SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Courtesy Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA)

MEDIA SERVICES PHOTOFILE (PRIYANTHA BANDARA)

he recent UN climate summit in New

York refocussed the
worlds attention on climate change. Definitely a
global phenomenon, it is
predicted to disproportionately impact low and middle income countries, and the poorest communities
within them. This situation challenges developing countries to adopt
pathways to development that achieve
a sustainable balance between human
and environmental well-being. In Sri
Lanka, too, efforts are being made to
establish more sustainable practices
to address climate change.
Climate-conscious development requires integration of environmental
safeguards into development policy,
programmes and practices. This entails building adaptive capacity,
which is the ability of a nation to offset the effects of climate change.
While the uncertainties and technical
aspects of Earth sciences increase, the
difficulty to build adaptive capacity
with the buy-in of stakeholders to
take action further, heightens the
complexity of this task.
A study conducted by the Centre for
Poverty Analysis, on adapting to climate change in coastal areas of Sri
Lanka, identified stakeholders at
national, sectoral and civil society
levels; and ground, community and
practice levels.
At the policy level, climate change
is given national importance, with the
Ministry of Environment framing
conditions for sustainable development and institutional greening
establishing the National Council for
Sustainable Development and its
Action Plan (Haritha Lanka), it formulated the National Climate Change
Policy (2012) and the Adaptation
Strategy (2011-2016), in addition to a
mitigation strategy.
However, since adoption of the policy and strategies is not mandatory,
the ministry can only lobby for implementation by other state actors.
At a sectoral level, priorities like
food security, productivity, and incomes of ministries and departments
sometimes override the incorporation
of sustainable practices. Some sectors
like agriculture and fisheries have
incorporated principles of sustainable
development into their policy and
strategic orientation, and possess research and extension services that

ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Building adaptive capacity through a coordinated effort by actors
facilitate the flow of sector-specific
knowledge to the communities. Civil
society groups have more flexibility
to prioritise environmental issues.
Their greater access to knowledge,
technology and sometimes funding,
aids adaptation. They can work across
different levels, from policy to practice, and provide good knowledge
transfer mechanisms.
But few organisations work specifically on sustainability issues, so they
are unable to generate a critical mass
that enables scaling up climate change
adaptation.
At the community level, adaptation
to climate change is driven by economic benefits. Traditional and conventional knowledge is a plus factor
in adaptation. Sustainable practices
are generally supplementary activities
that benefit from niche markets and
premium prices. Communities adapt
mainly due to environmental conditions or depleted resources.
Their inability to take economic
risks, the lack of technical knowledge,
institutional support, and information
on climate change and adaptation measures, also hinder real involvement.
As Sri Lanka moves forward to
build adaptive capacity, it is important
that all stakeholders work with better
coordination. Given the cross-cutting
nature of climate change, building

adaptive capacity needs to consider

stakeholder responses to the proposed
initiatives. It is important to understand the context, vested interests,
competing agendas, capacities and
resources that exist amongst them.
Likewise, its necessary to consider
the policy in question and what is
practical, as well as balance the various needs at different levels and stakeholder groups the sectoral mandates,
the livelihood needs at community
level and ecosystem requirements.
Adaptation at every level needs to be
supported through funding, knowledge technology, capacity and experimentation, to come up with specific
problem-solvers that will deliver
options for the future.
Building adaptive capacity requires
time. It is a gradual process that has to
work down through the levels of policymakers, and across the stakeholders, to get individuals on board and
build resilience to climate change
impacts through trial, error and research, according to the specific climate threats and context. Understanding the interactions among the
many stakeholders should be a key
part of the process of building adaptive capacity.
Compiled by Roshni Alles
and Amila Balasuriya

CEPA is an independent Sri Lankan think tank promoting a better understanding of poverty-related development issues.
It strives to influence related development policy, as it believes that poverty is an injustice that should be overcome.
101 DECEMBER 2014 LMD