Adaptation to climate change
The increasing variability of climate is having a dramatic impact on people in some of the poorest countries. Areas of change may include unpredictable rainfall patterns, increased frequency and intensity of storms, or sea level rise. Communities are being forced to change their ways of living in order to adapt: growing different crops, making better use of scarce water resources, using different production methods, or preparing for more frequent weather-related disasters. The technologies that will be useful to one community may not apply to another: adaptation to climate change must be rooted in the local context and people's knowledge culture and values, as these will determine how they can best cope with change. The few technologies described offer some relevant solutions to the challenges that communities will increasingly find themselves having to face.
The current issue of Waterlines - the international journal of water, sanitation and waste produced by Practical Action Publishing focuses on climate change adaptation (Volume 28 Number 3 July 2009). Waterlines is a refereed journal providing a forum for those involved in extending water supply, sanitation, hygiene and waste management to all in developing countries.
Also of relevance is the book Understanding Climate Change Adaptation: Lessons from community-based approaches by Practical Action publishing.
Herein presented are the steps involved in setting up and running a cereal bank, based on the experience of Nthunguni Community Managed Cereal Bank.
Eric Kisiangani for Practical Action East Africa, 2005, 5 pages
This brief shows how addressing the increased vulnerability of people in the South is the only way to manage disasters.
Andrew Maskrey for The Appropriate Technology Magazine, Dec 1992, 6 pages
A floating garden is built using aquatic weeds as a base on which vegetables can be grown.
Neil Noble for Practical Action, 2006, 4 pages
This Technical Brief describes various methods of countering soil degradation in semi-arid regions.
Douglas Gumbo for Practical Action Southern Africa, 2006, 4 pages
This document looks at risk map usage in the emergency preparedness project in Peru, recognising that more comprehensive risk-reduction strategies are constantly emerging.
Practical Action Latin America, 2007, 5 pages
Run-off rainwater harvesting developed in Sri Lanka to enhance rural livelihoods.
Practical Action South Asia, 2004, 9 pages
Sand dams are a means of capturing water in arid and semi-arid regions where erratic rains are trapped in river sands.
Practical Action East Africa, 2005, 4 pages
Rain water harvesting techniques have been developed for various types of water collection, two of which are described in this technical brief.
Practical Action Sudan, 2005, 10 pages