EbA Tools Navigator

The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report considers new evidence of climate change based on many independent scientific analyses from observations of the climate system, paleoclimate archives, theoretical studies of climate processes and simulations using climate models. It builds upon the Working Group I contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), and incorporates subsequent new findings of research.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines outline a study framework which will allow comparable assessments to be made of impacts and adaptations in different regions/geographical areas, economic sectors, and countries. The Guidelines outline a seven step process: 1) definition of the problem; 2) selection of the methods; 3) testing of the methods; 4) selection of scenarios; 5) assessment of biophysical and socioeconomic impacts; 6) assessment of autonomous adjustments; and 7) evaluation of adaptation strategies. A range of methods is identified in each step.

The IUCN Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Framework Assesses both species and social vulnerability based on the IPCC vulnerability components exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. It mainly focuses on the assessment of adaptive capacity of a coastal socio-ecological system, as well as implementing resilience-building activities. The assessment itself determines the magnitude of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity using context specific indicators which are aimed to be worked into a project design. Furthermore, the IUCN framework offers information on how to qualitatively rank resilience-building opportunities for prioritisation purposes.

The IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions provides clear parameters for defining NbS and a common framework to help benchmark progress.

The NAP-Ag Knowledge Tank is an online platform gathering tools and resources for stakeholders working in areas of climate change adaptation, resilience and disaster risk reduction in agriculture sectors (including forestry and fisheries). It complements the supplementary guidelines for addressing agriculture, forestry and fisheries in national adaptation plans, enabling non-agriculture specialists to understand the issues at stake. Key features of the Knowledge Tank: Provides resources to users on how to formulate and implements NAPs addressing the agriculture sectors; Supports alignment to countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) regarding adaptation commitments; Features a wide range of up-to-date tools and knowledge resources, such as articles, methods, platforms, case studies, learning materials, videos and other knowledge materials, from FAO and other international agencies and programmes, such as UNDP, IFAD, WFP, GIZ, CCAFS and World Bank.

Knowledge-based Participatory Action Research (PAR) can be used for qualitative and quantitative data gathering, moitoring and evaluation and as part of a process for empowering communities for collective landscape management.

The Land Change Modeler software extension is a land use planning and decision support software tool that allows for analysis of past land cover change, development of scenarios of future land use change, species distribution modelling and assessment of land use change impacts on habitats and biodiversity. Also features tools for REDD+ that can develop deforestation baselines and models of future deforestation for use at a project level.

Landscape Elements: Steps to Achieving Integrated Resource Management describes in detail 5 key steps to achieving integrated landscape management and provides information on indicators for measuring progress under each step together with identifying some tools available to help put ideas into action. These include solutions on how to:
– Form multi-stakeholder platforms
– Achieve a shared understanding of key issues, challenges and opportunities in the landscape
– Collaboratively plan to maximise social, economic and environmental benefits
– Ensure effective implementation
– Monitor, evaluate and learn for adaptive management and Influence governance, market and financial environments that impact the landscape

Learning Brief 1 – Introduction to Ecosystem-based Adaptation: A nature-based Response to Climate Change explains in detail what criteria for effective EbA might be and what lessons have been learned from their application. They are organised under six headings, highlighting that to qualify as EbA, interventions should:
– Manage, conserve and restore ecosystems to be climate-resilient
– Help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change
– Reduce climatic risks and hazards
– Work at multiple geographical scales
– Enhance knowledge and capacity
– Promote enabling governance
The final section brings all these key criteria together in a proposed holistic framework for EbA.

The Entry points for mainstreaming Ecosystem-based Adaptation learning brief brings together experiences from practicioners on how to successfully integrate Ecosystem-based Adaptation in national and subnational processes and harness synergies. Ilustrated with examples from Brazil and South Africa.

The Financing Ecosystem-based Adaptation learning brief brings together experiences from practitioners on obstacles and success stories on how to identify sources and instruments for financing EbA measures at different scales. Ilustrated with examples from the Philippines, Bangladesh, Mali, Colombia, Peru and Mexico.

This document has been prepared to support Livelihoods and Landscapes Strategies (LLS) participants (IUCN officers, partners and communities representatives) in implementing a Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) system as a central part of LLS implementation. This approach is focused more on learning than on accountability (i.e. reporting activities and outputs and linear planning). This is because LLS works in a complex and dynamic environment where it is often extremely difficult to design linear, straightforward intervention strategies. This document should be read with the Livelihoods and Landscapes Strategic Overview and Operational Components documents.

