Knowledge Products

A presentation by Simon Papyan, the Deputy Minister of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia, on the experience of building resilience through integrated climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in Armenia.

This publication provides an in-depth analysis and study of gender-responsive adaptation approaches being implemented in six countries under the Canada-UNDP Climate Change Adaptation Facility.  The study targets adaptation practitioners and decision-makers at all levels (from community to global) who are designing new adaptation initiatives and/or developing new climate change-related policies.  It provides a framework in which to examine concrete examples of gender-responsive approaches and how they can lead to greater adaptation impact.  It also makes the argument not only for the need for integrated approaches to gender and climate change but more importantly, to identify what inputs, resources and partnerships are needed to pursue them effectively.

The availability, diversity, sophistication and use of weather information is increasing rapidly within the public and private sectors globally. International private weather companies are marketing tailored weather information products intensively and have generated considerable demand from private as well as government customers across a wide range of economic sectors, including agriculture, mining, forestry, construction and energy. The demand is also growing as a result of widespread negative impacts of climate change across these sectors. Although business opportunities abound, the commercial viability of new ventures in this intensely competitive market will be strongly dependent on highly specialised skills in product development and marketing, including the design of weather information products tailored to meet the diverse needs of aviation, farming, tourism and other sectors. This continental-scale market assessment, produced by C4Ecosolutions and commissioned by the UNDP, investigated how thriving commercial weather markets could be catalysed in the 11 African countries supported by the CIRDA programme, and how their NHMSs could maximise benefit they derive from such markets. Two main conclusions emerged: firstly, that the NHMSs should collaborate rather than compete with private weather companies; and secondly, that the NHMSs should embark on a phased transition to derive benefits from the national commercial weather markets.