Mexico, the countries of the Caribbean and Central America are at risk from the impacts of climate change in the next 20 years because they will be exposed to a greater range of climate changes and have a relatively weak adaptive capacity when compared to the world at large. Within the region, climate change is evident in increased temperatures, changes in precipitation, and sea level rise, and perhaps in weather variability and natural disaster events. Countries discussed in this book include Belize, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Puerto Rico.

Climate change is the defining development challenge of our time. More than a global environmental issue, climate change and variability threaten to reverse recent progress in poverty reduction and economic growth. Both now and over the long run, climate change and variability threatens human and social development by restricting the fulfillment of human potential and by disempowering people and communities in reducing their livelihoods options. Communities across Latin America and the Caribbean are already experiencing adverse consequences from climate change and variability. Precipitation has increased in the southeastern part of South America, and now often comes in the form of sudden deluges, leading to flooding and soil erosion that endanger people s lives and livelihoods. Southwestern parts of South America and western Central America are seeing a decrease in precipitation and an increase in droughts. Increasing heat and drought in Northeast Brazil threaten the livelihoods of already-marginal smallholders, and may turn parts of the eastern Amazon rainforest into savannah. The Andean inter-tropical glaciers are shrinking and expected to disappear altogether within the next 20-40 years, with significant consequences for water availability. These environmental changes will impact local livelihoods in unprecedented ways. Poverty, inequality, water access, health, and migration are and will be measurably affected by climate change. Using an innovative research methodology, this study finds quantitative evidence of large variations in impacts across regions. Many already poor regions are becoming poorer; traditional livelihoods are being challenged in unprecedented ways; water scarcity is increasing, particularly in poor arid areas; human health is deteriorating; and climate-induced migration is already taking place and may increase. Successfully reducing social vulnerability to climate change and variability requires action and commitment at multiple levels. This volume offers key operational recommendations at the government, community, and household levels with particular emphasis placed on enhancing good governance and technical capacity in the public sector, building social capital in local communities, and protecting the asset base of poor households.

The challenge presented by climate change is, by its nature, global. The populations of the Mexican Caribbean, the focus of this book, are faced by everyday decisions not unlike those in the urban North. The difference is that for the people of the Mexican Caribbean evidence of the effects of climate change, including hurricanes, is very familiar to them. This important study documents the choices and risks of people who are powerless to change the economic development model which is itself forcing climate change. The book examines the Mexican Caribbean coast and explores the wider issues of managing climate change in vulnerable areas of the tropics. It also points to the inability to integrate development thinking into climate change adaptation. The authors suggest that failures in local governance - the transparency of state actions and the local populations lack of effective power - represents a greater threat to adaptation than the absence of technical capacity in vulnerable areas. Using local case studies of communities, fishing villages and tourist destinations, this well-researched book will appeal to international students and academics working on climate change and professionals in development, conservation and tourism industries.

The third report from the Working Group on Climate Change and development considering the threat from climate change to the environment and human development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This book addresses the social implications of climate change and climatic variability on indigenous peoples and communities living in the highlands, lowlands, and coastal areas of Latin America and the Caribbean. Across the region, indigenous people already perceive and experience negative effects of climate change and variability. Many indigenous communities find it difficult to adapt in a culturally sustainable manner. In fact, indigenous peoples often blame themselves for the changes they observe in nature, despite their limited emission of green house gasses. Not only is the viability of their livelihoods threatened, resulting in food insecurity and poor health, but also their cultural integrity is being challenged, eroding the confidence in solutions provided by traditional institutions and authorities. The book is based on field research among indigenous communities in three major eco-geographical regions: the Amazon; the Andes and Sub-Andes; and the Caribbean and Mesoamerica. It finds major inter-regional differences in the impacts observed between areas prone to rapid- and slow-onset natural hazards. In Mesoamerican and the Caribbean, increasingly severe storms and hurricanes damage infrastructure and property, and even cause loss of land, reducing access to livelihood resources. In the Columbian Amazon, changes in precipitation and seasonality have direct immediate effects on livelihoods and health, as crops often fail and the reproduction of fish stock is threatened by changes in the river ebb and flow. In the Andean region, water scarcity for crops and livestock, erosion of ecosystems and changes in biodiversity threatens food security, both within indigenous villages and among populations who depend on indigenous agriculture, causing widespread migration to already crowded urban areas. The study aims to increase understanding on the complexity of how indigenous communities are impacted by climate change and the options for improving their resilience and adaptability to these phenomena. The goal is to improve indigenous peoples rights and opportunities in climate change adaptation, and guide efforts to design effective and sustainable adaptation initiatives.

There is an increasing consensus in the scientific community that climate change is a real and present threat. Despite the large uncertainty on the timing, magnitude and even the direction of some of the physical and economic effects of this phenomenon, it is widely accepted that the differences are regional and that developing countries as well as lower income populations tend to suffer the most. In this context, it is critical for Latin American countries to develop strategies for adapting to the various impacts of climate change, and for contributing to global efforts aimed at mitigation. Climate Change in Latin America contributes to these efforts by addressing a number of questions related to the causes and consequences of climate change in the case of Latin America. What are the likely impacts of climate change in the region? Which countries and regions will be most affected? What can governments do to tackle the challenges associated with adapting to climate change? What role can Latin America play in the area of climate change mitigation? While the book does not attempt to provide definitive answers to these questions, it contributs new information and analysis that could help to inform the public policy debate on this important issue.

Today, given the well-publicized impacts of events such as El Niño, there is an unequaled public awareness of how climate affects the quality of life and environment. Such awareness has created an increasing demand for accurate climatological information. This information is now available in one convenient, accessible source, the Encyclopedia of World Climatology. This comprehensive volume covers all the main subfields of climatology, supplies information on climates in major continental areas, and explains the intricacies of climatic processes. The level of presentation will meet the needs of specialists, university students, and educated laypersons. A successor to the 1986 Encyclopedia of Climatology, this compendium provides a clear explanation of current knowledge and research directions in modern climatology. This new encyclopedia emphasizes climatological developments that have evolved over the past twenty years. It offers more than 200 informative articles prepared by 150 experts on numerous subjects, ranging from standard areas of study to the latest research studies. The relationship between climatology and both physical and social science is fully explored, as is the significance of climate for our future well-being. The information is organized for speedy access. Entries are conveniently arranged in alphabetical order, thoroughly indexed, and cross-referenced. Every entry contains useful citations to additional source materials. The Editor John E. Oliver is Professor Emeritus at Indiana State University. He holds a B.Sc. from London University, and a MA and Ph.D from Columbia University. He taught at Columbia University and then at Indiana State where he was formerly Chair of the Geography-Geology Department, and Assoc iate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences. He has written many books and journal articles in Climatology, Applied Climatology and Physical Geography.

Governments and civil society in Latin America and the Caribbean should be well informed about the potential costs and benefits of combating climate change, their policy options over the next decades, and the global context for these policy decisions. At the same time, the global community needs to be better informed about the unique perspective of the Latin American and Caribbean region: problems the region will face, its potential contributions toward combating global warming, and how to maximize this potential while continuing to maintain growth and reduce poverty. This book, a companion volume to Low Carbon, High Growth: Latin American Responses to Climate Change, seeks to help fill both these needs.

Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press, 1998.