The Let’s Respond Toolkit presents a process for integrating climate change and climate variability into municipal level planning in South Africa. It comprises 6 sections:
– Introduction to climate change and climate variability
– Preparation
– Analysis
– Strategy
– Projects
– Integration, approval, implementation
The toolkit also provides a set of corresponding tools to assist the implementation of the process.

Linked Indicator Sets for Addressing Biodiversity Loss is a journal article advocating a 4-stage Response-Pressure-State-Benefit framework for selection of indicators. Examples of linked indicator sets are provided for humid tropical forests and marine fisheries to illustrate the concept; however, further guidance on indicator selection is not provided.

Local Climate Impacts Profile is an assessment tool developed by UKCIP (based at the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford) that can be applied globally. It is designed to help organisations to assess their exposure to weather and climate. The LCLIP process highlights a locality’s vulnerability to severe weather events and how these events affect local communities as well as local authority assets, infrastructure and capacity to deliver services.

The excel tool “MACC” leads project managers through the five steps of the guidebook “Adaptation made to measure”. It can be used to directly enter monitoring data and keep an overview of project progress. Based on a theory of change approach, the tool allows defining up to 15 intended results with up to three indictors each. Data can be directly entered into the excel file making it a very practical devise for project monitoring. The tool is easy to navigate and video tutorials explain each of the five steps. It is also helpful for planning adaptation projects.

Mainstreaming EbA and Accessing Finance ia a policy brief based on the results of the inter-regional training workshop on accessing climate change adaptation finance and mainstreaming ecosystem-based approach (EbA) to adaptation, which was a side event of the Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum. As well as providing policy recommendations, it presents information, resources and examples of identifying suitable entry points, aligning EbA with existing sectoral priorities, building the business case, and securing finance for EbA projects.

Making Adapatation Count offers a roadmap for designing M&E systems for climate change adaptation that help fulfil core principles of aid effectiveness. It outlines a six-step sequence to support this process.

The Managing Coasts with Natural Solutions guidance note provides review and recommendations for how the protective services of mangroves and coral reefs can be measured and valued in a manner consistent with national economic accounts, and included in other decision-making processes to support planning for development, disaster risk reduction, and coastal zone management.

Mapping for Change: Practice, Technologies and Communication focuses on Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS) practice. PGIS is an evolved form of community mapping geared towards community empowerment. It uses geo-spatial information management tools ranging from sketch maps, participatory 3D models, aerial photographs, satellite imagery, readings obtained through Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems software as vehicles for discussion and analysis. The articles in this issue document established and cutting-edge tools, and discuss theory and reflections from practice – including ethical considerations, potential pitfalls and other lessons learnt from experience. This edition also includes general articles, as follows: a paper on using artwork with refugee children in South Africa; a paper on the role of local elites in development projects, based on work in Sudan; a ‘Tips for Trainers’ paper on the Snowball Technique; and the ‘In Touch’ section, which includes reviews of websites and other online resources related to PGIS.

Marxan is a decision support software package that enables analysis of quantitative spatial data to identify sets of planning units (or areas) that meet user-defined targets for attributes (like carbon stock, biodiversity or ecosystem service provision), at minimal cost and trade-offs with other targets. Marxan ‘with zones’, an extension of Marxan, provides a more comprehensive analysis allowing different management strategies to be prioritised for different land use zones.

The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) ‘Nature-based Solutions for Disaster and Climate Resilience’ explores the interlinkages between ecosystems, disaster risk reduction and climate resilience. It was designed for disaster managers and practitioners, climate change adaptation professionals, development planners, project implementers and policy makers and students. The MOOC consists of video-presentations, special interviews, self-study readers, case studies, video resources and a discussion forum.

Maxent is a software programme (a stand-alone Java application) that produces models of species geographic distributions based on presence-only data. It is based on the maximum-entropy approach for modeling species niches and distributions.

The Methodology for the Prioritisation of Adaptation Measures in the Face of Climate Change is based on multi-criteria analysis and cost-benefit analysis. This process should be inserted into and be part of a broader systematic 7-step climate adaptation planning approach:
– Process design to define the objectives of the process, available resources and stakeholders
– Selection criteria are defined to evaluate each proposed adaptation measure
– Identification of [possible] adaptation measures is where all information for each measure is systematised
– Review and adjustments of measures: stakeholders are included and the selection criteria are reviewed
– Prioritisation of potential adaptation measures is carried out, using the multi-criteria analysis defined in Step 2
– Economic valuation of the possible measures, which includes a cost-benefit analysis
– Monitoring and feedback helps to document and systematise all information and lessons to promote transparency and learning

MAGICC and SCENGEN is a coupled software package that allow users to investigate future climate change and its uncertainties at both the global-mean and regional levels. MAGICC calculates energy balances whereas SCENGEN effectively presents the results of MAGICC to produce spatially detailed information on future changes in key climate variables.

