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May 2009

Strong Interest in DM2009 on Climate Adaptation

Submitted by Rasmus Heltberg on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 11:23

The deadline for DM 2009 proposals has now closed and the DM Team has been hard at work screening and gearing up for the assessment.

As expected, the Call for Proposals generated a wealth of interest from most parts of the world. Despite a more stringent application process this year, we received a total of 1,755 proposals, similar to last year where the rules were more flexible.

The strong interest demonstrates that grassroots organizations are interested and available to launch community-based climate adaptation related to rural livelihoods diversification, indigenous peoples, and disaster risk reduction. If anyone doubted the demand for bottom-up adaptation, they have been proven wrong.

The DM2009 Competition on Climate Adaptation Call for Proposals Closes Monday, May 18

Submitted by Aaron Leonard on Fri, 05/15/2009 - 18:10

The 2009 Development Marketplace Competition on Climate Adaptation call for proposals closes  this Monday, May 18 at 6:00PM EDT. There is still time to apply. Visit our website - www.developmentmarketplace.org for more information. Thank you to everyone who has already submitted your proposal. A group of approximately 200 sector experts from around the world will be reviewing them in the coming weeks. Finalists will be announced at the end of July. Best of luck to all of you!

Driving adaptation with effective communication tools in Africa

Submitted by Joachim Ezeji on Thu, 05/14/2009 - 15:45

Part 2 of 2 -

As efforts to develop and diffuse adaptation mechanisms in Africa and elsewhere grow in momentum, one major constraint has been the failure to develop an effective communication strategy to drive the process. Effective communication as a sub-set of development needs to be developed in order to get the message down to the bottom of the pyramid where those most affected agglutinate. The concept of information in general, and of climate change adaptation information in particular, as a resource for effective adaptation and development, needs to be domesticated well beyond the current cozy confines of conference rooms and research hubs. (Photo by Curt Carnemark, World Bank)

In Guinea, rising sea levels linked to global warming is feared to likely result in stronger coastal currents, higher tides and sea encroachment of land. Guinea’s coastal region, home to West Africa’s largest and richest mangroves, would therefore bear the brunt of global climate change. The region’s entire economy is now under threat. It is feared that the main victims of all these climate variations would be people living near the coast. An estimate of 2 million people are likely to suffer income losses.

Informality and Disaster Vulnerability

Submitted by Ashna Mathema on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 14:21

Unlike the more developed nations where catastrophes typically happen when a major disaster strikes, in the developing countries, even small disasters result in disproportionate loss of life and property. Apart from the increased frequency of these events resulting from climate change, there is also an escalated risk associated with an urbanizing world: urban areas in developing country cities are commonly characterized by high population densities, old and deteriorated infrastructure, poor environmental conditions, concentrated poverty in informal settlements and slums, unplanned and often unregulated growth,  and inadequately prepared local institutions, which makes them especially vulnerable. (Photo by Lecercle)

A commonly cited problem attributed to much disaster-related damage in developing countries is the use of inappropriate building codes, poor zoning by-laws, and more generally, the lack of enforceability of the same. This is particularly the case for earthquakes, because unlike other types of natural disasters, casualties and fatalities from earthquakes are associated almost entirely with collapse or failure of manmade structures. The saying “earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do” is as true today as it was when it was first coined.

Hence, the importance of these regulations—and more importantly, their enforceability—cannot be over-stated. But what of those households for whom these regulations do not apply?

Driving adaptation with effective communication tools in Africa

Submitted by Joachim Ezeji on Wed, 05/06/2009 - 16:47

Part 1 of 2

Does it bother you that most discussions of how to address climate change in Africa have focused much more on adaptation(e.g. coping with the storms, floods, drought, sea- floor rise and other impacts that climate change will bring) than mitigation (e.g. reducing green house emission etc)?

Not to worry, both adaptation and mitigation are very crucial in addressing the challenges of climate change. However, the onus of addressing mitigation is common with countries like China, USA, Russia, India, Japan, Germany, Canada, UK, South Korea, Iran, Italy, South Africa, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, France, Australia, Brazil, Spain, Ukraine and Poland etc whose expanding economy has a huge feed demand for fuel. For these countries, mitigation is a central concern they constitute the top 20 CO2 emitters per capita (measured at metric tonnes per person). Apart from South Africa, no other African country made this list.

2 weeks to Go!

Submitted by Aaron Leonard on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 17:04

Dear readers,

Proposals for the 2009 Global Development Marketplace are due in 2 weeks! There is still plenty of time to apply. We hope you take advantage and submit your idea today. The competition, funded by the GEF and other DM partners, aims to dentify 20 to 25 innovative, early-stage projects addressing climate adaptation. Winning projects receive up to US$200,000 in grant funding for implementation over two years.

The competition focuses on three sub-themes: 
  1) Resilience of Indigenous Peoples' Communities to Climate Risks
  2) Climate Risk Management with Multiple Benefits
  3) Climate Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management

For more information and to apply, visit our website at www.developmentmarketplace.org. The application deadline is May 18, 2009.

www.developmentmarketplace.org