Front cover photo: Simon Matzinger, ‘Old town of Quito’. (CC BY 2.0) | Layout: Green Ink (www.greenink.co.uk) l l l Key messages Carolina (CDKN) Proaño-Castro Author: is one output of the learning programme. isoneoutput ofthelearning Inside Story For more intheseries, visit www.cdkn.org/cdkn_series/inside-story ICLEI –Local Governments for have Sustainability setupa jointprogramme learning to distilandshare theselessonswithothers. This development andclimate-resilient better understandingwhatwork efforts makeslow-carbon well at thesubnational level. CDKNand CDKN hasagrowing ofwork instates, portfolio provinces, iscommitted to thelessons learned, It capturing andto citiesanddistricts. l l l vulnerability. understanding ofclimate change women’s andmen’s individual of evidence, aswell asboth diversity ofviews andsources options that take account ofthe adaptation solutionsby identifying implementation ofclimate Quito hasenhanced itspractical than justrecipients ofinformation. intheprocess ratherparticipants from were theMunicipality active priorities; andtechnical authorities Municipality’s demands, needsand final outputs responded to the reasons: themethodologyand ofQuito for twoDistrict main effectivelyMetropolitan inthe been legitimised andtaken up Quito’s evidence vulnerability has information generated. institutional ownership ofthe can buildtrustandfacilitate support, andexternal local experts manner, involving localauthorities, questions inaparticipatory indicators andkey policy-relevant that developing city-level tailored ground. Quito hasdemonstrated onthe into meaningfulactions andbetranslated cycle policy information canfeed into the of how climate vulnerability The ofQuito isagoodexample city political context. political local the with fit asuccessful and stakeholders; other and experts by, involvement of,coordination; ownership technical thus and local intersectoral sustained of importance the particularly learned, lessons some and study’smethodology the time first the for describes study knowledgebase. and tothe gaps fillThe in following case vulnerability and impacts climate on research of pieces separate to consolidate study vulnerability aclimate with assisting been has CDKN Plan, Quito’s of design five-year Action participatory the with assistance Following change. climate with dealing for scenarios priority and strategic district’s the DMQ(CDKN) to progress with working been has development. The Climate and Development Knowledge Network urban compatible climate sustainable and integrated in commitment and DMQ) Quito, de leadership shown has Metropolitano (Distrito Quito of District Metropolitan the impacts, change climate such with Faced security. and health availability, water human and infrastructure, ecosystems, agricultural affects production, and indirectly directly patterns climate city’s the in 1.3°C. change around of This increase average an temperature experienced has Quito century, past the Over Environmental Agenda 2011–2016 Agenda Environmental its in mitigation and adaptation and it has set ambitious goals for 2009 and Action Plan its in 2012, Climateits Change Strategy in management. Quito adopted climate change and knowledge framework prioritises local DMQ’s and regulatory policy development urban compatible climate in –aleader Quito of District Metropolitan Lessons from Quito onclimateActing vulnerability: plan (2015–2025).plan and development and land-use 2 In 2010, the INSIDE STORIES 1

Pact, Municipality signed the Mexico City in 2016, in of the UN Habitat III conference Climate Group Leadership subscriptionIts to the C40 Cities nationwide in June 2011. initiative Climate Quito Pact the up change. Quito was pioneer, a scaling governance to address climate institutional and its capacity Sustainability ICLEI – Local Governments for Foundation resilient by the city Rockefeller 3 committing to strengthen 7 and recognition its as a development 8 are further examples of of examples further are 6 (see Box 1), hosting its compatible on climate December 2017 4 5 and and

