Achieving climate change and disaster resilience:
Understanding governance in developing countries at local and national levels Climate change – and the likely increase in disasters - is currently threatening to derail development.
October 2008
The Climate and Disaster Governance Programme has been launched today. It will help policy-makers and civil society organisations understand how different governance arrangements can make development more resilient to climate change and disasters. The programme is a joint initiative by the Institute of Development Studies and Christian Aid.
CDG provides a platform for collaborative research and information-sharing. It asks critical questions to ensure the most vulnerable people and communities are at the forefront of efforts to tackle risks from climate and disasters.
2009 presents a critical policy time frame, with the review in June of the Hyogo Framework for Action: Building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters, and the development in December of a post-Kyoto agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Governments, citizens and donors need to understand what these agreements mean for national and local level poverty reduction efforts.
A detailed understanding of local politics, power relations and resources is required to ensure that international funds and policy frameworks are accessed by the most vulnerable groups.
To address this CDG begins by focusing its research on the role of accountability and citizen engagement through mechanisms such as multi-stakeholder forums and of social protection policy instruments such as micro-insurance schemes. Research is also assessing opportunities and barriers to effective responses in fragile states, where some of the people most vulnerable to climate impacts reside.
To promote research in these areas, CDG also offers research bursaries to support developing country researchers on topics that fall under or across the programme’s research themes. Bursaries are available to both students engaged in post-graduate studies and development practitioners with experience in relevant sectors.
CDG partners invite you to collaborate on or across CDG’s research themes, and to share resources and information through the programme’s website.
Contact us for more information
