14 March 2014
CARIAA Targeting Research on Climate Change Adaptation in Africa and Asia
UN Photo/Kibae Park
story highlights

The Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) has launched a research programme on climate change adaptation that will be conducted by four consortia.

The programme aims to build the poor's resilience and improve their livelihoods by informing policy and practice with cross-regional, interdisciplinary insights.

The research will focus on three climate change “hotspots”—sensitive regions inhabited by large numbers of people: semi-arid regions; deltas; and glacier and snowpack-dependent river basins.

cariaa7 March 2014: The Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) has launched a research programme on climate change adaptation that is to be conducted by four consortia. The research will focus on three climate change “hotspots”—sensitive regions inhabited by large numbers of people: semi-arid regions; deltas; and glacier and snowpack-dependent river basins.

The programme aims to build resilience and improve livelihoods by informing policy and practice with cross-regional, interdisciplinary insights.

Each of the four consortia consists of five institutions, representing the range of regional, scientific and socio-economic development expertise needed to address the physical, social, economic and political dimensions of vulnerability and adaptation. The research will consider different timeframes and scales, from local to global, while encouraging policy innovation, open access publication and South-South knowledge-sharing.

The semi-arid portion of the study includes two consortia. Pathways to Resilience in Semi-Arid Economies (PRISE) seeks to promote climate-resilient development by identifying economic threats and opportunities resulting from climate change. Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) aims to foster longer-term adaptation approaches while supporting risk management through transformative scenario planning.

The Deltas, Vulnerability and Climate Change Migration as Adaptation (DECCMA) consortium will integrate climate and socio-economic data to examine migration as an adaptation option for the most vulnerable.

The consortium on river basins, Himalayan Adaptation, Water and Resilience (HI-AWARE), will explore short- and long-term climate trends and adaptation strategies while taking into account local and seasonal impacts and responses.

The program is scheduled to run through 2019, with joint support from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). [IDRC Press Release] [CARIAA Website] [CARIAA Brochure]