Box 1: The Compact of Mayors (geoportal) with the aim of scaling up this process to other sectors within DMQ, and beyond Quito to other local During COP21, the Municipality of Quito was awarded the certification for full governments. The authorities were compliance with the Compact of Mayors initiative, following a verification of involved in identifying the key policy- its progress on issues of climate change (such as vulnerability analysis, carbon relevant questions and designing footprint inventory, local climate action plan, and climate change policies and goals). The Compact of Mayors is an initiative created by the United Cities indicators. and Local Governments (UCLG), ICLEI and C40 global city networks, together with UN Habitat, with the aim of calling on local and regional governments The study aimed to translate the throughout the world to take action for the climate, and to monitor assessed vulnerability into concrete progress in a transparent and standardised manner. The Compact of Mayors actions by answering the following certification, which to date has been received by some 50 cities, marks a policy-relevant questions: strengthening of Quito’s local institutional capacity on climate change issues, and a degree of importance regarding the knowledge generated on the issue, Water: How vulnerable is Quito’s which contributes to the sustainable territorial development the Metropolitan potable water system to future District of Quito aims to achieve. changes in both water supply and water demand?

Agriculture: How sensitive are key the Municipality’s commitment to sectoral studies that used a variety of crops produced in the Quito region to sustainability and climate compatible different methodologies, there was a changes in growth cycles associated development. need to pull the information together with rising temperatures? to inform integrated policies and actions. Biodiversity (ecosystems): Generating evidence to What is the relative vulnerability support climate adaptation Thus, the Municipality identified of priority ecosystems to increases actions the need for high-quality evidence in annual temperatures when to inform adequate climate change anthropogenic hazards are also taken The CDKN–DMQ9 programme was policies. The intention was that this into consideration? created in 2009 to assist the local cutting-edge evidence would feed government to develop its first the policy cycle and inform climate Health: Which illnesses affecting the climate adaptation and resilience compatible policies. In response to population of Quito are most linked to plan, facilitated by Fundación Futuro this need, CDKN’s Latin American climate variables and how are these Latinoamericano as CDKN’s local alliance partner Fundación Futuro links accentuated by socioeconomic alliance partner. A vulnerability study Latinoamericano was able to offer conditions? for DMQ began in 2010. a range of good practices available to evaluate the vulnerability of five Risks (forest fires): Which zones in The Municipality’s previous strategic sectors: water, biodiversity Quito are most affected by human experience in assessing and (ecosystems), risks (forest fires), activity and climate variability in identifying management actions agriculture and health. CDKN’s terms of fire propagation? to reduce vulnerability to natural technical partner, the Stockholm hazards such as earthquakes, Environment Institute, conducted The vulnerability study was an landslides, forest fires, floods and the study, which adapted the expensive, long and highly technical volcanic eruptions meant that Quito’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate investment. The outcomes largely met authorities had the capacity to Change (IPCC) methodology10 to the the Municipality’s expectations, with identify non-climate-related threats. needs of the city. the exception of the health sector, But while the Municipality had a where gaps in research findings and general idea of its vulnerability to The Institute also developed a communication had to be addressed climate change, based on scattered knowledge management system with additional support from CDKN.

