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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI15042674/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- Cities around the world are increasingly aware of the need to prepare for greater variability in temperature, precipitation, and natural disasters expected to take place as a result of global climate change. In recent years, numerous reports and manuals have been written and networks formed to offer guidance and facilitate the exchange of ideas and information. However, since systematic studies have not been conducted, the information and methods being disseminated often are based on the efforts of a limited number of cities and wisdom drawn from experience in other domains. To gain insight into the status of adaptation planning globally, approaches cities around the world are taking, and challenges they are encountering, a survey was sent to communities that are members of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability. A total of 468 cities (44%) completed the 40-question survey, with the majority of respondents being from the U.S since this is where ICLEI has the largest membership.
Perceptions of a Changing Climate
Overall, 79% of cities worldwide report that in the past five years, they perceived changes in temperature, precipitation, sea level, or natural hazards that they attribute to climate change. Furthermore, nearly half of survey respondents report impacts they attribute to these climate-related changes, with the most common being disasters leading to damage of local government property. Human impacts also have been observed, with cities in Asia, Latin America, and Africa reporting deaths from disasters that they view as being associated with climate change.
Assessing Climate Impacts
Approximately 19% of the cities report that they have completed an assessment and about the same number presently are conducting one. Regionally, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and Canada are the most active in conducting assessments, while the U.S. is the least active in this arena. Among cities that completed assessments, increased storm water runoff is the issue that most anticipate they will need to address in the near term (65%), with storm water management (61%) ranked close behind.
Urban Adaptation Planning
Given perceptions of a changing climate and assessments of projected climate-related impacts, many cities are beginning to engage in adaptation planning. Sixty-eight percent of cities worldwide report that they are pursuing adaptation planning, with Latin American and Canadian cities having the highest rates of engagement (95% and 92% respectively) and the U.S. having the lowest (59%). Cities are engaged in different activities associated with adaptation planning. At the extremes, 37% report being in the preparatory stages, while 18% are working on implementation, although many in this latter group may be linking implementation to ongoing work activities, such as land use and coastal zone planning, rather than pursuing dedicated adaptation activities.
Four types of adaptation activities are especially common and reflect the nascent state of planning initiatives in most of the cities that participated in the survey. These activities are: (1) meeting with local government departments on adaptation; (2) searching the web or literature for information on adaptation; (3) forming a commission or task force to support adaptation planning; and (4) developing partnerships with NGOs, other cities, businesses, or community groups.
Challenges in Adaptation Planning
Cities report many challenges as they pursue adaptation planning. Globally, the three top-ranked challenges are: (1) securing funding for adaptation; (2) communicating the need for adaptation to elected officials and local departments; and (3) gaining commitment and generating appreciation from national government for the realities of local adaptation challenges. Lack of resources and limited appreciation by local officials and national governments makes it difficult for cities to make significant gains in adaptation. Many cities are making efforts to integrate adaptation into sector and community plans, although here too they note that a lack of financial and policy support makes mainstreaming a challenge.
Conclusions
Cities are facing the dual challenges of limited financial resources and limited commitment from local and national governments to adaptation. Often, cities are able to gain insights by engaging peer networks and take action through trial and error. However, the results of the survey suggest that without the commitment of local political officials and the acknowledgement of this agenda by national governments, it will be difficult to make rapid advances in planning and to move from planning to implementation. Financial and informational resources are critical, but the commitment of local officials is essential to advancing adaptation planning and implementation.
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
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- Please contact the owning institution for licensing and permissions. It is the user's responsibility to ensure use does not violate any third party rights.
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