RESILIENCE VS. CLIMATE ADAPTATION: TIPS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE

Africa Experts Inc (AEI) recently carried out a study to assess the impact of a client's interventions on climate change adaptation in Niger. AEI relied on an in-depth review of existing documentation - annual and quarterly reports, surveys and evaluations - to identify climate adaptation activities and document their concrete effects. There is often confusion between resilience and adaptation. To clarify this essential distinction, we share in this article a few tips to better understand and differentiate these two fundamental concepts:

What is Resilience?

Resilience is the ability of a community or individual to anticipate and overcome shocks and stresses while preserving livelihoods and reducing long-term vulnerability. Resilience activities help people bounce back after a crisis. For example, restocking livestock after floods is a typical resilience activity, as it enables herders to restart their activities. Similarly, distributing local seeds to farmers displaced by a disaster would allow them to restart their farming activities quickly, even if those seeds are not of an improved variety that is drought resistant, for example.

Let’s Clarify Climate Adaptation

Climate adaptation refers to the ability of communities or individuals to adapt to the specific effects of climate change. Thus, climate adaptation activities, interventions, and initiatives enable populations to withstand the effects of climatic shocks such as floods, droughts, etc. For example, providing farmers with seeds resistant to drought, floods or the diseases associated with these shocks is a climate adaptation activity. Training in water conservation techniques in areas hit by long periods of drought is also a climate adaptation activity.

How to Differentiate Between Resilience and Adaptation?

An activity, intervention, or initiative that has no effect on adaptation to climate change remains a resilience activity. To assess its impact, it is essential to ask: what effect of climate change does this activity help to mitigate? This helps to determine whether the activity is purely resilience-focused or whether it also contributes to climate adaptation. For example, an irrigation activity can only be qualified as a climate adaptation activity if it incorporates efficient water management to reduce wastage and optimize water resource use.

Can Resilience Impact Climate Adaptation?

Yes, an activity designed to build resilience can also contribute to climate adaptation. For example, distributing improved seeds to farmers in flood and drought-prone areas can be resilient and climate adaptation-focused. If the seeds distributed are resistant to the extreme climatic conditions, diseases, and pests associated with these disasters, they can help revive agricultural activity after a shock and anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate over the long term.

Author:

Massandjé Touré is the Director of AEI, with over 10 years' experience in the management of high-impact social projects. Passionate about youth development and entrepreneurship, she has conducted several studies and evaluations, using a variety of qualitative data analysis approaches. Her expertise also covers the design and facilitation of workshops, report writing and the synthesis of strategic information to produce clear, actionable analyses.