2 3 The results for the health sector were Enhancement of internal dialogue identified the power relations and thus incomplete, and still considered and institutional discourse inequalities of stakeholders through to be too complex to feed into the The vulnerability study used an inter- a gender lens. The most vulnerable relevant policy cycles due to the sectoral approach from the design groups and actors were then risk of misinformation and flawed phase. Key actors from the different contacted and involved in the process decisions in that area. For the other sectors within the Municipality were through consultation meetings four sectors, the results were suitable involved throughout the process. and capacity-building workshops. for consideration at the policy level The project identified contact points The project also evaluated people’s and, in some cases, were suitable for and local experts in each of the five perceptions about vulnerability to implementation. sectors listed above, and promoted climate change. cross-sectoral meetings. The project Prioritising the climate change provided a good opportunity to During this process, it was important agenda at the core of political bring these sectors together to to understand and consider the strategy discuss climate change. perceptions of the population in The Climate Change Unit of the general, in order to take gender- Municipality was already aware of the This new space for dialogue was appropriate actions. It was also importance of considering climate promoted by the Municipality’s important to map people’s change in local political strategy, Climate Change Unit and Knowledge perceptions about climate change before the CDKN–DMQ programme. Management Unit, and was highly vulnerability and match these However, multi-sector vulnerability positive in moving climate change perceptions to the technical results assessments and policy-relevant up each sector’s agenda. It also of the vulnerability study. This evidence were needed in order to helped to clarify the perspective and approach could be considered one incorporate these new elements dynamics of each sector, as well as to of the main lessons to apply to the within Quito’s development and land- identify potential synergies with the design of measures for climate change use plan. Climate Change Unit that would be adaptation. For the authorities, beneficial for implementation. understanding both perceived and The 2015–2025 plan11 is the city’s assessed vulnerability is necessary to current strategic instrument, which In some cases, specifically the risk help design and target interventions gives direction to all the actions, and health sectors, the project and to obtain more equitable decisions, investments and ventures increased stakeholder buy-in to outcomes of climate compatible that will occur in DMQ in the policy development. development. coming decade. The results of the vulnerability study and other CDKN Framing strategy to local context, The project identified five measures projects are reflected across that strengthening capacities of appropriate to the needs and realities document and will support DMQ vulnerable populations and of people in the two areas studied. in achieving its goals of reducing participatory processes Two of these were prioritised as emissions and climate vulnerability. After the conclusion of the suitable for implementation based on vulnerability study, CDKN supported the different needs and perspectives This achievement means that Quito the Municipality through a new of all concerned: has integrated climate change as a project, Measures for Piloting Climate ŸŸ sustainable agriculture and variable within its local environmental Change Adaptation in Quito,12 irrigation practices management approach. It has set implemented by Corporación ECOPAR, ŸŸ ecosystem restoration using clear goals to reduce emissions and which built on the vulnerability native species. vulnerability in various sectors as part results and included the participatory of the environmental section of the prioritisation of a set of adaptation This climate change project development plan, titled ‘Quito: smart measures implemented in two rural represents the first attempt by the city’, demonstrating climate change areas of DMQ. This new evidence- Municipality to take account of positioning at the highest political informed project involved stakeholder gender and people’s perceptions of level in the city. mapping of two areas, where CDKN vulnerability.

3 Enabling factors and Although CDKN provided the towards implementing concrete challenges to programme information, it was the Municipality’s actions informed by the results of design and implementation capacity to coordinate with the the vulnerability study. different authorities involved in The achievements of the vulnerability wildfire management that enabled study in DMQ can be attributed to the development of the plan. Challenges to programme both the legitimacy of the policy- design and implementation relevant evidence and the conducive A conducive context for policy- political context. making The challenges experienced were due This achievement was also due to a to three main factors: limited sectoral Legitimacy and ownership of conducive policy context. In recent coordination, gaps in data availability, policy-relevant evidence years, Quito has faced severe fires and limited capacity to deal with From the start, the need for high- during the dry season that have climate change issues outside the quality, evidence-based vulnerability caused major losses and damage. Municipality’s Climate Change Unit. information was perceived as key These circumstances have moved fire to enabling Quito to put climate management risks up the political Sustained coordination change at the core of its development agenda and have sped up the process Despite the continuous efforts agenda. Such information had to of turning evidence into policy made by the Climate Change Unit, be legitimised by the Municipality’s instruments and plans. coordination among sectors remains technical team and authorities in a challenge and constitutes a big risk order to scale up in a way that was After the elections in 2014, Quito for the implementation of climate relevant for policy-makers. welcomed a change of personnel in compatible development. the Municipality and its institutions. In the risk sector, for example, The new administration’s Environmental officers acknowledge the vulnerability results rapidly approach to the city’s sustainable this risk, which is due partly to the blended into the policy process and development is to implement complex governance structure of implementation of the DMQ Wildfire actions in the territory rather than the Municipality and the different Management Plan. In this case, it was to generate more evidence. This sectoral competencies in the use not the provision of sound evidence approach matched well with the and occupation of land, mobility, alone that led to policy development process that the Climate Change productivity and security, among and implementation. There was a Unit was carrying out with CDKN’s others. In the words of one set of conditions that ensured this support, and has facilitated the representative of the Municipality: achievement. First, the methodology transition of the Quito programme “In spite of enormous efforts to and final outputs responded to the Municipality’s demand for support, needs and priorities. Second, the Box 2. Research on tropical vector-borne diseases key technical authorities from the Municipality were active participants in the process, rather than just One example of the successful continuation of the vulnerability study, and of recipients of information. These the importance of a beneficial political context, is research on tropical vector- borne diseases in DMQ. This study, conducted by CDKN´s technical partner, conditions, and the process itself, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, aimed to fill existing data gaps in order strengthened the capacities of the to estimate the climate vulnerability of the DMQ health sector. The project Municipality’s technical team and started at the time of an outbreak of the Chikungunya virus, and ended during facilitated the flow of information and an outbreak of the Zika virus. Both outbreaks rapidly became a concern for understanding of the results within local and national public health authorities, as well as for communities in the Municipality. The Municipality’s DMQ. This context increased the project’s relevance, moved climate change technical team was therefore higher up the political agenda, and could facilitate the integration of results empowered to advocate and scale up with higher levels of government. the results within their institution.

