Issue # 3 – January 2014 insightsinDRM A Practitioner’s Perspective on Disaster Risk Management in Latin America & the Caribbean 84441 Climate Change Adaptation Planning in Small and Medium-Sized Cities “We are a city of floods. When we heard about the pilot sions for public services adaptation initiative, we were excited to be selected as one and infrastructure. City of the cities for the study. We believe that this approach officials and planners are complements our medium-term, municipal development seeking knowledge of and territorial plan, which includes DRM as part of a climate innovative and low-cost change adaptation component. City planners and other ways to identify and prior- stakeholders were part of the implementation process, so itize investments to sustain it enabled new communication channels to form between development and address different actors in our city.” climate risks. —City Official, Department of Environment, El Progreso, Honduras Play slideshow to see images and captions from pilot cities2. Challenge Intervention City planners and mayors in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) To better understand these small and medium-sized cities’ climate are witnessing higher population growth in small and medium-sized risks, strengthen their adaptive capacities, increase knowledge ex- cities with populations of less than one million1, than in large cit- change, and develop decision-making resources, the World Bank ies where numbers have stabilized or decreased in the past years. Latin America and Caribbean Disaster Risk and Urban Development Rapid urbanization is often accompanied by spatial expansion and team implemented a multi-faceted program, as follows: urban sprawl into hazard-prone areas such as floodplains and land- slide-prone hillsides and mountain slopes. In cities with less than a Five-City Pilot Program: million inhabitants, this development trend is increasing the vulner- A five-city pilot program3 was established to deliver technical assis- ability of new settlements to climate-related impacts such as heavy tance to conduct urban risk assessments and to develop city adapta- rain and storm surge. tion plans. The pilot program activities included: Given that these cities account for more than half of the region’s Case Study Selection: population, it is important to prepare municipal governments and Over 300 mayors and city officials across 15 countries in LAC re- city planners for climate change adaptation planning. Yet, the con- sponded to questions about their cities’ development challenges and text for adaptation in the region’s smaller cities is far less researched, CCA priorities. Based on a set of criteria,4 five cities were selected: El and adaptation processes are not as well supported compared to the Progreso, Honduras; Castries, Saint Lucia; Estelí, Nicaragua; Santos, region’s larger cities. According to the responses of a regional survey, Brazil; and Cusco, Peru. (See map) these cities are also less likely to have had access to climate change adaptation (CCA) training, finance, or knowledge networks, so they Risk Assessments: have limited adaptive capacity and means to address these realities. Over the course of one and a half years, the task team worked with these cities using the WB Urban Risk Assessment (URA) tool to con- Although small and medium-sized cities are diverse in location, to- duct three risk assessments to evaluate their i) climate related risks, pography, and socio-economic and institutional make-up, much of ii) institutional adaptive capacities, and iii) socio-economic capacities them are grappling with similar challenges caused by rapid urban to adapt to climate change. The URA was selected because it pro- growth, weak capacities in urban planning and insufficient provi- vides flexibility to conduct risk assessments based on cities’ financial constraints, technical capacities, and availability of risk information. Findings from Pilot Survey in LAC Adaptation Plans: a) Floods and landslides are the predominant climate hazards affecting Based on the findings from the URA at the city level, and through smaller cities; a series of consultative workshops with the city planners and deci- b) Policy interventions are primary venues and urgently needed to sion-makers, adaptation plans were developed. For each city, a Stra- address climate change; tegic Climate Adaptation Investment and Institutional Strengthening c) Main barriers to adaptation are lack of financial resources, awareness, Plan was designed to identify priority investments and activities to need for hazard and risk-related data, and planning regulation. strengthen institutional capacities for climate change adaptation. (See map and links to each pilot). www.worldbank.org/lcrdrm/insights insightsinDRM A Practitioner’s Perspective on Disaster Risk Management in Latin America & the Caribbean Adaptation Guidebook: The pilot program activities provided inputs for a regional adapta- tion guidebook for LAC that is being designed for decision-makers in small and medium-sized cities to strategically plan, prioritize, and take action to invest in climate change adaptation, with a focus on floods and landslide hazards. While still in development, a preview of its contents includes: i) climate adaptation trends and challenges; ii) risk assessment tools and case studies; iii) steps to prioritize in- vestments; and iv) keys to implement and take action on adaptation strategies for building climate resilience in such cities. Outcome City officials from these pilot cities have gained a greater understand- ing of climate risk, and the importance of integrating disaster risk management into physical development and territorial planning. City adaptation plans serve to guide their investments and development strategies amidst rapid urban growth and climate change. Across the region, new knowledge and decision-support tools are increas- ing the adaptive capacities of small and medium-sized cities in LAC. Informed decision-making in pilot cities Municipal governments and city planners from each pilot are now equipped with Strategic Climate Adaptation Investment and Institutional Strengthening Plans to prioritize investments and strengthen institutions to build resilience, specifically to flooding and landslides. These strategic adaptation plans provide a tailored, investment guide for government officials to assess priorities and to determine which activities are most effective to reduce climate vulnerability and sustain economic growth. An example of the priority actions for each pilot include: Map 1: Click on each pilot city to see full risk assessment results ◆◆Castries – Strengthening of city administration and municipal functions for the City Council; Practical tools to perform risk assessments and prioritize ◆◆Cusco – Coordination of risk management and planning across adaptation investments all districts; With the completion and dissemination of the adaptation guidebook, ◆◆Estelí – Investments in drainage, sanitation, and waste removal city officials and planners will be able to prioritize investments by services and improved implementation of land use and urban conducting risk assessments and using analytical tools that can be planning laws; tailored to their specific needs and capacities. This guidebook may ◆◆Santos – Integration of risk management practices, both horizontal also serve other regions facing similar challenges. and vertical (cross-scale); Knowledge, resources and tools gained by the pilot-city planners ◆◆El Progreso – Consideration of long-term risk management equip them to proactively address the day to day challenges of planning for environmental and socio-economic conditions in rural rapid urban growth and climate change impacts. Through future and peri-urban regions. knowledge exchange and collaboration in the region, municipal governments can work with each other and determine key actions Improved understanding of adaptation needs of small and to build climate resilience in small and medium-sized cities. medium-sized cities Through the pilot program implementation, three common planning Endnotes themes surfaced from city planners on how to improve climate 1 UN-HABITAT (2012). “The State of Latin American and Caribbean Cities resilience and address risks for small and medium-sized cities: 2012: Towards a new urban transition” ◆◆Enhance land use planning systems 2 http://www.photosnack.com/FE7975B8B7A/phcfb95i ◆◆Improve budgetary resources and mechanisms for data collection, 3 http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2014/01/31/climate-change- adaptation-planning-in-latin-american-and-caribbean-cities storage and sharing The criteria used to select the pilots included i) survey responses; ii) regional 4 ◆◆Consolidate capacity building efforts in city level government and climate diversity among the pilots; iii) availability of climate risk-related institutions data; iv) city officials’ willingness, interest, and commitment to the initiative; and v) recommendations from World Bank LAC project teams. Contacts: Tiguist Fisseha, DRM Specialist – Disaster Risk Management and Urban Development, Latin America and the Caribbean (tfisseha@worldbank.org) Claudia Lorena Trejos, DRM Specialist – Disaster Risk Management and Urban Development, Latin America and the Caribbean (ctrejos@worldbank.org)