63908 No. 132 / June 2010 Pro-Poor Urban Adaptation to Climate Change Based on Case Studies in Kenya and Nicaragua Introduction This note presents results from field studies of Poor urban populations in Southern cities are Mombasa, Kenya, and Estelí in Nicaragua1 already experiencing the negative impacts of looking at the experience of poor urban changing weather patterns associated with communities in relation to their changing climate change and climate variability and experience of weather and its impact on their future projections suggest that these impacts lives. These studies applied a participatory will get worse. Severe weather patterns, urban methodology by which local city experienced as prolonged droughts, intense governments - and the NGOs and donors that rainfall or wind speed cause substantial damage support them - can address adaptation and to the assets and well-being of city-dwellers, resilience to severe weather. It finds that talking causing localized flooding, housing damage, to poor urban communities is essential in order economic loss, and posing dangers to health and to understand the vulnerability and adaptation educational achievement. Yet, severe weather solutions to severe weather. It also notes that events that do not register as disasters on the existing financial mechanisms at the city level, national or international screen are rarely including local and community-based addressed in the context of climate change organizations, can be used to support low-cost adaptation. solutions that enhance the resilience of the most vulnerable city-dwellers. Urban governments face a number of constraints to effectively address and build resilience to Climate Change and the Assets of the Urban severe weather: a knowledge constraint (given Poor: Evidence from Kenya and Nicaragua2 the scarce evidence of the impact of ongoing Vulnerability to severe weather in an urban severe weather trends), in addition to context cannot be understood in isolation from institutional and fiscal limitations. Since most other aspects of vulnerability e.g. the state of climate vulnerability research in urban centers water, sanitation, and drainage infrastructure, has focused on projections and capacity- building for disaster events, city adaptation 1 See Moser, C. Norton, A., Stein, A. and Georgieva, S. 2010. plans, where developed, have also centered on “Pro-Poor Adaptation to Climate Change in Urban Centers: establishing disaster prevention and Case Studies of Vulnerability and Resilience in Kenya and preparedness systems. Nicaragua� Social Development Department, World Bank, Washington DC; and Moser, C. and Stein, A. 2010. “Implementing Urban Participatory Climate Change Adaptation Appraisals: A Methodological Guideline� Global Urban Research Center, Manchester, UK; 2 See Moser et. al. 2010 and Moser and Stein 2010 for the methodology used to collect the evidence presented here. the availability of garbage collection and public issues, reinforced by seasonal flooding, was health services, among others. Thus, rather than evident in both cities. Cholera outbreaks, presenting a separate set of challenges, severe associated with water polluted by drainage weather exacerbates conditions of vulnerability seepage, had occurred on a number of occasions that already exist. Poor urban residents, and in Mombasa. Rat invasions posed a health risk in Estelí year-round, but especially when drains especially those occupying marginal lands and were full of rubbish during and after heavy lacking security of housing or land tenure are rains. Lack of garbage collection services, thus the ones most affected by severe weather. combined with severe weather and flooding, created conditions for mosquito infestation and Participatory research in eight poor dramatic increases in the perceived incidence of communities in Mombasa and Estelí, conducted malaria and thus went beyond being an over five weeks in August-September 2009, infrastructural problem to one affecting the highlighted three main categories of health and human capital of the entire local vulnerability - physical, politico-legal, and socio- population with children, pregnant women and economic. In these contexts, physical the elderly being particularly vulnerable. Winds vulnerability referred to the lack of adequate in Mombasa had a serious impact on housing as drainage, sewerage and garbage collection an asset with bamboo roofs quickly catching systems. Politico-legal vulnerability referred to fire. Small business owners recognized that the the insecurity of tenure, occupation of marginal increasing intensity of floods, heat stress, wind lands in most hazardous spots (next to the and dust caused higher and higher damage to ocean, river, or natural ravine), and a variety of their stock and equipment. factors originating from the lack of adequate settlement planning and access to services. Adaptation to Severe Socio-economic vulnerability captured the fact Weather in an Urban Context that different groups (according to age, gender, Even though all interviewed residents – either at disability or other forms of social difference e.g. the household level or collectively - applied immigrant status) had different levels of small-scale adaptation measures to protect their vulnerability to specific weather manifestations. assets before, during or after severe weather, Despite their urban location and the fact that these actions were often not recognized as they did not themselves have a clear concept of important adaptation strategies by community ‘climate change’, poor communities had great leaders and local institutions. In fact, when first awareness of weather and its impacts on their asked what they did about severe weather, lives. Rain and associated flooding was many local residents did not automatically recognized as the most serious problem in both identify themselves as proactively responding. Mombasa and Estelí, with heat/drought/sun of Nevertheless, the incremental and invidious second importance, followed by winds – more effects of seasonal or year-round severe weather evident in Mombasa than Estelí. Furthermore, conditions had necessitated a variety of people understood that there were negative adaptation responses that tended to be ignored trends in relation to these phenomena. by CBOs or local government officials. Poor households, communities and small Adaptation strategies to flooding included business owners were also able to identify the annual repair of roofs, clearing drains, and physical, natural, human, and economic assets digging trenches and piling sandbags around that were directly impacted by reoccurring houses, and sealing leaking areas. Most severe weather events. Again, it was the strategies were adopted at the household level relationship between various sources of although some communities organized vulnerability that made the effects of severe collectively to unblock drains, build small weather particularly visible. The link between contention walls next to a river, or wooden lack of proper drainage/sewerage and health bridges over a ravine. The majority of small Climate Change – Not Only a Disaster Story businesses