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Urbanization is increasing the vulnerability in mega cities, where poor community often squat on low-lying areas, hilly areas, and hazards prone areas (IDNDR, 1999). The built infrastructures and systems are subjected to natural hazards: floods, earthquakes, landslides, cyclones etc. Thus, cities are vulnerable to disasters (IDNDR, 1999). Moreover, cities are also facing environmental risks due to increasing urbanization (Bhatt, Gupta, & Sharma, 1999). The vulnerability can be reduced by incorporating risk management into urban planning (Bhatt et al., 1999). The risk management includes risk analysis, prevention, and preparedness. Traditionally, risk management was seen as separate discipline to mainstream urban planning (Bhatt et al., 1999). The traditional urban planning is often good at making plans (city beautiful plans, land use plans, strategic plans, development plans) and regulatory controls (Hamdi & Goethert, 1997). However, they fail to deliver benefit at the ground. Only few benefits reach the poor, who are often considered as the most vulnerable in the cities. The urban planning can be improved with an alternative: action planning, which is “problem driven, community based, participatory, small in scale, fast, and incremental, with result that is tangible, immediate, and sustainable” (Hamdi & Goethert, 1997). The action planning is often considered relevant in scaling up its outcome from local level to sectoral and national level. This chapter focuses on linking action planning and community-based adaptation. The community can be defined as “a group of people that are directly linked to each other through a common identity, activity or interest” (Jones & Rehman, 2007). The adaptation here is used in context of climate change, which is already happening, and impacts are growing (IPCC, 2001). The community-based adaptation is process oriented and “based on communities’ priorities, needs, knowledge, and capacities, which should empower people to plan for and cope with the impact of climate change” (Reid et al., 2009). This chapter first briefly discusses the action planning process and its challenges. Further, the chapter discusses the action planning in detail. Later the chapter focuses on framework and tools for community-based adaptation. It also discusses few case studies and challenges and issues. Finally, the chapter tries to build a link between action planning and community-based adaptation.

Drawing on qualitative fieldwork on a remote outer island in Fiji, this paper aims to address a shortcoming in the literature on climate adaptation in the Pacific. Internationally community-based adaptation (CBA) is recognised as a promising approach to help vulnerable populations adjust to climate change. However, with pilot projects in their infancy documented experience for Pacific Islands remains scarce. This limits the ability of the region – faced with persisting development challenges and predicted significant climate impacts – to learn from and build on previous experiences and develop robust responses to climate change.

By using a community-based initiative in response to environmental challenges and unsustainable development as a proxy, the paper interrogates the potential usefulness of the CBA framework for the Pacific and identifies potential strengths and weaknesses. Sketching out the process and its outcomes, it shows how the initiative has resulted in a diversity of strategies, ranging from pollution control measures, to improved governance of resources and community participation in decision making, to livelihood and income diversification.

Findings indicate that CBA could have a lot of potential for building more resilient communities in the face of climate change and other pressures associated with modernising Pacific societies. However, to be effective, interventions should pay attention to people’s development aspirations; immediate economic, social and environmental benefits; dynamics of village governance, social rules and protocols; and traditional forms of knowledge that can inform sustainable solutions.

The conclusions provide a reflection on the CBA framework in general and make concrete suggestions for practitioners on how the framework could be usefully implemented in the Pacific context.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light onto the policy context of mainstreaming community-based adaptation (CBA) in Nepal. Scaling up CBA needs strong policy support.

The content and processes of Nepal’s development policies and climate change policies and programmes were examined. The policy analysis was supported by a literature review, review of policy documents and interviews and discussions undertaken with policy-makers, practitioners and communities.

Findings show that despite a lack of clear focus on climate change, the decentralization provisions and bottom-up practices within Nepal’s development policies and plans could be the entry points for mainstreaming CBA. However, experience shows that decentralization alone is insufficient because it benefits only a few institutions and individuals, while marginalizing the real beneficiaries. One of the policy conditions to mainstreaming CBA in development is to ensure that there are specific provisions for decentralization and inclusive devolution that can provide power and authority to local institutions and communities to make independent decisions and benefit the needy. There should also be mandatory legal provisions, endorsed by a country’s government, for an inclusive, citizen-centric, participatory and bottom-up policy-making process that involves the most vulnerable households and communities.

This paper is of relevance to policy-makers and practitioners in Nepal seeking to make informed policy decisions on effectively mainstreaming CBA into development. The analysis provided of the synergy and trade-offs within existing policy provisions and processes can be used to guide the government and stakeholders in Nepal and other least developed countries (LDCs) in creating favorable national- and local-level policies and action plans.

Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization in different parts of the world over the past several decades, there have been serious effects on climate. Available observational evidences indicate that regional changes in climate, particularly fluctuations in temperature and rainfall, have already affected a diverse set of physical and biological systems in many parts of the world. International communities have tried to respond to these changing phenomena by establishing high-level Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Numerous global treaties and protocols have been formulated on climate change in different countries. However, climate change impacts are found to be most severe in the grassroots-level community, in the form of natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and typhoons/cyclones, which affect the lives and livelihoods of people. Indirect impacts of climate change are observed in the form of increasing poverty and health issues in different ecosystems. Although communities are equipped with traditional knowledge and wisdom, new practices and policies are required to enable them to cope with the changing climate, thereby providing them with means to sustain their livelihoods.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the local-level initiatives through coastal afforestation, the natural and socio-economic context of the study area (Hatiya Upazila of Noakhali District, Bangladesh) and the adaptation and DRR strategies generated through coastal afforestation in coastal Bangladesh.

