TroFCCA do not follow the traditional approach of climate change studies which initially were limited
to the assessment of direct impacts of climate change over a defined system.
The project put forest ecosystems in the context of development policies.
The assessment of vulnerability is, therefore, directed at specific areas/topics from the development policy commonly
identified by the project team and national actors (primarily government representatives,
national research institutions and the private sector).
More specifically, the activities of TroFCCA are directed at understanding how climate change impacts over forests may hinder development in the identified areas/topics.
In order to do this, the team is assessing how climate change is likely to affect the provision of goods and services that support
or contribute to specific development priorities.
TroFCCA acknowledges that adaptation should be addressed in the context of sustainable development and related policies.
For this reason, the project have as a starting point the development priorities and policies in each of the participating countries,
in particular, those in which forest ecosystems play a role either as adaptation
options (e.g. how forests can contribute to decreasing vulnerability of a specific topic(s)/area(s))
or as components of the vulnerability (e.g. how impacts over forests can undermine development efforts in a specific topic(s)/area(s)).
Box 1. Defining areas/topics of work
The relevance of TroFCCA will be achieved through the specification of the substantial work as follows:
- To evaluate the impacts of climate change and climate variability on tropical forest ecosystems in selected sites.
- To develop and test a set of methodologies for the assessment of vulnerability of relevant development topics resulting from impacts of climate change over forest ecosystems.
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Adaptation policy to climate change as part of development policyThis strategy takes into consideration the perspectives of policy actors beyond mere adaptation. It requires strengthening the policy-science dialogue through consultation, process that will facilitate the identification of development issues on which to focus the regional activities of TroFCCA. Furthermore, departing from development is strategic to mainstream adaptation into development policies.
- Emphasis is on vulnerability assessment, not on impacts
The approach is to understand the system at its vulnerability in climate terms. The assessment focuses on society and its dependence on forest ecosystems. The assessment of impacts will be functional but not the focus. Development of criteria and indicators of vulnerability to current and future climate change and climate variability will be developed given their policy relevance.
- Landscape level focus
Forest patches in the context of landscape will be an important focus during the assessment of vulnerability. Adaptation strategies will be explored at landscape level recognizing the role of landscape heterogeneity in providing many environmental goods and services as well as the role of a variety of stakeholder at multiple scales in managing them.
- Cross cutting interests
As cross-cutting interests, TroFCCA project is considering to explore the potential for innovative mechanisms to finance adaptation activities and compensate eventual trade-offs as a mean for sustainability of adaptation strategies.
Potentiality for synergy between international agreements like UNFCCC and CBD are tested by developing a methodology for assessing the vulnerability of carbon and biodiversity as services associated with forest use
