Climate-Resilient Pathways out of Poverty : Caritas Switzerland’s Integrated Approach to Adaptation

International Cooperation Thematic Paper

3/2021

Climate-Resilient Pathways out of Poverty Caritas’ Integrated Approach to Adaptation

Introduction

Key Messages • Poor communities of the Global South are exposed to multiple climate change-related challenges ranging from food and water insecurity to disaster risks.

• Caritas Switzerland’s integrated approach to adaptation – proven to be effective in creating climateresilient pathways for development – is based on five pillars: Ecosystem-based Adaptation, Income and Markets, Policy Dialogue, Social Inclusion, Science and Innovation.

• The approach aims at improving livelihoods and resilience of the most vulnerable communities and reducing social inequalities aggravated by the climate crisis.

• Caritas Switzerland’s interventions facilitate enabling environments for systemic change through cross-sector policy dialogues and knowledge sharing, empowering local actors and connecting them with government and research institutions.

List of Abbreviations DRR Disaster Risk Reduction IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change SDC Swiss Development Cooperation SDGs Sustainable Development Goals WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

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Context From 2000 to 2019, rising global temperatures and changing precipitation patterns doubled climate-related disasters compared to the two previous decades from 1980 to 1999 (UNDRR 2020). Countries of the Global South, and in particular their poorest populations, are disproportionately affected by climate change, facing extreme losses and damage from droughts, flooding, tropical storms or wildfires. Without adaptation measures, climate change threatens to push 130 million people into poverty over the next 10 years.1 The majority of these affected people live in countries that have only marginally contributed to anthropogenic global greenhouse gas emissions, which are the main driver for the climate crisis. In Chad, for example, the annual per capita emissions are more than 200 times smaller than per capita emissions of Switzerland (0.065 tons of CO2 versus 14 tons of CO2).2 Most remarkably, this comparison does not include the historical emissions since the industrial revolution: their inclusion in the equation would demonstrate even more succinctly the extent of the prevailing climate injustice and – according to the ‘polluter pays principle’ – the imperative responsibility of the Global North to support affected countries by sharing the costs and burdens of climate change fairly.

Although the 2015 adoption of the Paris Agreement reinforced the critical importance of adaptation measures in global climate change efforts, effective funding for adaptation is however still substantially below the pledges made by the international community, and account for no more than onefifth of total climate finance (OECD 2019). To move towards climate justice, the international community must increase its efforts for human-centered climate adaptation measures, which safeguard the rights of the most vulnerable people and counteract the social inequalities exacerbated by the impacts of climate change (IPCC 2018a).

While adaptation has traditionally focused on engineering and technological measures, there is increasing recognition of the importance of ecosystem-based adaptation approaches, which consider institutional and social dimensions in addition to ecological aspects. The recently developed framework of “Nature-based Solutions” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), for example, further contributes to the increasing appreciation of green adaptation approaches.3

1 World Bank: Climate Change Overview, 2021. URL: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climatechange/overview (01/03/2021).

2 Chad: CO2 Country Profile, 2021. URL https://ourworldindata.org (04/03/2021); Switzerland: BAFU 2018: Umwelt-Fussabdrücke der Schweiz.

3 The Nature-based Solutions framework covers ecosystem and conservation approaches that simultaneously address multiple social challenges including climate and disaster risks, as well as food and water security.

August 2012

August 2019

April 2012

June 2019

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April 2019

June 2019

Before-after fixpoint pictures from a Caritas Switzerland “integrated watershed management” project in Tajikistan, illustrating ecosystem-based adaptation methods to prevent soil erosion and down-stream flooding (income providing orchard cultivation intercropped with deep-rooting and nitrogen-fixing forage legumes).

Due to their multiple benefits, ecosystem-based adaptation approaches are also increasingly credited with contributing to the achievement of the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. With the recently launched United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (20212030), additional prominence is given to nature in addressing the world’s most pressing issues.

