Summer Academy 2011 – Climate change in fragile states

Adapting to new conditions caused by climate change is a particular challenge in fragile states. The 30 international participants in the Summer Academy 2011 researched how it can be done successfully.

20 highly qualified students, many of them doctoral candidates, and 10 senior experts  took part in the Summer Academy in Hohenkammer, which the Munich Re Foundation and the UN University of Bonn (UNU-EHS) held for the sixth time. Under the heading "Climate Change in Fragile States: Rethinking Adaptation", the participants from 15 countries looked into what effects environmental and climate change, natural disasters and adaptation measures have in fragile states such as Somalia, Nepal and Pakistan. Countries like these are often hardest hit by such factors, due to the marginalisation of certain societal classes or groups, a lack of or corrupt governance structures or poverty.
 
Even in democratic countries that are considered to be relatively stable there can be troubles simmering beneath the surface. Michelle Leighton from the University of San Francisco and holder of the university chair on Social Vulnerability in 2010 showed in a case study of central Asian Kyrgyzstan how smouldering conflicts between ethnic groups, in particular the Uzbeks and the Kyrgyz, led to a national crisis in 2010, endangering the country's development. "Reality has shown us that some states are more fragile than expected," the legal expert concluded from her research in Kyrgyzstan. 

Innovative technologies and new presentation methods
Prof. Mohamed Hamza, the current hold of the chair, led the Academy. He was supported by the other professors in our UNU chair project. In order to ensure a training course closely related to actual practice, he worked together with two experts from "International Alert" in Great Britain. This organisation is engaged in peacekeeping and conflict management around the world. Thanks to their experience from target countries of "International Alert" like Somalia and Nepal, Janani Vivekananda and Richard Reeve were able to explain how peace missions and adaptation strategies can be realised in fragile states, despite climate change and uncertain political environments.
 
The 2011 Academy was accompanied by "Parsons The New School for Design", New York City. The use of innovative technologies and new teaching and presentation methods opened up new perspectives and interdisciplinary approaches to problems for those attending the Academy. They were applied in workshops and case studies and formed the foundation of the week's work.

Local knowledge is a key factor
The goal was to find out what special hurdles have to be overcome in fragile states in order to strengthen the resilience of the populace there. Poor information flows, corrupt politicians, inadequate infrastructure, major inequalities and poverty lead to a multidimensional complex of factors that greatly raises the social vulnerability of the people in fragile states. At the same time, the environmental conditions are changing so rapidly as a result of over-cultivation, climate change and other factors, that the population struggles to adapt to them quickly enough.
 
The right discussion partners have to be found and networked for each geographic dimension (local, regional, national, international), be the representatives of the United Nations, national or local politicians or non-governmental representatives. One key prerequisite for success is that local knowledge has to be taken into consideration in all its facets.
 
Keep an eye on our website for a detailed report coming soon.