Genesis of Climate Resilient Highlands Transformation
Kelali Adhana (PhD)
Director General
Tigray Science and Technology Agency
July 23, 2012
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
23 July 2012
1
Presentation Outline
1.
Introduction


2.
3.
4.
5.
Policy option on climate change
Climate Resilience
Economics of Climate Change
Resiliency (definition)




6.
Environment
Environment resiliency and Society
Biodiversity and Resiliency
Resiliency in knowledge
Climate Resilient Highland Transformation




7.
8.
Growth and Transformation Plan
Climate Resilient Green Economy
Objective
Agriculture
Energy
Infrastructure
Ways forward
Conclusion
23 July 2012
2
Introduction…
GTP: Point of departure for GTP is the welfare monitoring
and evaluation program because:
Ensures understanding
of the nature and
distribution of poverty in
all its dimensions
Enables to monitor change
in the incidence, depth and
severity of poverty
Enables to monitor the
implementations of the
actions contained in the
GTP and identify challenges
as they emerge
GTP-indicators indicated in the policy matrix are
aligned and synchronized with sector program targets
23 July 2012
3
Introduction...
Climate Resilient
Infrastructures
Research on
Culture Values
Mainstreaming
women’s role
• Climate
Resilient Green
Economy
• Role of Culture
towards
innovation
•With sector
roles
Fund for Carbon
Trading
• Implementing
projects that
sequestrate
GHGs
Facilitators/Drivers
Research and Development : delivers solutions to problems
Adaptation of strategies and programs: ensure environmental
sustainability and resiliency
Mitigation inventions: promote our comparative and competitive advantage
Appropriate Technologies : increase our regional and global competitiveness
23 July 2012
4
Millennium
Development
Goals
23 July 2012
5
Climate Resilient Green Economy
 Ethiopia did not cause climate change, but we are
confronted by the threat that it poses, and should
recognize the opportunity that it presents.
 Empower all Ethiopians to prepare for climate change.
 Help citizens build their Resilience to climate shocks.
 Help citizens make their contribution to Ethiopia’s
new green economy.
 National response to climate change through Ethiopia’s
Program of Adaptation to Climate Change (EPACC) and
23 July 2012
6
Climate Resilient Green Economy…
 The program calls for active participation of stakeholders
of various nature
 The CRGE Vision aims to provide Ethiopia with a common
goal and roadmap for achieving a Climate Resilient Green
Economy.
 Ethiopia’s weather is likely to become more unpredictable in
the coming years, with increased flooding and drought.
Building Climate Resilience
But it is a huge and urgent challenge for the country
23 July 2012
7
Climate Resilient Green Economy…
 The climate change will impact on all aspects of Ethiopia’s
economy, and particularly on:
 Health,
 Infrastructure/Transport,
 Agriculture,
 Natural Resources,
 Energy
 Industry sectors.
Climate action plans will identify opportunities for mainstreaming
climate change into sectoral and regional development
strategies.
23 July 2012
8
23 July 2012
9
Policy Options on Climate Change
 Confronting the challenges
 Communities are uprooted and forced to migrate as
a consequence of extreme weather events
 Mitigate risks and create opportunities for affected
people.
 Reduce human suffering and economic loss:
including those living in precarious locations
(highlands)
 Provide better access/chance of enjoying a
sustainable livelihood with access to food, water and
social services.
23 July 2012
10
Climate Resilience
 Definition Climate resilience is the ability to cope
with, and manage the change brought by weather
stresses and shocks.
 A climate resilient economy is thus one which is
protected against the negative impacts of extreme
climate events, normally referred to as the weather,
and climate change so that the well-being of the
people and the economic growth and prospects of the
country are not damaged by the impacts
23 July 2012
11
Economics of Climate Change…
 Focus on competing market system: increase the competition for
resources (causes resource depletion)
 Adapting to climate change: increasing crop yields, and
mitigating greenhouse gas emissions but demands resource and
technology
 Formulating policies, strategies, regulatory frameworks and
policy-induced interactive climate for business and investment
but lack of integration amongst stakeholders
However, given the scenarios, economies around the world are
reorienting towards low-carbon, green growth paths. And,
Ethiopia has taken the leading role by launching CGRE
23 July 2012
12
Resilience
Definitions
1) The capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and
reorganize while undergoing change so as to still
retain essentially the same function, structure,
identity, and feedbacks
2) The amount of change the system can undergo and
still retain the same controls on function and
structure