4 develop integration mechanisms Change Unit, understanding of vulnerability indicators as they may around adaptation, we haven’t climate change issues is still limited. It consider the process for building such been able to achieve optimum was challenging to communicate the indicators is not transparent.15 coordination at local or municipal relevance and importance of a cross- level, because of the scale, scope, sectoral climate change vulnerability This is due primarily to incomplete and environmental, economic, assessment. Climate change requires understanding of the process social, cultural and institutional a different set of skills and approaches and limited involvement in the diversity involved.” 13 to decision-making, as it involves high development of knowledge. levels of uncertainty and forward Indicators are a way of synthesising However, this perception shows the thinking. complex information, based on need to create an inter-institutional (often academic) variables, thus committee on climate change led by enabling vulnerability information to the Environment Department under Implications for decision- be presented as a single metric. The the Sustainable Quito approach, and makers and practitioners process for defining such indicators16 to support the new urban agenda elsewhere could be a solution for ensuring that under Habitat III. vulnerability information is useful As the development of climate outside the scientific community. The Data availability and accessibility change adaptation policies becomes case of Quito shows that developing Availability of and access to historical a priority around the world, tailored indicators and key policy- data are made possible through vulnerability assessment is changing relevant questions in a participatory the Knowledge Management Unit from an academic exercise to a policy manner, involving authorities, local of the Environment Department. requirement.14 In this context, Quito experts and external support, builds Each sector has its own procedures has much to share about its learning trust and facilitates ownership of the and software to store and manage around the process of developing and information generated. historical data, as well as different implementing climate compatible policies for access to and use of development policies at district level. Overall, the example of Quito the information. In some cases, demonstrates the importance of particularly in the health sector, it The first lesson relevant to the transparency and legitimacy of was extremely challenging to access practitioners and policy-makers scientific and technical processes data. The authorities responsible for elsewhere is the importance of in the eyes of policy-makers. The the data were not always willing to standard methodologies. Quito process of working hand in hand share health information; in some made an effort to find its own with local experts and authorities cases data did not exist. In the water definition of vulnerability and built helps build capacity and, at the same sector, the availability and quality on a methodology legitimised by time, creates ownership of the data of data were better than in other an international body, the IPCC. This and information generated. This sectors, and information was much facilitated political buy-in and the approach reduces misunderstandings, easier to access and reconcile with flow of information within the whole poor communication and false data used in the vulnerability study. policy process. expectations between those producing the information and those Limited understanding of The second lesson learned from receiving, interpreting and using it. climate change issues outside Quito was the importance of building the Climate Change Unit credible and tailored indicators. Outside the Municipality’s Climate Policy-makers often mistrust

