Participatory research to enhance climate change

Transcript:Participatory research to enhance climate change:
Participatory research to enhance climate change policy and institutions in the Caribbean: ARIA toolkit pilot 27th meeting of the CANARI Partnership January 29 – 30, 2015 Trinidad and Tobago Introduction 1 year project: January 2013(got started March/April) Funded by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN): US$90,000 Implementation partners: Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) – lead regional NGO World Resources Institute (WRI) - international capacity building and comparative research Adaptation Rapid Institutional Analysis (ARIA) tool Saint Lucia National Trust - lead NGO in Saint Lucia. Pilot countries: Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago Objectives Overall objective: to pilot a rigorous and participatory research process in Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago that builds understanding of effective climate change adaptation policy, institutions and actions, and improves capacity for participatory climate change policy design and adaptation implementation in Caribbean SIDS. Specific Objectives, such as: facilitate and support participatory research by civil society on climate change adaptation policy, institutions and actions analyse the current state of policy, institutions and actions identify high-priority and low-cost “next steps” develop island-specific approaches to vulnerability assessment ARIA toolkit Two phase approach: 5 main functional areas that would enable climate change adaptation readiness: assessment, prioritisation, coordination, information management, and mainstreaming Phase I: examined the capacity of national institutions to effectively adapt to climate change in their respective countries. Phase II: examined the capacity of the institutional arrangements to effectively adapt to climate change within three priority sectors. [Saint Lucia: Food Security, Freshwater Resources, Livelihoods and Culture] [TnT: Food Production, Coastal Zone, Tourism] ARIA Phases I and II workbooks: desk-reviews and interviews with informants from key agencies knowledgeable about climate change and climate change adaptation initiatives. Advisory panel: established to provide quality control of research, networking for greater impact and engagement, and awareness-raising on results. Research Findings The assessment identified priority areas for strengthening institutions arrangements for climate change adaptation in the two countries. Both countries needed to develop an inventory of adaptation activities, including projects, programmes, and efforts to integrate adaptation into sectors. This inventory could help provide learning, reduce duplication and increase transparency to the public. Horizontal and to a lesser extent vertical coordination efforts appeared to be more institutionalised in Saint Lucia than Trinidad and Tobago. In Saint Lucia, the National Climate Change Committee meets regularly and has broad representation, although civil society participation and transparency to the public could be improved. These processes were just