were also aware of and actively Vulnerability to climate change in cities is not responding to seasonal hazards e.g. maintaining always a shock disaster story. The slow and limited stock, unplugging electric equipment, incremental impacts of increasingly variable and covering it with plastic or storing it in containers intense weather events are already being felt by during strong rains, shielding equipment e.g., urban residents in developing countries. They sewing machines from dust during strong are especially pronounced in poor and informal winds. settlements where severe weather exacerbated already existing conditions of vulnerability. The Even though poor residents identified a number onset of severe weather events is gradual and of local institutions that were regarded as reoccurring often in a seasonal pattern e.g. of important in their community – ranging from heavy rains or heat stress. Because these changes formal state and religious institutions and NGOs are invidious and sometimes imperceptible they to informal associations – few of these tend to be ignored. organizations were perceived as supportive in building resilience to severe weather. Most of Long-term climate change projections may be the identified adaptation strategies were limited at the city level but this should not be a informal, bottom-up initiatives. This confirmed constraint on thinking how to build resilience to the observation that formal institutions at the severe weather. Despite their urban location, local level rarely acknowledge the increased city-dwellers perceive variations in weather variability and severity of weather as requiring patterns and have reasonable knowledge as to targeted attention in poor communities, except how it affects their assets and well-being. By in cases of disaster relief. drawing on the lived experience of urban communities much can be learned about both In the absence of a broad national and global the impacts of a changing climate, and the ways assistance framework for city-level adaptation, in which spontaneous adaptation occurs and can supporting the bottom-up adaptation strategies be supported. in urban communities presents an opportunity for low-cost yet effective solutions to enhance Why Talk to the Urban Poor? their resilience to a changing climate. At the Urban vulnerability assessments and adaptation same time, community-based adaptation action plans often take place without much activities have a number of limitations e.g., in reference to poor communities. Indeed, few of their ability to provide key infrastructure and the current urban vulnerability assessments services, or secure tenure rights, that would incorporate any interaction with communities reduce dramatically poor people’s sensitivity to unless for ground-truthing of scientific data. severe weather. In this context, building climate This is partly because adaptation activities resilience for the urban poor would require both rarely extend beyond the community of public reinforcing small-scale local initiatives by state officials and planners. But it is also because the and non-state actors, as well as improvements in poor are generally excluded from most formal infrastructure, services, and tenure rights policy planning processes not least due to the informal by local government officials. With a view to nature of their communities and tenure producing change at all these levels, local arrangements. initiatives should be geared to strengthening the capacity for poor urban residents to make claims Including poor urban communities in local for better urban services, infrastructure and climate resilience plans means more than improved clarity of tenure rights – as well as expanding adaptation benefits where they may take practical measures to increase their otherwise not be felt. It is also necessary in order resilience in the face of sever weather. to ensure that adaptation plans in wealthier Conclusions areas are not adopted at the expense of poor and informal residents. Where the primary problem Resilience to an increasingly adverse climate can is flooding , for example, increasing the defenses be enhanced through an array of measures in of the commercial and formal residential areas the current policy domain of city authorities may actually send more water the way of such as improvement of basic services, informal settlements – impacting those least able infrastructure, and tenure rights for informal to cope. Informal communities may also settlers. Certain adaptation strategies can be perceive adaptation actions as a threat and an supported on an ongoing basis by local NGOs, excuse to evict them unless security of tenure is CBOs or city authorities such as regular cleaning discussed as part of resilience-building action of drains, building of contention walls. Others plans. may require larger efforts in physical planning and building of infrastructure. A stronger voice Capturing the perceptions of the urban poor and for poor urban dwellers can help to mobilize strengthening their resilience is also important urban authorities to provide these services for given the sheer number of poor and informal all citizens. urban dwellers. According to UN Habitat (2008/9) one billion, or one in three, urban At the same time, if and when climate residents around the world currently do not adaptation funds are available to city have adequate access to water and sanitation, governments, climate change and associated live in overcrowded conditions or lack security severe weather would present an opportunity to of tenure. The number of slum dwellers is address a number of existing concerns in urban predicted to double to two billion by 2050. areas including but not limited to disaster Marginalized groups commonly have the preparedness. Trusted local institutions, highest exposure and sensitivity to adverse whether community based organizations (CBOs) weather, yet their perspectives on severe and NGOs or local government officials can weather effects are largely unknown. provide critically important institutional structures for the delivery of community-based Climate Change Adaptation or climate change adaptation funds. Good Urban Development Weak institutional and financial resources dedicated to urban climate change adaptation This note was prepared by Caroline Moser, Andrew are a constraint to effectively building cities’ Norton, Alfredo Stein and Sophia Georgieva. The findings, resilience to severe weather. Adaptation funds interpretations, and conclusions are entirely those of the for cities may be available in the future, yet the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, its affiliated organizations, or members of its timing and modalities for such support is still Board of Executive Directors or the country they unknown. Nevertheless, as confirmed by represent. For additional copies please contact: findings from the participatory research in socialdevelopment@worldbank.org Mombasa and Estelí, climate change-related vulnerability is not an isolated phenomenon. It is the relationship between severe weather and existing conditions that causes the greatest erosion in assets of the urban poor.