‘Climate Adaptation and Resilience: Challenges and Potential Solutions’
The genesis, writing process and key takeovers of the book
The publication’s genesis:
The publication has been funded in the framework of the Climate Resilient and Inclusive Cities (CRIC) project, of which Pilot4DEV is partner.
The CRIC project is a collaboration between UCLG ASPAC, Pilot4DEV, ACR+, ECOLISE, AIILSG and Gustave Eiffel University (Paris, France). The project was born in 2020 and has been funded by the European Union and led by USCLG ASPAC.
It is aiming at promoting sustainable urban development, good governance and climate mitigation and adaptation. To reach its objectives, the project is working on 10 Indonesian cities (Banjarmasin, Bandar Lampung, Cirebon, Gorontalo, Kupang, Mataram, Pangkalpinang, Pekanbaru, Samarinda, Ternate) using various vectors:
- The development and implementation of tools (Early Warning Systems, use of resources, water and sanitation, climate and energy transition),
- A multi-stakeholder cooperation.
- A dialogue between local governments and communities and researchers.
With an urban growth averaging 4,4% annually, Indonesia experiences the highest rate of urbanization in Asia (higher than in India and China). It is predicted that 68% of the population will live in cities in the next ten years. Urban population densities exceed 15,000 habitants/km² in cities like Jakarta and more than 30,000 habs/km² in some inner-city areas. Countries like Vietnam (36% of urban population) and the Philippines (45%) concentrate large urban areas, with fast growing centres. Urban areas host most of the vulnerable populations, as well as vital and social infrastructure, and local governments have increased pressure to develop services, infrastructure, employment (U.N. Habitat).
The overall objective of the project is to propose a long lasting and unique cooperation between cities and research centres in Europe, Indonesia and other countries from Southeast Asia, and to contribute substantially to sustainable integrated urban development, good governance, and climate adaptation and mitigation through long lasting partnerships, and tools such as sustainable local action plans, early warning tools and experts’ panels.
So far, the project has produced urban analysis reports and policy briefs for each of the 10 pilot cities. These reports helped at the conception of tools, and their conclusions led to an important work of capitalization. Different priorities and stakes have been identified depending on various physical, political and socio-economic parameters proper to each city.
Essentially, key strategies to implement an efficient urban resilience relate to:
- An essential multi-stakeholders cooperation
- The integration of multi-risks analyses
- A work with local communities to answer their needs properly
- The need for an adaptative design
- A work with smart technologies on Early Warning Systems (EWS)
- The questions of financing and accountability are essential (the role of cities and complex governance systems).
This work has been correlated with broader observations on the threat of climate change on natural ecosystems and human societies as stated in the last IPCC report (2022) – 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change (typhoons, floods, sea level rises, extended dry, disruptions in ecosystems and water resources, unrest and conflicts…). It appears that coastal areas, like most of Indonesia, are already particularly affected by climate change, but the threat is global and systemic.
“In these conditions, the situation includes coping with a range of interrelated natural and human-made hazards: conflicts and violence, displacement, natural disasters, minorities, environmental degradation, shrinking natural resources, increased health threats, poverty, inequalities, social tensions, number of refugees and post-conflict fragility.”[1]. The question of funding climate adaptation and mitigation has to be raised to tackle these tremendous consequences.
This book is an attempt to think solutions with a necessary a multi-scale and multi-disciplinary approach - it looks at how problems are interconnected at different scales and across disciplines, as well as possible solutions for reducing vulnerabilities and reducing tensions. It is a capitalization on a broad range of literature on climate change, climate adaptation, climate mitigation and resilience as well as the results of a specific and detailed work on Indonesian cities in the framework of the CRIC project.
The writing and publication processes, step by step:
The publication brings together 18 contributors with various background and expertise. The objective is to develop knowledge (Pillar 1 of the CRIC Project) and analyse the current situation in relation to climate change, adaptation, resilience, and potential conflicts or tensions. It has been released in September 2022 and is now available for purchase online. This is the result of a dense year of work.
In June 2021, Pilot4DEV had launched a call for a collective publication. Contributions (abstracts) could be sent until the end of September 2021. The contributions could cover a wide geographical coverage in Europe and in Asia. And as the book was thought to have an interdisciplinary background, focuses could be on climate adaptation, resilience, environmental management, but also sociology, economy and governance. A multi-scale approach was already encouraged.
In early October 2021, the editors panel coordinated by Pilot4DEV, had reviewed and selected the abstracts. In December 2021, it has been decided that a first draft of the chapters would be expected by the 15th of January 2022 which the authors agreed on, they provided feedbacks on their progress and took the time they needed to finalize their chapters.
The complete chapters have been received in February 2022. They have been reviewed by Pilot4DEV’s team, as well as by professional editors, and scientific reviewers, in March 2022. They were sent and approved by the scientific publisher Peter Lang International on April 2022, which led to the release of the book in September 2022.
A detailed timeline of the writing, editing and publication process is available below.
Key takeovers:
The conclusions of this extended work relate to:
- The primary importance of local level thinking and action. The city level is of particular interest for its possibilities of action and its ability to capture local demands, needs and opportunities for changes.
- This first point is coupled with a need of strong community networks to implement climate adaptation actions. These trust networks are based on interpersonal relations with a strong emphasis on ties. They are essential in a complementary and collaborative work with institutions in charge. Cooperation, social networks and trust are fundamental to realize the necessary efforts.
- Consistent global policies, funding, accountability and political will are also needed. This is about monitoring and sustainability; climate change is a long-lasting issue needing strong and persistent efforts. Consistency is needed.
The book has been thought for researchers, students, practitioners, decision-makers, professionals of the field… But it is available for anyone who might want to seize it, go through its various chapters and learn from very diverse expertise!
‘Urgent action is needed’[2]
[1] Pascaline Gaborit et al. (2022), Climate Adaptation and Resilience : Challenges and Potential Solutions, Anticipatory Governance, Planning and Dialogue, p.21
[2] Pascaline Gaborit et al. (2022), Climate Adaptation and Resilience : Challenges and Potential Solutions, Anticipatory Governance, Planning and Dialogue, p.351
