adelphi and ICCCAD hold climate fragility roundtable in Dhaka
On 19 November in Dhaka, adelphi partnered with the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) to hold a roundtable and discussion on climate change and fragility risks in South Asia.
The consultation dialogue event, which took place at the Ascott Palace Hotel, was convened in the framework of the Climate Diplomacy Initiative (supported by the German Federal Foreign Office). The goal was to deepen the understanding of national and regional concerns and priorities and best practices in the face of climate change-related security impacts, as well as to discuss potential strategies and solutions relevant to the South Asian context.
There were 31 participants from academia/research organisations, international and national NGOs and civil society organisations, donors and international and multilateral organisations. They highlighted two key climate-fragility risks in particular.
First, management of transboundary water resources. The countries of South Asia often rely on the same water supply and there is real potential for disagreement over supply. At the moment, each country tends to put its own political priorities first even though joint river basin management is the best way to meet everyone’s needs.
Second, climate-induced migration, especially from rural to urban areas. Dhaka receives over 1,000 migrants a day, and Bangladesh is also hosting Rohingya populations in the southern part of the country, where anti-migrant sentiment is growing among communities who themselves are negatively affected by climate change impacts.
Regional experts picked out improved education as one of the most important responses. Education is a means to give youth—especially girls—the tools and capacities they need to address these issues in the future. Any policy interventions must also take into account political economy dynamics and power relations: marginalised people living in poverty will struggle to take effective climate action.
adelphi Senior Project Manager Dr. Beatrice Mosello presented the Climate Security Expert Network (CSEN)'s South Asia risk brief, while Senior Project Manager Lukas Rüttinger gave welcome remarks alongside Dr. Saleemul Huq of ICCCAD, also a member of the CSEN.
Satellite analysis shows ‘vanishing’ lake has grown since 1990s, but climate instability is driving communities into the arms of Boko Haram and Islamic State. Climate change is aggravating conflict around Lake Chad, but not in the way experts once thought, according to new research.
US breaks from Arctic consensus on climate change
At a meeting of the Arctic Council, secretary of state Mike Pompeo refused to identify global warming as a threat, instead hailing an oil rush as sea ice melts. The US refused to join other Arctic countries in describing climate change as a key threat to the region, as a two-day meeting of foreign ministers drew to a close on Tuesday in Ravaniemi, Finland.
Around 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood, and about 2.6 billion people rely directly on agriculture. Deforestation, land degradation, and unsustainable management of ecosystems threaten those livelihoods and may contribute to resource-related conflicts and social unrest.
Climate Diplomacy Podcast 3: Populism and Climate Change
Right-wing populist parties are already part of the governments of seven EU member states and are expected to make up a quarter of MEPs after the European elections in May 2019. In this episode host Martin Wall talks to the authors of an explorative study on the the voices and the weight of right-wing populist parties in the formulation of European climate policy.