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The Understanding of Caritas Switzerland

The target contexts of Caritas Switzerland’s international cooperation are characterized by rural poverty and high human vulnerability to climate change, reinforced by compromised food systems, fragile and degraded ecosystems, as well as weak governance structures. The complexity and interdependencies of these challenges and the risks of climate effects exacerbating inequitable social conditions, call for holistic and multidisciplinary interventions.

In line with Caritas Switzerland’s overriding goal to combat and eradicate poverty, and its strategic goal of “alleviating the consequences of climate change socially and sustainably”, Caritas’ Integrated Adaptation approach focuses on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable populations: The aim is to empower these populations to follow climate-resilient development pathways out of poverty. These pathways include adaptation measures that secure a healthy ecosystem and resilience to climate-related hazards; meet basic needs; and enable inclusive, equitable, fair and low-emission development.

Through 20 years of global experience in natural resource management and disaster risk reduction projects, Caritas Switzerland has accumulated relevant expertise. One essential conclusion is that climate strategies must comprise serious systemic changes aimed at creating policies and economic environments suitable for adaptation – if these strategies are to be effective.4 Consequently, Caritas Switzerland’s climate projects are based on an integrated approach that breaks down sectoral barriers by holistically incorporating social, environmental, economic, as well as institutional dimensions. Caritas Switzerland’s climate adaptation projects are thus based on the following five pillars: • Ecosystem-based Adaptation: Sustainable land and water management practices, landscape restoration and conservation measures, as well as agroecological practices and climate-resilient agriculture restore ecosystem health and increase the resilience and adaptive capacity of the most vulnerable populations on a landscape scale. Protective and resilient infrastructure mitigates disaster risk from climate-related hazards.

• Income & Markets: Agroecological practices and other ecosystem-based adaptation measures contribute to increased and diversified sources of income, enhance food security and improve livelihoods of smallholder farming fa-

4 Further reading on Caritas Switzerland’s expertise on systemic approaches: Thematic Paper “Applying systemic approaches to developing markets”, Caritas Switzerland, 2021.

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milies. Systemic approaches aimed at improving inclusivity of and farmers access to agricultural markets increase the scale and sustainability of interventions.

• Policy Dialogue: In line with Caritas Switzerland’s localization strategy, local and national actors are empowered to take ownership and participate in decision-making in inclusive and participatory natural resource governance structures. Multi-stakeholder and multi-sector environments, which connect local with national levels across different thematic sectors, promote alignment and coherence between local, regional and national climate strategies.

• Social Inclusion: Adaptation strategies and interventions are designed to systematically contribute to the empowerment of the most vulnerable populations, thereby improving cohesion and resilience of communities. The different levels of exposure and vulnerability to extreme events by marginalized groups are considered, and their capacities, equality of opportunity and dignity enhanced.

• Science & Innovation: Research collaborations and partnerships with local and international research institutes, including the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) or the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) foster the development of innovative approaches, such as weather, water and climate services.

Knowledge harvested from impact assessments is shared through thematic networks within country as well as on a global level through knowledge management platforms such as the WOCAT (World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies).

Caritas Switzerland understands climate change adaptation as systemic transformational processes that reduce the risk and vulnerability of poor populations to actual or expected climate change, and that lead to climate-resilient development pathways, which reduce inequalities, improve capacities and enhance cohesion of local stakeholders to cope with and even thrive in the face of present and future climate impacts.

Caritas Switzerland’s Integrated Approach to Adaptation

Agroecology & Climate-resilient Agriculture

Landscape Restoration & Conservation

C

Y OS

EM ST

-BASED ADA

PT AT I

Sustainable Land & Water Management

O N

E

Protective & Resilient Infrastructure

Livelihood Diversification

SCIE NCE & INNOVATION Know ledge Sharing

Empowerment of Most Vulnerable

Climate Resilience & Poverty Reduction

IN S O C CL IA US L ION

Y LI C U E O P OG L DIA

INCO M E & MARKETS

Weather, Water & Climate Services

Inclusive Markets Participatory Natural Resource Governance

Community Cohesion Multi-Level & Multi-Sector

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Theory of Change

The overarching goal of Caritas Switzerland’s climate adaptation projects is to alleviate poverty and to build climate-resilient livelihoods through the restoration, rehabilitation and sustainable management of local ecosystems that diversify incomes and reduce disaster risks.

