Blog with us about the GPDRR13

A prerequisite, not an option: Integrating climate change adaptation into disaster risk reduction

Day one of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 2013 resonated with positive messages and commitments to integrate Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) into Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) not by governments, but by diverse actors such as the private sector, scientists and civil society.

I work for the Maldivian Red Crescent. I understand first-hand that for low-lying small island states such as the Maldives, to reduce risk is to adapt to the changing climate. Resilience to disasters no longer means anticipating and responding to sudden-onset hazards, but acting now to mitigate impacts of slow-onset hazards (such as ocean acidification) that have the potential to cause lasting and unrecoverable losses.

The key to CCA at the community level is to encourage  those vulnerable to climate change to assess and understand the possible impact of a changing climate in their everyday lives. Maldivian Red Crescent supports communities to conduct participatory risk assessments through the Red Cross Red Crescent Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment approach. In addition to assessing disaster risks, this tool helps the community record changes in climate, understand the impact of changing weather patterns on their community, take stock of current indigenous adaptation strategies, and build an action plan for adaptation and mitigation to multi-hazard/risks at the community level. This allows for a greater partnership and investment from both community and external partners to build community resilience. It can also support local government development planning and inform country level policy frameworks on grassroots level priorities.

As the integration of climate change into disaster risk reduction becomes a priority in the global agenda, community perspectives on climate change, adaptation and its impact can better inform future actions and strategies we should adopt to improve the lives of people vulnerable to climate change.

Community voices = better choices.