Climate Change and Development

OBJECTIVES
Climate change has profound implications for developing countries, and increasingly development professionals and agency staff working in or for developing countries are being asked to integrate climate change management issues into planning, projects and policy. National governments also are increasingly engaged in official communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other initiatives, which require assessment of vulnerability and adaptive capacity.

The purpose of this interactive short course is to equip participants with a comprehensive understanding of what climate change may mean for low-income populations and what the scope and prospects are for adapting to change in a development context. Drawing on staff from some of the world’s leading research institutes on climate change and development (including the School of Development Studies at the University of East Anglia and UK’s The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research), participants will gain a state-of-the-art knowledge and have the opportunity to develop their analytical skills in this field through project work focussing on their own country context or professional sector.

To ensure participants have a thorough grounding in all aspects of climate change the course incorporates expert sessions on climate science and climate change mitigation. Key emphasis is then placed on vulnerability and adaptation – exploring what climate change implies in terms of impacts/vulnerability, what adaptation means for different sectors, how best to go about building resilience, international mechanisms relating to adaptation, and linkage with other development imperatives such as poverty reduction and disaster risk reduction.


COURSE CONTENTS

Expert inputs to the two-week course will cover:
Climate science
International policy on mitigation and adaptation
Impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in the context of development
Resilience and adaptation: examples and lessons from different sectors
Principles for effective adaptation
Linkages with poverty reduction
Linkages with disaster risk reduction
Linking mitigation and adaptation
International funding and implementation mechanisms
The course is structured throughout to encourage participants to share their ideas through interactive and small-group work. During week 2 participants will spend 50% of time on the preparation and presentation of a project related to their country context or specific professional sector. This will ensure the knowledge and insight gained from the course is immediately grounded in work that has practical relevance for the participant.

The course is supported by visits to, and visitors from, outside organisations with relevant experience and skills.

PARTICIPANTS

This course is designed for people who want to gain a greater understanding of the implications of climate change for developing countries and the potential for adaptation. It is aimed particularly at professional staff from government agencies and NGOs who have responsibility or interest in the integration of climate change management into development planning, projects and policy.



TUTORS

Course tutors will be drawn from leading international researchers on climate change and development associated with the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, the School of Development Studies and the School of Environmental Sciences at University of East Anglia (UEA), including:

Professor Neil Adger, Dr Nick Brooks, Professor Kate Brown, Dr Declan Conway, Dr Roger Few, Professor Mike Hulme, Professor Andrew Watkinson and Professor Robert Watson.



DATES
1 - 12 September 2008 (2 weeks)



NO OF PLACES

20


FEE

£3,200 (inc. accommodation)
LANGUAGE SKILLS

To participate effectively, it is necessary to have full workshop level competence in English

LOCATION

Overseas Development Group, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

Please also see the MSc in Climate Change and Development:
http://www1.uea.ac.uk/cm/home/schools/ssf/dev/courses/postgrad/master/MScCCID



Overseas Development Group
University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1603 592813 Fax: +44 (0)1603 591170
email: odg.gen@uea.ac.uk