World Resources Projects
Working at the intersection of the environment & human needs
Capitalizing on its vast network of trainers throughout Vietnam, the Red Cross integrated a climate change and adaptation unit into its disaster preparedness training modules. One component of this project was awareness-raising about the impacts of climate change on livelihoods and the need to be prepared to adapt.
Tuvalu is the first country in which residents have been forced to evacuate because of rising sea levels. Nearly 3000 Tuvaluans have already left their homelands. In support of their crisis, the New Zealand government has established an immigration program called the Pacific Access Category, which currently sees seventy-five residents migrate to NZ each year. The PAC also allows 75 citizens of Kiribati, 250 citizens of Tonga, and 250 citizens of Fiji to emigrate to New Zealand each year.
In a case of autonomous adaptation, communities in the Lower Songkram River Basin have developed a number of coping mechanisms to deal with floods and droughts. One is indigenous forecasting methods (for example, ants removing their eggs from the nest is seen as a sign of rain, and a decrease in mushrooms can signal drought). Another is modification in fishing gear to conform to climate changes (for example, when the water level is high, they use traps or fishing hooks. When it is low, they use mong and uan tap taling, a type of net that is anchored along the riverbank).
This project includes (1) the provision of 200 hand pumps, several large pumped water systems, 11 gravity-fed water systems, several rooftop water harvesting systems in schools and over 600 household water storage cisterns, altogether supplying water to 45,000 people in 28 villages; (2) the introduction of new drought-resistant and less water-thirsty plants, rain-fed cultivation technologies, greenhouses and irrigation systems to help agricultural activities withstand drought; (3) the creation of community-based organizations that can not only address ongoing food and income problems, but al
The project consists of working with participating countries to develop an inventory of glaciers and glacier lakes as well as a GLOF monitoring system. The data gathered is used as the basis for early warning systems. The database is also used to determine the amount of total available water resources the region will have in the future.
The village of Vailoa Palauli depends on coastal springs for drinking water. During floods, this water is made dirty and undrinkable, and during droughts, the water source dries up. The residents have no alternative water source.The aim of this project is to help villagers manage water in such a way that they have access to this resource regardless of climatic variation.
The village of Lepa depends on coastal springs for drinking water. During floods, this water is made dirty and undrinkable, and the residents have no water source. The aim of this project, led by Lepa - Komiti Tumama, is to help villagers store water during non-flood periods to provide a source of clean drinking water during floods.
The Red Cross of Nicaragua has four strategies to address climate change: (1) increase awareness of climate change and disasters through seminars and informal discussion with stakeholders from the local to national level; (2) work with the Ministry of Education to disseminate information on climate change to teachers and students by integrating the issue in the curricula and in research programmes; (3) raise awareness about the impacts of climate change with community leaders; and (4) improve the Red Cross’ capacities in the areas of disaster preparedness and response.
Recently, the Knowledge and Research program from CARE and the Nepal Red Cross Society together with Jaleshwar Municipality began implementing community-based low cost flood risk reduction measures through action planning. The project enhanced the capacity of communities to cope with and manage flood disasters by building institutional capacities through establishing various committees including, Community Based Disaster Management Committee, Disaster Preparedness Subcommittees, First Aid Subcommittees, Disaster Relief Subcommittees, and Coordination Subcommittees. These committees were pr
PASOLAC (Programa para la Agricultura Sostenible en las Laderas de América Central) offers technical, methodological, and financial support to more than 50 member organizations that work with local farmers and communities on the hillsides to implement sustainable agriculture practices, particularly Sustainable Soil and Water Management (SSWM) techniques. The program is characterized by a participatory and demand-driven approach, which aims to build capacities and cooperation among member organizations and encourage long-term adoption of SSWM practices by farmers.