R. Lasage

National Efforts to Enhance Local Climate Policy in the Netherlands

Abstract This work investigates how and why climate change policy initiatives are taken at a local level against the background of the evolution of national policy in the Netherlands. The central government actively promotes climate policy initiatives at a local level through subsidies related to a menu of possible action. The case studies illustrate how different cities make different choices; thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of a flexible policy. The work concludes that transferring authority and resources to the local level may make it easier to develop and effectively implement climate change policy; but that, as yet, there is no hard evidence to demonstrate whether this is indeed the case as the policies have only just been initiated.

Towards a Climate-Proof Netherlands

There is no doubt about it: the climate is changing and the effects are now tangible and predictable. Scientific research has shown that even if we make significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation), climate change cannot be prevented. Which is why we have to adapt to make the effects of the changing climate acceptable: the Netherlands must be made climate-proof. To stimulate climate-proofing, four ministries and the Climate changes Spatial Planning (CcSP), Living with Water (LmW) and Habiforum research programmes have established a National Programme on Adapting Spatial Planning to Climate Change (ARK, see Box 1). The core research questions examined by ARK are:

Adaptation to Sea Level Rise: A Multidisciplinary Analysis for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

One of the most critical impacts of sea level rise is that flooding suffered by ever larger settlements in tropical deltas will increase. Here we look at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and quantify the threats that coastal floods pose to safety and to the economy. For this, we produce flood maps through hydrodynamic modeling and, by combining these with data sets of exposure and vulnerability, we estimate two indicators of risk: the damage to assets and the number of potential casualties. We simulate current and future (2050 and 2100) flood risk using IPCC scenarios of sea level rise and socioeconomic change. We find that annual damage may grow by more than 1 order of magnitude, and potential casualties may grow 5–20-fold until the end of the century, in the absence of adaptation. Impacts depend strongly on the climate and socioeconomic scenarios considered. Next, we simulate the implementation of adaptation measures and calculate their effectiveness in reducing impacts. We find that a ring dike would protect the inner city but increase risk in more rural districts, whereas elevating areas at risk and dryproofing buildings will reduce impacts to the city as a whole. Most measures perform well from an economic standpoint. Combinations of measures seem to be the optimal solution and may address potential equity conflicts. Based on our results, we design possible adaptation pathways for Ho Chi Minh City for the coming decades; these can inform policy-making and strategic thinking.

Climate change in developing countries : results from the Netherlands Climate Change Studies Assistance Programme

1. Introduction and NCCSAP methodology * Introduction * Approach NCCSAP Phase I * Methodology for emission inventories * Methodology for mitigation assessment in the energy sector * Adaptation assessments 2. Country experiences and highlights * Introduction * Bolivia * Colombia * Ecuador * Egypt * Ghana * Kazakhstan * Mali * Mongolia * Senegal * Suriname * Vietnam * Yemen * Zimbabwe 3. Cross country syntheses * Introduction * Emission inventories * Mitigation assessment of the energy sector * Adaptation and water resources * Adaptation in coastal zones * Adaptation and land use * National communications 4. Evaluation, lessons learned and outlook * Introduction * Mitigation assessment * Adaptation assessments * National Communications * Capacity building and awareness raising * NCCSAP in comparison to other country study programmes * Recommendations.

Adaptations in Water Harvesting Technologies for Enhancing Food Security and Livelihood: A Multi-country Study in Sub-Saharan Africa

The objective of this paper was to examine farmer-directed technology adaptation of selected water harvesting technologies (WHTs) in order to enhance their potential contribution to food security and livelihood improvement in sub-Saharan Africa. The selected WHTs included micro- and meso-scale reservoirs that store water in the soil (in situ) or in a reservoir, respectively: household ponds in Ethiopia, ndiva systems in Tanzania and combinations of mechanized zai, grass strips and bunds in Burkina Faso. The impact of non-adapted WHTs was below expectation. Although WHTs improved yields, most families were unable to meet their (nutritional) food needs every year and experienced limited or no long-term effects on sustainable livelihood. The lining of household ponds and conveyance canals with durable materials gave promising results, yet needs economic consideration; a minimum investment may form a barrier particularly to resource-poor farmers. Incorporation of the location-specific nature of farming and livelihoods into WHT interventions is recommended, along with incentive measures to support farmers including the provision of access to credits and inputs for agricultural production.