Climate affects multiple sectors including agriculture, food security, water resources, health and land use. Climatic variability triggers crop failures, food insecurity, malaria epidemics, and shortages in hydro-power and irrigation.  These types of impacts affect the ability of developing countries to achieve Millennium Development Goals related to poverty, hunger and human health.  Impacts across multiple sectors associated with drought, flooding and cyclones frequently accumulate into disasters.  Over the 20th century, disasters involving climate-related hazards were seven times as frequent as those involving non-climatic hazards globally and accounted for nine times as many deaths.  The economic losses associated with climatic hazards were three times higher than those associated with non-climatic hazards and the number of people affected 55 times greater.  Better management of climate -related risks is key to preventing disasters and protecting development

In the future, a changing climate brought about by global warming is expected to create new patterns of risk, and higher risks generally.  Increasing temperatures may increase evapo-transpiration, decreasing moisture availability.  Melting polar ice and thermal expansion of the oceans could raise sea-levels, contributing to increased coastal flooding.  Increasing intensity of tropical cyclones observed in recent decades may be tied to increasing sea surface temperatures.  By impacting the hydrologic cycle, global warming is expected to alter climatic ranges, shift regional climatic averages and lead to higher frequency and amplitude of weather events. Climate variability and change occurring against a backdrop of increasing global population and globalization of economic processes may be expected to lead to increased competition over resources and new vulnerabilities.  

There is a scientific consensus that human activities are changing the composition of the atmosphere and driving changes in the earth’s climate.  It is now also recognized that the inherent momentum of accumulated changes in the earth system`s energy balance over the past century is such that even a complete stoppage of emissions globally will still result in large scale changes to the underlying climate and coupled environmental systems. 

Societies the world over, and especially those in the tropics, where a majority of the world’s poor eke out a subsistence living, would be affected.  Attention is hence turning to enhancing the adaptive capacities of these populations at risk due to a changing climate.  Referred to as “adaptation” within the climate change community, work in this area is gaining attention and attracting funding.  Within the GEF framework new funds such as Special Climate Change Fund support adaptation projects.  Frameworks, methods and tools to guide the development of robust adaptation, which have been rigorously tested for a range of thematic problem areas, are under development. 

Through an extensive series of engagements at all levels of their respective organizations, UNDP and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society have framed a strategic approach to Climate Risk Management (CRM).  CRM seeks to promote the achievement of sustainable development goals by helping to manage societal vulnerability associated with both short term climate variability and longer term climate change. It involves proactive, precautionary programs to realize positive outcomes for communities and societies in climate-sensitive areas such as agriculture, water resources, food security, health, the environment and livelihoods. The approach integrates three aspects of climate and sustainable development that are often considered in isolation:

• climate information for decision-support in climate-affected sectors
  

• improvements in development outcomes in the face of present climate variability with capacity building to manage risks of longer-term climate change, and
  

• reduced socio-economic vulnerability to extreme climate events with strategies to enable communities to capitalize on favorable climate conditions.

UNDP-GEF has six thematic areas as priorities for adaptation: Agriculture and Food Security; Water Resources and Quality; Public Health; Disaster Risk Management; Coastal Development; and Natural Resources.  The time is now right to help launch a small number of adaptation projects addressing these areas.  CRM projects will be initiated in a small, manageable number of countries in Asia.  The countries are those where UNDP has a significant disaster risk management portfolio and where climate demonstrably affects development.  The process of selecting, developing and supporting the implementation of these projects will begin with a regional workshop.  The workshop will bring together staff from UNDP/GEF, BCPR, IRI, UNDP Country Offices and relevant government line agencies from the selected countries along with technical specialists from the region.