Poor people living in hazardous and unhealthy environments in urban areas may find their difficulties compounded by the consequences of climate change. These include those who construct their shelters on steep, unstable hillsides, or along the foreshore on former mangrove swamps or tidal flats.
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) recently implemented climate risk management studies in seven countries. This report, commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, gives a detailed summary of efforts in a Niger wetland environment to conduct one such study, incorporating climate change with three key sectors: agriculture, livestock and water resources.
Gleefe, a coastal community in Ghana, has experienced frequent flooding in recent times due to the increasing occurrence of storm surge and sea-level rise. This study used available geospatial data and field measurements to determine how the beach topography has contributed to the incidence of flooding at Gleefe. Predicted accelerated sea-level rise will destroy homes of the inhabitants and inundate the Densu wetlands behind the beach.
