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Training tools

  • ENDA, as a result of the C3D network, has increased in-house capacity to deliver targeted training for stakeholders, mainly in West Africa. Two persons were hired to work on ENDA activities.
  • The ERC has also recruited new staff members to successfully conclude all project activities.
  • MIND staff has benefited from 26 external staff training courses and conferences.

Training tool on vulnerability and adaptation

 

In November 2006, ENDA-TM introduced a C3D online vulnerability and adaptation training tool. This tool guides participants through a "train the trainers" workshop targeted to negotiators, decision-makers, government officials, technical advisors, consultants, scientists, and regional and national institutions in developing countries. The training material includes theoretical modules, case studies, practical exercises and lessons learned. It is available under the section above "Vulnerability and Adapation" (see top of the screen).

Scoping meeting to test training tools

A three day scoping meeting co-organized by ERC and ENDA-TM with the technical support of UNITAR was conducted in Cape Town, South Africa, from the 13th-15th of October, 2004. The meeting covered three main themes:

  • Two day session on frameworks, concepts and practical examples of vulnerability indicators, including National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA) indicators.
  • A two day working session on the sequencing of cognitive mapping to indicators and synthesis oriented towards risk assessment.
  • A one day working session on practical approaches to National Adaptation (NAPA) project prioritization.

 

 

 

 Cognitive mapping of urban health issues in Cape Town, South Africa

The mapping technique is a brainstorming exercise and is a good technique to get the group to agree on a common understanding and definition of a problem.

It helps highlight that there may be many definitions of vulnerability. It is also flexible and can be expanded and revised throughout subsequent projects/ exercises.
 

 

 

 

 Building a livelihood matrix

A livelihood matrix helps identify how a number of different livelihoods might be affected, determined by the sensitivity/ exposure of these livelihoods to various stresses or climate hazards.

Such an activity can assist in the identification of the most vulnerable livelihoods as well as in the identification of indicators.
 

The purpose of the workshop was to test the training tool on vulnerability and adaptation to climate change developed by the Energy, Environment and Development Program at ENDA-TM and its partners, CIAT, SEI-Oxford and UNITAR. Modules included:

• Overview of vulnerability and adaptation
• Concepts, methods and tools to assess vulnerability and adaptation strategies
• Moving from theory to practice in vulnerability assessments, including three case studies:

- The coastal zone of Africa
- Agriculture and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Natural hazards and climate change in Central America

• Practical exercises on food security and vulnerability indicators

 

 

 

 The coastal zone in Africa: vulnerability and adaptation in Senegal

This case study sought to characterize vulnerability and identify options for adaptation. A number of climatic (temperature, precipitation) and socio-economic (population, agricultural output, etc.) scenarios showed that the impacts of climate change would compound current problems faced by the Cape Verde peninsula and Saloum estuary.

Adaptation recommendations included the relocation of population, protection measures for the coastal zone, integrated coastal zone management, desalinization of soil, legislative measures and international measures for the development of a center of research of coastal zones.

At this workshop, ENDA-TM stated in their conclusions that it is not the objective of the training of the trainer workshops to distribute standardized, “ready-made” products, but instead to keep in mind the needs of the audience. For example, it would be more valuable to note the potential difficulties in finding appropriate data and include information on where to find that data, than to assume an ideal world and present a purely technical exercise.

To assume that there is a perfect case study can create a disconnect with the context in which the county teams are confronted. ENDA-TM emphasized once again that the objectives are to provide the trainers with a generic teaching product that each trainer can adapt to the workshops they have to facilitate. In the initial stages, each of the participants should chose a topic of analysis on which he/she wishes to explore, taking into consideration his/her institutional and personal priorities. At this stage, a forum could be created to promote an exchange of information and synergies between the trainers. In light of the discussions and remarks made during the workshop, the handbook for the trainers and the various modules will be adapted in order to produce a training package.

 


To conclude, since 2001, adaptation has been a key issue under discussion at UNFCCC negotiations. It is apparent that in order to adequately implement the Convention, national expertise and tools targeted to the African country level need to be developed. UNITAR and the C3D project partners strive to meet these needs through the development of their training tools.

