023 Tyler Urban Climate Resilience 0
Cities and Climate
Change: COP 16
Dec 3, 2010
Practical Strategies for
Urban Adaptation in Asia:
the Asian Cities Climate
Change Resilience
Network
Dr. Stephen Tyler
ISET
Cities and Climate Change
Refuges of climate resilience, job creation, economic innovation and
growth?
Or concentrations of poverty, vulnerability and increased exposure to
climate hazards?
Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience
Network
• Conceived and funded by Rockefeller Foundation
• 5 year program intended to
– catalyze attention, funding, and action on building
climate change resilience for poor and vulnerable
people in cities
– create robust models and methodologies for assessing
and addressing climate risk
– Implement local adaptation measures
– Build recognition and support for urban climate
resilience
• 4 countries, 10 medium size cities
Introduction to ISET – The Institute for
Social and Environmental Transition
• ISET is an international, non-profit, applied research
institute registered in the United States but with members
and advisors in many parts of Asia.
• Individuals and organizations involved in ISET all share a
commitment to INNOVATION for environmentally
sustainable development and poverty alleviation.
• ISET works extensively on climate change, water
management, energy and related topics
ISET’s Mission
ISET's mission:
- to improve understanding and elevate the level of
dialogue so that nations and local communities can better
respond to challenges such as climate change in a
dynamic global context
- to serve as a framework for equal collaboration between
individuals and organizations in the North and South on
programs that address the first mission
ISET’s role in ACCCRN (phase 2): methodology, technical
support, coordination, India / Vietnam lead
What Makes ACCCRN Different
• Led by local government
• Engagement of multiple
departments and stakeholders
• Studies by national experts
• Capacity building and shared
learning
• Networking activities between cities
and other partners
• Collaborative workplan development
Diagram: Arup
Urban Climate Resilience
Resilience is the capability of a system faced with shocks
or stresses to maintain or quickly restore its function.
Includes the ability to:
• Learn from and adapt to
experience – i.e. to
change strategies or
structure of the system
• Respond to unexpected
events
Can Tho
Urban Climate Resilience Framework
Framework tries to:
- Accommodate high uncertainty through iterative
processes
- Recognize multiple sources of vulnerability
- Integrate across scales
- Focus on strategic issues and processes rather than
specific projects
Urban Climate Resilience Framework
Who?
- Focus on agents (individuals, organizations, groups):
their behavior, socio-economic position, authority,
marginalization, etc
- Key capacities: learning, visualization and planning, (re-)
organization
What?
- Urban systems comprise elements and linkages:
ecosystems, infrastructure, institutions, knowledge
- Key characteristics: flexibility and diversity, modularity and
redundancy, safe failure
Fragile systems / low capacity agents + exposure =
vulnerability
Objective of City Resilience Planning
To integrate climate resilience thinking into planning
procedures in order to enable vulnerable groups living in
cities to anticipate, respond to and recover from projected
climate change impacts.
Key Elements of Urban Climate
Change Resilience Planning
• Basic information and data required to inform planning, e.g. climate
scenarios, local vulnerability assessment, other data sources.
• Multi-lateral and participatory processes to share local knowledge and
experience, e.g. community level HCVA and SLD process with
stakeholder representatives.
• SLDs engage different city departments, local experts, national /
international scientific authorities, civil society, disaster response
organizations, and vulnerable groups. Exchange and validate new
information, guide foundations of planning
• Small scale pilot projects proposed to test preliminary adaptation
measures and improve community conditions
• Detailed studies of high priority issues where data is lacking
• Actions proposed to address important areas of vulnerability
Process
Science and Local Knowledge
Approach
• Capacity building and
local engagement
more important to build
local understanding
than technical
sophistication and
detailed analysis;
• Iterative - we can
return and improve
analysis in future, or
add in-depth studies
on key issues.
ACCCRN City level workflow
Results of Resilience Planning
• SLD process proved innovative and helpful
– Indonesia
– Vietnam
• Climate projections not available in useful format
–
–
–
–
Data hard to find or non-existent
Format unhelpful
Don’t explain uncertainties
Don’t respond to key decision parameters
• Process takes time
• City partners have been able to build multistakeholder
planning processes and use the tools (18 months or less)
Results of Resilience Planning 2
• Proposed priority actions included capacity building for
agents, strengthening of infrastructure, ecosystems,
knowledge and institutions
• City partners tied in resilience plans to other plans and
funding activities
– Infrastructure projects
– Public health and sanitation programs
• Managing uncertainty:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Base analysis on existing climate vulnerabilities and extend
Scenarios
“no-regrets” strategies
Detailed studies of key issues
Increase awareness
Avoid maladaptation
Preliminary Outcomes
• New planning processes put in place
– Sustainability varies
• Issues affecting vulnerable groups central to plans
– Urbanization, economic development
• New concepts and new information from outside sources
applied to local planning
• City partners have been able to build multistakeholder
planning processes and use the tools (18 months or less)
• Beginning to share experiences within country
• Not yet evidence of influence on national policy
Dr. Stephen Tyler – stephen@i-s-e-t.org
Ken MacClune – ken@i-s-e-t.org
www.i-s-e-t.org
Change: COP 16
Dec 3, 2010
Practical Strategies for
Urban Adaptation in Asia:
the Asian Cities Climate
Change Resilience
Network
Dr. Stephen Tyler
ISET
Cities and Climate Change
Refuges of climate resilience, job creation, economic innovation and
growth?
