledge sharing as her main piece of advice for other communities. The final section of this publication on Knowledge and Education, gives further examples and evidence for the potential of community-led projects and participatory approaches.

Of course, all the efforts placed on adaptation will be futile if there is not an effective global response to limit greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the most dangerous effects of climate change from occurring. In the case of deforestation, communities are seen to be coming together to help with the global efforts towards mitigation and at the same time benefiting from the change in micro-climate which results from the planting of vegetation. But they cannot achieve adaptation without appropriate support and there is a need for technical, knowledge and financial frameworks to initiate new programmes. However, the support for local communities must be carefully managed. It has been shown that communities are successful in establishing their own agenda and it is, therefore, vital to give communities the space in which they can build their own capacity. There are examples throughout this report of the difference that a small amount of external support can make whether in the form of training or finance. In Tigray, Ethiopia, the provision of financial and technical advice from REST helped a farming family to build a dam. A different group of villagers in Ethiopia had no farming experience but with training from FARM-Africa, they now have the capacity to generate income and pass the knowledge onto their children.

Education is often also necessary to inform communities that the changes in climate will continue to occur and that there is a need to adapt for the long term. Without access to information and adaptation funds, vulnerable communities and groups may continue to rely on short-term coping mechanisms that are more damaging in the long run. This support needs financial backing and must be considered within a renewed commitment to adaptation.

Financing adaptation therefore requires realistic costings supported by detailed financial information. Recent discussions by leading members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggest that the global estimates for adaptation costs are two to three times too low.⁶ It is important that a serious post-Kyoto agreement includes a mechanism by which realistic costs for adaptation can be obtained in order to form a basis
upon which funding can be allocated to community-led adaptation projects.

Some of the projects in this report did not require a huge financial input; rather they relied on networks of knowledge and influence. In fact community-led schemes generally require less money than government or larger NGO-run projects. A wide range of experiences from around the world clearly shows that relatively small amounts of financing, targeted precisely at vulnerable groups who are motivated to address challenges themselves, can be the most effective way of creating long-lasting change. The willingness of local participants to support activities with their own labour, their desire to see improvements in their own surroundings, and their experience of addressing difficult issues with limited financial resources all contribute to the huge impacts that can be realised with relatively small investments.

In Ghana, the key intervention to protect forests and soil fertility in the Gare area was training individuals to prepare compost manure, construct stone bunds, and establish tree nurseries. Teaching people in this way generates longer-term solutions, which may even have future revenue benefits and lessen the reliance of communities on external support.