Improving the chances for developing coastal country success in adapting to climate change

摘要

There is an unequivocal scientific consensus that increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere drive warmingudtemperatures of air and sea, and acidification of the world’s oceans from carbon dioxide absorbed by the oceans.udThese changes in turn can induce shifts in precipitation patterns, sea level rise, and more frequent and severeudextreme weather events (e.g. storms and sea surge). All of these impacts are already being witnessed in the world’sudcoastal regions and are projected to intensify in years to come. Taken together, these impacts are likely to result inudsignificant alteration of natural habitats and coastal ecosystems, and increased coastal hazards in low-lying areas. They can affect fishers, coastal communities and resource users, recreation and tourism, and coastal infrastructure. Approaches to planned adaptation to these impacts can be drawn from the lessons and good practices from global experience in Integrated Coastal Management (ICM). The recently published USAID Guidebook on Adapting toudCoastal Climate Change (USAID 2009) is directed at practitioners, development planners, and coastal managementudprofessionals in developing countries. It offers approaches for assessing vulnerability to climate change and climateudvariability in communities and outlines how to develop and implement adaptation measures at the local and nationaludlevels. Six best practices for coastal adaptation are featured in the USAID Guidebook on Adapting to CoastaludClimate Change and summarized in the following sections. (PDF contains 3 pages)