3) The degree to which the system is capable of self-
organization
4) The ability to build and increase the capacity for
learning and adaptation
23 July 2012
13
Environment Resiliency
 Strong synergies between climate adaptation, disaster risk
reduction, natural resource management and governance
 Increasing ecological awareness through public campaigns,
mainstreaming environmental concerns in all government
policies
 Strengthening government and Civil Society Organizations
capacity in environmental management and adaptation
policy issues
 Requires new types of institutional arrangements,
coordination of a range of actors, institutions and
processes
23 July 2012
14
Resiliency of our Environment and Society
 The Resilience of different humans to the changes in
climate that are already occurring and will continue for the
foreseeable future is important focus and concern of
professionals and government.
 The degree to which any population is resilient will depend
on its sensitivity to specific elements of climate change and
its capacity to adapt.
 Sensitivity will be influenced by factors such as location
and the level of food security and water supplies.
 Resilience of human populations to climate change will
vary between and within nations
23 July 2012
15
Resiliency of our Environment and Society…
 Within any society, the most marginal groups in terms of
income, health and education are likely to be the most
sensitive to climate change and the least well
equipped to adapt without assistance from those
better off.
 A critical role for policy makers in ‘social resilience’ when
framing measures to adapt to climate change.
23 July 2012
16
Biodiversity and Resilience
 Move from mono-centric to polycentric governance—
also called adaptive governance—and application of
the principle of ‘subsidiary’, or giving decision-making
ability to those most able to detect challenges and
opportunities and take appropriate and timely action.
 Resilience of applying traditional command and
control management, based on simple notions of
economic efficiency, to conservation policy and
management
 Environmental efficiency relates to how well the built
environment encourages the efficient use of natural
resources
23 July 2012
17
Biodiversity and Resilience
Key elements of resilience
• Diversity (of ideas, skills,
resources, etc.)
• Modularity (failure in one part
does not bring down the whole)
• Tight feedbacks (effective twoway information flows)
• Self-organization
23 July 2012
Effects of limited efficiency
• Elimination of spare capacity;
focus on what we need now,
leaving us unprepared for later
• Centralized functions can leave a
system vulnerable if the centre
fails; humans tend to create
unstable networks—nature tests
its vulnerabilities constantly
• Centralized control can reduce
intelligence from those working
most directly with emerging
issues and delay response
• The more we try to control a
system, the more we risk
reducing resilience
18
Resilience in Knowledge
 Local ecological knowledge is a valuable asset in observing and
managing environmental changes
 People experience resiliency/adapting to biophysical changes in
their local environment for centuries.
 With changes now occurring at unprecedented rates, the ways in
which highlanders have adapted (in the past and present) can
assist in planning for culturally-appropriate strategies in the
future.
 What is at our disposal to design “hard” tangible adaptation
strategies to cope with climate changes?
 Commitment from Elders to transfer knowledge and laws to the
younger generation.
23 July 2012
19
Resilience in Knowledge…
 Local, traditional knowledge is already facilitating both
'hard' and 'soft' adaptation to climate change :
demonstrating the resourcefulness of such knowledge and
how it can facilitate adaptation and build community
resilience.
 Local communities should drive decisions concerning
adaptation, and draw on their local resources and
knowledge in order to promote the ownership of locallyappropriate responses.
23 July 2012
20
Climate Resilient Highlands transformation
23 July 2012
21
Ethiopian Highlands in Red Color
23 July 2012
22
Climate Resilient Highlands Transformation
 Grand Objective:
 To Design Climate Resilient Highlands Transformation
Nation Program that would significantly contribute to
GTP in line with the framework of CRGE mainly
focusing on:
 Agriculture
 Energy
 Infrastructure
23 July 2012
23
Highlands in Ethiopia
 In the Ethiopian context, a significant number of highland
communities are :
 Sensitive to climate change and some are considered to
be potentially at risk
 Communities may have considerable scope and resources to
plan for and adapt to such change.
However,
 Without effectively coordinated planning and action at
national, state and local levels, the potentials of resilience
may not be realized.
23 July 2012
24
Highlands in Ethiopia…
 For many of highland communities, climate change
represents a major threat:

