Development Projects in Peril

As countries in Asia attempt to safeguard their communities from the effects of climate change, development organizations are expected to play a key role.

“In developing countries, there often is not much that can be done to change the global climate change situation,” says Glen Anderson, a senior manager with the Washington-based consulting firm International Resources Group. “What developing countries can do is work on adaptation to protect their people, and development organizations are vital to this effort.”

International Resources Group helped the US Agency for International Development produce a manual for development professionals dealing with climate change issues in their projects. Anderson, who worked on the manual, said that climate change needs to be addressed as part of project planning and design.

“If a project officer is designing a flood control project, like building seawalls, are the events that might happen as a result of climate change being accounted for?” said Anderson. “Do the levees need to be higher? What impact will climate change have on the construction of a dam? How close should a project be built to the coastline in light of projected sea-level increases?”

“If I am the water minister of a member country, I would want to know that this project being funded by an international development organization is protected from the changes that may come about in years to come due to climate change,” Anderson said.

Development projects are already designed with political and economic uncertainties factored in. Climate change needs to be incorporated in a similar fashion.

“Project officers don’t need to be experts in climate change,” said Anderson. “They need to be able to know what information is out there and how to use it effectively to get the best results for the project. It’s just part of the due diligence of project preparation.”

Дата добавления: 2015-10-02