As evidence mounts about the effects that climate change has at the global level, so does the need to better understand and respond to emerging development challenges associated with the shifting climate.
The increased frequency and intensity of
weather events, as well as the changing patterns of temperature and
precipitation, can have devastating effects particularly in developing
countries. With
limited capacities and resources to respond to storms, droughts,
landslides, floods, and to their impacts on local social systems (i.e. food
security, health, infrastructure, transportation, migration), the ability of
vulnerable populations to escape poverty and adapt to climate change is significantly
constrained.
Innovative strategies to better mitigate,
monitor and adapt to the impacts of the changing climate are urgently required.
Simultaneously, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are
increasingly diffusing into developing regions.
Mobile phones are diffusing furthest and fastest but PCs, Internet
access, community radio and other digital tools are increasingly available.
The Climate
Change, ICTs and Innovation initiative emerges at the intersection of these
two trends, exploring the role that information and communication technologies
can play in addressing climate change challenges faced by developing countries.
This two-year research project is supported
by the International
Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, and led by the Centre
for Development Informatics (CDI) of the University of Manchester. Its specific focus is:
·
To
summarise and conceptualise existing knowledge through preparation of a scoping
study and concept paper on the subject;
·
To
develop new knowledge through a set of thematic papers that will explore ICTs'
role in mitigation, monitoring, strategising and adaptation to climate change;
·
To
develop new evidence from concrete examples and their lessons drawn from a
series of regional case studies.
These project outputs will then be disseminated through a book; a set of online strategy briefings and a policy paper aimed at a core audience of ICT and climate change strategists and policy-makers; and an international workshop that will take forward both a policy and a future research agenda.
The "Climate Change,
ICTs and Innovation" project is coordinated by the University of
Manchester's Centre for Development
Informatics. The project is funded
by Canada's International Development Research
Centre.
http://www.niccd.org/about.htm October 2011