Changing climates, changing lives: Adaptation strategies among pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Ethiopia and Mali Oenone Chadburn (Tearfund) and Lars Otto Naess (IDS) Integrating Approaches: Sustainable Livelihoods, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation London, 3 December 2009 Tearfund Tearfund’s experience • Journey: Convergence of linkages between frameworks and approaches • Informed by publications – DRR/CCA Linkages: Existing strengths of both sectors – Prepare to Live: institutions should build on community strategies – Turning Practice into Policy: Perceptions of Risk • All concluded the need to integrate better DRR/CCA into development policy and implementation Climate Change and Food Security • 75% of world’s poor rely on agriculture • Need for research identifying strategies to build resilience and improve food security at household and community level • Further pilots include development of household resilience plans based around volunteer community worker approaches • Capacity development for partners consisting of environmental sustainability and “climate savvy” VCA • Development of evidence base for good practice and cost effectiveness of “integrated risk management” Introduction • Joint research of Action Against Hunger, Tearfund and IDS • Goal: examining household level perceptions of climate variability and change in pastoral and agropastoral areas of Mali and Ethiopia • Households already on the edge, rainfall variability a key stressor • Examining assumptions around ability to adapt to current climate variability and future climate change Theory and methodology • Modified sustainable livelihoods framework • Particular focus on local institutions • Semi-structured interviews and PRA-style group discussions • Fieldwork May/June and October 2009 • Ethiopia: Borana • Mali: Gao and Mopti • Not assuming climate most important factor and no mention of climate up front (Mertz et al. 2009)
Practical Action,