Abstract. Donor countries are providing financial and technical support for global climate change country studies to help African nations meet their reporting needs under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Technical assistance to complete vulnerability and adaptation assessments includes training of analysts, sharing of contemporary tools (e.g. simulation models), data and assessment techniques, information-sharing workshops and an international exchange programme for analysts. This chapter summarizes 14 African country studies (Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) assessing vulnerabilities to global climate change and identifying adaptation options. The analysis revealed that the participating African countries are vulnerable to global climate change in more than one of the following socio-economic sectors: coastal resources, agriculture, grasslands and livestock, water resources, forests, wildlife, and human health. This vulnerability is exacerbated by widespread poverty, recurrent droughts, inequitable land distribution, environmental degradation, natural resource mismanagement and dependence on rain-fed agriculture. A range of practical adaptation options were identified in key socio-economic sectors of the African nations analysed. However, underdeveloped human and institutional capacity, as well as the absence of adequate infrastructure, renders many traditional coping strategies (rooted in political and economic stability) ineffective or insufficient. Future African country studies should be more closely coordinated with development of national climate change action plans
The possible impacts of global climate change on different countries has led to the development and ratification of the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) and has a strong bearing on the future sustainable development of developing countries and countries with economies in transition. The preparation of analytical methodologies and tools for carrying out assessments of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change is therefore of prime importance to these countries. Such assessments are needed to both fulfill the reporting requirements of the countries under the FCCC as well as to prepare their own climate change adaptation and mitigation plans.The vulnerability and adaptation assessment guidelines prepared by the U.S. Country Studies Program bring together all the latest knowledge and experience from around the world on both vulnerability analysis as well as adaptation methodologies. It is currently being applied successfully by scientists in over fifty countries from all the regions of the globe. This guidance is being published to share it with the wider scientific community interested in global climate change issues.This guidance document has two primary purposes:• To assist countries in making decisions about the scope and methods for their vulnerability and adaptation assessments, • To provide countries with guidance and step-by-step instructions on each of the basic elements of vulnerability and adaptation assessments.This document has been designed to be used in tandem with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) draft Technical Guidelines for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation. It provides a stepwise discussion of the use of selected methods, building on the analytic framework and discussion of alternative methods in the IPCC document. Previous editions of this document have undergone peer review by U.S. and international experts. In addition, previous versions of this document were used at a vulnerability and adaptation assessment training workshop for 56 countries participating in the U.S. Country Studies Program.These guidelines provide detailed and comprehensive guidance on international vulnerability and adaptation assessment methods and describe a relatively simple approach for each step and stage of analysis. The guidelines have allowed countries to conduct multifaceted assessments tailored to their own specific needs. It is hoped that organizations conducting vulnerability and adaptation studies in different parts of the world can make use of these guidelines as well as improve on them.The results of these studies supported by the U.S. Country Studies Program will improve global understanding of vulnerability and adaptation issues and contribute to the work of the IPCC and FCCC subsidiary bodies. Dr. Saleemul Huq Executive Director Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies Version 1.1 v April 1996 LIST OF CONTRffiUTORSThis document was prepared by a team of experts in the field of analysis of vulnerability and Adaptation to climate change. Direct contact with th...
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