Knowledge exchange for ecosystem-based climate change adaptation

Adapting to the effects of a rapidly changing climate is arguably humanity's biggest challenge this century. The cost of meeting this challenge has been estimated at over US$300 billion per year and there are a growing number of funding sources available to finance this, including £3.87 billion pledged by the UK. A key question is how should funds be invested and what adaptation activities should be prioritized.

The dominant approach is engineered interventions such as sea walls and irrigation infrastructure. However, there is growing recognition that ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation (EbA) may provide more co-effective and broadly beneficial solutions. These might include restoration of coastal ecosystems to protect communities against erosion and wave damage, or agroforestry techniques to maintain crop yield under drier, more variable climates. However, despite the proliferation of positive anecdotes from across the globe, the approach is not being widely implemented and receives a small proportion of adaptation finance.

A major part of the problem is the lack of a robust evidence-base. To make decisions about which adaptation strategy to adopt, governments need advice that is based on cutting edge science and informed by practitioner learning. However, while the UK supports flourishing programmes of research relevant to EbA (ecosystem dynamics, natural capital and the impacts of climate change on biodiversity), key findings are rarely translated into useable forms. Moreover, lessons learned by the many agencies implementing EbA globally are not being consolidated and fed into policy.

To address these issues, I will work with NGOs in the conservation and development sectors implementing EbA in Bangladesh. I will clarify the current use of science in the design of EbA across a diverse globally distributed sample of projects, with more focused work at sites in Bangladesh. When science is not being used, I will identify whether this reflects actual knowledge gaps (missing science) or limited access to knowledge (existing science not reaching practitioners). Actual knowledge gaps will be communicated to the science community. Where gaps reflect poor communication between science, practitioner and policy communities, I will distil key findings into more intelligible forms.

Major outputs of this project will be: (1) a set of science-based recommendations on how to improve existing (or design new) adaptation programmes so that they restore/maintain natural capital and maximize co-benefits across society (supported by large portfolio of best-practice case studies from across the globe); (2) clarity on what research is needed to fill knowledge gaps in the science underpinning EbA; and (3) a major KE network linking scientists to practitioners and policy makers across multiple sectors involved in EbA. It will also create a KE legacy, by putting in place mechanisms to ensure that KE continues to flow between academia and decision-makers beyond the lifetime of the project.

Outputs will be communicated via a range of avenues such as personal briefings to key officials, public synthesis reports, social media outreach (emails, website, blogs, and twitter updates), one-to-one meetings and presentations at meetings, workshops and conferences. The key beneficiaries will be government agencies and committees developing policy on climate change adaptation and natural capital in the UK and Bangladesh; organizations implementing EbA; scientists studying ecosystem dynamics and natural capital; other KE fellows (Addison, Lucey, Stratford); businesses developing adaptation strategies; and civil society.

Main measures of success will be uptake of science-based advise into existing or emerging EbA projects in Bangladesh and beyond, development of new research programmes that take into account stakeholder needs, and an elevated profile of EbA in national and international policy spheres.