Inside Stories 1

INSIDE STORIES on climate compatible development December 2017 Key messages Acting on climate vulnerability: lThe city of Quito is a good example of how climate vulnerability Lessons from Quito information can feed into the Over the past century, Quito has experienced an average temperature policy cycle and be translated increase of around 1.3°C. This change in the city’s climate patterns into meaningful actions on the directly and indirectly affects ecosystems, agricultural production, ground. Quito has demonstrated infrastructure, water availability, and human health and security. Faced that developing city-level tailored with such climate change impacts, the Metropolitan District of Quito indicators and key policy-relevant (Distrito Metropolitano de Quito, DMQ) has shown leadership and questions in a participatory commitment in integrated and sustainable climate compatible urban manner, involving local authorities, development. The Climate and Development Knowledge Network Layout: Green Ink (www.greenink.co.uk) Green Layout: local experts and external support, | (CDKN) has been working with DMQ to progress the district’s strategic can build trust and facilitate and priority scenarios for dealing with climate change. Following institutional ownership of the assistance with the participatory design of Quito’s five-year Action information generated. Plan, CDKN has been assisting with a climate vulnerability study lQuito’s vulnerability evidence has to consolidate separate pieces of research on climate impacts and been legitimised and taken up vulnerability and to fill gaps in the knowledge base. The following case effectively in the Metropolitan study describes for the first time the study’s methodology and some District of Quito for two main lessons learned, particularly the importance of sustained intersectoral reasons: the methodology and coordination; involvement of, and thus ownership by, local technical final outputs responded to the experts and other stakeholders; and a successful fit with the local Municipality’s demands, needs and political context. priorities; and technical authorities from the Municipality were active Metropolitan District Municipality signed the Mexico City participants in the process rather of Quito – a leader in Pact,3 committing to strengthen than just recipients of information. climate compatible urban its institutional capacity and lQuito has enhanced its practical development governance to address climate change. Quito was a pioneer, scaling Front cover photo: Simon Matzinger, ‘Old town of Quito’. (CC BY 2.0) BY (CC of Quito’. town ‘Old Simon Matzinger, photo: cover Front implementation of climate adaptation solutions by identifying DMQ’s policy and regulatory up the Quito Climate Pact initiative 4 options that take account of the framework prioritises local nationwide in June 2011. diversity of views and sources climate change and knowledge of evidence, as well as both management. Quito adopted Its subscription to the C40 Cities 5 women’s and men’s individual its Climate Change Strategy in Climate Leadership Group and understanding of climate change 2009 and its Action Plan in 2012, ICLEI – Local Governments for 6 vulnerability. and it has set ambitious goals for Sustainability (see Box 1), its hosting adaptation and mitigation in its of the UN Habitat III conference Environmental Agenda 2011–20161 in 2016,7 and its recognition as a Author: and development and land-use resilient city by the Rockefeller Carolina Proaño-Castro (CDKN) plan (2015–2025).2 In 2010, the Foundation8 are further examples of CDKN has a growing portfolio of work in states, provinces, cities and districts. It is committed to capturing the lessons learned, and to better understanding what makes low-carbon and climate-resilient development efforts work well at the subnational level. CDKN and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability have set up a joint learning programme to distil and share these lessons with others. This Inside Story is one output of the learning programme. For more in the series, visit www.cdkn.org/cdkn_series/inside-story 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

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