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82. Coordination challenges and opportunities for climate adaptation in African agriculture
- Author:
- African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
- Publication Date:
- 01-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
- Abstract:
- Climate change poses a major global threat, particularly for agriculture, and this knowledge product delves into the context of climate adaptation in African agriculture. It emphasizes the critical role of climate adaptation in safeguarding the sustainability of food systems and rural communities. African agriculture, predominantly comprised of smallholder farmers, bears the brunt of climate change’s adverse impacts, including erratic rainfall, droughts, and heatwaves, which disrupt crop yields and food availability. Climate adaptation is indispensable to ensure food security and resilient livelihoods. Substantial investments are now being directed towards enhancing climate adaptation capacities across the continent. Collaborative efforts involving governments, NGOs, donors, and local communities aim to promote climate-smart agriculture, improve water management, and enhance access to climate information services. Nevertheless, coordination challenges persist, impeding the effectiveness of adaptation endeavors. Africa’s diverse geography, climates, and socioeconomic conditions make coordination of climate interventions and policy at the international, regional, national, and local levels a complex task. In the Sahel, climate adaptation coordination encounters challenges due to varying priorities and capacities among nations. Aligning international climate policies with regional and national strategies remains a daunting task. Conversely, the Southern African region grapples with the impacts of extreme weather events on agriculture, such as floods and cyclones, necessitating coordinated disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. Ethiopia’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) is a model of effective multi-stakeholder collaboration. Government agencies, civil society, research institutions, and local communities collaborate to increase adaptive capacity, focusing on locally tailored solutions derived from farmers’ specific needs and indigenous knowledge. Finally, this policy brief illuminates climate adaptation in African agriculture, recognizing the continent’s vulnerability and the need for coordinated action. It shares valuable insights from diverse regions and initiatives, providing insights into the challenges and opportunities of coordinating climate adaptation. Collaboration, knowledge sharing, and coordinated efforts hold the key to ensuring a resilient and sustainable future for African agriculture in a changing climate.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Climate Change, Sustainability, Resilience, and Adaptation
- Political Geography:
- Africa
83. Finding the Finance: A guide to identifying Centrally Sponsored Schemes to fund heat resilience solutions
- Author:
- Shreya Shekhar, Tamanna Dalal, Sidharth Santhosh, Aditya Valiathan Pillai, and Bhargav Krishna
- Publication Date:
- 12-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- This analysis attempts to address a pressing problem at the heart of India’s plans to combat extreme heat: finance. Indian Heat Action Plans (HAPs) contain a welcome diversity of adaptation solutions spanning many sectors, but generally fail to identify viable sources of public and private finance to implement these solutions. In a previous study published in March 2023, we found that only two of the 37 state, district and city heat action plans reviewed had cited specific sources of finance for at least some of their interventions. In this analysis, we map heat-resilience solutions proposed across 37 Indian HAPs against interventions in India’s Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs), Central-Sector Schemes (CSs), and an Act, all implemented by states with significant financial support from the Union government. These cover areas as diverse as the creation of low-cost affordable housing, the construction of artificial water bodies, urban greening, and changing the way settlements are built, among others. CSSs carry a lot of financial firepower and if creatively utilised, could help solve some of India’s climate finance shortfalls. In Financial Year 2023-2024 (FY 2023-24), CSSs were allocated ₹ 4,76,104.59 crores or 10.57% of the total Union budget (₹ 45,03,097 crores). We reviewed a total of 72 schemes which includes 67 CSSs, one CS, one Act and three national missions/action plans related to heat action and with budgetary allocations for FY 2023-24. We found that a quarter (18 schemes) contained interventions that directly correspond to heat resilience solutions identified in the HAPs. Overall, these 18 schemes (16 CSSs, an Act and a CS) could potentially support the implementation of 16 different types of heat solutions.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Cities, Resilience, and Heat
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
84. The Resilience and Sustainability Trust: Early Learning and Challenges from Costa Rica and Rwanda
- Author:
- Andrew Wainer
- Publication Date:
- 07-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- In 2022, as part of the IMF’s recent efforts to re-channel Special Drawing Rights, it created the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST), facilitating the transfer of concessional finance from high- to lower-income countries for climate resilience and pandemic preparedness. It is the first new such facility following the polycrises of the early 2020s. Demand for the RST is strong and learning from its pilots can inform how future RST financing can be used most effectively. This research provides case studies of two RST pilots: Costa Rica and Rwanda. Lessons from the pilots are not only relevant for future RST recipients. The RST is operational, and therefore, uniquely worthy of analysis in terms of how additional financing—above and beyond the RST—can be effectively integrated. Our analysis finds that the RST is becoming the IMF’s de facto climate finance facility; is government-driven; is being awarded to countries with strong governance and climate credentials; and that authorities are banking on using the RST to attract additional climate finance. At the same time, the RST faces the challenges of being too small to confront climate resilience; has questionable priorities in terms of supporting climate over poverty reduction in low-income countries; is almost tripling the number of IMF program conditions some countries are facing; and is escalating IMF policy influence over governments in an area where the IMF has limited experiences.