Or concentrations of poverty, vulnerability and increased exposure to
climate hazards?
Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience
Network
• Conceived and funded by Rockefeller Foundation
• 5 year program intended to
– catalyze attention, funding, and action on building
climate change resilience for poor and vulnerable
people in cities
– create robust models and methodologies for assessing
and addressing climate risk
– Implement local adaptation measures
– Build recognition and support for urban climate
resilience
• 4 countries, 10 medium size cities
Introduction to ISET – The Institute for
Social and Environmental Transition
• ISET is an international, non-profit, applied research
institute registered in the United States but with members
and advisors in many parts of Asia.
• Individuals and organizations involved in ISET all share a
commitment to INNOVATION for environmentally
sustainable development and poverty alleviation.
• ISET works extensively on climate change, water
management, energy and related topics
ISET’s Mission
ISET's mission:
- to improve understanding and elevate the level of
dialogue so that nations and local communities can better
respond to challenges such as climate change in a
dynamic global context
- to serve as a framework for equal collaboration between
individuals and organizations in the North and South on
programs that address the first mission
ISET’s role in ACCCRN (phase 2): methodology, technical
support, coordination, India / Vietnam lead
What Makes ACCCRN Different
• Led by local government
• Engagement of multiple
departments and stakeholders
• Studies by national experts
• Capacity building and shared
learning
• Networking activities between cities
and other partners
• Collaborative workplan development
Diagram: Arup
Urban Climate Resilience
Resilience is the capability of a system faced with shocks
or stresses to maintain or quickly restore its function.
Includes the ability to:
• Learn from and adapt to
experience – i.e. to
change strategies or
structure of the system
• Respond to unexpected
events
Can Tho
Urban Climate Resilience Framework
Framework tries to:
- Accommodate high uncertainty through iterative
processes
- Recognize multiple sources of vulnerability
- Integrate across scales
- Focus on strategic issues and processes rather than
specific projects
Urban Climate Resilience Framework
Who?
- Focus on agents (individuals, organizations, groups):
their behavior, socio-economic position, authority,
marginalization, etc
- Key capacities: learning, visualization and planning, (re-)
organization
What?
- Urban systems comprise elements and linkages:
ecosystems, infrastructure, institutions, knowledge
- Key characteristics: flexibility and diversity, modularity and
redundancy, safe failure
Fragile systems / low capacity agents + exposure =
vulnerability
Objective of City Resilience Planning
To integrate climate resilience thinking into planning
procedures in order to enable vulnerable groups living in
cities to anticipate, respond to and recover from projected
climate change impacts.
Key Elements of Urban Climate
Change Resilience Planning
• Basic information and data required to inform planning, e.g. climate
scenarios, local vulnerability assessment, other data sources.
• Multi-lateral and participatory processes to share local knowledge and
experience, e.g. community level HCVA and SLD process with
stakeholder representatives.
• SLDs engage different city departments, local experts, national /
international scientific authorities, civil society, disaster response
organizations, and vulnerable groups. Exchange and validate new
information, guide foundations of planning
• Small scale pilot projects proposed to test preliminary adaptation
measures and improve community conditions
• Detailed studies of high priority issues where data is lacking
• Actions proposed to address important areas of vulnerability
Process
Science and Local Knowledge
Approach
• Capacity building and
local engagement
more important to build
local understanding
than technical
sophistication and
detailed analysis;
• Iterative - we can
return and improve
analysis in future, or
add in-depth studies
on key issues.
ACCCRN City level workflow
Results of Resilience Planning
• SLD process proved innovative and helpful
– Indonesia
– Vietnam
• Climate projections not available in useful format
–
–
–
–
Data hard to find or non-existent
Format unhelpful
Don’t explain uncertainties
Don’t respond to key decision parameters
• Process takes time
• City partners have been able to build multistakeholder
planning processes and use the tools (18 months or less)
Results of Resilience Planning 2
• Proposed priority actions included capacity building for
agents, strengthening of infrastructure, ecosystems,
knowledge and institutions
• City partners tied in resilience plans to other plans and
funding activities
– Infrastructure projects
– Public health and sanitation programs
• Managing uncertainty:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Base analysis on existing climate vulnerabilities and extend
Scenarios
“no-regrets” strategies
Detailed studies of key issues
Increase awareness
Avoid maladaptation
Preliminary Outcomes
• New planning processes put in place
– Sustainability varies
• Issues affecting vulnerable groups central to plans
– Urbanization, economic development
• New concepts and new information from outside sources
applied to local planning
• City partners have been able to build multistakeholder
planning processes and use the tools (18 months or less)
• Beginning to share experiences within country
• Not yet evidence of influence on national policy
Dr. Stephen Tyler – stephen@i-s-e-t.org
Ken MacClune – ken@i-s-e-t.org
www.i-s-e-t.org