The starting point of adaptation projects are livelihoods threatened by climate change, e.g. through crop failures, disrupted access to drinking water, as well as loss and damage from floods and landslides. Insufficient alternative resources and weak governance structures often lead to the overexploitation of natural resources and result in degraded ecosystems, further amplifying climate and poverty risks.

As a rule, Caritas Switzerland’s adaptation projects start with preliminary assessments to understand the local context, in particular climate-related hazards, the multidimensional vulnerabilities of local populations, as well as the institutional barriers impeding adaptation measures (e.g. lacking public finances or vested interests arising from land use changes).

In collaboration with national and international research institutes, multi-hazard risk assessments and land use assessments are conducted with the support of remote sensing and other geospatial technologies.

Based on the assessments, the relevant spatial scale of the project intervention is identified by mutually assessing environmental and social dimensions within the landscape. Suitable intervention areas are usually the watershed or river basin level accounting for upstream and downstream catchment conditions and management practices. However, in certain cases ecosystem or human factors such as transhumance movements may require target areas across these natural boundaries.

In a next step, all relevant stakeholders for project planning and implementation are identified. Caritas Switzerland proceeds by building trust among local opinion leaders and relevant government officials. Through transect walks, i.e. systematic walks across the project area to first hand observe environmental conditions, the stakeholders understand the linkages between climate, disaster risks and human interventions.

This sets the basis for the identification (or establishment) of suitable governance bodies for project implementation, which must include community leaders and civil society representatives, as well as representatives from various government departments and research institutions. These governance bodies can be steering committees on watershed level, water user associations to manage small scale irrigation systems, unions for sustainable rangeland management, or forest guards responsible for the protection of local forests. At the heart of these bodies is the social cohesion of the local communities as key actors for the implementation of adaptation measures, as they are best acquainted with local hazard conditions and the contextually relevant drivers of social and physical vulner-

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ability. The governance bodies ensure that laws and policies for environmental conservation and protection are effectively implemented, and collaboration across different government sectors (agriculture, forestry, water etc.) and civil society organizations is strengthened. Less influential or marginalized stakeholders are identified and empowered through inclusive decision-making processes, capacity building measures and complaint processes. Following a systemic approach, governance interventions are, as far as possible, integrated into already existing governance structures and processes.

The members of the main project implementation body jointly develop a participatory and iterative adaptation plan.

With the support of risk management tools such as CEDRIG5 or PACDR6, local knowledge is matched with evidence from globally available climatological data and remote sensing assessments. Hazard risk and vulnerability maps are developed to identify locations and livelihoods most at risk. Additional assessments include the climate corridor analysis, an approach developed by Caritas Switzerland, which investigates the suitability of different crops under future climate change temperatures and precipitation predictions.7 Based on the climate risk assessments, various adaptation measures to prevent, reduce or transfer losses and damages are identified and the most suitable measures (in terms of applicability, income-generating potential, cost-effectiveness etc.) jointly selected and documented in the adaptation plan endorsed by all key stakeholders. Concrete adaptation measures include sustainable land management practices such as agroforestry and other agroecological practices that diversify incomes and make agricultural production more resilient to climate-related hazards, e.g. through increased soil organic matter. So called weather, water and climate services – using quantitative weather and climate data to provide improved agronomic decision-making – increase agricultural productivity of small-scale farmers and reduce their harvest losses to heavy precipitation or frost. Early warning systems as well as disaster risk management processes are established for disaster risk preparedness. Other adaptation measures include sustainable rangeland management practices to reduce land degradation.

Depending on the results of the climate corridor analysis, climate-resilient seed varieties are chosen. Adaptation measures also include so called “grey measures” such as erosion retain-

5 CEDRIG (Climate, Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Integration Guidance) is a risk management tool developed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); https://www.cedrig.org/.

