Local Investments for Climate Change Adaptation Green Jobs Through Green Works

Local investments for climate change adaptation Green jobs through green works A guide for identifying, designing and implementing interventions in support of climate change adaptation at the local level Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Copyright © International Labour Organization 2011 First published 2011 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to ILO Publications (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or by email: [email protected]. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered with reproduction rights organizations may make copies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. Visit www.ifrro.org to find the reproduction rights organization in your country. Local investments for climate change adaptation: green jobs through green works / ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. - Bangkok: ILO, 2011 288 p. ISBN: 9789221247685; 9789221247692 (web pdf) ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific green jobs / climate change / environmental protection / infrastructure / employment creation / public works / labour intensive employment / rural employment / poverty alleviation / rural area / Asia 13.01.3 ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. 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Thailand Printed in Thailand Foreword When the term “climate change” is used these days, most people relate it to mitigation and interventions to stop global warming. Climate change, however, is occurring now and further changes are inevitable. The effects of the changing climate are already felt around the world. Helping affected communities and especially poor communities to adapt now to these changing weather patterns is necessary to reduce future impacts on their livelihoods and living conditions. Infrastructure will play a major part in local adaptation to climate change. New and additional investments in infrastructure will be needed to help affected communities to reduce the impacts. Equally, infrastructure will need to be built to higher standards and improved designs will be needed to better withstand the local impacts of climate change. There are three main areas for adaptation in this regard. The first is irrigation and water and land resource management in rural areas, so that the variability and intensity of water can be controlled and the quality of existing land can be improved. The second is flood control, protection and drainage and water conservation structures in both rural and urban areas and that will need to be designed to deal with the variability and frequency of water availability. The third is rural transport infrastructure because rural roads need to be constructed to withstand the increased level of rainfall and flooding. The local institutions and procedures to deal with such interventions are often weak or do not have the capacity to deal with the required changes. Capacity building will constitute a key component in any programme that seeks to address climate change at the local level. A local resource-based approach to infrastructure development can be a major contribution to assisting communities adapt to climate change. The use of local resources and green technologies will make a positive contribution towards the environment. The International Labour Organization has developed such a local resource-based approach and demonstrated a range of tools that can be used in the planning, preparing and implementing of local infrastructure works. Guidelines and training manuals are also available for capacity building of the public and private sectors to deliver infrastructure investments through local resource-based approaches. Activities generally take place within the context of rural development, urban low-income settlement upgrading and crisis response. There is a need now to place this work in the context of climate change adaptation. The ILO is working on such an approach and this guide is an output of that effort. The guide describes the approach in the context of climate change adaptation and identifies the benefits for poor communities. It links climate change adaptation with poverty reduction and employment creation. The guide contains three general sections on the context and the approach and five technical sections that identify possible climate change adaptation works in five subsectors: irrigation, soil and water conservation, flood control, rural transport and forestry. It elaborates on the local resource-based approach and demonstrates how green jobs can be created through green works. The production of this guide is a joint undertaking between the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and the ILO Employment Intensive Investment Programme. Contents Acknowledgements ...............................................................................................................6 1 Climate change ..............................................................................................................8 1.1 Introduction .........................................................................................................8 1.2 Implications ....................................................................................................... 16 1.3 Adapting to climate change ..................................................................................26 1.4 The cost of adaptation ......................................................................................... 31 1.5 Climate change and poverty .................................................................................33 1.6 Climate change and local development ..................................................................35 1.7 Climate change and crisis response ....................................................................... 37 1.8 Potential to create jobs and sustain livelihoods .......................................................38 1.9 Summary ........................................................................................................... 41 2 Public works and green jobs .........................................................................................44 2.1 The poor will suffer most .....................................................................................44 2.2 Infrastructure and climate change ......................................................................... 47 2.3 Main economic and social sectors affected ............................................................50 2.4 Interventions for adaptation .................................................................................50 2.5 Response ...........................................................................................................57 2.6 Examples of adaptation at the community level ......................................................63 2.7 ILO, public works and green jobs ..........................................................................65 2.8 Examples of ILO work in adaptation programmes ................................................... 70 2.9 Summary ........................................................................................................... 76 3 A local resource-based approach to climate change adaptation .........................................78 3.1 The local resource-based approach .......................................................................78 3.2 Policy framework ................................................................................................82 3.3 Institutional setting .............................................................................................83 3.4 Implementing issues ..........................................................................................86 3.5 Sustainability .....................................................................................................93 3.6 Gender ..............................................................................................................95

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