资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

Climate-fragility risks are on the rise globally and developmental paths taken by countries could be attributed to this rise. To understand the link between development and climate-fragility risks, this chapter presents the findings of the survey conducted by authors with the development practitioners and experts from Asia. The purpose of the survey was to elicit the responses on the perceptions of stakeholders engaged in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation on climate fragility risks, their understanding on the subject, and their opinion on how to address them. To explain differences in survey findings, the chapter also presents a Climate-Fragility Risk Index (CFRI) that provides a systematic analysis and presentation of various climate-fragility indicators. The survey indicated diverse views on what constitutes climate fragilities with clear differences between developed countries and developing countries. Majority of respondents opined that the climate fragility risks are added to the disaster risks while others expressed that the climate fragility risks emerge as a result of interaction between climate change and developmental pressures. Most respondents from Japan opined low understanding of CFRs at the policy level while the majority of responses from developing Asia revealed a very low understanding of the subject at the policy level. Climate change as a major driver, impacts livelihoods, worsens disaster impacts and leads to transboundary conflicts. The major challenges such as dysfunctional institutions, developmental deficit including migration and internal displacement are directly bearing upon the fragility risks of the developing countries. For developed countries such as Japan, demographic stress such as the aging population is a significant factor to be addressed. As a way forward, the brief advice the countries to formulate and implement well-coordinated and evidence-based policies in the increasingly integrating world with better investments in understanding drivers and pressures behind CFRs and better information sharing for well-informed decision making.