The project REGILIENCE (Regional Pathways to Climate Resilience) has created a maladaptation self-assessment checklist for experts of regional authorities and consultants who are in charge of planning and implementing regional adaptation actions. The tool identifies potential risks for maladaptation and helps to avoid harm to livelihoods, ecosystems, and the economy.
What is an adaptation action?
An adaptation action is a specific action or measure that is taken to adapt to certain effects of climate change. There can be different adaptation actions to choose from, which can be referred to as adaptation options.
What is maladaptation?
Maladaptation refers to the process that an intentional adaptation action may lead to negative effects which increase vulnerability, diminish wellbeing or undermine sustainable development. This can happen the same or other regions, systems, sectors, or social groups than those targeted by the adaptation action.
Many tools provide support to plan good climate adaptation but neglect the risk of maladaptation (see the definitions box). For this reason, the REGILIENCE self-assessment tool explicitly focuses on spotting potential risk factors for maladaptation as early as possible. Its objective is to help users (staff of the competent regional authority/ies for climate adaptation or of other departments and organisations e.g. consultants for the administrations, CSOs dealing with climate adaptation) to avoid or reduce maladaptation risks in the planning phase of adaptation actions.
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