Thomas Tanner

• BA, MSc, PhD, FRGS, FHEA, FRSA
• SOAS University of London

In contrast to the dominant ‘vulnerability narrative’ applied to studies of gender, age, and other intersectional characteristics in determining differentiated impacts of climate change, there is growing attention to the agency and voices of young people in the context of their development futures in a changing climate. This paper draws on Feminist...

This WRI working paper analyzes the full benefits of climate change adaptation investments, divided into three types of dividends. It shows that the benefits that accrue even when the anticipated disaster does not occur are often larger than the “avoided losses” that accrue when disaster does strike. This is important since it shows that the benefi...

DOWNLOAD AT https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/32627/1/Schipper%20et%20al%202020%20Is%20Global%20Development%20Adapting%20to%20Climate%20Change%20AAM.pdf The debate about the relationship between adaptation to climate change and development has been ongoing for over two decades. Adaptation is about risk reduction, the pursuit of opportunity and rethinkin...

Climate change research is at an impasse. The transformation of economies and everyday practices is more urgent, and yet appears ever more daunting as attempts at behaviour change, regulations, and global agreements confront material and social-political infrastructures that support the status quo. Effective action requires new ways of conceptualiz...

One way to make development pathways more resilient in the face of a changing climate has been through mainstreaming adaptation into government policies, planning and sectoral decision‐making. To date, many of the transferable lessons have taken the form of technical approaches such as risk assessments and toolkits. This article instead draws on ev...

Forecast-based early action' (FbA) is emerging among humanitarian and disaster risk management practitioners as an approach that can reduce the impact of shocks on vulnerable people and their livelihoods, improve the effectiveness of emergency preparedness, response and recovery efforts, and reduce the humanitarian burden. • This paper investigates...

To date, many of the transferable lessons on mainstreaming climate change adaptation into government policy and programming have been in the form of technical approaches such as risk assessments and toolkits. In contrast, this paper provides an empirically informed review of some of the more tacit and informal approaches used to influence adaptatio...

This paper explores how survey data based on people’s perceptions can inform understanding and policy-making on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation. We are able to distinguish four areas of policy and practice where such data has made particularly valuable contributions. 1. Science: Ground-truthing and informing more scientific ap...

Resilience has a long history but has emerged in the past decade to become a more widely adopted concept to underpin policies and projects, particularly in international development contexts. This working paper summarises some of the challenges and debates based on a review of recent academic literature. The paper highlights the multiple and somet...

The aim of this paper is to analyse the emergence of the concept of ‘urban resilience’ in the literature and to assess its potentials and limitations as an element of policy planning. Using a systematic literature review covering the period 2003-2013 and a combination of techniques derived from narrative analysis we show that diverse views of what...

How should we measure a household’s resilience to climate extremes, climate change or other evolving threats? As resilience gathers momentum on the international stage, interest in this question continues to grow. So far, efforts to measure resilience have largely focused on the use of ‘objective’ frameworks and methods of indicator selection. Thes...

Why aren’t we investing more in disaster resilience, despite the rising costs of disaster events? This book argues that decision-makers in governments, businesses, households, and development agencies tend to focus on avoiding losses from disasters, and perceive the return on investment as uncertain – only realised if a somewhat unlikely disaster e...

To secure development gains and help eradicate poverty in the long run, it is critical to strengthen ex-ante disaster risk management (DRM) measures that build resilience at the household, firm and macro level. Decision-makers however often view DRM investments as a gamble that pays off only in the event of a disaster. This is despite increasing ev...

The development progress achieved by many countries, and particularly by low-income countries, is at risk of being undermined or even wiped out by the range of shocks and resulting crises they face. Since the turn of the millennium, there has been growing recognition of the importance of climate and disaster risks for development progress; the glob...

This working paper identifies and explores the issues that should be considered when undertaking ethical research involving children in humanitarian settings. Both the universal (i.e. relevant to all research involving children) and specific ethical issues that may arise when involving children in research in humanitarian settings are examined. Thi...

As a part of the 2013/2014 Resilience Academy, participants collaborated on a wide variety of research topics which resulted in a UNU-EHS working paper series published earlier this year together with a conceptual piece on “Livelihood resilience in the face of climate change”, which appeared in Nature Climate Change. Besides the working papers the...

Many sub-Saharan countries are failing to include climate information in long-term development planning. Ensuring climate-resilient development requires a step change in how medium- to long-term climate information is produced, communicated and utilized in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere.

This paper presents an explanatory framework for measuring resilient outcomes that embraces and makes sense of the current diversity in resilience approaches. Here, outcomes from BRACED projects are understood to be a set of interrelated resilience capacities – the capacity to adapt to, anticipate and absorb climate extremes and disasters (the 3As)...

Measuring the resilience of systems to shocks and stresses presents numerous challenges. The term itself has multiple meanings and is imbued with complex theoretical assumptions that are difficult to analyse and measure. This paper deploys a robust analytical framework to review 43 resilience frameworks that can be used to measure, evaluate, test,...

