Thematic focus: Climate change: Loss and Damage: When adaptation is not enough
Thematic focus: Climate change:
Loss and Damage: When adaptation is not enough
The negative consequences of climate change are an
increasingly prominent discussion point in global climate change
negotiations.
This topic has recently risen to global attention with the
establishment of the "Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage
associated with Climate Change Impacts". Mounting
scientific evidence suggests that despite global mitigation and
adaptation efforts,
residual losses and damages from climate change are
inevitable. More information is needed on future climate change impacts
and on
where the limits of adaptation lie. This will allow the
creation of policies that help avoid negative impacts, where possible,
and address residual loss and damage when it occurs.
Why is this issue important?
At the global level
Loss and damage is an issue of growing importance for the
international community, as no country will escape the impacts of
climate change (IPCC, 2014). Though there is as yet no
universally agreed upon definition of loss and damage, a working
definition has been
proposed as, "the negative effects of climate variability
and climate change that people have not been able to cope with or adapt
to"
(Warner et al., 2012). Loss and damage results from a
spectrum of climate change impacts, from extreme events to slow onset
processes
(UNFCCC, 2012; Warner et al., 2012). While extreme events
are difficult to attribute to climate change, the risks of some
climate-related
events, such as heat waves, extreme precipitation and
coastal flooding are already moderate and are expected to increase as
temperatures
rise (IPCC, 2014). Loss and damage emanating from climate
change impacts can be economic in nature, such as loss of income or
damage to
property and assets, and non-economic, which include the
cultural, social and mental impacts of climate change, as well as the
loss of
biodiversity and ecosystem services, amongst others
(Morissey and Oliver-Smith, 2013).
Loss and damage is not a new concept, but rather one that
has re-emerged. In fact, the reality that climate change could
eventually result in
loss and damage was acknowledged before the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was even established. In
1991,
during negotiations that resulted in the establishment of
the UNFCCC, Vanuatu tabled a proposal on behalf of the Alliance of Small
Island States
for an insurance pool that would help small island states
address the impacts of sea level rise (INC, 1991). The proposed
insurance mechanism
was not incorporated into the UNFCCC; instead negotiations
focused on mitigation for the first decade in the life of the global
climate
change regime (Warner and Zakieldeen, 2011). However, with
the release of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report in 2007, it became
clear
that mitigation efforts were insufficient to avoid all of
the impacts of climate change (Warner and Zakieldeen, 2011). This led
to the
rise of adaptation in the climate change negotiations.
However there was also recognition that the impacts of climate change
could extend
beyond the limits of adaptation. In 2007 at the thirteenth
Conference of the Parties (COP), the concept of loss and damage was
introduced
in the Bali Action Plan (UNFCCC, 2008). Two years later, at
COP 16 in Cancun, a work programme was established to consider
approaches to
address loss and damage from the impacts of climate change
(UNFCCC, 2011).
At COP 18 in Doha in 2012, Parties decided to establish
institutional arrangements to improve understanding, strengthen
coordination and
enhance action and support, to be able to address loss and
damage at COP 19 (UNFCCC, 2013). In addition, Parties identified
national actions
and further work—including research—that could help
developing countries address loss and damage (UNFCCC, 2013). In 2013,
institutional arrangements to address loss and damage were
created with the establishment of the Warsaw International Mechanism for
Loss and Damage (WIM) at COP 19 (UNFCCC, 2014). The mandate
of the WIM is to enhance knowledge and understanding of approaches to
address loss and damage; strengthen dialogue, coordination
and coherence among relevant stakeholders and enhance action and support
to address loss and damage (UNFCCC, 2014).
Loss and damage has significant implications for global
climate change policies. Greater delays in enhancing mitigation and
adaptation
efforts will not only lead to more severe and irreversible
impacts of climate change ('losses'), but also to fewer opportunities
for reducing
impacts that are in theory reversible ('damages') (Kreft et
al., 2012). According to Verheyen (2012) there are three types of loss
and
damage: avoided, unavoided and unavoidable. Avoided loss and
damage is used to characterize the impacts of climate change that are
avoided by mitigation and adaptation. Unavoided loss and
damage could have been avoided, but has not been avoided because of
inadequate
mitigation and adaptation efforts. Lastly, there is some
loss and damage that is unavoidable no matter how ambitious mitigation
and
adaptation efforts are. Those impacts that are either
unavoided or unavoidable—or residual loss and damage—will need to be
addressed
by a range of other approaches, such as risk transfer tools
and insurance and risk retention measures including social safety nets
and
contingency funds. Ultimately, the more successful
mitigation and adaptation efforts are, the less loss and damage will be
incurred.
