Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change

As the world faces the reality of climate change, the urgent needs of communities vulnerable to the changing climate must be addressed. Communities need support in how to adapt; and this adaptation must be rooted in local realities, though supported at district, regional, national and international levels by policy frameworks, and technical and financial resources. Community-based adaptation (CBA), a concept developed in the late 1990s by academics, was taken on board by development NGOs. As an emerging field of work, one for which the scientific knowledge base is fast increasing, it is vital that development practice, and the understanding and capacity of those affected, develops in tandem. This book is written largely by practitioners and researchers from Asia, sub Saharan Africa and Mexico. It derives emerging lessons which will assist in advancing academic work, as well as policy and practice at government level in developing countries, and will deepen understanding and create a sound basis for wider application of CBA among policy makers and practitioners in NGOs and other organizations working on CBA, as well as researchers and students studying climate change adaptation.