Side Event

Identifying Impacts and Planning Adaptive Management Responses to Climate Change in Asia and Africa

Organizer
BirdLife International, MacArthur Foundation

Date and Time
27 October 2010 18:15 - 19:45

Meeting
Tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 10)

Presentation of the results of recent and on-going work that has examined the projected impacts of climate change on the distribution of birds and other biodiversity throughout Africa and Asia, and the resilience of the network of Important Bird Areas across the two regions. An Adaptive Management Framework is under development for species and ecosystems as a model for guiding biodiversity management strategies and actions. BirdLife’s information-sharing platform ‘Africa Climate Exchange’ will be explained – a one stop website on Climate Change and biodiversity in Africa. Birds and biodiversity will clearly be impacted by climate change but they are also part of the solution. Case studies will be presented from BirdLife Partners in selected countries from the two regions providing compelling evidence of the roles that ecosystems play in climate change adaptation through protecting the natural resource base, providing alternative livelihood options, and maintaining resilience to future climate change. Experiences from these countries will demonstrate how supporting the application of local knowledge and community engagement and action can build solutions to help communities, countries and economies adapt to the challenges of climate change.