6 PACDR (Participatory Assessment of Climate and Disaster Risks) is a hazard vulnerability capacity assessment tool; https://pacdr.net/.

7 Orlowsky B. 2019: Climate Corridor Analysis – a tool for strategic adaptation planning; Caritas Switzerland Thematic Paper.

CHALLENGES 8 Orlowsky B. 2019: Water from rocks in South Sudan and Kenya; Caritas Switzerland Thematic Paper.

• Food & Water Insecurity • Ecosystem Degradation • Lack of Economic Resources and Capacities

• Vulnerability and Multi-Hazard Risk Assessments • Project Landscape Scale Identified • Climate Risk Sensitization • Governance Body for Implementation Established

INTERVENTIONS

• Participatory Risk Assessment and Planning Workshop

Inclusive Adaptation Plan Developed

Policy Dialogue & Knowledge Exchange

Iterative Adaptation Process

Adaptation Measures Implemented and Evaluated

EFFECTS AND OUTCOMES

Technical and Institutional Capacities Improved

IMPACT

ing rock walls or flood mitigation dams. Rainwater harvesting methods, in particular roof or rock catchments provide the communities with better water access.8 The wide-spread uptake and implementation of the adaptation plan is supported through awareness raising and capacity building, based on a training of trainers’ approach or directly integrated into already existing and publicly organized extension service programmes. Through demonstration plots managed by female and male lead farmers respected in their communities and manifesting good communication and technical skills, the interests and understanding of local communities for sustainable land and water management practices are increased and the communities empowered. local cooperatives and value chains enable improved and more inclusive market access for farmers. Particular attention is given to the fact that women and men are differently affected by climate variability and change. Project interventions are designed to contribute to balanced power relations and adequate division of labor between men, women and youth.

In schools, children are sensitized to climate and environmental issues and taught about the interlinkages between water, hygiene, health, and the environment.

Ensuring that adaptation plans are adjusted in iterative processes, the implemented measures are continuously monitored and evaluated for effectiveness and impact with the help of local and national research institutes. Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses, household income assessments, remote sensing (e.g. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index analyses and water surface monitoring), or soil samples are conducted to illustrate the multiple benefits of ecosystem-based adaptation measures and functioning natural resource governance mechanisms. To quantify the mitigation co-benefits of adaptation interventions, greenhouse gas emission assessments are conducted with the help of a greenhouse gas accounting tool for land use changes.

The evidence of the various analyses are shared with local and national stakeholders through learning events and networks. Bringing together actors from different levels (local to national) as well as different climate-relevant sectors, strengthens cross-sectoral working relationships and establishes the foundation for an enabling policy and economic environment.

This enabling environment sets the basis for the upscaling of relevant and promising adaptation measures and for climate-resilient development pathways ensuring the wellbeing and resilience of the local population in the face of actual and future climate risks, and ultimately alleviate poverty.

• Vulnerability to Climate-Related Hazards

• Resilience to Climate Change and Disaster Risks • Restored and Sustainably Management Ecosystems • Diversified Incomes and Improved Livelihoods • Community Cohesion and Social Inclusion • Collaboration Between Communities, Local and National Stakeholders

POVERTY REDUCTION

Figure 1: Theory of Change

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What we do

Over the last two decades, Caritas Switzerland’s engagement has developed from small-scale disaster risk interventions to fully integrated adaptation programmes that consider various dimensions and dynamics within a landscape, and that are anticipatory and preventive rather than reactive.

