IDRC has been a trailblazer in climate change adaptation research, supporting over $190 million in projects since 2006. Their current initiatives include four large research consortia totaling $70 million focused on adaptation in Africa and Asia. One example project used ICT to share climate and market data with over 120,000 farmers in Uganda, reducing crop losses by up to 67%. IDRC is also funding a $546,800 project in Angola assessing the impacts of climate variability on water resources and infrastructure in four coastal cities and developing governance recommendations.

1. IDRC’s Climate Change Work
Simon Carter
Regional Director, Regional Office for Sub-Saharan Africa
Luanda, March 2016

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 IDRC is a trailblazer in
research on adaptation
 Moving from pilot
initiatives to large scale
impact
 Supporting Canada’s
climate and development
agenda
Overview

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IDRC’s vision is about knowledge, innovation, and
solutions to improve the lives of people in the
developing countries.
Strategic Objective 1:
Invest in knowledge and innovation for large-scale
positive change
Strategic Objective 2:
Build the leaders for today and tomorrow
Strategic Objective 3:
Be the partner of choice for greater impact.
IDRC’s Strategic Objectives

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Climate Change and development are inter-connected
 Climate change threatens development gains
and livelihoods of poorest
 Mendelsohn et al. 2006 predict that poor
countries will suffer the bulk of the damages
from climate change
 Climate-related risks to the population are
likely to worsen in the future and it is important
to understand and prepare for them.
 Unfortunately, a dearth of relevant data has
made it difficult to assess these risks.

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Building on 10 years of adaptation research
$190M since 2006
Joint initiatives with UK Department for International
Development, Government of Canada
70
Developing countries across
Africa, Asia, and LAC
250
Adaptation options
identified/tested
1000
Researchers supported
165
Institutions to build evidence for decisions

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More than 250
options identified
through IDRC
research projects
on climate change
adaptation
Targeted to
planners, users
Public launch at
COP21
Compendium of adaptation options

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IDRC and Climate Change 2015 - 2020
• $70M, multiyear initiative (2012-2019)
• Four large consortia
• Partnership with DFID-UK
Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative for Africa and Asia (CARIAA)
• $7.5M initiative, delivered through an open competition
• Focused on municipal adaptation action on water, food and economic infrastructure
• Seeking funding partners to scale up the work
Cities and Climate Change
• Work with private sector, finance and business schools to mobilize private finance for
adaptation
• $1.5M initiative in initial year
• Seeking partners to grow this area of work
Private Sector Finance and Adaptation

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 This is an example of
innovations we have helped
develop in Uganda
 Award-winning research on use
of ICTs to help Ugandan farmers
plan, respond, and adapt to
prolonged drought
 Climate/market information
shared with more than 120,000
farmers
 Crop loss and damage down by
up to 67% in pilot districts
 Involvement and support from
different levels of government
Using ICTs to share climate data with farmers

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 The limited climate data available
shows that Angola's coastal areas
are experiencing low rainfall,
increasing pressure on water
supplies.
 IDRC is funding a 36 month CAD
$546,800 climate change project
focusing on the country’s coastal
settlements
 This project will assess the impact of
climate variability on water markets
and infrastructure in four Angolan
coastal cities - Luanda, Cabinda, and
Benguela/Lobito, and propose
changes to how water is governed.
Water Resource Management and the Changing Climate in
Angola's Coastal Settlements

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Key achievements of the Angola Project To-date
• The research team has
reconstructed climate &
other socio-economic data,
lost during Angola's
prolonged war, and
developed a comprehensive
national climate database
that has strengthened the
capacity to better inform
climate risk analysis and
policy development.
• The project has mapped
climatic risks and inadequate
access to quality water faced
by vulnerable communities in
the three coastal cities

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• Climate risk maps produced by the project are now in use by
local authorities and government planning units in Luanda
city to enhance provision of urban services
• The work is having significant policy impact in Angola:
• The research team developed Angola’s climate change
strategy & plan.
• The team also developed a "community water
management model" which has been adopted by
government as the new regulations for community-
level water management.
• Project team represented on steering committee of the
newly created government institution on climate
research and development - CETAC - in Huambo.
Key Achievements (Contd)

12. • Involving stakeholders – communities, government,
firms – in problem definition, data collection,
debate, decision making – works:
– changes the relationship with government, to one of co-
ownership of the problem
– collaborative search for better ways to address
challenges, threats and risks
– leads to identification of more viable solutions, more
efficiently
• Approaches are replicable – and could be taken to
scale as collaborative learning processes.
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Take-aways

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Learn more at www.idrc.ca/ccw
@IDRC_CRDI
@IDRC_Afrique
@waterandclimate