New Books: Climate-Resilient Development Participatory solutions from developing countries Edited by Astrid Carrapatoso, Edith Kürzinger (10 Sep 2013)

Climate-Resilient Development

Participatory solutions from developing countries

Edited by Astrid Carrapatoso, Edith Kürzinger

Routledge – 2014 – 300 pages

Descriptions:

The concept of resilience currently infuses policy debates and public discourse, and is promoted as a normative concept in climate policy making by governments, non-governmental organizations, and think-tanks.

This book critically discusses climate-resilient development in the context of current deficiencies of multilateral climate management strategies and processes. It analyses innovative climate policy options at national, (inter-)regional, and local levels from a mainly Southern perspective, thus contributing to the topical debate on alternative climate governance and resilient development models. Case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America give a ground-level view of how ideas from resilience could be used to inform and guide more radical development and particularly how these ideas might help to rethink the notion of 'progress' in the light of environmental, social, economic, and cultural changes at multiple scales, from local to global. It integrates theory and practice with the aim of providing practical solutions to improve, complement, or, where necessary, reasonably bypass the UNFCCC process through a bottom-up approach which can effectively tap unused climate-resilient development potentials at the local, national, and regional levels.

This innovative book gives students and researchers in environmental and development studies as well as policy makers and practitioners a valuable analysis of climate change mitigation and adaptation options in the absence of effective multilateral provisions.

Contents:

Part I: Introduction

Part II: The Contribution of Local, Regional, and National Approaches to Climate-Resilient Development, or What Good Practices Can Be Disseminated or Mainstreamed?

Part III: Climate-Resilient Development, Innovation, and Best Practice – How to Reform and Bypass Inefficiencies in the International Climate Regime

Part IV: The Way Forward to Climate-Resilient Development 

For more information: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415820783/

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New Books: Environmental Justice in Developing Countries Perspectives from Africa and Asia-Pacific By Rhuks Ako (7 Aug 2013)

Environmental Justice in Developing Countries

Perspectives from Africa and Asia-Pacific

By Rhuks Ako

Descriptions:

The evolving environmental justice paradigm is conceptualized differently based on political, economic and historical factors. In developed countries, emphasis is placed on the role of individuals in environmental decision-making and the protection of their access to the prerequisite environmental information and capacity to challenge environmental decisions is the main focus. However, in developing countries, access to land and natural resources are considered integral elements of environmental justice paradigm.

This book focuses on the conceptualization, recognition and protection of environmental justice in developing countries. It explores the situation by engaging an analytical discourse of relevant legal provisions in four case study countries including Nigeria, South Africa, India and Papua New Guinea. The comparative analysis of environmental justice in these countries present a framework within which to appreciate the conceptualization of the environmental justice paradigm

Contents:

Part 1: Background to the Book 1. Introduction: Scope of the Book
2. Environmental Justice: International and Regional Instruments 

Part 2: Environmental Justice in Developing Countries: Comparative Insights and Analysis from Africa And Asia-Pacific
3. Nigeria
4. South Africa
5. India
6. Papua New Guinea
7. Comparative Discourse
8. Conclusion

For more information: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415636339/

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Publications: ADB Releases Review of Stakeholder Participation in Climate Investment Funds by ADB (29 Jul 2013)

ADB Releases Review of Stakeholder Participation in Climate Investment Funds

29 July 2013: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released the second edition of its publication titled 'Stakeholder Engagement in Preparing Investments Plans for the Climate Investment Funds,' which uses a case-study approach to examine how stakeholder engagement was carried out in the preparation of investment plans in Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, and the Philippines, with reference to the guidance provided by ADB and the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) on stakeholder participation.

Since the CIF's inception, ADB has participated in the preparation of 15 investment plans under the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Strategic Climate Fund (SCF). The report includes general recommendations on stakeholder engagement in CIF processes, as well as specific recommendations for improving current ADB guidance on participation.

On the ADB guidance on participation, the study recommends the provision of, inter alia: additional advice on how to support government-led consultations and ADB's responsibility in promoting good participation practice in developing member countries; advice on how to engage with government in order to promote government leadership of consultation processes and support interagency consultation within government; and additional advice on maximizing the effectiveness of private sector engagement, particularly in strategy development.