Mali and Ethiopia: Caritas Switzerland is implementing a regional wetlands restoration project in a consortium with Wetlands International, International Water Management Institute and hydrosolutions GmbH in Mali and Ethiopia. By scaling up ecological sustainable agricultural water management and by creating access to market systems, the project contributes to reducing agricultural water use and to improving food security, livelihoods and resilience of smallholder farmers in Sahelian wetlands. The project depends on the integrated landscape approach as well as market system development principles, strictly emphasizing the project’s facilitative role through fostering local ownership within existing cooperative mechanisms and organizations. Project interventions aim at achieving systemic changes for improved agricultural water use that benefit the water users and that fit the context and abilities of organizations and individuals. An operational monitoring tool uses remote sensing imagery to monitor water surface areas and water levels. Coordination and cooperation among different stakeholders are facilitated through inclusive dialogue across sectors and scales, bringing together smallholder farmers, engineers, service providers, policy makers, investors and researchers. In joint collaboration with local government partners, the project further supported the establishment of a weather station, which is now connected to the TAHMO net, an initiative that aims at developing a vast network of weather stations across African secondary schools in order to increase climate and weather data availability. The creation of an information platform and knowledge sharing on best practices are further essential project components.

Cambodia: In the North-Western province of Banteay Meanchey in Cambodia, Caritas Switzerland implements a community-based disaster risk reduction project that aims to strengthen the resilience of rural communities in the face of disaster risks (floods and droughts) and other climatic stress causing devastating damages to predominantly agricultural livelihoods. The project supported 50 rural communities in the establishment of Disaster Risk Reduction Village Committees that raise awareness on natural hazards and the importance of disaster preparedness. Integrated water resource management – in specific small-scale structural measures such as dams, community ponds and canals to control and store excess rainwater – appeared as the most important strategy to ensure water access for human consumption and agricultural

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production even during dry season. Water management and governance practices in agriculture have been improved by adapting the Integrity Management (IM) Toolbox to irrigation systems.9 By bringing different stakeholders and jurisdictions together, root problems were jointly analyzed and solutions identified. Clear water schedules were developed, binding financial resources for operation and maintenance agreed, as well as conflict resolutions mechanisms introduced. The project further introduced “Blue Schools” by applying the Blue Schools Kit, developed by the Swiss Water and Sanitation Consortium.

Blue Schools contributes to healthy learning environments in schools by increasing the access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services, while at the same time strengthening environmental awareness through school gardens, sustainable waste management and environmental education.

School garden in a Blue School in Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia.

Tajikistan: Between 2011 and 2019, Caritas Switzerland implemented the SDC mandated “Integrated Watershed Management” project in the southeast of Tajikistan. The key objective was to uncover, test proof of concept and take to scale sustainable land and pasture management practices. Governance bodies such as watershed committees, pasture user unions, and women groups established within the project framework, soon became recognized and institutionalized actors that significantly contributed to the improvement of food and livestock security and the stabilization of disaster-prone landscapes through watershed management plans. In Tajikistan, Caritas Switzerland also supported the implementation of a large scale KfW-financed forestry project including over 2 000 ha of direct afforestation and over 4 000

9 The Integrity Management Toolbox for small water supply systems was jointly developed by Caritas Switzerland and the Water Integrity Network.

Approaches and Elements of Caritas Switzerland’s Climate Adaptation Projects

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3

1

4 2

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6 8 1 Forest and wetland restoration and conservation

5 Green and grey infrastructure: slope stabilization, flood protection dams

2 Participatory forest management

6 Sustainable water management: rainwater harvesting through rock catchments

3 Sustainable pasture management

7 Weather-based agronomic decision support and water integrity management

4 Disaster risk preparedness: early warning systems

8 Agroecological and climate-resilient agriculture

and village committees

ha of rehabilitation through joint forest management, where harvest yields are shared between forest users and forest departments, greatly enhancing the livelihoods of the communities. Currently, an innovative new adaptation approach piloting effective weather, water and climate services is being launched. The SDC-supported project aims to leverage the potential of a dense network of low-cost weather stations, which, combined with manually obtained citizen observations, sets the basis for improved national weather forecasts and informed decision-making for agriculture and disaster risk management.