An appropriate indicator for target 1.5 is needed. This paper provides one proposal as a first step to stimulate further debate. We outline a comprehensive approach for developing a cross-sectoral, multi-dimensional and dynamic understanding of resilience. This underpins the core message of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that development...

Ecosystem services (ES) are the benefits provided by ecosystems that contribute to making human life possible and worth living (MA, 2005). The concept of ES and the benefits these flows bring to humans is a burgeoning area of research. However, the exact ways in which different ES act to enhance people’s lives are not yet clear. Human resilience ca...

The resilience concept requires greater attention to human livelihoods if it is to address the limits to adaptation strategies and the development needs of the planet’s poorest and most vulnerable people. Although the concept of resilience is increasingly informing research and policy, its transfer from ecological theory to social systems leads to...

Young people regularly face great hurdles to get their voices heard, while research and practice in the disaster and climate change community commonly represent young people as passive victims requiring protection. Consequently, their capacities to inform decision-making processes, communicate risks to their communities and take direct action to re...

How should we measure a household’s resilience? As resilience gathers momentum on the international stage, interest in this question continues to grow. So far, efforts to measure resilience have largely focused on the use of ‘objective’ frameworks and methods of indicator selection. These typically depend on a range of observable socioeconomic vari...

This paper advocates for the use of one such alternative: the measurement of ‘subjective’ resilience at the household level. The concept of subjective resilience stems from the premise that people have a good understanding of the factors that contribute to their ability to anticipate, buffer and adapt to disturbance and change. Subjective house...

While the impacts of climate change are being felt by people and communities now, many of the most severe impacts will be felt in the decades to come. This presents significant barriers to achieving long-term development objectives – particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with low capacity to adapt to the future impacts of climate change. Fac...

The resilience concept requires greater attention to human livelihoods if it is to address the limits to adaptation strategies and the development needs of the planet’s poorest and most vulnerable people. Although the concept of resilience is increasingly informing research and policy, its transfer from ecological theory to social systems leads to...

The impacts of climate change in Africa will be significant and long-term (see for example www.cdkn.org/ar5-toolkit for some headline messages for Africa). Long-lived infrastructure and development planning are likely to be particularly aff ected. Factoring climate change into their design and implementation is, therefore, vital to development outc...

Interest in prospects for policy processes that contribute to development, climate change adaptation and mitigation, known as ‘climate compatible development’, has been growing in response to increasing awareness of the impacts of climate change. This paper provides insight into the complex political economy of climate compatible development in Gha...

Resilience is receiving substantial traction as a concept to inform climate change and development policies and programmes. At the same time, a number of critiques have emerged that question its use as a framing concept for tackling urban climate change. This paper reflects on climate resilience and its critiques through an examination of the Asian...

This book addresses the two greatest challenges of our time – averting catastrophic climate change and eradicating poverty – and the close interconnections between them. The evidence for human-induced climate change is now overwhelming, the brunt of its impact is already being felt by poor people, and the case for urgent action is compelling. This...

Young people regularly face great hurdles to get their voices heard, while research and practice in the disaster and climate change community commonly represent young people as passive victims requiring protection. Consequently, their capacities to inform decision-making processes, communicate risks to their communities and take direct action to re...

Chapter available at: https://books.google.ca/books?id=_Ci-0HlKVjcC&pg=PT68&dq=info:kHdGADcunoIJ:scholar.google.com&lr=&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false The shift to low carbon development implies winners and losers. This chapter explores some of the different dimensions and interpretations of equity and social justice in the context of...

Following three major disasters in 2007, Bangladesh intensified its effort to tackle climate change through development of the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP). The process of plan formulation led to debates nationally and internationally regarding the financing and integration of climate change into development planning....

This chapter describes a systematic screening approach to assess and manage the potential impact of climate change on development projects and programmes, piloted in the water sector in China. The adaptation screening framework was piloted in three phases, which operate at increasing levels of detail. The three phases are rapid qualitative analysis...

Adaptive Social Protection refers to efforts to integrate social protection (SP), disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA), the need for which is increasingly recognised by practitioners and academics. Relying on 124 agricultural programmes implemented in five countries in Asia, this article considers how these elements are...

The term ‘resilience’ is increasingly used in the context of discussion, policies and programming around climate change adaptation1 (‘adaptation’) and disaster risk reduction2. It has become particularly popular to describe the intersection between these two fields and those of poverty and development, and ‘climate resilient development’ is rapidly...

What follows are a few individual reflections from the authors of articles in this IDS Bulletin on why they used action research approaches and/or some of the critical issues that they see as important.

Recent research and practice from the fields of climate change adaptation and disaster management has created a shift from emphasis of children's vulnerability and need for protection towards their potential as agents of change before, during and after disaster events. This article examines lessons from action research into children's agency in dis...

