Iied dbsa project

6.4 Other community-level initiatives and research

The case studies illustrate the importance of exploring multiple factors when considering the impact of climate change on people’s livelihoods. It is also important not to lose sight of the fact that in some rural areas, the effects of climate change may well not be the primary stress on the environment and people. Current research in the semi-arid area of Namaqualand indicates that land use impacts to date have had a far more noticeable and significant influence on landscape form and function over the last hundred years, with hardly any area escaping some form of agricultural activity³³. Thus more effort needs to be placed on understanding how climate change will influence land use, given that this is the primary way in which people’s activities in the Namaqualand region impact on the environment.

In recognition of the inter-linked nature of climate change impacts, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has recently noted that agricultural production, energy, water supply and human health will be subjected to greater risk if programmes are not introduced to combat the "scourge of climate change" and desertification³⁴. The department has introduced eight pilot projects, estimated to cost R40 million, to rehabilitate the land and fight land degradation under the Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) programme. Some of these projects are based in the Sekhukhune district in Limpopo, the Mkhuze catchment area in KwaZulu-Natal and Machubeni catchment management in the Eastern Cape – thus in the three provinces with the highest levels of poverty in the country.

7. Identifying the tools that are working

“The tools you use will depend on how bad you think things will get and how fast. Tools are not static, they have to be dynamic.” Dr Guy Midgley, Global Change Research Group, South African National Biodiversity Institute

7.1 Introduction

Given that successful adaptation essentially requires implementation of sound sustainable development policies and practices, albeit with an additional emphasis on incorporating predicted climate change, in many cases what is required is not necessarily something new in the toolbox, but rather a climate-aware and effective use of existing mainstreaming tools. The case studies considered indicate the importance of participatory methodologies and action learning approaches, as is further discussed below. It will be important to adapt existing planning and assessment tools to meaningfully integrate climate change considerations. Developments in the field of vulnerability mapping and assessment possibly represent the emergence of ‘new’ tools. Clearly, as for mainstreaming of environment into development, different tools will need to be used at different stages – for example planning, implementation, and review. While it is likely that many tools and tactics will need to be applied in different developmental contexts, at different scales and levels, a discussion of the full range is beyond the scope of this paper. The focus here is on three key areas identified from the case studies and literature review as being critical areas to explore successful tools for adaptation to climate change, with a focus on poor and marginal people.

The three key areas considered in this section are:

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  Tools for integrating climate change considerations into development planning, with a focus on the local level
  
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  Tools useful at a community / grassroots level for integrating climate change adaptation into livelihood strategies
  
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  Tools for vulnerability assessment
  

7.2 Tools for integrating climate change considerations into local development planning

As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has noted, adaptation measures are seldom undertaken in response to climate change alone. They can, and indeed need to be, integrated within different sectors and strategies, such as water resource management, rural development and disaster management strategies. There is much experience to show that integration of cross-cutting issues into development planning can be extremely complex, and may be carried out in name only as it is often not understood by staff who have not been prepared for this.

At the local level in South Africa, the municipal integrated development plan (IDP) would appear to be the key mechanism for ensuring that climate change considerations are integrated into planning and development. In reality, however, most municipalities, especially those that encompass large rural tracts, are still in the early stages of a learning process towards more effective IDPs. To date, integration of sustainability issues into IDPs has been limited in general, despite some strong exceptions and a great deal of effort spent in developing toolkits for this purpose. A major constraint is the over-complexity of the toolkits, which in many cases are only suitable for well-resourced metropolitan levels. Other constraints are the lack of human resources in many municipalities, and lack of capacity and in some cases understanding amongst the staff who are in place. Ongoing assistance provided by national government often takes the form of advisors who are technically skilled in municipal budgeting and the workings of the IDP process, but not in sustainability matters³⁵. Given this situation, it would require new mechanisms and concerted effort to have an IDP document that includes climate change adaptation in a meaningful way. This would still not necessarily translate into implementation.
Bearing this in mind, what would be the best tools to improve climate mainstreaming at the local level? The strategic environmental assessment that is required to underpin the municipal spatial development framework (SDF)³⁶, which is an integral part of the IDP, would be one key leverage point. A specific mechanism is required to ensure that climate change imperatives form part of the SDF. High quality and accessible climate information will be an essential input to this. Even with this mechanism in place, much will come down to the levels of understanding of how ecological, social and economic systems are interconnected. Despite a positive elevation of environmental issues on the policy agenda, and some increases in awareness in society, we still have a long way to go in this regard. For example, South Africa has already lost more than 50% of its wetlands due to inappropriate development. Yet wetlands are an important part of our potential to adapt to climate change. The disconnect between the ecological and the economic worlds that has led to this situation will be a key constraint for adaptation to climate change, as indeed it is for the overarching goal of sustainable development. As indicated in particular by the Suid Bokkeveld case study, development based on a stronger ecological understanding at the outset and the more robust use of ecological knowledge linked to traditional practices is an important step to developing local adaptation strategies that are effective.
The above indicates the need to go back to the basics, whatever the level of integration. For example, Earthlife Africa has noted that tools like full-cost accounting and life cycle analysis are not being used in the current drive to push biofuels. This indicates that we have not been implementing the tools we do have – such as triple bottom line accounting³⁷. We need to be making policy decisions on basic principles – as indeed we are required to do by the National Environmental Management Act.
The 2000 Municipal Systems Act (MSA) entrenches participation as a central concept of integrated development planning. The Community-based Planning (CBP) methodology³⁸ provides municipalities with the means to strengthen the participatory aspects of their IDP, to give greater effect to the requirements of the MSA. Public participation is a key mechanism for integration of environmental concerns into the planning processes at all levels, and the case studies have indicated the importance of participatory processes at the community level in facilitating the development of effective local adaptation strategies. Given the necessary levels of support and informed participation, climate change could be an important focus point around which increased meaningful participation in local-level planning could be achieved.
Apart from the specific information and deliberative tools noted above, less formal tactics could be crucial, especially in the context of weak local institutions. The Suid Bokkeveld case study indicated the importance of proactive engagement with local government officials and councillors by development practitioners (and community members) engaged in action learning processes concerning adaptation to climate change. Building up positive relationships with the municipality through regular interaction is seen as an important step in the process of integration of adaptation into local-level planning³⁹.
“We have to start thinking as an organism in society.” Dr Guy Midgley, Global Change Research Group, South African National Biodiversity Institute

As the above quote indicates, tools that fully incorporate flexibility, such as adaptive management, are likely to be extremely important for adaptation to climate variability and change⁴⁰. Adaptive management has been taken to an extremely high level in the Kruger National Park, and involves scientists providing information to managers who then apply this in practice, with ongoing monitoring by scientists, who then re-assess possible options, and so on in a continuous cycle. It would be important to explore ways in which this approach could be implemented at the municipal level, particularly in climate-sensitive areas.

Regarding incentives for positive land use practices, the Biodiversity Planning Unit of the Botanical Society has advocated for land tax incentives as powerful tools to engage landowners in securing areas of high biodiversity value for conservation. To roll such policy out would require established criteria for sound land use practices in climate sensitive areas. Building on the positive achievements of the Fair Trade movements, “waterwise” labelling for agricultural commodities produced in ways that do not contribute to the abstraction of groundwater in excess of the natural capacity for recharge can be an important alternative market-led incentive.