Managing climate risks in wetlands: a practitioner’s guide

This guide is an assessment methodology for integrated site-level climate risk assessment and adaptation planning. It has been developed by the project “Wetlands management for biodiversity and climate protection”, which is implemented through the International Climate Initiative (IKI) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) in collaboration between the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the GIZ and Wetlands International South Asia.

The guide demonstrates how climate risks can be integrated in site-level wetland management to capture co-benefits while maintaining the wise use approach of the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. It sets out a simple and flexible process that can accommodate inputs of scientific evidence, expert judgment and community knowledge, and includes various participatory elements like stakeholder discussions and field missions. The method can be used at community or expert level and can be exercised over a few days or many weeks.