Executive Summary Actions that range from incremental steps to transformational changes are essential for reducing risk from weather and climate extremes (high agreement, robust evidence). [8.6, 8.7] Incremental steps aim to improve efficiency within existing technological, governance, and value systems, whereas transformation may involve alteratio...

Following three major disasters in 2007, Bangladesh intensified its effort to tackle climate change through development of the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP). The process of plan formulation led to debates nationally and internationally regarding the financing and integration of climate change into development planning....

The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (known collectively as REDD+) initiative has emerged as a means through which individuals, projects and communities in developing countries can be financially rewarded for reducing emissions from deforestation, forest degradation and enhancement of carbon stock. In this article, we an...

In this article, the authors propose a new political economy of climate change and development in which explicit attention is given to the way that ideas, power and resources are conceptualised, negotiated and implemented by different groups at different scales. The climate change and development interface warrants such attention because of its imp...

Development planners and project managers have used a wide variety of tools to manage a broad range of environmental risks, including those posed by climate variability, for a long time. Some of these tools have also now been modified to take into account the risks posed by climate change. At the same time, there has been a recent emphasis in devel...

Children and young people are commonly treated in the climate change and disasters literature as victims of natural events requiring protection by adults. This article critiques that narrative, drawing on examples from the Philippines and El Salvador that explore how children’s groups have responded to such issues through child-centred initiatives....

Disaster management has been dominated by top-down relief efforts targeted at adults, who are assumed to be attuned to the needs of their families and the wider community, and to act harmoniously to protect their immediate and longterm interests. Whilst a growing number of development approaches focus on reducing the risk of disasters, they tend to...

Apart from the case studies, an additional output of the Linking Climate Adaptation (LCA) Project was to identify the longer-term research agenda needed to support community-led adaptation. One aim of sharing this agenda here is to catalyse discussions among a wider group active in the climate change, development and disaster/humanitarian relief co...

Reliance on subsistence agriculture means the impact of stresses and shocks (such as droughts or floods) are felt keenly by rural poor people, who depend directly on food system outcomes for their survival, with profound implications for the security of their livelihoods and welfare. However, such stresses and shocks will not necessarily lead to ne...

Development actors are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of climate-related shocks and stresses on their activities. Accordingly, tools and methods are emerging to support decision-making to integrate climate adaptation concerns within poverty reduction plans, programmes and projects. These provide information and guidance to help assess ri...

Social protection initiatives in the context of agriculture are unlikely to succeed in reducing poverty if they do not consider the multiple risks an both short- and long-term shocks and stresses associated with climate change and natural disaster By exploring linkages between climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and social protection...

Understanding poverty is central to living in a changing climate. Climate change impacts are unevenly distributed globally and nationally, creating both justice-based and instrumental imperatives for action to adapt human and natural systems (adaptation) in ways that also contribute to poverty reduction. We argue that adaptation will be ineffective...

Rapidly expanding urban settlements in the developing world face severe climatic risks in light of climate change. Urban populations will increasingly be forced to cope with increased incidents of flooding, air and water pollution, heat stress and vector-borne diseases. This research, undertaken with a set of partner research institutes, examines h...

En el ámbito de desastres, los niños y jóvenes han sido representados como víctimas pasivas de los eventos 'naturales'. Como tal, la preocupación se ha enfocado principalmente en la protección de la niñez durante y después de un desastre. Este artículo vincula experiencias de participación de grupos juveniles en los procesos de desarrollo con el en...

In the context of climate change, the poorest people are commonly seen as having the least capacity to adapt. However, to date, there has been a limited examination of the dynamic and differentiated nature of poverty. Through bringing together both the chronic poverty and adaptation literature, this article presents a new pro-poor adaptation resear...

Drawing on other articles in this IDS Bulletin and on exchanges through the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) research network on poverty and adaptation, this article presents a series of questions and issues that contribute to a research agenda on pro-poor adaptation. In dividing these into delivery, justice, differentiation, growth a...

Based on the project “Screening for Climate Change Adaptation”, an adaptation assessment and management framework applied to impacts of climate change on water resources in China was developed. It includes the qualitative description and analysis, semi-quantitative and quantitative analyses of the potential impacts of future climate change on water...

The need to mainstream adaptation to climate change into development planning and ongoing sectoral decision-making is increasingly recognised, and several bilateral and multilateral development agencies are starting to take an interest. Over the past years at least six development agencies have screened their project portfolios, generally with two...

There are growing efforts to reduce negative impacts and seize opportunities by integrating climate change adaptation into development planning, programmes and budgeting, a process known as mainstreaming. Such a co-ordinated, integrated approach to adaptation is imperative in order to deal with the scale and urgency of dealing with climate change i...

Structural adjustment and neoliberal policy implementation in Latin America have had dramatic consequences for livelihoods and patterns of natural resource use in mountain regions. Restructuring of the agricultural economy has increased socio-economic hardship and reduced industrial labour requirements, altering traditional patterns of seasonal mig...