Ecosystem Based Adaptation & Disaster Risk Reduction Course.

Disasters have multiple impacts e.g., losses of lives, devastating impacts on infrastructure, damage to ecosystems
and undermining development. On top of this, climate change is expected to aggravate existing disaster risks in
many regions of the world. There is a need for increased awareness amongst practitioners, policymakers and
researchers on the latest advances in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA).
The term “Ecosystem based Adaptation” (EbA) refers to the use of natural systems as a way to buffer the worst
impacts of climate change, maintain the resilience of natural ecosystems, their ecosystem services and the species
that support them, and help people and communities adapt to changing conditions. Ecosystem based Adaptation
is an important and often-overlooked complement to other modes of adaptation. Ecosystem based Adaptation
also refers to conservation actions that protect people from the impacts of climate change. The combination
climate change and market forces bring uncertainty and risk to many communities across the world – especially
those who rely heavily on the availability of local resources and infrastructure. When disaster strikes, a stable,
empowered community will respond with resilience and recover quickly. For this reason, Disaster Risk Reduction
(DRR) programs are now essential priorities of sustainable development. An understanding of linkages between
environment and disasters are especially necessary to integrate Disaster Risk Reduction into development
planning as degraded environments can exacerbate disasters and disasters can aggravate environmental
degradation. The new world order entails a shift in focus away from conventional fire-fighting approach to
disaster management towards community-based risk reduction and preparedness and management that helps and
capacitates communities to prevent, mitigate and cope with disasters effectively.