At the national level
Research suggests that the limits of adaptation are already
being exceeded in many societies (Warner et al., 2012), which could
result in
"escalating losses or require transformational change" (Dow
et al., 2013:305). This complicates the policy landscape for
policymakers
in developing countries, who are already grappling with both
development challenges and more recently the development and
implementation of adaptation strategies.
What are the findings?
Although policies are developed at the national level,
losses and damages are ultimately incurred at the local level.
Recent case studies in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burkina Faso,
Ethiopia, The Gambia, Kenya, Micronesia, Mozambique and Nepal show how
loss
and damage is being experienced by households in vulnerable
communities (Warner and van der Geest, 2013). The study found that
people
in vulnerable countries incur loss and damage when no
adaptation measures are adopted, when existing measures are not
sufficient to avoid
loss and damage, when measures have costs that are not
recovered, and when coping measures have negative or erosive effects in
the long
term (Warner and van der Geest, 2013). Loss and damage can
undermine food and livelihood security, social cohesion, culture and
identity (Warner et al., 2012; 2013).
Table 1:Overview of climatic stressors in the nine case study areas (Warner and van der Geest, 2013).
What are the implications for policy?
At the global level
Loss and damage is intrinsically linked to mitigation and
adaptation efforts, in that the more ambitious mitigation efforts are,
the fewer climate change impacts will be and the less
adaptation will be needed. Thus, increased mitigation ambition is
integral
to avoid escalating loss and damage in the future. However,
given historical emissions, a certain level of climate change
impact is inevitable (IPCC, 2013), requiring the scaling up
and replicating of best practices in adaptation and the development
and implementation of approaches to address loss and damage
that are not or cannot be avoided by adaptation efforts.
At the national level
Policymakers will need to explore, develop and implement
comprehensive risk management frameworks that include risk reduction,
risk transfer such as insurance, risk retention such as
contingency funds and social safety nets. In addition, they need to
design
specific policies to target slow onset processes. This
could, for example, involve the creation of policies to facilitate
migration
and resettlement (Nishat et al., 2013a). Research on how
loss and damage is being addressed in Bangladesh has revealed several
policy
gaps that need to be overcome in order to enhance these
efforts. Institutions to foster better collaboration and communication
between ministries and stakeholders involved in the response
to climate change will need to be improved, or in some cases,
developed and implemented (Shamsuddoha et al., 2013a). In
particular there is a need to capitalize on synergies between adaptation
and risk reduction agendas. Adaptation policies have
traditionally been implemented at the national level, with a tendency to
focus
more on slow onset processes, while risk reduction policies
have tended to be implemented at the local level to reduce the risk to
extreme events (Shambsuddoha et al., 2013a). As such, there
is a lot the two communities could learn from one another (Shamsuddoha
et al., 2013a).
The need for transformational approaches to address loss and
damage has been an important theme that has emerged out of loss and
damage research (Roberts et al., 2013). Evidence reviewed by
the IPCC (2014) and emerging studies on climate-related loss and damage
(Warner et al., 2013) show that business as usual approaches
to addressing climate change are insufficient. Transformation may
require
"deep shifts in the way people and organizations behave and
organize values and perceive their place in the world" (Pelling, 2011).
One possible means of facilitating transformational change
would be to scrutinize the drivers that render people vulnerable and
change
the way in which a state interacts with its citizens,
another might be to facilitate migration.
Policymakers in developing countries also lack tools to help
them develop and implement methodologies to assess loss and damage.
The aim of such assessments would be to understand which
groups in society are vulnerable to loss and damage; where they live;
what
exactly drives their vulnerability; and what can be done to
make these vulnerable groups more resilient to climate-related stressors
(Asaduzzaman et al., 2013). The onset of loss and damage
adds an element of complexity for policymakers in developing countries,
who
are already struggling with the implementation of
development and adaptation policies. A better understanding of people
and areas
at risk of future loss and damage will help policymakers
implement adaptation policies where they can be avoided and a more
comprehensive set of risk management tools where they
cannot.
|
Box 1: Case Studies on loss and damage at the local level
The district of Satkhira in coastal Bangladesh is
vulnerable to both sea-level rise and cyclones. Both can increase
salinization,
which has significant implications for rice
cultivation, the mainstay of the local economy and staple of the local
diet
(Rabbani et al., 2013). Residents of four villages in
Satkhira reported rising salinity levels on the land they farm in the
last two decades (Rabbani et al., 2013). In order to
adapt to salinization, many of the farmers planted new saline
tolerant-rice varieties, which was successful until
the onset of cyclone Aila in 2009. The cyclone caused a further and
drastic increase in soil salinity and resulted in a
total loss of the rice harvest for that year and very low yields in the
following two years (Rabbani et al., 2013). It was
estimated that from 2009 to 2011 the total loss of rice yield was USD
1.9 million (Rabbani et al., 2013).