[ADB Website] 

[Publication: Stakeholder Involvement in Preparing Investment Plans for Climate Investment Funds]

For more information: 
http://climate-l.iisd.org/news/adb-releases-review-of-stakeholder-participation-in-climate-investment-funds/210936/

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Call for proposals: NAMA Facility Issues First Call for Project Proposals (Deadline: 2 Sep 2013)

NAMA Facility Issues First Call for Project Proposals

18 July 2013: The NAMA Facility, an initiative supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) of the UK, has launched its first call for project proposals with the aim of fostering implementation of developing countries' nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs).

The objective of the call is to provide funding for NAMA implementation in developing countries and incentivize leadership in climate change through ambitious and concrete actions. To be considered for the first open call, developing countries' governments or delivery organizations must submit NAMA projects by 2 September 2013.

The initial funding contributed by the UK and Germany is Euro 70 million. The selection process of projects will consist of a two-stage assessment. [NAMA Facility Open Call] [Background Information on the NAMA Facility and the Selection Process] [IISD RS Story on the Launch of the NAMA Facility]

For more information: 

http://climate-l.iisd.org/news/nama-facility-issues-first-call-for-project-proposals/209657/

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New Books: Water Governance for Sustainable Development Approaches and Lessons from Developing and Transitional Countries By Stefano Farolfi (1 Jun 2013)

Water Governance for Sustainable Development

Approaches and Lessons from Developing and Transitional Countries

By Stefano Farolfi

Edited by Sylvain Perret, Rashid Hassan

Published 1st June 2013 by Routledge – 320 pages

Descriptions:

Good management of water resources - universally identified as a key aspect of poverty reduction, agriculture and food security - has proven, in practice, as difficult to achieve as it is eagerly sought. This book, edited and authored by leading authorities on water resource management, examines the recent changes in governance, institutions, economics and policies of water, covering developing, transitional and developed countries, with special emphasis on southern African case studies. The book examines how water policies, institutions and governance have shifted in recent years from supply-driven, quantitative, centrally controlled management to more demand-sensitive, decentralized, participatory approaches. Such a move often also implies cost recovery principles, resource allocation among competing sectors, and privatization. The case studies demonstrate that the new policies and legal frameworks have been difficult to implement and often fall short of initial expectations. Using an accessible multidisciplinary approach that integrates economics, sociology, geography and policy analysis, the book untangles the issues and presents best practices for policy- and decision-makers, governments and regulators, NGOs and user groups, service providers, and researchers. The overall aim is to show how good water governance structures can be developed and implemented for the benefit of all.

Contents:

Introduction 

* Part I
* Understanding Water Institutions: Structure, Environment and Change Process
* Public�Private Partnership in Irrigation and Drainage: The Need for a Professional Third Party Between Farmers and Government 

* Part II
* The Possibility of Trade in Water Use Entitlements in South Africa under the National Water Act of 1998
* Redressing Inequities through Domestic Water Supply: A 'Poor' Example from Sekhukhune, South Africa
* Local Governance Issues after Irrigation Management Transfer: A Case Study from Limpopo Province, South Africa
* Water Management on a Smallholder Canal Irrigation Scheme in South Africa
* Emerging Rules after Irrigation Management Transfer to Farmers
* Crafting Water Institutions for People and Their Businesses: Exploring the Possibilities in Limpopo 

* Part III
* Conflict Analysis and Value-focused Thinking to Aid Resolution of Water Conflicts in the Mkoji Sub-catchment, Tanzania
* Determinants of Quality and Quantity Values of Water for Domestic Uses in the Steelpoort Sub-basin: A Contingent Valuation Approach
* Water Resources and Food Security: Simulations for Policy Dialogue in Tanzania
* How More Regulated Dam Release Can Improve the Supply from Groundwater and Surface Water in the Tadla Irrigation Scheme in Morocco
* Impact of Institutional Changes within Small-scale Groundwater Irrigated Systems: A Case Study in Mexico
* Local Empowerment in Smallholder Irrigation Schemes: A Methodology for Participatory Diagnosis and Prospective Analysis
* Role-playing Game Development in Irrigation Management: A Social Learning Approach
* Support to Stakeholder Involvement in Water Management Circumventing Some Participation Pitfalls

For more information: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415852029/

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World Bank: World's poorest will feel brunt of climate change (19 Jun 2013)

World's poorest will feel brunt of climate change, warns World Bank

Droughts, floods, sea-level rises and fiercer storms likely to undermine progress in developing world and hit food supply
Wednesday 19 June 2013 08.23 BSTguardian.co.uk,

Pakistan says the 2010 floods has affected about 20 million people, many of whom lost homes or livelihoods. Photograph: Warrick Page/Getty Images for UN

Millions of people around the world are likely to be pushed back into poverty because climate change is undermining economic development in poor countries, the World Bank has warned.