Monitoring & Evaluation for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience represents a synthesis and summary of frameworks for the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of climate change adaptation and resilience (CCAR) interventions, with a specific focus on international development projects and programmes. This report provides a state of play of CCAR M&E and guidance in choosing which materials are bes suited to meet M&E needs.

Monitoring and evaluating adaptation interventions in Niumi National Park, the Gambia, and Sangomar Marine Protected Area, Senegal brings together a range of simple methodologies to carry out regular climatic, socio-economic and environmental monitoring and proposes some resource-efficient and practical techniques that can be used to collect data. The guide focuses on how to monitor adaptation interventions resulting from Community Planning Workshops in the two MPAs implemented under the project Climate Resilient Communities and Protected Areas. It is not a comprehensive protected area-wide monitoring protocol, but focuses on the monitoring of the adaptation interventions implemented as a result of the project. The methods described in this guide may also be useful to managers of other protected areas where similar interventions with similar objectives are being implemented.

Mountains and Climate Change: from Understanding to Action provides regional climate change projections for mountain ranges and considers a range of climate change issues. It presents a number of case studies at the local, national and international level that attempt both to face the challenges presented by climate change and to take advantage of emerging opportunities wherever possible.

The NOAA CSC Coastal Inundation online toolkit shows how data, tools and other information within Digital Coast can help communities prepare and map inundation estimates. It provides steps for identifying inundation risk and guidance for visualising and communicating those risks to community members. Examples of what other communities are doing to address inundation impacts are also included.

The Roadmap for Adapting to Coastal Risk outlines a participatory process for assessing a community’s vulnerability to hazards, and for incorporating relevant data and information about hazards and climate into ongoing local planning and decision-making.

CityAdapt is a platform focused on urban nature-based solutions. It has written resources and maps to facilitate urban NbS implementation. It defines methodology and tools for urban EbA . It proposes five stages that strengthen planning processes and transformations to make EbA more sustainable.

NatureServe Vista is a free decision-support system that helps users bring together conservation with land use and resource planning of all types. It can be used to:
– conduct conservation planning and assessments
– integrate conservation values with other planning and assessment activities, such as land use, transportation, energy, natural resource, and ecosystem-based management
– evaluate, create, implement, and monitor land use and resource management scenarios designed to achieve conservation goals within existing economic, social, and political contexts.

The NBS Benefits Explorer is a web-based tool developed to serve as a key starting point for organizations looking to invest in nature-based solutions (NBS), and for those wishing to learn more about benefit identification and accounting.

The Online GIS based Adaptation Projects Inventory is a record of climate change adaptation projects (currently covering Mesoamerica only). The inventory contains details relating to the main focus of projects, execution period, implementing agencies, impact, as well as information on location of protected areas and indigenous communities. The data is presented in the format of an interactive platform, allowing the user to conduct a comparative analysis of the different projects in the region.

The Operational Framework for Ecosystem-based Adaptation has been developed to provide operational guidance to government planners and other practitioners on how to develop and mainstream EbA. The framework is based on available literature, best practices, and the experiences of development and adaptation practitioners. It provides stepwise guidance for analysing vulnerability, selecting adaptation responses at the sub-national level, and for mainstreaming EbA into policies and planning processes. The report also provides a list of tools and resources to assist with the identification and implementation of EbA responses.

Pacific Climate Futures Version 2.0 is a free web-based climate impacts decision-support tool which provides national and some sub-national climate projections for East Timor and 14 Pacific countries. Pacific Climate Futures has three levels of detail: a basic interface provides a summary of the projected changes in annual temperature and rainfall and is accessible for everyone; the intermediate level provides access to a guided interface to generate climate projections tailored to an impact assessment; and the advanced level provides more flexibility to the user along with additional options for exporting data for use in risk assessments.

The Pacific Cost-Benefit Analysis Initiative (P-CBA) is an online platform that hosts information and knowledge products from the Pacific Cost-Benefit Initiative, which targets government officials from Central planning or Finance ministries that are involved in project management and climate resilient development activities. The site has links to various assessment and background documents as well as initiatives and examples of CBA in the Pacific region.

PANORAMA Solutions is a web platform that presents solution case studies for different themes: protected areas, marine and coastal and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA). Solution case studies are documented using a standard format that identifies replicable key success factors, while also describing the context in which the solution was developed. Solutions are made available online and through publications and are integrated into capacity development activities and workshops.

