My Paper on Climate Change Adaptation

Here is my major paper's introductory part for the climate course I had at NRI in Fall, 2011. If it happens for anyone wish to have the full paper, let me know by email.

The Functionality of Climate Data Availability and Management on the Promotion of Climate Change Adaptation Policy and Planning

Kian Abbasnezhadi

Natural Resources Institute, Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources

University of Manitoba

In the course of the last century, climate change, either through uncontrolled natural processes or via the effects of the human activities on the biophysical environment, has induced significant impacts on natural processes as well as human’s life. Increased rate of recurrences of such incidents as heat waves, forest fires, decrease in summer and Autumn River flows, flooding, and coastal erosion and degradation are just few examples of many already observed impacts of the climate change [1].

Any research studies and efforts to realize the past climatic events as well as the future predictions have been mainly induced by such impacts, and such researches are extremely vital for accurate and well-modeled forecasts – in line with the climate change’s impact – to address the local along with the global policies in implementing proper adaptation action plans. This means that a more accurate (with the lowest possible extend of bias) and better designed adaptation policy in regard with the impacts of the changing climate may be achieved by having a clear command of the past events and a profound insight of any future projection. In fact, when it comes to the implementation of the policies to address any adaptation measure, climate impacts, as the cause of the problem for which such measurements are considered, may induce two concerns. One is to establish a plan on how to deal with the resources in such a way to arrive at a sustainable response, and the other one is dealing with how to apply the concluded policy [2]. The first of these two concerns, in turn, impose several other constraints as well. Two of the main constraints which are the points of the current paper are:

1. The availability and generation of the climate data over which temporal and spatial changes could be comprehended to establish a clear picture of the nature of the problem, and;
2. The management of any available as well as continuously generating data.

Each of these problems is discussed in detail, providing an understanding on how the climate data availability and management may promote better adaptation policies.

Resources:

[1]	D. Lemmen, F. Warren, . J. Lacroix and E. Bush, "From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007," Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON, 2008.
[2]	J. Hovi, D. F. Sprinz and A. Underdal, "Implementing Long-Term Climate Policy: Time Inconsistency, Domestic Politics, International Anarchy," Global Environment Politics, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 20-39, 2009.