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(AIACC AF-14 )

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Balgis Elasha and Bill Dougherty

1 Higher Council for Environment &Natural Resources2 Stockholm Environmental Institute-Boston (SEI_B)

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S E I HCENR /SEI_B

Adapting to climate change: linking local coping mechanisms to development policies

and strategies

Development and Adaptation Days at COP-11, December 3 and 4, 2005, Montreal, Canada

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Overview

1. Objective of assessment/ importance

2. Questions / 3. Methodology4. Major policy-relevant

Findings5. Major policy implications

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The objective of the policy analysis• Assessing the local and national policies and conditions

that support or inhibit certain successful climate related response measures employed in a drought –prone areas of Sudan.

This is important !! Why?Because, it provide for linking local coping mechanism to the

development policies through:• Understanding of the impacts of policies and institutions in the

livelihood of rural people in fragile ecosystems, as well as their role in shaping their livelihoods;

• based on this assessment community needs and interests could be defined, as well as priority options for sustainable livelihoods i.e. its outcome could be considered as the basis for future policy decisions.

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Questions considered• Who are the vulnerable communities under

focus? • What were the coping strategies adopted by the

communities and what was their impacts on their livelihoods;

• What is the relationship between community resilience-building activities and micro-, meso-and macro-scale policies, institutions and processes? in other words how does policy affect livelihoods, and how can these links be strengthened in a beneficial way?

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Methodology

• a nested assessment approach was chosen for assessing the policy impacts at different scales, where analysis started by the household, then the community, state, and finally, the national or regional context

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The components of Policy Analysis for Sustainable Livelihoods

Adapted from Pasteur (2001)

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Policy-centred analysis for SL

Policy Process and actors

How policy is made, and w ho influences the

Policy MeasuresProgrammes, regulations,

law s, etc. for implementation of policy.

People-centred analysis for SL

Livelihood contextPolicies that w orsen or improve the vulnerability context in w hich people

Institutions and organisations

The interface between policy and people.

Social CapitalPeoples capacity to articulate demand or inf luence the policy

Policy ContextPolitical, social and

economic envrionment in w hich policy is made.

How people influence the policy process

How policy influencespeople's livelihoods

Policy StatementWritten or formal

statement of policy intent sanctioned by government.

Livelihood StrategiesThe policies that constrain

or enable poor people adopting the strategies

Livelihood OptionsThe policies that govern access to assets and

w ider livelihood options.

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Examples of policies that influenced the SL

Description of activity in the field Policies/ strategies or plans Institutions /level impact

Level: Macro-level At Community level

Distribution of Relief food and aid to communities in Red Sea State in response to recurrent drought and crisis

Contingency short-term plan Central government foreign aid organizations

Short term improvement of living conditions - Creation of relief dependent communities not capable of adaptation

Level: Meso- level (state)

Land ownership by household - instead of the communal ownership common among the other largely pastoral Beja communities

Registry of land under the names of families since the early 1960s

State government in cooperation with Local Leaders and community elders

absence of land tenure problems - enabled the community to enjoy settled life & increase their capacity to absorb “short-term” environmental shocks.

Level: Micro-level

Protection of pasture land and tree cover

Applying a strong social sanctioning system when misusing the natural resources

tribal leaders (native administration)

-Adherence of pastoralists to the regulation -Improved productivity of natural resources -Improved environmental conditions

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• Key finding:• It is found that certain instances of policies, landmark

legislation, reform, etc. play a direct role in enabling SL activity today as well as in developing future adaptation. Moreover, institutions are common element in any policy process, their analysis is needed to complement the policy analysis.

• Major policy –relevant findings (1) • Policy on paper does not necessarily mean there is policy in

practice, This emphasizes the need for education and the two way communication between decision makers and local communities

• The same Policy could yield contrasting results , for different sectors or different activities in the same sector

• To ensure proper implementation of policies, work should focus on enhancing knowledge of rights and duties of community members and promote regulations or laws that aimed at creating positive changes in human behavour and attitudes towards the environment and natural resources.

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Major Policy-relevant findings (2)

The policy priorities of poor people will be realized more effectively if they have the capacity to articulate their demands and influence the

policy process.• Contingency short-term plans for mitigating the impacts of drought,

have always led to short term improvement of living conditions, but at the same time contributed to the creation of relief dependent communities not capable of future adaptation.

• Traditions, community values and, religious affiliations can play major role on the success of policy intervention, care should be taken to build upon these and avoid policies that contradict with them . Hence Community Leaders are key players in the policy process , they possess a wealth of indigenous knowledge regarding the wise use and conservation of natural resources

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Major policy implications (1)

The study Shed light on existing policies that have impacts on community’s coping capacity to climate hazards, ideally, some of what has been captured through this project will be integrated into Sudan’s emerging adaptation efforts and used as a basis for mainstreaming adaptation with development policy.

The information generated through the study was assembled into policy analysis paper that could be developed into a policy document, and serve as valuable guidance to adaptation planning as well as to the longer-term adaptation mainstreaming process;

inform national adaptation strategies (both National Communications and National Adaptation Programmes of Action) under the UNFCCC;

If the outputs – either the methods or the lessons – can be taken up and applied elsewhere, they have the potential to help improve the effectiveness of regional adaptation planning efforts as well as future development work

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For more information on AIACC-AF14

www.start.org/Projects/AIACC_Project/