Case Study: Community-led Adaptation Projects in Tajikistan – the Project Trust Fund The “Project Trust Fund” (PTF) – introduced as an innovative, inclusive, and transparent finance mechanism – constituted the most instrumental factor for enhancing community buy-in and ownership in Tajikistan’s watershed project: 40 % of the project’s activity budget were dedicated to fund small scale sustainable land management and disaster risk management initiatives. Twice a year an open bidding process was launched that incentivized community members – individual households, whole communities or women groups – to sub-

mit promising project proposals in the fields of conservation agriculture, agroforestry, pasture management as well as mitigation infrastructure.

Project Selection Criteria: The criteria for evaluating the proposals were defined beforehand by the PTF committee consisting of civil society members, local government representatives and Caritas project staff. The criteria included inter alia impact of land degradation, beneficiary vulnerability, technical feasibility, sustainability and community contribution.

Special attention to the most vulnerable: During project implementation it became evident that the most vulnerable community members, such as female-headed or very poor households, were less likely to submit project proposals. A survey found that they, a) lacked information about funding opportunities, and b) did not apply due to lacking resources (time, land availability, knowledge on how to obtain legal certificates etc.). Consequently, the project team started an awareness-raising campaign targeting marginalized households, which resulted in a strong increase in project applications by these households.

Achievements of the Project Trust Fund: The PTF prevents top-down decision-making in climate adaptation and promotes local and community centered solutions. Over 10 000 beneficiaries directly benefitted from the fund, result-

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1 

Multi-Stakeholder Project Trust Fund Committee Established

Hazard Risk Map

2 

Hazard Zones and Priority Areas in Watershed Identified

3 

Criteria for Small Adaptation Projects Defined

4 

Awareness Events and Field Visits to Lead Farmers Conducted

4 

Communities and Households in Project Submission Supported

ing, for example, in 500 ha of agroforestry and orchard plots and more than 10 000 ha of rehabilitated pasture lands. The positive effects of these initiatives on the ecosystem were supported by an NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) analysis, which measures the vegetation density by satellite images, and which found a significant increase in vegetation over the project period compared to control watersheds. Most gratifying from a poverty perspective was the fact that entire household cash incomes could be increased by an average of 40 % through planting leguminous fodder crops and 190 % in case of orchard-based agroforestry.

An assessment of project impact on soil health carried out in collaboration with the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the Tajik Soil Research Institute revealed that soil hydraulic conductivity of the treated agroforestry site was 10 times higher than in the nearby untreated wheat plot. While hydraulic conductivity does not equal rainwater infiltration, there is nevertheless a strong correlation between the two measures, and a clear evidence of reduced runoff and thus reduced flood risk in downstream areas.

A 6-month knowledge capitalization found that the project has led to a strong community cohesion and empowerment. Livestock pasture and thus livestock productivity increased substantially thanks to rotational grazing systems implemented by pasture user unions and the planting of deep-rooting leguminous fodder crops. According to anecdotal evidence, illegal logging strongly decreased through the additional supply of fuel wood from pruning of tree plantings and through energy-efficient cooking and heating stoves requiring 24 % less fuel wood than traditional stoves.

5 

Criteria-based Selection of Projects

by Committee

6 

Small Adaptation Projects by Communities and Households Implemented

Figure 2: The Process of the Project Trust Fund

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Gulbahor Khalifaeva (on the right) became a community leader by advising her neighbours on sustainable land management practices on her orchard.

Conclusions

Climate change adds an additional layer of complexity to rural contexts in the Global South that face multiple stressors ranging from poverty, food and water insecurity, to governance.

The Global North bears a relevant historical responsibility for both the causes and the effects.

To account for climate change’s complex interdependencies, adaptation approaches must go beyond technical fixes and address underlying social, financial and institutional barriers in an integrated manner. The experience of Caritas Switzerland shows that integrated approaches are most promising in strengthening the resilience of local communities to climate and disaster risks.

Local ownership and engagement are critical for effective and sustainable climate adaptation strategies that are based on native knowledge and traditions and at the same time embrace technological innovation. Caritas Switzerland has successfully demonstrated that it is possible to place communities at the center of project interventions while facilitating a multi-level and multi-sector policy dialogue, bringing together communities, government agencies and research institutes.