Field observations, focus group discussions (FGDs), semi-structured interviews, and transects were accomplished in both the dry and wet season. Spatial database generated and land use mapping integrated social and technical investigation. Five FDG sessions with participants from different livelihood options (fishermen, farmers and social representatives) were organised and, on average, 15~18 participants participated in each participatory session.

Mangrove plantation can be used to access new land and create alternative livelihoods, which are important for local community adaptation and to reduce disaster risks. Mangrove plantations provide chances for new land management options to be developed for use in Bangladesh.

This study was conducted only at the south-central coastal district of Bangladesh. Data collection to summarise all the socio-economic issues is limited.

This paper can be used for the integration of geospatial and social research techniques to understand the community approach to fight against climate change-induced impacts.

The research is solely conducted by the authors. The conducted approach is a blend of social and technical knowledge and techniques in generating community resilience at the south-central coast of Bangladesh.

Climate change and variability are both a developmental and an environmental issue. Adaptation to climate change and variability has gained a prominent place on global and local policy agendas, evolving from mainly climate risks impacts and vulnerability assessments to mainly adaptation action, imposing new defies to higher education (HE). The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Climate Vulnerability, Impact, and Adaptation (VIA) Network (CliVIA-Net), a South American university-based coalition aimed at achieving a science for/of adaptation.

CliVIA-Net is a collaborative effort by academic groups from across the spectrum of the natural, social and health sciences focused on improving climate VIA on education, research and practice. In consonance with international literature and practices, the network shifted from a discipline-oriented approach to an interdisciplinary and Earth System Science (ESS)-oriented one. It seeks to advance fundamental understanding and participatory practice-oriented research and to develop a problem orientation question/solving answering methodology. A set of cases studies illustrates how CliVIA-Net faces adaptation and sustainability challenges in the twenty-first century.

Focusing on interdisciplinary graduate education, practice-oriented research and problem orientation practice on climate threats which are already threatening the environment, population’s well-being and sustainability, allows for the co-production of knowledge and solutions, as well stakeholders’ buy-in and commitment.

CliVIA-Net draws upon the results of evolving interdisciplinary approaches on global change and VIA education, the research partnership with stakeholders and decision-makers to develop environmental and health outcomes, e.g. vulnerability indicators and scenario planning.

This chapter highlights ecosystem-based adaptation in coastal Bangladesh aimed at securing climate and disaster-resilient environment for safer life and livelihood for vulnerable communities in the face of changing climate. Development intervention based on the opportunities offered by the nature and adaptation management plan from the perspective of vulnerability analysis can make a substantive difference in enhancing resilience. Engagement of broad-based stakeholders at vertical and horizontal levels in building adaptive capacity can be linked through both at the policy and institutional levels as well as at ecosystem levels for effective results. Innovation in convergence of disaster risk reduction and adaptation through fish, fruit, and forest as a part of livelihood integrated into the coastal afforestation ensure better livelihood in a safer coastal habitats. Such forest-based adaptive livelihood and carbon sequestration help land development that is promising to offset the sea level rise due to higher rate of siltation. Climate resilient habitat is another innovative initiative that protects the households, and their livelihood is protected by eco-engineering structures and green defense to make it safer from cyclone and tidal surge.

Poverty, business strategy and sustainable development. International development planning and poverty alleviation strategies have moved beyond centralised, top-down approaches and now emphasise decentralised, community-based approaches that incorporate actors from the community, government, non-governmental agencies and business. Collective action by Bottom of the Pyramid residents gives them greater control in self-managing environmental commons and addressing the problems of environmental degradation. Co-creation and engaging in deep dialogue with stakeholders offer significant potential for launching new businesses and generating mutual value. The case study rests on the tenets of corporate social responsibility. It serves as an example of corporate best practices towards ensuring environmental sustainability and community engagement for providing livelihood support and well-being. It illustrates the tool kit for building community-based adaptive capacities against climate change.

The field-based case study was prepared from inputs received from detailed interviews of company functionaries. Company documents were shared by the company and used with their permission. Secondary data was accessed from newspapers, journal articles available online and information from the company website.

The case study is about the coming together of several vital agencies working in forest and wildlife conservation, climate change adaptation planning for ecosystems and communities, social upliftment and corporate social responsibility in the Kanha Pench landscape of Madhya Pradesh in Central India. The case traces several challenges. First, the landscape is degrading rapidly; it requires urgent intervention to revive it. Second, the human inhabitants are strained with debilitating poverty. Third, the long-term sustainability of the species of tigers living in the protected tiger reserves of Kanha and Pench needs attention as human-animal conflicts rise.

The case would help undergraduate and postgraduate students studying sustainability and corporate social responsibility.