The North Bank Region of The Gambia has a history of
recurrent droughts, which have been increasing in frequency (Yaffa,
2013). In the past three
decades the level of rainfall has decreased by 35
percent, compared with previous decades (Yaffa, 2013). The region
experienced a severe drought
in 2011 causing many villagers to lose their entire
harvests (Yaffa, 2013). Almost all villagers adopted coping measures
such as looking for additional
income or selling assets in order to buy food. Despite
this, many were forced to skip meals or reduce portion sizes (Yaffa,
2013). The study found that
the coping measures adopted were often "erosive" in
that they reduced the sustainability of livelihoods in the medium and
long-term.
The island of Kosrae in the Federated States of
Micronesia is highly vulnerable to sea level rise, which is expected to
exacerbate coastal
erosion, storm surges, and other coastal hazards
(Monnereau and Abraham, 2013). In Micronesia, the sea level is rising at
a rate of 10 mm per year,
compared to the global average of 3.2 mm (Monnereau
and Abraham, 2013). Coastal erosion has affected household livelihoods,
damaged homes and has
necessitated the adoption of a range of adaptation
measures, including the building of sea walls and planting of trees
along the shoreline. However,
these measures have not been sufficient to prevent
loss and damage. For example, cultural values and heritage are being
lost as ancient ruins are
dismantled to be used in the building of sea walls
(Monnereau and Abraham, 2013).
|
|
At the local level
Considering loss and damage is an issue affecting local
communities, it is important that the measures used to the
address future impacts of climate change are targeted to
those in need. In order to ensure that policies meet the needs of the
most vulnerable people, and to maximize success in doing so,
institutions should be in place to ensure that local households
and communities can participate in the design and
implementation of policies and programs (Nishat et al., 2013b).
Policies
and programs should be better tailored to the needs of end
users. For example, early warning systems should ensure that risks
are communicated in a way that is understood and leads to
appropriate action (Shamsuddoha et al., 2013a). Finally, local
governments need to be empowered and endowed with sufficient
resources to facilitate local responses to climate change (Shambsuddoha
et al., 2013a).
Farmers in disaster prone areas face incremental risks as
the global temperature rises and the frequency and severity of disasters
increase.
Microinsurance can assist them in dealing with and
recovering from adverse events and prevent them from falling into deeper
poverty. Research
suggests that the expansion of the microinsurance market can
be facilitated by pairing large insurance providers with smaller
micro-finance
institutions (Khan et al., 2013). Social safety nets are
also important, particularly in areas that experience frequent events
(Khandker et al., 2011).
However, social protection measures could be more successful
if there was less 'leakage' (Ahmed, 2013) and if programs and policies
benefited the
most vulnerable to a greater extent (Nishat et al., 2013a).
In addition, social safety nets should be accompanied by robust efforts
to strengthen
existing livelihoods, diversify incomes, and incorporate
differential vulnerability assessments (Khandker et al., 2011). Some
communities will
experience both extreme events and slow onset processes and
therefore it is important that strategies respond to loss and damage in
the
short-term do not exacerbate efforts to address loss and
damage in the long-term (Shamsuddoha et al., 2013b).
The establishment of the WIM should not detract from the
importance of adaptation. Rather, activities under WIM should emphasize
the need to step up adaptation efforts and funding to
address avoidable loss and damage. Emphasis should also be on the need
to improve the
effectiveness of current adaptation policy and action, and
the transformation to climate-resilient societies. With limited
resources with
which to respond to climate change, however, there is a risk
of competition between activities that aim to avoid loss and damage
(mitigation and adaptation) and activities that aim to deal
with unavoided and unavoidable loss and damage.
Way forward
Mitigation is the first line of defence against loss and
damage and efforts on this front must be enhanced to avoid escalating
loss and damage. Adaptation also plays an integral role in
avoiding loss and damage. Preston et al. (2013) introduce the concept of
the
adaptation frontier, which represents a safe operating space
for adaptation beyond which societies face limits of adaptation. The
boundaries
of the adaptation frontier are influenced by a number of
factors including path dependence and adaptation and development
deficits (Preston et al., 2013).
Investing in climate-resilient development and adaptation
today can reduce the amount of loss and damage incurred by future
generations.
