Compared to climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation policy development is still in its infancy. Since adaptation was put on an equal footing with mitigation in the Bali Action Plan, significant progress in policy development can be observed. Yet the main focus of the debate is on the development of national adaptation strategies and programmes and the support by regional centres.
This paper argues that the proof of effective climate change adaptation strategies will be in improved resilience of the hundreds of millions of people living in communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Involvement of local authorities and community based organisations in the development of adaptation strategies will be crucial. Risk reduction and risk management are key elements of adaptation. Humanitarian organisations bring decades of experience in working with local actors to support local stakeholders to lead adaptation measures to protect their communities against impending climate risks.
This paper outlines six key strategies for supporting local action on adaptation. These are summarized at right and also described in greater detail in the remainder of the paper.