Pro-Poor Urban Adaptation to Climate Change : Based on Case Studies in Kenya and Nicaragua

Moser, Caroline ; Norton, Andrew ; Stein, Alfredo ; Georgieva, Sophia

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ADAPTATION;    ADAPTATION ACTION;    ADAPTATION ACTIONS;    ADAPTATION ACTIVITIES;    ADAPTATION BENEFITS;   

RP-ID  :  63908

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Poor urban populations in Southerncities are already experiencing the negative impacts ofchanging weather patterns associated with climate change andclimate variability and future projections suggest thatthese impacts will get worse. Severe weather patterns,experienced as prolonged droughts, intense rainfall or windspeed cause substantial damage to the assets and well-beingof city-dwellers, causing localized flooding, housingdamage, economic loss, and posing dangers to health andeducational achievement. Yet, severe weather events that donot register as disasters on the national or internationalscreen are rarely addressed in the context of climate changeadaptation. Urban governments face a number of constraintsto effectively address and build resilience to severeweather: a knowledge constraint (given the scarce evidenceof the impact of ongoing severe weather trends), in additionto institutional and fiscal limitations. Since most climatevulnerability research in urban centers has focused onprojections and capacity building for disaster events, cityadaptation plans, where developed, has also centered onestablishing disaster prevention and preparedness systems.This note presents results from field studies of Mombasa,Kenya, and Esteli in Nicaragua looking at the experience ofpoor urban communities in relation to their changingexperience of weather and its impact on their lives. Thesestudies applied a participatory urban methodology by whichlocal city governments and the Non-governmentalOrganizations (NGOs) and donors that support them - canaddress adaptation and resilience to severe weather. Itfinds that talking to poor urban communities is essential inorder to understand the vulnerability and adaptationsolutions to severe weather. It also notes that existingfinancial mechanisms at the city level, including local andcommunity-based organizations, can be used to supportlow-cost solutions that enhance the resilience of the mostvulnerable city-dwellers.