Section outline

  • Building climate resilience is an adaptation response at the programmatic level. The objective of actions to build climate resilience is to build the resilience of communities to anticipate, adjust, prepare, and respond to changed climate conditions.


    Principles

    Actions to build climate resilience should be evidence-based. They should be informed by credible climate change data and projections; and they should be informed by risk and vulnerability assessments that consider the differentiated risks and vulnerabilities of different groups.

    Actions to build climate resilience should be equitable. They should seek to understand the differentiated impacts of climate change on different groups; seek to identify and respond to issues of inequality, exclusion and power; and promote and uphold human rights.

    Actions to build climate resilience should be inclusive. They should engage local communities and be locally-led, including the identification, design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of actions.

    Actions

    Actions that organisations can take to help build resilience include:

    • Conducting climate risk and vulnerability assessments.
    • Increasing access to early warning systems and development of early actions.
    • Improving preparedness with contingency plans and emergency responses.
    • Establishing effective governance to manage climate risks, accompanied by human and institutional capacity-building.
    • Utilising nature-based solutions to reduce risks.
    • Climate proofing of infrastructure and services.
    • Increasing access to insurance and social protection instruments.
    • Sharing knowledge and best practice on climate risk management.
    • Increasing the volume, quality and access of public and private finance to invest in resilience.

    Resources

    Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis Handbook and e-LearningsOpens in a new tab
    The CVCA Handbook and associated training guides practitioners in analsing vulnerability to climate change and adaptive capacity at the community level.

    Short Course (45 minutes for each course)
    CVCA #1 – The Basics of Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis (45 minutes) 
    CVCA #2: The CVCA Step-by-Step

    Credit: CARE International

    Thorough reading time of handbook: 2-3 hours
    No. of pages in handbook: 77

    Climate, Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Integration Guidance (CEDRIG)Opens in a new tab
    This portal has tools which can assess if existing and planned strategies, programs and projects are at risk from climate change, environmental degradation and natural hazards, as well as whether these interventions could further exacerbate GHG emissions, environmental degradation or risks of natural hazards. includes tools for rapid assessment, analysis of strategies and programs and detailed analysis of projects.

    Credit: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
    Gender-sensitive Climate Vulnerability and Capacity AnalysisOpens in a new tab
    In this course, you will learn more about key aspects of climate vulnerability, differentiate between the capacities, needs and priorities of women and men in relation to climate vulnerability, as well as learn about participatory approaches, and the tools for implementing at the community level.

    Credit: World Vision/Kaya Connect

    Duration of course: 4 hours
    Participatory Capacity and Vulnerability Analysis (PCVA): A Practitioner Guide (2012)Opens in a new tab
    This guide is aimed at development practitioners working with communities that are vulnerable to natural hazards. In Part 1, the theory and concepts behind PCVA are outlined, as well as a brief description of how it has evolved and why climate change must be a significant factor in any risk reduction programming. Part 2 provides the step-by-step guide to the seven stages of the PCVA process. It covers the preparatory work you need to undertake, facilitation (working directly with the community on participatory learning and action (PLA) exercises to answer key questions), and action planning.

    Credit: OXFAM

    Thorough reading time: 2-3 hours
    No. of pages: 43

    CEDRA: Climate Change and Environmental Degradation Risk and Adaptation Assessment (2012)Opens in a new tab
    Project assessment and decision support tool to help organisations integrate adaptation into development and disaster risk reduction (DRR) work, moving towards an approach which sees projects intentionally designed to ensure that development, adaptation to climate and environmental change and resilience to disasters are addressed together.

    Credit: Tearfund

    Thorough reading time: 4-6 hours
    No. of pages: 118

    Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP) and Disaster Ready Program (2022)Opens in a new tab
    AHP Disaster READY demonstrates multiple enablers of best practices for climate change integration, particularly those focused on partnerships and local leadership. 

    Credit: ACFID

    Thorough reading time: 10-20 minutes
    No. of pages: 2

    Community Led Adaptation Pathways in Solomon Islands Project (2012)Opens in a new tab
    Community-led Adaptation Pathways in Solomon Islands Project is an example of a community-led adaptation project, which recognised diverse community perspectives and strengths. 

    Credit: ACFID

    Thorough reading time: 10-20 minutes
    No. of pages: 2

    Shifting the Power Coalition (2012)Opens in a new tab
    Shifting the Power Coalition is an example of a regional coalition of feminist civil society organisations coming together to champion women’s leadership and presenting an amplified voice on humanitarian response and climate resilience

    Credit: ACFID

    Thorough reading time: 10-20 minutes
    No. of pages: 2


    Women's Weather Watch (Women Wetum Weta, WWW), Vanuatu (2022)Opens in a new tab
    Women’s Weather Watch is an example of local women’s leadership for effective community resilience building. This case study links to the ‘Operational’ level of ACFID’s Climate Action Framework.