Avoiding loss and damage requires action at multiple levels
and on several fronts: mitigation, adaptation, comprehensive risk
management and
sustainable development. There are existing institutional
arrangements and well-established academic traditions and communities of
practice that focus
on these issues separately, and need better coordination. By
contrast, dealing with unavoided and unavoidable loss and damage is to a
large extent
'terra incognita'. With mounting evidence that current
efforts to avoid residual impacts from climate change will not be
enough, there is an urgent
need to prepare societies for loss and damage that are not
avoided. The core task of the WIM should be to make this happen.
Acknowledgement
Writers: Erin Robertsa,b, Kees van der Geestc, Koko Warnerc and Stephanie Andreib
Production and Outreach Team: Anna Stabrawad, Arshia Chandere, Erick Litswad, Charles Sebukeerad, Kim Giesee, Lindsey Harrimane, Michelle Anthonye, Reza Hussaine, Tejaswi Girie, Theuri Mwangid and Zinta Zommersd
Special thanks to Jacqueline McGladee, Robert Munroef, Anna Stabrawae, Jinhua Zhange and Peter Gilruthe for their valuable comments, input and review.
(a Department of Geography, King's College, London; b International Centre for Climate Change and Development, Independent University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; c United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security; d UNEP; e UNEP/GRID-Sioux Falls; f UNEP-WCMC)
Production and Outreach Team: Anna Stabrawad, Arshia Chandere, Erick Litswad, Charles Sebukeerad, Kim Giesee, Lindsey Harrimane, Michelle Anthonye, Reza Hussaine, Tejaswi Girie, Theuri Mwangid and Zinta Zommersd
Special thanks to Jacqueline McGladee, Robert Munroef, Anna Stabrawae, Jinhua Zhange and Peter Gilruthe for their valuable comments, input and review.
(a Department of Geography, King's College, London; b International Centre for Climate Change and Development, Independent University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; c United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security; d UNEP; e UNEP/GRID-Sioux Falls; f UNEP-WCMC)
References
Ahmed, I., 2013. Social Safety Nets in Bangladesh. ISAS
Insights No. 197. Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National
University of Singapore. www.isas.nus.edu.sg (accessed 29.04.14).
Asaduzzaman, M., Haque, E., Islam, N, Munir, Q., Roddick,
S., Roberts, E., Hasemann, A., 2013. Assessing the Risk of Loss and
Damage Associated with the Adverse Effects of Climate Change in
Bangladesh. Sustainable Development Networking Foundation. International
Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), Dhaka. http://www.lossanddamage.net (accessed 29.04.14).
Dow, K., Berkhout, F., Preston, B., Klein, R.J.T., Midley,
G., Shaw, R., 2013. Commentary: Limits to adaptation. Nature Climate
Change 3, 305–307.
INC, 1991. Vanuatu: Draft annex relating to Article 23
(Insurance) for inclusion in the revised single text on elements
relating to mechanisms (A/AC.237/WG.II/Misc.13) submitted by the
Co-Chairmen of Working Group II. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee
for a Framework Convention on Climate Change, Working Group II, Fourth
Session, Geneva, 9-20 December 1991. 9pp.
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/a/wg2crp08.pdf (accessed 29.04.14)
IPCC, 2014. Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and
Vulnerability. IPCC Working Group II Contribution to AR5. Summary for
Policymakers. Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change.
http://www.ipcc.ch/ (accessed 12.04.14).
IPCC, 2013. Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis.
Summary for Policymakers. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/ (accessed 12.04.14).
Khan, R., Roddick, S., Roberts, E., 2013. Loss and Damage:
Assessing Microinsurance as a Tool to Address Loss and Damage in the
National Context of Bangladesh. International Centre for Climate Change
and Development (ICCCAD), Dhaka, Bangladesh. http://www.lossanddamage.net (accessed 12.04.14).
Khandker, S., Khaleque, M. A., and Samad A., 2011. Can
social safety nets alleviate seasonal deprivation? Evidence from
northwest Bangladesh. Policy Research Working Paper Series 5865. The
World Bank Group, Washington, D.C..
Kreft, S., Warner, K., Harmeling, S., 2012. Framing the Loss
and Damage Debate: A Conversation Starter by the Loss and Damage in
Vulnerable Countries Initiative. Germanwatch, Bonn.
Monnereau, I., Abraham, S., 2013. Limits to autonomous
adaptation in response to coastal erosion in Kosrae, Micronesia.
International Journal of Global Warming 5(4), 416-432.
Morissey, J., Oliver-Smith, A., 2013. Perspective on
Non-economic Loss and Damage: Understanding values at risk from climate
change. International Centre for Climate Change and Development
(ICCCAD),
Dhaka, Bangladesh. http://www.lossanddamage.net (accessed 29.04.14)
Nishat, A., Mukherjee, N., Hasemann, A., Roberts, E., 2013a.
