Migration not always a way to adapt

IRIN: As the impact of climate change unfolds, many have predicted forbidding scenarios of millions of impoverished people flooding into often affluent countries. Yet a ground-breaking study released on 28 November reveals a more nuanced relationship between climate variability and migration, which could provide insight into how events might transpire in the coming years.

The study, carried out by Care International and the UN University (UNU) in eight countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, reveals that in nearly all instances where rains have become too scarce for farming, people have migrated - but within the national borders.

The project also considered possible future scenarios in Tanzania, where even scarcer rains over the next 25 years were projected to double migration from vulnerable households.  The project’s researchers hope their findings will inform the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks, currently taking place in Doha, by persuading participants to speed up efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and develop effective policies to adapt to rising temperatures.

The three-year research project, Where the rain falls: climate change, hunger and human mobility, covered over 1,300 households and 2,000 individuals in Bangladesh, India, Ghana, Guatemala, Peru, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam. 

...It is one of the first empirical efforts to explore how poor households use migration as a risk management strategy to deal with climate stressors and food insecurity. The study also offers insight into how households adjust their behaviour in the face of these changes, which could inform how policymakers support rural communities....

Young people in Guatemala in 1980, shot by Infrogmation, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Ghana to get $50 million for sustainable management of forests

Modern Ghana: Ghana and Burkina Faso have received endorsement of their far-reaching plans for sustainably managing their forest sectors as part of their goals for climate-resilient economic development.

The endorsements came from the Forest Investment Programme (FIP), one of the four programmes of the US $7.2 billion Climate Investment Funds (CIF), with support of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other partners including the World Bank Group.

Under the Forest Investment Program (FIP), Burkina Faso was allocated US $30 million and Ghana was allocated US $50 million for sustainable management of their forests, through activities under programs for reducing deforestation and forest degradation and instituting sustainable forest management (REDD+), and including agro-forestry and sustainable agriculture.

...In Ghana, where timber exports account for nearly 20 per cent of the country's export base, forest cover has been reduced from 8.2 million to 4.9 million hectares over the last century. In response, Ghana is one of the first countries in Africa to institute a REDD+ strategy to address sustainability in its forest sector....

The Volta Region of Ghana, shot by Erik Kristensen, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

Ghana's climate change adaptation strategy launched

Ghana News Agency: The Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology on Wednesday launched the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS) Guidelines for Acquisition of Environmental Permits for Compost Projects Documents and Accessing the Global Carbon Credit Using Composting Guideline and Process in Koforidua.

 The main objectives stated in the NCCAS document are to improve societal awareness and preparedness for climate change, enhance the mainstreaming of climate change into national development planning.

Ms Sherry Ayittey, the Sector Minister, in a speech read on her behalf, noted that climate change was a major developmental issue since it affected ecosystems and socio-economic well-being of people in the world over. “This is because climate change has resulted in increases temperature and changes of rainfall pattern”.

She said there was the need to respond with urgent action both at the national and international level-including helping the most vulnerable with the right and timely information that would assist them to adapt to the impact of climate change and making progress on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

Ms Ayittey said to that effect Ghana in 2008 with financial support from the Climate Change and Development Programme-Adapting by Reducing Vulnerability (CC-DARE) Project, commenced the preparation of the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy Document....