ADAPTS

All over the world the poor are particularly vulnerable to climate variability, as witnessed by the devastating effects of weather related extreme events each year on both urban and rural communities. Climate change is expected to increase the severity, duration and frequency of these extreme events, threatening water availability and food security for millions of poor people. Through history people have always adjusted to changing circumstances in their environment. Within the project we want to make use of this capacity to meet the challenges for the future which are amplified by climate change.

The ADAPTS project aims at meliorating the impacts of climate change through increasing developing countries’ adaptive capacities by achieving the inclusion of climate change and adaptation considerations in water policies, local planning and investment decisions. In order to achieve this overall goal, the project aims at the following two themes:

  1. Dialogue: Establish policy dialogues between local and national stakeholders on the issues of sustainable water management and climate change and adaptation.
  2. Local Action: To assure inclusion of local knowledge and visions into basin and national policy dialogue through the identification, support, documentation, analysis and dissemination of innovative, locally-based interventions.

Climate related problems are now being identified in six river basins. At the same time, existing local adaptive measures are being analyzed for their potential for replication and up-scaling. A dialogue with governments and government agencies is key for up-scaling successful activities. Three year projects have started in Ethiopia, Ghana and Peru. One year case studies have started in Botswana, Brazil and Vietnam.

Download project sheet ADAPTS

Map showing the project countries and project regions: Borana region in Ethiopia, Huong River Basin (Thua Thien-Hue Province) in Vietnam, Ocana River basin  (regions of Arequipa, Ayacucho and Apurima) in Peru, state of São Paolo in Brazil, Limpopo basin in Botswana, and Hohoe Municipality in Ghana.