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Climate Change in a Growing, Urbanizing World: Understanding the Demography of Adaptation (Book Launch)
›The effects of climate change are often conveyed through the lens of changing physical landscapes. Shifting weather patterns, the intensification of drought, flooding, and coastal erosion are all primary areas of climate research. But do researchers know enough about changes in the size, distribution, and composition of human populations as they relate to climate vulnerability? [Video Below]
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“We Are Not Sitting Idle, We Are Fighting”: Interview With Saleemul Huq on Bangladesh’s Climate & Food Challenges
›When it comes to climate change vulnerability, it sometimes seems as if all eyes are on Bangladesh. As part of my research for a recent article exploring the rise of aquaculture in the country, I interviewed Saleemul Huq, senior fellow at the International Institute for Environment and Development in London, former executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies, and lead author of two chapters on adaptation and sustainable development in the IPCC’s third and fourth assessment reports. A number of his quotes made it into the final story but I wanted to provide the full transcript here as well, as his thoughts on the country’s climate-related risks, food security, and population dynamics are worth a read.
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Aligning Human and Ocean Health, Preventing Sudden Freshwater and Plant Habitat Decline
›“The size and growth of the human population is putting unprecedented pressure on natural resources,” reports the first major publication by the Global Partnership for Oceans. The World Bank launched the consortium of more than 140 government, NGO, and private sector groups at the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development as a means to bring targeted investment to reverse ocean health decline and encourage sustainable development. On October 16, the Partnership’s Blue Ribbon Panel released Indispensable Ocean: Aligning Ocean Health and Human Well-Being, which encourages members to prioritize five principles: sustainable livelihoods, social equity, and food security; a healthy ocean; effective governance systems; long-term viability; and capacity building and innovation. Selection criteria for investments accompany each principle, including requirements like addressing problems of food affordability and access, demonstrating potential for improvements in human health, and building resilience to future conditions. “The good news is that we stand at a point in history where it is neither too late nor impossible to turn the tide of change that is currently sweeping across the ocean,” panel chair Ove Hoegh-Guldberg concludes.
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Amid Perfect Storm of Climate Challenges, Can Aquaculture Net Food Security Gains in Bangladesh?
›October 15, 2013 // By Jacob GlassIt is difficult to find a country feeling the negative impacts of climate change more severely than Bangladesh. Name any alarming, seemingly far off effect of a warming world being discussed in the halls of Washington or the summits of Copenhagen, and there is a good chance Bangladesh is experiencing it today. Flooding, drought, sea level rise, mass migration, and crushing poverty are exacerbated by a growing population and rapid urbanization. This perfect storm of climactic and demographic trends presents a looming crisis for Bangladesh, no more so than when it comes to food security.
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Africa’s Demography, Environment, Security Challenges Entwined, Says Roger-Mark De Souza at Africa Center for Strategic Studies
›Sub-Saharan Africa is not only the fastest growing region of the world demographically but is also one of the most vulnerable to climate changes, according to many measures, and already facing natural resource scarcity in many areas. These factors combine with existing development challenges to create security threats that African governments and the United States should be concerned with, says ECSP Director Roger-Mark De Souza in a presentation for the Africa Center for Strategic Studies’ introductory course on demography and the environment at the National Defense University.
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BALANCED Project Final Survey Results in Tanzania and Philippines
›The BALANCED Project just completed a five year run of supporting population, health, and environment (PHE) projects in South Asia and East Africa, and recent survey results indicate that the project has helped to increase access to family planning and cultivate more environmental awareness in several ecologically vulnerable areas.
The BALANCED initiative in Tanzania’s Saadani National Park, “the only terrestrial park in the country with a contiguous marine area,” released the results of a 2012 progress survey on its efforts to create community champions for sustainable natural resource management and family planning awareness. Compared to the last survey in 2009, they found increased family planning awareness, higher contraceptive distribution and usage, and improved discussion and acceptance of contraceptive use from male partners. BALANCED-trained community-based distributors provided contraception to “31 percent of all pill users and 21 percent of all condom users.” Survey results also show a greater community awareness of the impact of individual and collective actions on the surrounding biosphere. The report calls for the continued training of community-based distributors and PHE “champions,” along with outreach to the private sector in order to ensure training and distribution can continue without the permanent presence of the BALANCED Project.
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Geoff Dabelko on Avoiding Conflict From Climate Adaptation
›Although major global action remains stymied in many respects, policymakers around the world are increasingly at least recognizing the need to increase resilience to the effects of climate change. But are the consequences from hastily implemented initiatives being adequately considered? Perhaps not.
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DOD’s Daniel Chiu: Climate, Energy Concerns Emblematic of Future Security Challenges
›Factoring in the costs of fuel in operations, both in terms of the monetary and battlefield effect, is a relatively new development for the U.S. military. “Our view was, when we were at war, we would bear those costs,” says U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy Daniel Chiu in this week’s podcast. “However, as we have started to appreciate the nature of the kinds of military challenges we face, we’ve realized this is not a sustainable approach.”
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