CTI-CFF Course on Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal Communities Spurs Region-wide Action

To catalyze regional sharing of knowledge, methods, and strategies related to coastal adaptation, the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat, in collaboration with the CTI National Coordinating Committees in Malaysia and the Philippines and the US CTI Support Program, organized the second CTI Course on Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal Communities and Training of Trainers. The course, attended by 30 participants from Malaysia and the Philippines, was held in Tagaytay from January 31 to February 9, 2012.

The course is the second in a series—the first was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, in October 2011—that aims to help local communities across the Coral Triangle countries improve their capacity to adapt to the risks of rising temperatures, using the CTI Regional and Local Early Action Plans for Climate Change Adaptation as their primary tools.

At the end of the course, participants were able to identify climate change risks and assess adaptation options for critical coastal infrastructure, habitats, and vulnerable areas, with links to marine protected area and coastal fisheries management. The course also enabled participants to lead an integrated local early action planning process for climate change adaptation (organize a team, conduct a qualitative vulnerability assessment, and use the results for early action planning) and to manage adaptation programs at the national and sub-national levels.

The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute served as the lead trainer, with support from the Coastal Resources Center at the University of Rhode Island and members of the US CTI Support Program team.