Tackling climate change: communities making a difference

Good practice in action:

This publication outlines good practices, providing practical case studies of successful disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and mitigation projects implemented by ACT members or their partners around the world. The guide includes 14 case studies, which describe local projects that range from renewable energy to controlling water in areas that have too little (or too much). The case studies highlight the strength and resilience of local communities in taking charge of their own lives and planning for a safer future.

This publication represents a small sample of ACT implemented and funded projects related to climate change and disaster risk reduction. It seeks to increase awareness, promote learning, and trigger appropriate actions among ACT members and their partners. The examples of good practice may be appropriate in other locations and adaptable to local cultural sensitivities and environmental concerns.

Case studies include:

• Afghanistan: “Let there be light!” – Solar electrification of rural villages
• Bangladesh:“Raising homesteads, raising hopes” – Communities adapting to climate change
• Brazil: “Turning the tap on” – A family agriculture programme for the poor
• China: “A plant for our time” – Grassland management in Inner Mongolia
• El Salvador: “Early warning, early action” – Monitoring and minimising landslides and floods
• Ethiopia: “In the path of climate change” – Drought preparedness in Dawe Kachen
• India: “It’s not a disaster if we’re ready” – Disaster preparedness in Orissa
• India: “Adapting to new realities” – Livelihoods and climate change in Rajasthan
• Indonesia: “Mixing it up” – Salt-tolerant rice varieties and fruit-tree planting in coastal areas
• Kenya: “Creeping crisis, losing land” – Water and food production in the dry-lands
• Myanmar: “Give nature’s barriers a chance” – Integrated watershed management
• Nepal: “Holding back the river” – Flood mitigation through bio-engineering and conservation
• Sri Lanka: “Making sparks fly” – Tree planting, electricity production, and biomass
• Tajikistan: “Crossing the policy-practice divide” – Linking community-led research with community-based adaptation