Adaptation to Climate Change

climate change
In the semi-arid areas of East Africa, droughts and floods continue to trigger crises despite various development interventions Photo: CDE

Globally, the consequences of climate change are intensifying strains on ecological and social systems and threatening hard-won achievements in sustainable development. This research project synthesised the findings of three research projects – on livelihoods in transition, sustainable natural resource use, and the health of vulnerable populations – to provide sound evidence and tools for adapting to climate change. Resilience, transformability, institutions, and adaptive governance provide conceptual frameworks for examining how to enhance adaptive capacities and how to improve outcomes for sustainable livelihoods and resource management. Conducted within the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South programme, this project included comparative studies in East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, and the Swiss Alps.