Land degradation,

Increasing temperatures

Changes in seasonal rainfall variability which is
impacting these communities in many ways, including
through changes in plant and animal populations.
These in turn profoundly influence communities to lack
 Resilience or a willingness and capacity to identify and
seize opportunities that are likely to accompany change.
23 July 2012
25
Highlands in Ethiopia…
 But climate change poses an unprecedented test to farmers,
and it is difficult for them to be resilient to uncertain future
 Then, poor and vulnerable farming communities need
support to cope up with climate change impacts
 Opportunities emerging from climate change include:

Carbon abatement and sequestration,

Solar and wind farms, biodiesel, and others.
 These opportunities can ensure creation of Green jobs
across highlands and elsewhere
23 July 2012
26
Highlands in Ethiopia…
 Designing Networks and adaptation initiatives for
highlands protected Areas to be Resilient to Climate
Change in order farmers to:

Increase production and productivity of agriculture

Conserve their environment

Manage natural resources
23 July 2012
27
Highlands in Ethiopia…
Ethiopian highlands ecosystem is highly disturbed
• Then it has become concern of the government.
• The level of disturbance can be measured by:
• ecological response of animals and plant species.
• Reduction in water flow originated from highlands
• Siltation in downstream dams
What matters the highlands matters for the low lands
23 July 2012
28
Energy Sector
 The Securing a Clean Energy Future plan for highlands
aims to prompt a move away from ‘business as usual’
 Alternative energy sources are critical in times of
climate change and the challenge is what sources of
energy are important to Highlands (given the agroecology)
 Highlands demand huge energy and because shortage
or non-existent natural resources are at risk
(overlooked)
23 July 2012
29
Mitigation-Energy sector
 Explore low-carbon development within the context of the
green economy
 Address energy access challenges in the context of the low
carbon economy
 Explore opportunities across highlands and develop best
practices to enhance carbon sequestration and reduced
emissions
 Energy access, involving a detailed analysis of the
challenges, development of a set of low carbon energy
scenarios for the region, and an exploration of the
institutional frameworks and governance arrangements
needed for building sustainable, resilient and socially
inclusive energy systems across Highlands
23 July 2012
30
Facilitators/Drivers of Climate Change
The resultant pressures on environment are due to:
population growth, economic growth and climate
change
 Population growth leads to
 increased urban footprint
 increased traffic
 increased pollution
 increased consumption.
 Economic growth leads to
 increased traffic
 increased pollution
 increased consumption.
23 July 2012
31
Infrastructure sector
 Africa is currently experiencing a decade of economic
growth.
 A key ingredient required for Africa’s attainment of its
development aspiration is the rapid upgrading of the
region’s infrastructures, which are at present
inadequate.
 Billion dollars per year for the next decade will need to
be invested if Africa is to fill the infrastructure gap.
23 July 2012
32
Infrastructure sector…
 Relatively little is known about how climate change may affect
the desirable design, location, timing, and composition of the
stock of infrastructure
 Climate Impacts on infrastructure development network in the
Water, Health, Education, and Transport
 Infrastructure investments in the face of climate uncertainty;
 Formulate climate resilience of infrastructure development in
the sectors of inquiry, & mobilize the required resources
 investment in the infrastructure sectors of inquiry may be
inadequate to the climate of the future
23 July 2012
33
Ways forward
 Identify technology options and devise policies that
help smallholders to grow food, care for the earth and
improve their livelihoods in the process.
Define role of local and indigenous knowledge in
facilitating climate change adaptation in the
Highlands
Review climate change from the problems and the
solutions
Calibrate/recalibrate program interventions to fit
existing and future challenges
23 July 2012
34
Conclusion
 Climate resiliency has tremendous dimensions and the
impact goes accordingly on:
 Environment: environmental Resilience, Biodiversity
resilience,
 Social: community resilience, knowledge resilience
 Economy: resilient infrastructure,
Resiliency should be meant principally to address these
dimensions amongst others
23 July 2012
35
Thank you for your Attention
23 July 2012
36