African and Latin American Resilience to Climate Change (ARCC): Quarterly Report

The program aims to improve the ability of vulnerable populations to respond to climate challenges and safeguard economic growth. ARCC has the following goals/objectives: promote sustainable economic growth through the development of vulnerability assessment methodologies and other analyses, promote improved governance through the development of analysis and methodologies that increase public understanding of potential climate change impacts, address the needs of vulnerable populations, and provide technical support to USAID missions and operating units. The Task Order for ARCC consists of four activity areas with predefined tasks and deliverables: Task Area 1, Development of Vulnerability Assessments Methodologies; Task Area 2, Outreach, Training and Support; Task Area 3, Knowledge Development and Management; and Task Area 4, Technical Support to USAID Missions and Operating Units. Under these Task Areas, key activities will include the provision of assessment methodologies to guide USAID programming of adaptation-related objectives, a vulnerability assessment tool to provide specific guidance into "Feed The Future" planning for USAID programs, knowledge management support on topics that may range from evaluation of publicly available indicators of vulnerability to research to improve downscaled modeling outputs, and technical assistance for field missions in Africa and to a lesser extent, the Latin America and Caribbean region. During the 2nd Quarter, ARCC started or completed program activities in many task areas. Several key technical activities were focused on development of a vulnerability assessment framework, completing assessments and reports, and preparation for piloting the methodology in Uganda. An experts' meeting on "Understanding Vulnerability: Toward a Framework on Adaptation Decision-Making" was held from 17-18 January 2012 in Washington D.C. The meeting aimed to build a shared understanding of resilience, adaptation, vulnerability, and risk to climate change, strengthen USAID's articulation of how adaptation to climate change is different from "business as usual" development, and explore the use of vulnerability assessments and other adaptation assessments. A report summarizing the workshop outcomes was produced and submitted to USAID for review. Additionally, a "Background Paper on Vulnerability Assessment Methodology" was developed to assist development planners review approaches to vulnerability assessments and design further work in a national context. The paper provides general guidance on assessment methods that may be suitable for planning adaptation in specific contexts. The geographic focus of ARCC includes Africa: Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda, Africa Regional Missions: East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa, Latin America and Caribbean: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, and Jamaica, and Latin America Regional Missions: Central American, Andean, and the Caribbean.