Projected climate change on global and regional scales have beneficial and adverse effects on both environmental and socio-economic systems, but the more significant the changes and the rate of climate change, the more the adverse effects predominate, says press release issued by the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) Office in Tajikistan.
In the circumstances, when the climate is changing very rapidly, human adaptation mechanisms are overstrained and cannot react appropriately, which increases human beings' vulnerability. Tajikistan is one of the disaster hot-spot countries in the world and most vulnerable to climate change in Central Asia. Therefore, rapid actions are needed to transform the country into a climate-resilient and sustainable society.
Taking this into consideration, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) on December 24 arranged for a Capacity Building session on Climate Change Adaptation for relevant government agencies representatives and members of administrative committees, Emergencies Committee, Departments for Land Management and Geodesy of Panjakent, Muminobod, Khovaling, Roudaki and Vahdat districts, heads of Village Organizations (VO's) and partners like GIZ, FAZO CartONG and Little Earth. This session was organized under the auspices of Building Resilience of Targeted Communities and Local Institutions Through Effective Adaptation to Climate Change, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and acting through GIZ.
These sessions aimed at helping the participants understand the Climate Change impact better and set an excellent foundation to work together further to overcome the climate change impact and contribute to a climate change resilient society in Tajikistan.
AKAH's role in the Project is to increase the capacity of civil society organizations and vulnerable communities in the targeted locations of five selected districts of Tajikistan (Khovaling, Vahdat, Rudaki, Panjakent, and Muminobod), to design and implement climate change adaptations measures to protect their neighborhoods and contribute to "inclusive" bottom-up policy development. It includes training, participatory planning, the development of appropriate climate change adaptation plans, and the effective implementation of selected technology-based measures for climate change adaptation.
During the project's implementation, AKAH specialists conducted the field research, habitat assessment and awareness-raising sessions to develop adaptation plan for11 villages in Khatlon province, districts subordinate to the center (RPP) and Zarafshan Valley (Artouch, Yakakhona, Momodiyon, Lohur, Kulolon, Sangara, Saydon, Chashmayi Naw, Tavish and Tavishi bolo). The development of CCA plans it involved multi-stakeholder inputs and participation, where heads of five districts and five sub-districts, CoESCD and other partners that took part in the Village Development Plan (VDP) session were involved. The developed CCA plans include:
information pertinent to Climate Change impact on the ecosystem and environment; climate change-induced threats; and recommendations on adaptation measures at the village level that sustains post-project completion while providing a knowledge base and applicable practices for institutionalization within the local decision-making process;
The event aimed to enhance the capacity of the communities, local institutions and CSOs to plan, manage and respond to climate change impacts and their potential consequences.
The project manager Shodikhon Mirzohasanov states, "This session will support the local institutions and CSOs in developing the Climate Change adaptation plans and integrating the strategies into further area development planning, thereby ensuring risk-informed resilient planning.”
Technology-based Adaptation to Climate Change is a joint project of AKAH and GIZ. The project is funded by AKAH and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development through GIZ and BMZ. The basis for the grant provided to Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) is the commission from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Project's primary objective is to work with rural communities in five pilot districts of Tajikistan to increase their capacity to adapt to climate change impacts through evidence-based planning and appropriate measures. The following benchmarks define this overall objective: Capacity Building, including developing and delivering a community capacity building program; Elaboration of Climate Change Adaptation Plans with a participatory approach on the village level; and Supporting implementation of micro-adaptation plans in selected locations.
The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH), which merges the capabilities of Focus Humanitarian Assistance, the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, the Aga Khan Development Network’s Disaster Risk Management Initiative, and the Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan Fund for the Environment.
AKAH works to ensure that poor people live in physical settings that are as safe as possible from the effects of natural disasters; that, residents who do live in high-risk areas are able to cope with disasters in terms of preparedness and response; and that these settings provide access to social and financial services that lead to greater opportunity and a better quality of life.
AKAH helps communities prepare for the worst; provides immediate relief after disaster strikes; helps build back better and greener while planning for a better future. AKAH currently operates in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Syria, Pakistan and India, with plans to expand further in Central Asia as well as East Africa.
