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• Thematic Programmes
  
  
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• Issue Programmes
  • Climate change and disaster risk reduction
    
    
  • Rural Livelihoods programme
    
    
  • Green Economy
    
    
  • Civil society and governance

CLIMATE CHANGE AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

Climate change and disaster risk reduction

Programme vision
Improved livelihoods and resilience to climate change and related disasters, particularly in the most vulnerable communities, through effective participatory management of ecosystems and enhanced awareness of viable responses to climate change.

Programme goal
To improve livelihoods and resilience to climate change and related disasters by building the capacity of stakeholders, particularly those most vulnerable to climate change, to participate effectively in ecosystem management and develop appropriate responses to climate change, through participatory action research and application and dissemination of lessons learned.

Programme objectives

1. To conduct research that contributes to improved livelihoods and effective responses to climate change, including analysis and/or testing of:
   1. effective tools and methods to facilitate participatory management of the ecosystems which underpin greater resilience to climate change and sustainable livelihoods;,.
   2. communication strategies that increase understanding of, and stimulate appropriate responses to, climate change;
   3. ways in which traditional knowledge can be used to reduce vulnerability to climate change;
   4. successful community-level adaptation strategies, including a review of how approaches used elsewhere, and particularly in other small island states, can be applied in Caribbean islands.
2. To build the capacity of key stakeholders in tools and methods for participatory ecosystem management and the development of effective response strategies, through training workshops,demonstration, small grants, mentoring etc.
3. To enhance stakeholders’ knowledge of climate change and their ability to respond effectively by increasing their understanding of climate change impacts and response options by:
   1. conveying scientific knowledge in a way that is accessible and relevant to diverse audiences;
   2. explaining how effective management of natural resources, including sustainable use (e.g. for tourism or agriculture), can contribute to both increased resilience to climate change and improved livelihoods;
   3. disseminating and promoting the application of research findings.

Recent and current projects
Research

• Climate change and biodiversity in the insular Caribbean
• Promoting participatory information communication technologies (ICTs) for adding value to traditional knowledge in climate change adaptation, advocacy and policy processes in the Caribbean

Building awareness and capacity for effective responses to climate change

• Enhancing the Role of Civil Society in Raising Awareness and Building Capacity for Adaptation to Climate Change workshop
• Developing a civil society agenda for climate change in Saint Lucia
• Pilot Project: Community action to build climate change resilience in Trinidad and Tobago.
• Formulating a civil society agenda for climate change in Tobago.
• Analysing climate change policy and institutions in Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago: Piloting a Caribbean process

CANARI has also undertaken a number of technical assistance projects which have contributed to the programme’s strategic objectives:

• Climate change in the UK Overseas Territories
• Support to Christian Aid Caribbean on its Caribbean Climate Change Strategy
• Communicating Climate Change

Key publications

• CANARI Policy Brief 17: Strengthening Institutional Arrangements in Trinidad and Tobago to Facilitate Climate Change Adaptation Policy Formulation and Execution
• CANARI Technical Report 401: Case study on the use of participatory three dimensional modelling to facilitate effective contribution of civil society in the Caribbean islands in planning for action on climate change