WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020 | 9:00 - 10:30 EDT | 15:00 - 16:30 CEST
The concept of Adaptive Capacity is not new and has been the subject of extensive discussions in the last decade, without reaching a clear definition beyond theoretical terms. There are core challenges on how to characterize it in operational terms and, more importantly, on how to measure it under different sectorial and national contexts. This leaves an open knowledge gap at the project level that needs to be filled. This becomes of utmost relevance for critical sectors that are sensitive to climate-related stress, such as the water sector in countries at risk of water insecurity.
This event, co-hosted by the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), highlighted the methodology and results of a study commissioned by the CIF’s Evaluation and Learning (E&L) Initiative. Specifically, it highlighted key results pertaining to the application of a robust methodological framework to assess adaptive capacity in the Bolivian water governance system. Under the framework of this study, an exploration of how governance systems have managed and responded to past extreme events, and what manifestations of adaptive capacity have arisen, has allowed for the examination of whether governance practices have hindered or enabled adaptive capacity, emphasizing transformative processes. This assessment thereby provides the foundation to explore the potential of programs and projects focusing on building climate resilience, including the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) under the CIF, to build adaptive capacity and achieve transformative change in the water sector in Bolivia as well as other countries.
9:00 am WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION Loreta Rufo, CIF-PPCR Coordinator, CIF Joseph Dickman, Senior Evaluation Officer, CIF Xianfu Lu, Senior Strategy & Outreach Specialist for PPCR, CIF
9:07 am INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY AND MOTIVATION Alfred Grunwaldt, Senior Climate Change Specialist, IDB
9:15 am METHODOLOGY AND PRESENTATION OF STUDY RESULTS Dr. Markus Stoffel, Full Professor, University of Geneva Dr. Simon Allen, Research Associate, University of Geneva
9:45 am INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS TO THE BOLIVIAN CONTEXT Javier Gonzales Iwanciw, Senior Research Associate, Universidad Nur
10:00 am OPEN DISCUSSION
10:25 am CONCLUDING REMARKS
SPEAKERS
Alfred Grünwaldt
Senior Climate Change Specialist Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
Alfred Grünwaldt leads technical work on adaptation and climate resilience across the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). In the last ten years, he has focused his work on the interphase between climate and water throughout the Latin-America and the Caribbean regions. He has participated in the design of over 50 development projects with climate resilience components and key studies on adaptation and climate resilience, mostly in the public sector. Areas of current analytical work includes climate resilience metrics, vulnerability assessments and Robust Decision Making, measuring adaptive capacity, adaptation pathways and adaptation taxonomy with a strong emphasis on water resources.
Javier Gonzales Iwanciw
Senior Research AssociateInstitute for Science and Social Research (IICS) at Universidad Nur
Javier Gonzales Iwanciw has been active in the climate change field since 1998. He was a climate change specialist of the Bolivian Vice Ministry of Environment for about ten years. Since 2008 he has been involved in climate change adaptation research and consultancy. His work has principally focused on climate change adaptation policies, linked to natural resources management, water governance and small scale agriculture. He has widely consulted in Bolivia and the Latin America region, including PPCR activities in Bolivia and Honduras.
Dr. Markus Stoffel
Full ProfessorUniversity of Geneva
Prof. Markus Stoffel is the Chair of Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA) at the University of Geneva. Over the past two decades he has been working on the impacts of climate change in mountain environments across the globe, and mostly on topics related to integrated natural disasters, water resources management and biodiversity. Besides fundamental research, many studies realized by Dr. Stoffel and his team were designed and realized to serve adaptation planning. His research activities range from the creation of climatic baseline data, through the modelling of floods and mass-wasting processes and integrated risk assessments and DRM mandates, to work engaging with local communities to define the most suitable, science-informed adaptation strategies.
Dr. Simon Allen
Research AssociateUniversity of Geneva
Dr. Allen’s research focuses on climate impacts and disaster risk. Over the past decade he has been working alongside various local partners to undertake integrated climate risk assessments as a basis for adaptation planning, particularly in mountain regions. His research activities range from the modelling of drought, flood and landslide risk, through to participatory studies engaging with local communities to understand adaptation needs.
Dr. Xianfu Lu
Senior Strategy and Outreach Specialist for PPCRCIF
Dr. Xianfu Lu, trained as an applied meteorologist, has been working on climate risk assessment and management for over 20 years. Her work spans climate science, climate resilience practices and international policy on adaptation. Xianfu has worked across the wide spectrum of institutional contexts, from academia, UN agencies, multilateral development banks and the private sector. These have all contributed to Xianfu’s unique ability to fully appreciate the climate risk management needs of different stakeholder groups, and to effectively “translate” such needs into requirement for policy, analytical as well as practical interventions.