5 Endnotes

1. Environment Department (2011) Agenda (n.d.) ‘Quito, Ecuador’. C40 Cities Climate 12. CDKN (n.d.) ‘PROJECT: Piloting climate Ambiental de Quito 2011–2016. Quito: Leadership Group. change adaptation measures in the Environment Department, Municipality of the 6. ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. Metropolitan District of Quito’. London: Metropolitan District of Quito. (mentefactura. www.iclei.org Climate and Development Knowledge com/images/pdf-publicaciones/agenda- 7. Habitat III, Quito, October 2016. Network. (https://cdkn.org/project/piloting- ambiental-espanol.pdf). www.habitat3.org adaptation-quito). 2. Metropolitan Mayor’s Office of Quito 8. Rockefeller Foundation (2013) ‘33 resilient 13. Nixon Narvaez, Environment Department, (2015) Plan Metropolitano de Desarrollo cities announced by the Rockefeller quoted in Gutierrez, M. (2015) ‘Adapting to y Ordenamiento Territorial. Volumen II, Foundation’. New York: Rockefeller flood and fire in Quito, Ecuador’. London: Propuesta: Componente Estratégico. Quito: Foundation. (www.rockefellerfoundation. Climate and Development Knowledge Metropolitan Mayor’s Office of Quito. (http:// org/blog/33-resilient-cities-announced-by- Network. (http://cdkn.org/2015/01/feature- gobiernoabierto.quito.gob.ec/wp-content/ the-rockefeller-foundation). much-water-little-adapting-flood-drought- uploads/documentos/interactivos/PLAN/ 9. CDKN (n.d.) ‘PROJECT: Assessing Quito’s quito). files/assets/downloads/publication.pdf). vulnerability to climate change’. London: 14. Wardekker, J., van der Sluijs, J., Janssen, 3. Global Cities Covenant on Climate (2010) Climate and Development Knowledge P., Kloprogge, P. and Petersen, A. ‘The Mexico City Pact’. Global Cities Covenant Network. (https://cdkn.org/project/ (2008) ‘Uncertainty communication in on Climate. (http://mexicocitypact.org/ technical-assistance-to-improve-climate- environmental assessments: views from pactomexicocity/indexEN.php). resilience-in-quito-ecuador). the Dutch science–policy interface’. 4. Metropolitan District of Quito (2012) 10. The study used the same methodology Environmental Science & Policy 11(7): Layout: Green Ink (www.greenink.co.uk) Green Layout: Plan de Acción Climático de Quito for adaptation and resilience analysis as 627–641. | 2012–2016. Quito: Municipality of the that applied in IPCC (2007) Contribution of 15. Hinkel, J. (2011) ‘Indicators of vulnerability Metropolitan District of Quito. (www. Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment and adaptive capacity: towards a clarification quitoambiente.gob.ec/ambiente/index. Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on of the science–policy interface’. Global php/biblioteca-digital/category/9-cambio- Climate Change. [Parry, M.L., Canziani, O.F., Environmental Change 21(1): 198–208. climatico?download=157:plan-de-accion- Palutikof, J.P., van der Linden, P.J. and Hanson, 16. Ibid. climatico-dmq-2012-2016). C.E. (eds)], Cambridge, UK and New York, 5. ANDES (2015) ‘Quito joins the C40 Climate USA: Cambridge University Press. (www.ipcc. Leadership Group’. Quito: La Agencia de ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg2/en/ Noticias del Ecuador y Sudamérica. (www. contents.html). andes.info.ec/en/news/quito-joins-c40- 11. Metropolitan Mayor’s Office of Quito (2015) climate-leadership-group.html); C40 Cities Op. cit. Front cover photo: Simon Matzinger, ‘Old town of Quito’. (CC BY 2.0) BY (CC of Quito’. town ‘Old Simon Matzinger, photo: cover Front

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