Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)

Climate change and adaptation;

the ADAPTS project

Lima,
22 October 2010

Ralph Lasage

Issues of climate change

• Historic information is no longer representative

for the future
• Are current projects still a good solution in
2030?
• Vulnerability to changes in water availability is
not evenly distributed.
• Large scale projects are not suitable for
reducing vulnerability in regions with low
population density.
• Local scale adaptive actions might be a solution
for this.
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 Main goal of ADAPTS

“To increase developing countries’ adaptive

capacities by achieving the inclusion of
climate change and adaptation
considerations in water policies, local
planning and investment decisions“

Cases of ADAPTS

Vietnam

Ghana Ethiopia
Peru

Sao Paulo
Botswana

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 Strengthening knowledge  &  empowerment 
Linking  science to 
policy process

impacts of long term  local vulnerabilities, policies & policy 

developments   strategies & priorities processes

Linking scientific & Linking local ideas & initiatives 
empirical knowledge to policy processes

Implementation of  CC adaptation in 
measure policies & planning

Up‐scaling Replication

Ethiopia – field

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 Ethiopia

impacts of long term  local vulnerabilities policies & policy 

developments   strategies & priorities processes

Local scale adaptation: sand dam

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 Schematic of a sand dam

Abstraction well

ge
tora
a ce s
surf
Sub

Subsurface storage

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 Sustainability - field

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Sustainability – basin scale

Change in Precipitation for 2020 and 2050

12 (Ward & Lasage, 2009)

 Sustainability – basin scale

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Main contributions of ADAPTS

• Evaluation of the impacts of climate change and

sand dams on water availability on basin scale and
long term;
• Making local knowledge on vulnerability and
adaptive possibilities available;
• Bringing together NGO, government and
knowledge institutes;
• Implementation of a concrete adaptive action;
• Show effectiveness sand dams in practice
(hydrologic, social and economic);
• Empowering AfD, bureau of water resources and
several communities in Borana.
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 Peru – field description

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Peru

impacts of long term  local vulnerabilities policies & policy 

developments   strategies & priorities processes

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 Local scale adaptive actions

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Main contribution of ADAPTS

• Help understanding the hydrologic system;

• Evaluation of the impacts of climate change
and adaptation actions on water availability on
basin scale and long term;
• Making local knowledge on vulnerability and
adaptive actions available;
• Implementation and evaluation of concrete
actions;
• Empowering communities and AEDES,
strengthening the consensus tables (“mesas
de concertacion”);
• Feeding into RBMP development process.
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 Vietnam

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Vietnam

impacts of long term  local vulnerabilities policies & policy 

developments   strategies & priorities processes

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Local scale actions for climate change adaptation

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Main contribution of ADAPTS

• Making local knowledge on vulnerability and

adaptive actions available;

• Implementation of concrete adaptive actions;

• Empowering CRSD;

• CRSD asked by the government to help

designing Adaptation Action Plan.

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 Conclusions

Key parts that make ADAPTS approach successful:

• Connecting global to local;
• Identification of local scale vulnerabilities and
adaptive actions;
• Linking local actors to scientists and policy
makers;
• Implementation and evaluation of concrete
adaptive actions at the local scale;
• Strengthening knowledge and empowerment of
local stakeholders.

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Strengthening knowledge  &  empowerment 
Linking  science to 
policy process

impacts of long term  local vulnerabilities policies & policy 

developments   strategies & priorities processes

Linking scientific & Linking local ideas & initiatives 
empirical knowledge to policy processes

Implementation of  CC adaptation in 
measure policies & planning

Up‐scaling Replication
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 MUCHAS GRACIAS

Ralph.lasage@ivm.vu.nl

www.adaptation.nl ~ADAPTS
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