A Range of Approaches to Address Loss and Damage Impacts from Climate
Change in Bangladesh. International Centre for Climate Change and
Development (ICCCAD), Dhaka.
Nishat, A., Mukherjee, N., Roberts, E., Hasemann, A., 2013b.
Loss and Damage from a Local Perspective in the Context of a Slow Onset
Process: The Case of Sea Level Rise in
Bangladesh. International Centre for Climate Change and
Development (ICCCAD), Dhaka.
Pelling, M., 2011. Adaptation to climate change: From resilience to transformation. Routledge, London and New York.
Preston, L., Dow, K., Berkhout, F., 2013. The climate adaptation frontier. Sustainability 5, 1011–1035.
Rabbani, G., Rahman, A., Mainuddin, K., 2013. Salinity
induced loss and damage to farming households in coastal Bangladesh.
International Journal of Global Warming 5(4), 400-415.
Roberts, E., Huq, S., Hasemann, A., Roddick, S., 2013. Early
Lessons from the Process to Enhance Understanding of Loss and Damage in
Bangladesh. International Centre for Climate Change and Development
(ICCCAD),
Dhaka, Bangladesh. http://www.lossanddamage.net (accessed 12.04.14).
Shamsuddoha, M., Roberts, E., Hasemann, A., Roddick, S.,
2013a. Establishing Links Between Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate
Change Adaptation in the Context of Loss and Damage: Policies and
Approaches in Bangladesh. International Centre for Climate Change and
Development (ICCCAD), Dhaka, Bangladesh. http://www.lossanddamage.net/ (accessed 12.04.14).
Shamsuddoha, M., Islam, M., Haque, A., Rahman, F., Roberts,
E., Hasemann, A., Roddick, S. 2013b. Local Perspective on Loss and
Damage in the Context of Extreme Events: Insights from Cyclone-affected
Communities in Coastal Bangladesh. International Centre for Climate
Change and Development (ICCCAD), Dhaka, Bangladesh. http://www.lossanddamage.net (accessed 12.04.14).
UNFCCC, 2008. Report of Conference of the Parties, on its
thirteenth session, held in Bali from 3 to 15 December 2007. Addendum.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
FCCC/CP/2007/6/Add.1.
UNFCCC, 2011. Report of Conference of the Parties, on its
sixteenth session, held in Cancun from 29 November to 10 December 2010,
Addendum. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). FCCC/CP/2010/7/Add.1
UNFCCC, 2012. A Literature Review on the Topics in the
Context of Thematic Area 2 of the Work Programme on Loss and Damage: A
Range of Approaches to Address Loss and Damage Associated with the
Adverse Effects of Climate Change. United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC). FCCC/SBI/2012/INF.14.
UNFCCC, 2013. Report of the Conference of the Parties, on
its eighteenth session, held in Doha from 27 November to 7 December
2012, Addendum. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). FCCC/CP/2012/7/Add.1.
UNFCCC, 2014. Report of the Conference of the Parties, on
its nineteenth session, held in Warsaw from 11 to 23 November 2013,
Addendum, Part Two: Action Taken by the Conference of the Parties at its
nineteenth session. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC). FCCC/CP/2013/10/Add.1.
Verheyen, R., 2012. Tackling loss and damage: A new role for the climate regime? Germanwatch, Bonn. http://www.lossanddamage.net (accessed 12.04.14).
Warner, K., Zakieldeen, A., 2011. Loss and damage due to
climate change: An overview of the UNFCCC negotiations. European
Capacity Building Initiative (ECBI). www.eurocapacity.org (accessed 13.04.14).
Warner, K., van der Geest, K., Kreft, S., Huq, S.,
Harmeling, S., Kusters, K., De Sherbinin, A., 2012. Evidence from the
frontlines of climate change: Loss and damage to communities despite
coping and adaptation Loss and Damage in Vulnerable Countries
Initiative. Policy Report. Report No. 9. United Nations University
Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), Bonn. http://www.ehs.unu.edu/ (accessed 12.04.14).
Warner, K., and van der Geest, K., 2013. Loss and damage
from climate change: Local-level evidence from nine vulnerable
countries. International Journal of Global Warming 5(4), 1-20.
Warner, K., van der Geest, K., Kreft, S., 2013. Pushed to
the limits: Evidence of climate change-related loss and damage when
people face constraints and limits to adaptation Report No. 11. United
Nations University Institute of Environment and Human Security
(UNU-EHS), Bonn. (accessed 12.04.14).
fuente: pnuma
Comentarios