How are some cities and communities in Asia and the Pacific coping with the effects of climate change?
The paper, “A Region at Risk: The Human Dimensions of Climate Change in Asia and Pacific” that the Asian Development Bank, published in 2017, looks into the present situation in Asia and the Pacific as they come to grips with the effects of the changing climate.
The coming decade is very crucial according to the paper for implementing adequate mitigation measures to deliver on the Paris agreement. One of the most important steps to this is the decarbonization of the Asian economy.
It mentions that the countries in Asia that are most vulnerable to climate change according to the paper are: Myanmar, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Thailand.
The paper looks in detail into these countries’ geography, population and migration trends, and their economy; projections and observations in the change of climate such as rising sea levels, an increasing number of typhoons coming each year, melting glaciers in the Asian alps, rainfall and flooding and ultimately affects the people, their health, migration, and agriculture.
Read the paper to know their recommendations on how to deal with climate change and mitigate its impact, specifically, in building resilience both structurally and non-structurally. With the former coming up with integrated assessments, implementation of early warning systems, and improved data collection among many others. And the latter with regards to infrastructure resilience such as the implementation of building codes, land use planning, and building and maintaining climate-resilient infrastructures.
It also investigates the infrastructure networks that will be impacted by climate change and variability, so building resilience in these vulnerable infrastructures is essential. There is much benefit to building resilience in infrastructure as these reduce direct losses, as well as indirect costs, brought about by disruption, the report mentions.
What would spark your interest are the recommendations with regards to infrastructure resilience and adaptation that the paper presented. It mentions the following:
- Regarding the new infrastructure assets incorporating climate resilience should be prioritized.
- For existing infrastructure, it should be retrofitted for climate adaptation.
- Additional infrastructure activities would be strengthening or construction of seawalls, putting up hard defences on structures vulnerable to extreme weather conditions and adapting nature-based solutions such as improving mangroves for coastal protection.
The paper also states that investing in resilience outweighs costs with significant benefit-cost rations. For example, the cost of building flood defences far exceeds the damage brought about by inundation. Climate-resilient infrastructure is those that are planned, designed, anticipate and adapt to the changing climate conditions. It is also a continuing process.
This paper has some important and very informative data that give a very clear picture of the present situation of the cities and communities in Asia and the Pacific and presents effective recommendations on climate mitigation and adaptation. We encourage you to have a read through.
You can download a free copy of the report by clicking on this link:
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