Droughts, floods, heatwaves, sea-level rises and fiercer storms are likely to accompany increasing global warming and will cause severe hardship in areas that are already poor or were emerging from poverty, the bank said in a report.

Food shortages will be among the first consequences within just two decades, along with damage to cities from fiercer storms and migration as people try to escape the effects.

In sub-Saharan Africa, increasing droughts and excessive heat are likely to mean that within about 20 years the staple crop maize will no longer thrive in about 40% of current farmland. In other parts of the region rising temperatures will kill or degrade swaths of the savanna used to graze livestock, according to the report, Turn down the heat: climate extremes, regional impacts and the case for resilience.

In south-east Asia, events such as the devastating floods in Pakistan in 2010, which affected 20 million people, could become commonplace, while changes to the monsoon could bring severe hardship to Indian farmers.

Warming of at least 2C (36F) – regarded by scientists as the limit of safety beyond which changes to the climate are likely to become catastrophic and irreversible – is all but inevitable on current levels, and the efforts of governments are limited to trying to prevent temperature rises passing over this threshold. But many parts of the world are already experiencing severe challenges as a result of climate change, according to the World Bank, and this will intensify as temperatures rise.

Jim Yong Kim, the bank's president, warned that climate change should not be seen as a future problem that could be put off: "The scientists tell us that if the world warms by 2C – warming which may be reached in 20 to 30 years – that will cause widespread food shortages, unprecedented heatwaves, and more intense cyclones.

"In the near-term, climate change – which is already unfolding – could batter the slums even more and greatly harm the lives and hopes of individuals and families who have had little hand in raising the Earth's temperature."

The development bank is stepping up its funding for countries to adapt to the effects of climate change, and is calling for rich countries to make greater efforts at cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

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New Books: International Support for Domestic Climate Policies in Developing Countries Edited by Karstan Neuhoff (1 Jun 2013)

International Support for Domestic Climate Policies in Developing Countries

Edited by Karstan Neuhoff

Published 1st June 2013 by Routledge – 128 pages

Descriptions:

This volume examines how international cooperation can support implementation of domestic climate policies in developing countries. Six case studies explore the domestic drivers and barriers for policies with climate (co-)benefits in developing countries and show that international support can help to overcome these constraints by providing additional resources for incremental policy costs, technical assistance, and technology cooperation to build local capacity. Cooperation can also contribute to robust institutional frameworks and government policies that facilitate increased private sector investment, which supports low-carbon production and consumption. Any such cooperation has to be anchored in domestic initiatives - building on stakeholder support for policies with climate co-benefits. The studies also examines the important role played by policy indicators in successful policy implementation and how they can be linked to international incentive schemes. The contributions in this volume examine cases from institutional and national perspectives from across the globe and find that, with common but differentiated responsibility for climate policy, developed countries have to contribute more towards technological and financial support in developing countries.

Contents:

Editorial: Karsten Neuhoff International Support for Domestic Climate Policies Using Intermediate Indicators: Lessons for Climate Policy Policy targets: Lessons for Effective Implementation of Climate Actions A History of Conditionality: Lessons for International Cooperation on Climate Policy Brazilian Low-carbon Transportation Policies: Opportunities for International Support Policy and Regulatory Framework for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Development in Ghana Domestic Climate Policy for the Indian Steel Sector Climate Co-benefit Policies for the Indian Energy Sector: Domestic Drivers and North-South Cooperation Concentrated Solar Power in South Africa China's Wind Industry: Policy Lessons for Domestic Government Interventions and International Support Twinning: Lessons for a South-North Climate Policy Context

For more information: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415845151/

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