This edition of Participatory Learning and Action discusses how community-based approaches to climate change have emerged, and the similarities and differences between a community-based approach and other participatory development and disaster risk reduction approaches. It contains several articles that discuss participation processes and practice and presents some participatory tool-based case studies. It also introduces six participatory tools:
– Developing a climate change analysis: extract adapted from Christian Aid Adaptation Toolkit
– Rain calendars: a tool for understanding changing rainfall patterns and effects on livelihoods
– Mental models: understanding the causes and consequences of climate change
– Child-friendly participatory research tools
– Participatory scenario development for translating impacts of climate change into adaptation actions
– Reflections on practical ethics for participatory community-based adaptation

The PMERL approach for community-based adaptation helps communities address the challenges of climate change. Participation, joint learning and reflection processes are integrated into the M&E of community-based adaptation (CBA) to ensure these efforts are as effective as possible.

PRA is a research/planning methodology in which a local community (with or without the assistance of outsiders) studies an issue that concerns the population, prioritises problems, evaluates options for solving the problem(s) and comes up with a Community Action Plan to address the concerns that have been raised. A variety of tools are used in PRA to gather and analyse information. These tools encourage participation and help to organize information in a way that makes it more useful and more accessible to the group that is trying to analyse a given situation.

The Community Based Tool Kit for Practitioners is designed to help communities and planners understand the likely local hazards and risks of climate change and look at the vulnerability of their environment and livelihoods. It helps them to analyse exiting methods of coping and adapting and then develop plans to increase resilience. It consists of a range of tools (10 different tools) that can be used in various situations for community-based climate change impact assessments. District or Village Development Committee (VDC) level planning teams can use them to make assessments and gain an overview. Community based organisations (such as forest user groups, water management groups or soil conservation groups) can use them to prepare themselves and develop community level adaptation plans.

Providing REgional Climates for Impacts Studies (PRECIS) is a regional climate model (RCM) that takes large scale atmospheric and ocean conditions from observations or global climate models (GCM) where horizontal resolutions vary from 100 to 300kms, and downscales it over a region of interest to resolutions of 25 or 50km. This allows for a more realistic representation of the climate over the region of interest, accounting for complex surface features such as mountains, coastlines and islands which are not resolved in the global models.

The Precipitation Runoff Modeling System is a modular design, distributed parameter, physical process watershed model developed to evaluate the effects of various combinations of precipitation, climate, and land use on watershed response. One of its objectives is to provide a modular modelling system that could be used to address a variety of interdisciplinary environmental and water resource problems. The modular concept enables the testing and development of a variety of modelling approaches that can incorporate knowledge from a broad range of scientific disciplines.

Part 2 of the Project Cycle Management Manual is a resource for logframe development, including an overview of four types of analysis that should be conducted prior to developing logframes, and gives examples of various methods. Also provides a column-by-column description of the logframe.

The PLI approach is based on social learning through the integration of local actors throughout the whole project design. This tool is designed to engage women, men and youth from coastal communities in community-driven climate change adaptation action. The PLI approach uses a workshop based on interactive learning among different stakeholder groups in the local context. The workshop aims to engage participants in open communication and provide a forum for sharing knowledge and experience.

The Promoting Synergies In Addressing Biodiversity And Climate Change Adaptation Issues: Linking national adaptation plans and national biodiversity strategies and action plans note presents an overview of opportunities from enhanced synergies between NBSAP and NAP processes, as well as gaps and needs in need of being addressed if greater synergies between these processes are to be realized.

The PROVIA / MEDIATION Adaptation Pathfinder is a web-based decision support guide for monitoring and evaluating adaptation. The guidance provides a framework for considering the full range of approaches to VIA. The structure is based on a five-stage iterative adaptation learning cycle: 1) identifying adaptation needs; 2) identifying adaptation options; 3) appraising adaptation options; 4) planning and implementing adaptation options; and 5) monitoring and evaluation of adaptation.

Putting Maps and Geographic Data on the Web is an online geospatial training platform, which provides information, guidance, online training exercises and tools for creating visual communication aids and for the sharing of data, images, maps and information over the web.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Ecosystems Categories and Criteria is a global standard for how we assess the status of ecosystems, applicable at local, national, regional and global levels. The Red List of Ecosystems complements the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and other IUCN knowledge products. When used together, ecosystem and species red lists will provide the most informative indicator of the status of biological and abiotic diversity at national, regional and global levels. The Red List of Ecosystems will provide indicators used to assess ecosystem health and support arguments for non-degraded ecosystems as a core component of human well-being, land use management, governance and macroeconomic planning.