The results of the Action Impact Matrix

Sustainable Development and Climate Change

Decision makers normally focus their attention on conventional development strategies like growth and poverty alleviation. Sustainable development (SD) is considered a special (and poorly understood) subset of conventional development. The environment is only one aspect of SD, and finally climate change (including adaptation and mitigation) is itself seen as a minor subset of the environment.

 

The Action Impact Matrix approach analyses key economic-environmental-social interactions to identify potential barriers to making development more sustainable - including climate change. It also helps to determine the priority macro policies and strategies in economic, environmental and social spheres that facilitate the implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation to overcome the effects of climate change. Thus, such a matrix helps to promote an integrated view, meshing both development decisions and climate change effects.
THE SUSTAINOMICS FRAMEWORK

The Action Impact Matrix (AIM) methodology draws on the following basic principles of the sustainomics framework:

  • Making development more sustainable where sustainable development is conceptualized as a process, rather than an end point.
  • Sustainable development triangle integrates three main perspectives: social, economic and environmental. Each viewpoint corresponds to a domain (and system) that has its own distinct driving forces, objectives, and indicators.
  • The economy is geared mainly towards improving human welfare, primarily through increases in the consumption of goods and services.
  • The environmental domain focuses on maintaining the integrity and resilience of ecological systems.
  • The social domain emphasizes the enrichment of human relationships and achievement of individual and group aspirations.
  • Trans-boundary approach transcends conventional boundaries imposed by discipline, space, time, stakeholder viewpoints, and operationality. The scope is broadened and extended in all domains, to ensure a comprehensive view.
  • Full cycle application of integrative tools where two complementary approaches based on "optimality" and "durability" are used to integrate across economic, social and environmental sub-models, within an integrated assessment modelling framework.


A SAMPLE APPLICATION OF AIM MATRICES AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

The indicative exercise applied to Sri Lanka at the workshop held in Colombo, included the production of four matrices dealing with both mitigation options and vulnerability. The analysis of mitigation options for example included the following steps:

  • Identify how development goals/policies affect mitigation options with the production of an AIM matrix called 'DEM'
  • Identify how Mitigation options might affect Development goals/policies while incorporating the impacts of climate change :
    1. on development goals and policies
    2. on mitigation options with the production of an AIM matrix called 'MED'.

Then, prioritize the most important interactions and determine appropriate remedial policies and measures (preliminary AIM) in the two matrices. The "MED'' matrix selected on the next page illustrates the results. The "AIM MED'' Matrix illustrating the Effects of Mitigation options on Development Goals and Policies produced at the C3D Workshop in Colombo, June 2005

A few policy recommendations derived from the Sri Lanka MED matrix above. The numbers in the matrix indicate the severity of the effects of various mitigation options on development goals, and whether they are beneficial or harmful. For example, +2 (in cell B1) indicates that renewable energy projects will moderately benefit rural poverty alleviation goals. The number in each cell, is accompanied by a separate text explanation (up to several pages) providing details of the nature of the linkage, specific citations, etc. Another similar matrix was also prepared to assess effects of development goals/policies on mitigation options. These matrices were used to identify, prioritise and analyse the key linkages, and to draw appropriate policy conclusions, as indicated in the box below.
Mobility management

  • Further studies and research on key areas of mobility management, including traffic management, quality and service improvement of road networks, public transport, non-motorized transport, and inter modal choice
  • Mobility Management has positive impact on most of the development goals. The high costs to be offset by external funding for carbon benefits.
  • Reforestation including Agroforestry
  • Reforestation and agroforestry have positive impacts on food security and sustainable management of natural resources and most of the other development goals.
  • Poverty alleviation and rural development programmes should not undermine reforestation efforts and agroforestry.

Renewable Energy

  • Significant impact on poverty alleviation especially through employment creation in dendro power projects.
  • Rural development through access to energy which improves the quality of life
  • However in some cases sustainable management of natural resources is limiting the development of renewable energy resources, such as mini hydro in sensitive areas.
  • High cost of renewable energy to be offset by external funding for carbon benefits.

Clean Technologies 

  • Clean Technologies such as LPG are good options for GHG mitigation but very costly.

Additional research and evaluation of the above mitigation policy recommendations are now underway. The results of this further work will be assessed through another full-blown AIM stakeholder exercise.