Given the uncertainties associated with climate change predictions and impacts, climate adaptation strategies are less likely to evolve along a pre-determined pathway, but rather evolve along an iterative process of action, observation, learning and response. It is therefore crucial to apply not only an integrated, but also a flexible and iterative adaptation approach. The following elements have proven to be most effective and are thus of specific relevance: • Inclusive finance mechanisms: One option to ensure iterative learning in project interventions are flexible and transparent funding systems, such as the Project Trust Fund. While the Project Trust Fund was a successful tool during project implementation, ideally the positive experience of the fund could have been transferred to the local government after project termination. In policy environments where government authorities notoriously lack financial resources, there is an urgent need to develop effective regulatory systems and financial processes to tap into the willingness of communities to co-invest and partner with local governments for adaptation measures. In other words, cooperation is mutually beneficial as long as government authorities are able to build trust among communities.

• Importance of Government Commitment: Albeit local communities are usually the main actors in the implementation of adaptation measures, adaptation plans can only develop their full effect with the institutional support of all levels of government. One example where vested interests of authorities negatively affected the effectiveness of imple-

mented measures relates to transhumance herds owned by powerful politicians, whose unregulated movements counteracted local pasture management efforts in Tajikistan.

• Income generating measures: Caritas Switzerland’s experience has shown that the sustainability of adaptation measures is correlated with their income generating potential. Some ecosystem-based adaptation measures may at times require years to become fully established and reach maturity. One option is to combine and interplant these measures with “quick-gains”, for example fast-growing crops such as deep-rooting fodder crops. Income opportunities combined with capacities, tools and knowledge on how to maintain the implemented measures have shown to be the key factors for long-term sustainability.

In order to further develop and streamline Caritas Switzerland’s approach in its programmes and projects, it is recommended to systematically apply landscape lens in project interventions with natural resource components. Caritas Switzerland will continue paying attention to holistically integrate sustainable agricultural land use and management practices into landscapes that support both biodiversity and conservation aspects, creating resilient systems where both livelihoods and nature can thrive.

While pursuing its activities in the area of climate change, Caritas Switzerland remains true to its principles by focusing on its core competencies and unique expertise: poverty reduction, community mobilization, establishing local partnerships, as well as facilitating policy dialogue between local and national levels. With respect to climate change and adaptation, Caritas Switzerland will thus continue on the proven pathway of climate-resilient development, giving poor populations the opportunity to perceive climate change not only as a threat – but also an opportunity.

Sources: – UNDRR 2020: Human Costs of Disasters, An overview of the last 20 years 2000-2019, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

– UNFCCC 2019: 25 Years of Adaptation under the UNFCCC Report by the Adaptation Committee; United Nations Climate Change Secretariat.

– IPCC 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

– IPCC 2019: Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems.

– OECD 2019: Climate Finance Provided and Mobilised by Developed Countries in 2013-17, OECD Publishing, Paris.

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E-mail: aphilipona@caritas.ch

Our commitment Caritas Switzerland is committed to a world without poverty that is guided by solidarity, justice and peace.

We provide professional, effective and efficient help to people in need irrespective of their political or religious beliefs, gender or ethnicity. The aim of all programmes is to reduce poverty, strengthen people’s resilience, ensure that their rights are respected and expand their capabilities to realise their life goals. We are an independent Swiss aid organisation and a member of Caritas Internationalis, a network comprising more than 160 national Caritas organisations.

Doing the right thing

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Telephone: +41 41 419 22 22 Fax: +41 41 419 24 24 E-mail: info@caritas.ch

Website: www.caritas.ch Post Office account: 60-7000-4 IBAN: CH69 0900 0000 6000 7000 4

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Cover photo: John Kalapo; Mulching to avoid evaporation and conserve soil humidity is a very accessible technique widely adopted by vegetable growers in the Lac Wegnia intervention side.

Author Arabela Philipona, Knowledge Manager Climate at Caritas Switzerland