Climate change is already having a dramatic effect on the way people live their lives, particularly in developing countries. Extreme weather shocks and altered seasonal patterns are fundamentally changing how communities access food and water and make their living.

Supporting and extending community-based adaptation to these changes was the topic discussed by Cambridge academics, amongst others, in the first seminar in a series organised by the Humanitarian Centre.

The event, hosted at Hughes Hall, Cambridge, brought together a diverse collection of experts on the topic of community-based adaptation, including development practitioners and research students, as well as academics.

In recent years there has been a growing awareness amongst the international community that adaptation methods need to be established to help deal with the results of climate change.

The impacts of climate change are being increasingly felt, and are already disproportionately affecting the marginalised and poorest communities in developing countries.

The group discussion focused on climate change as part of a bigger picture, looking at the immediate needs of vulnerable people as well as long term plans for the future.

Dr. Tim Bayliss-Smith, an academic from the Department of Geography and one of the chairs of the seminar, said: “This meeting contained an eclectic mix of researchers and practitioners, with in-depth case studies from Kenya, Madagascar and Bangladesh. In the stimulating debate that followed, our eyes were opened to new threats but also new opportunities for action.”

Throughout the day it was shown that tackling adaptation at a community level has resulted in successful strategies to cope with changing conditions. It is now crucial that policy makers consider the kind of academic research that was presented here when looking to the future.

Overall this seminar was “a lively meeting that tackled a very topical issue” said Dr. Bayliss-Smith. The value gained through this seminar was made clear when participants suggested holding a similar event in the future to build further on the many lessons learned from the day.

The seminar was the first in a series of researcher-practitioner dialogues on key policy issues, to be held in 2009/10. The second seminar in this series will be on 27th February 2010, and will cover nutrition in South Asia.

The Humanitarian Centre is a Cambridge based hub organisation that focuses on international relief and development activities, sharing complementary resources and skills to achieve more.

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