Abstract
In many developing regions of the world, economies and local communities depend largely on the services provided by ecosystems for their sustenance. Recent evidence has shown that the degradation and possible loss of these vital ecosystem services results in imbalance of both societies and ecosystems resulting in vulnerabilities. Hence resilient ecosystems have been seen as an important foundation to human well-being and also necessary for better adaptive capacity for the communities that depend on them. It’s on this premise that the concept of Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is particularly relevant. Evidence has shown that mountain ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to climate change and as such the ecosystem services that they provide for communities and species within and without the proximity of these areas are also threatened. This paper discusses the EbA approach that has been applied to mountain ecosystems of Nepal, Peru and Uganda. Vulnerability Impact Assessments (VIAs) were undertaken to understand community vulnerability, mapping the important ecosystems services provided and options offered for reducing this vulnerability for resilient ecosystems. The EbA implementation in all three countries also demonstrates a move from EbA conceptualization to realization on the ground and at the policy level. Finally this paper will also examine the policy implications of this approach nationally and ability for the work to be up-scaled to other mountain ecosystems and other ecosystems as well.
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Notes
- 1.
The no-regret actions under the EbA Mount Elgon project were defined as those including autonomous measures by communities which do not worsen vulnerabilities to climate change or which increase adaptive capacities; and measures that will always have a positive impact on livelihoods and ecosystems regardless of how the climate changes.
- 2.
IUCN, in partnership with UNDP and IISD undertook a study in 2012 on climate risk management for sustainable crop production in Uganda and the mapping identified Sanzara as one of the most vulnerable parishes.
- 3.
According to the Sub-county Development Plan (2011–2014/2015–2016), the population is projected at 11,270 people.
- 4.
CVCA is a tool that is used as a guide to gather information using key questions at different levels: individual/Household, Local government/community and national levels.
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Acknowledgments
This paper is based on work undertaken as part of a wider project the “Ecosystem based adaptation in Mountain Ecosystems of Nepal, Peru and Uganda” supported by the German Government (BMUB). We would like to particularly thank the project team members based in Uganda (for Mount Elgon), local communities, local governments and all the partners involved in this work (UNEP, UNDP and IUCN). The authors of this paper would like to acknowledge various contributors mainly colleagues working on this project who provided valuable input to this chapter.
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Mumba, M., Kutegeka, S., Nakangu, B., Munang, R., Sebukeera, C. (2016). Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) of African Mountain Ecosystems: Experiences from Mount Elgon, Uganda. In: Salzmann, N., Huggel, C., Nussbaumer, S., Ziervogel, G. (eds) Climate Change Adaptation Strategies – An Upstream-downstream Perspective. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40773-9_7
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