    Credit: ACFID/UTS-ISF

    Thorough reading time: 10-20 minutes
    No. of pages: 2

    UNFCCC Climate Action Pathway: Resilience, Action Table (2020)Opens a PDF in a new tab
    A detailed framework of interventions across five thematic impact areas: resilient food and agriculture systems, resilient water and natural ecosystems, resilient cities, resilient coastal zones and oceans, and resilient infrastructure and services.

    Credit: UNFCC

    Thorough reading time: 45-60 minutes
    No. of pages: 36

    Adapting to a Changing Climate (2014)Opens a PDF in a new tab
    An overview of the principles and importance of Climate Change Adaptation from United Nations Climate Change

    Credit: UNFCC

    Duration of video: 20 minutes
    Care Toolkit for Integrating Climate Change Adaptation into Development Projects (2010)Opens a PDF in a new tab
    This Toolkit offers practical, “how to” guidance for integrating climate change adaptation into the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects

    Credit: CARE International

    Thorough reading time: 2-3 hours
    No. of pages: 69

    Beyond Barriers: Integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in the Pacific (2021)Opens a PDF in a new tab

    This paper seeks to identify the barriers to and opportunities for enhanced DRR and CCA implementation. It examines why efforts to integrate CCA and DRR should start from perspectives and implications at the community level, and explores the challenges and opportunities in doing so.

    Credit: Humanitarian Advisory Group

    Thorough reading time: 1.5-2 hours
    No. of pages: 34

    Bridging Localisation and Climate Adaptation Pathways: Case Studies from Asia, The Middle East and Africa (2023)
    This study explores the interaction between, and mutual complementarity of, locally led climate adaptation and humanitarian localisation to support climate, humanitarian and development actors, policymakers and funders to consider how to more closely align these approaches and produce better outcomes for at-risk communities.

    Credit: Humanitarian Advisory Group

    Thorough reading time: 2-3 hours
    No. of pages: 48

    Planning for Resilience: A Practitioner's Manual (2015)Opens a PDF in a new tab
    The guide provides step-by-step instructions for community-based adaptation planning, tools for implementation and extra resources to integrate CCAR into programming.

    Credit: CARE

    Thorough reading time: 3-4 hours
    No. of pages: 134

    Adaptation Toolkit: Integrating Adaptation to Climate Change into Secure Livelihoods (2010)Opens a PDF in a new tab
    A toolkit designed to support the integration of climate change and disasters into livelihoods work

    Credit: Christian Aid

    Thorough reading time: 2-3 hours
    No. of pages: 20

    Climate Witness: Community ToolkitOpens a PDF in a new tab
    The toolkit is primarily a participatory technique to document local impacts of climate change and to devise appropriate adaptation measures that local communities can implement themselves.

    Credit: WWF

    Thorough reading time: 2-3 hours
    No. of pages: 18

    Climate change action through civil society programs: Part 2 (2022)Opens a PDF in a new tab
    This report presents findings from the second phase of an activity exploring the integration of climate change and disaster resilience into civil society programs. The activity involved the peer-review of guidance documents by five Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to understand the effectiveness of guidance to integrating climate and disaster resilience actions in Pacific CSO programming.

    Credit: UTS-ISF

    Thorough reading time: 2-3 hours
    No. of pages: 30

    How can development programs better scale-up Climate Smart Agricutulture? Lessons from Asia and Pacific (2022)
    This panel session from ACFID Conference 2022 probes the following questions:
     • What are the opportunities and challenges that CSA offers in promoting more inclusive, efficient and ‘greener’ agri-food systems?
    • How can we ensure the right incentives for agri-food system actors to promote climate-smart business models that scale-up CSA, while empowering smallholders and poor households, especially women?
    • What is the role of NGOs in this development space in relation to other actors?

    Credit: ACFID

    Duration of video: 1 hour
    Empowering local actors to increase the climate resilience of WASH services (2022)
    The presentation from ACFID Conference 2022 discusses practical approaches to encourage cross-sectoral dialogue between the WASH and Water Resource Management sectors, increasing gender and social inclusion, as well as approaches to strengthen climate and water resources data management.

    Credit: ACFID/WaterAid

    Duration of video: 35 minutes
    Gender transformative climate change action in the Pacific (2018)Opens a PDF in a new tab
    This framework and guidance tool aims to motivate positive practice for gender transformative programming in the Pacific

    Credit: Plan International Australia

    Thorough reading time: 45-60 minutes
    No. of pages: 7

    Considerations to Integrate Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation into Health System Strengthening Programming (2022)Opens a PDF in a new tab
    USAID Guidance Document for considerations in integrating climate adaptation into health system programming

    Credit: USAID

    Thorough reading time: 30-45 minutes
    No. of pages: 6

    Climate change response for inclusive WASH: A guidance note for WaterAid Timor Leste (2020)Opens a PDF in a new tab
    This Guidance Note provides activities and recommendations to WaterAid Timor-Leste for integrating considerations of climate change into its existing inclusive rural water service programming.

    Credit: ISF

    Thorough reading time: 30-45 minutes
    No. of pages: 43

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