- Topic:
- International Monetary Fund, Finance, Sustainability, Resilience, COVID-19, and Sustainable Development
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Latin America, Rwanda, and Costa Rica
85. Strengthening Loss and Damage Narrative: Building cohesive voices with policymakers and civil society in Bangladesh
- Author:
- International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD)
- Publication Date:
- 12-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD)
- Abstract:
- Bangladesh has been striving for years to shift its narrative from being climate vulnerability to resilience. Over the years, it has managed to build itself as one of the climate-resilient countries, despite the geographical vulnerability, through building efficient early warning systems, community-led disaster management, and women’s leadership in resilience efforts. However, communities in Bangladesh continue to face existential crisis due to increasing climate variability and exacerbating extreme events – both rapid and slow onset, leading to losses and damages for vulnerable countries and communities. The increasing frequency and intensity of climate change impacts – both economic and non-economic – makes it necessary to place loss and damage at the center of climate discourse. The topic of loss and damage gained significant momentum at the global stage following the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. Prior to COP27, there was a noticeable reluctance to acknowledge the concept of Loss & Damage, particularly in relation to providing compensation to countries in the global south. However, emerging evidence about the inevitability of loss and damage has cemented the fact that international monetary support will be needed for developing countries to address loss and damage, with the climate finance structure lacking a dedicated funding stream for addressing loss and damage, as previously highlighted.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Climate Change, United Nations, Resilience, and Loss and Damage (L&D)
- Political Geography:
- Bangladesh and South Asia
86. The next war: How Russian hybrid aggression could threaten Moldova
- Author:
- Dumitru Minzarari
- Publication Date:
- 07-2022
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
- Abstract:
- Russia could target Moldova by embarking on a limited-scope but overt military invasion; or by pursuing more covert hybrid aggression scenarios. The three most plausible Russian aggression scenarios are: a military action launched from Transnistria; a local, elite-focused rebellion similar to Russia’s exploits in Donbas in 2014, likely centring on the Moldovan region of Gagauzia; and popular unrest stoked by Russia and containing violent elements. The EU and Moldova underestimate the risk of one or more of these happening. The EU’s preferred “resilience” approach to hybrid threats lacks an active component that can effectively respond to, and repel, Russian aggression. Moldova should draw on Western support to implement an “active resilience” policy to better confront and undermine Russian actions. The EU should set up a CSDP mission in Moldova comprising both civilian and military components that helps the Moldovan authorities plan and conduct security threat assessments and protect against military and hybrid risks.
- Topic:
- European Union, Conflict, Resilience, Hybrid Threats, and Invasion
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Eurasia, and Moldova
87. Defend. Resist. Repeat: Ukraine’s lessons for European defence
- Author:
- Hanna Shelest
- Publication Date:
- 11-2022
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
- Abstract:
- Ukraine’s response to Russian aggression in 2022 holds valuable lessons for the EU and its member states. Since 2014, Ukraine has transformed its armed forces, mobilised a network of reservists, and coordinated military and civilian defence agencies to prioritise cross-society resilience to crises. It has done so by adopting NATO best practices and through a unique movement of volunteers who help fund the war effort. The Ukrainian armed forces have also found innovative ways to use new technologies in mounting an asymmetric response to their much larger adversary. EU member states can learn from Ukraine’s experiences, but this should be a two-way street – with European countries continuing to supply weapons and provide training to Ukraine, and gaining real-world wartime insights in return.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, NATO, European Union, and Resilience
