Climate change poses the most significant foreseeable threat to the development of humankind. Among the parts of the globe liable to be affected, the developing world is the most vulnerable to ...climate risks. Introducing a DPR theme issue on how development policy is responding to the increasingly pressured global climate agenda, this article reviews what is being done and still needs to be done, paying particular attention to action on three policy frontiers: (i) adaptation actions and finance, (ii) mitigation policies and their governance, and (iii) the implications for development planning. It addresses what will be needed for the development community to rise to the challenge in the run‐up to the Copenhagen conference in 2009 and beyond.
Climate change poses a challenge to the dominant development paradigm with its concepts of modernisation, economic growth and globalisation which treat the environment as an externality and largely ...ignore climate variability. This article explores the extent of the challenge, drawing on archaeological evidence showing that adaptation to severe climate change can involve much more radical changes in human societies than are currently envisaged. Furthermore, short‐term adaptation can result in long‐term maladaptation, increasing vulnerability to climate shocks. The article argues that development urgently needs to shift its focus away from prevailing growth and yield‐maximisation models towards alternatives encouraging resilience and risk‐spreading.
This thesis addresses a gap in the understanding of settlers in the urbanising frontier of Brazilian Amazonia. Previously, settlers have been predominantly characterised as rural-based farmers, with ...little focus on the effect of the development of urban centres on settler livelihoods. Brazilian Amazonia's population is now 70% urban-based, with population expansion currently occurring mainly in small urban nuclei in frontier areas such as northwest Mato Grosso. Urban centres provide opportunities for employment, wealth generation and stabilised livelihoods for rural populations, whilst urban dwellers may choose to invest in local rural ventures. However, the nature, strengths and types of linkages between urban and nearby rural populations in frontier Amazonia, and the effects of this on natural resource use, are poorly understood. The study examines the urbanisation of Amazonia through a micro level urban and rural livelihoods analysis in Juruena municipality, a 27-year-old, corporate-planned settlement in northwest Mato Grosso, Brazil. The research demonstrates that rural-urban hybrid livelihoods are currently important support systems for many poor settlers in the region, particularly for new arrivals and landless settlement residents: 'straddler' and 'dual' households are two resulting household strategies. Rural-urban proximity increases diverse livelihood income generation activities amongst most sectors of the population. However, the poorest settlers are excluded from these positive linkages. Diverse management strategies are noted amongst rural and urban dwellers regarding rural properties owned. Solely-rural property owners have a greater diversity of crop, perennial and tree species on their land and higher numbers of small livestock, whilst urban-dwelling rural property owners have higher numbers of cattle, reflecting the lower labour inputs that land use planning initiatives required of this strategy. The thesis argues finally that land use planning initiatives in Amazonia therefore need to incorporate better the effects of these local rural and urban links and property ownership patterns into their thinking.
Climate change poses a challenge to the dominant development paradigm with its concepts of modernisation, economic growth and globalisation which treat the environment as an externality and largely ...ignore climate variability. This article explores the extent of the challenge, drawing on archaeological evidence showing that adaptation to severe climate change can involve much more radical changes in human societies than are currently envisaged. Furthermore, short-term adaptation can result in long-term maladaptation, increasing vulnerability to climate shocks. The article argues that development urgently needs to shift its focus away from prevailing growth and yield-maximisation models towards alternatives encouraging resilience and risk-spreading. Copyright (c) The Authors 2009. Journal compilation (c) 2009 Overseas Development Institute..
Climate change poses the most significant foreseeable threat to the development of humankind. Among the parts of the globe liable to be affected, the developing world is the most vulnerable to ...climate risks. Introducing a DPR theme issue on how development policy is responding to the increasingly pressured global climate agenda, this article reviews what is being done and still needs to be done, paying particular attention to action on three policy frontiers: (i) adaptation actions and finance, (ii) mitigation policies and their governance, and (iii) the implications for development planning. It addresses what will be needed for the development community to rise to the challenge in the run-up to the Copenhagen conference in 2009 and beyond. Copyright (c) The Authors 2009. Journal compilation (c) 2009 Overseas Development Institute..