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ukraine
88. Resilience Against Disinformation: A New Baltic Way to Follow?
- Author:
- Dmitri Teperik, Solvita Denisa-Liepniece, Dalia Bankauskaitė, and Kaarel Kullamaa
- Publication Date:
- 10-2022
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- International Centre for Defence and Security - ICDS
- Abstract:
- The Baltic states, although not immune to disinformation, have accumulated unique experience and developed effective methods to resist and combat this malice. This report is based on in-depth semi-structured interviews and supplementary surveys conducted with the representatives of several clusters – media, civil society organisations, state institutions, think-tanks/academia and business communities. It aims to assess risks and vulnerabilities, as well as the three nations’ preparedness to counteract foreign-led disinformation. This report also reviews the existing indices that lead to a greater understanding of the intricate nature and interdependences of resilience-shaping factors at various levels, while contributing the unique Baltic perspective to the evolving, global study of disinformation. Multiple overlapping crises of 2020-21 – ripple effects from the political upheaval in Belarus, surge in illegal migration engineered by the regime in Minsk, the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying socio-political perturbations, as well as China’s economic and diplomatic coercion against Lithuania – served as a reminder that no country could afford neglecting national resilience. The start of a major inter-state conventional war in Europe in 2022 has triggered a multitude of changes in the information environment of the Baltic states and prompted some radical adjustments and responses. Although the report does not cover the developments since 24 February, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion against Ukraine, neither foreign exploitation of vulnerabilities nor the responses of the Baltic governments that have been on display since then come in a vacuum. This report provides useful background and context that will help to understand what conceptual, legal, policy, institutional, political and societal precursors shape the current situation and determine successes or failures of disinformation and counter-disinformation efforts. The general strength of the Baltic states arises from their historical memory of totalitarianism and occupation, as well as their unique regional context. However, Western-focused internationalisation in all spheres of life has proven beneficial to combatting foreign-led disinformation, which strengthens electoral integrity and ensures continued democratic traditions. That said, efforts to improve civic education and strengthen cognitive security of the societies must be redoubled. National resilience to disinformation must be maintained and further increased by investing in national and especially local high-quality media. Resilience – as a whole-of government and whole-of society effort – requires all stakeholders to continuously cooperate, creating a multi-layered cross-sectoral network, or a team-of-teams approach, able to identify and counter malignant influence campaigns. These and other insights and experiences of the Baltic states highlighted in the report remain as relevant in the post-24/02 world as during the global and regional crises of 2020-21.
- Topic:
- Resilience, COVID-19, Disinformation, and Civil Unrest
- Political Geography:
- Baltic States
89. Chronic Crisis Financing? Fifty Years of Humanitarian Aid and Future Prospects
- Author:
- Gary Milante and Jannie Lilja
- Publication Date:
- 04-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
- Abstract:
- This study maps trends of humanitarian funding in the context of total aid at the country level between 1969 and 2019 and estimates how these trends will change in the future. Historical trends show that the composition of aid has changed significantly in the last two decades: the humanitarian share of total aid to countries has increased from approximately 5 per cent in the 1990s to 23 per cent in 2019. Humanitarian aid was originally intended to respond to short-term emergencies, however, most of today’s humanitarian financing goes to protracted situations. Today many countries receive high levels of humanitarian assistance for a decade or longer, referred to in this paper as ‘chronic’ crises. More than half of total global humanitarian assistance (59 per cent) in the decade 2010–19 went to chronic crises, typically synonymous with conflict-affected, fragile and refugee-hosting settings. These chronic crises have become more prevalent since 1995. Conservative forecasts suggest that 71 per cent of humanitarian assistance over the next decade will continue to go to countries receiving high levels of assistance today. The study concludes with open questions to policymakers regarding the use of the humanitarian financing instrument. In chronic crisis settings, the strategic balance between humanitarian, development and peacebuilding financing and the interplay between these financing streams deserves attention.
- Topic:
- Development, Humanitarian Aid, Finance, Resilience, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
90. Pathways for Reducing Military Spending in Post-civil Conflict Settings
- Author:
- Alexandra Marksteiner and Diego Lopes da Silva
- Publication Date:
- 01-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
- Abstract:
- High military spending is a common and consequential legacy of civil conflict. Reducing military spending can yield valuable economic gains and further contribute to the recovery of post-civil conflict societies. However, little is known about the conditions that enable military spending reductions in a conflict’s aftermath. This SIPRI Insights on Peace and Security tackles this issue and provides a comparison of post-civil conflict conditions and military burden—military spending as a share of gross domestic product—outcomes. It builds on a comparative analysis of 19 post-civil conflict episodes between 1970 and 2020, as well as three detailed case studies, to identify common pathways to post-civil conflict military burden reductions. This research finds that reductions in military burden usually follow peace agreements that encompass trustworthy and legitimate verification mechanisms, the strengthening of institutional means to resolve grievances, and improvements in relations with neighbouring countries.
- Topic:
- Finance, Military Spending, Resilience, Post-Conflict, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus