More frequent “extreme weather events,” induced by climate change, are putting entire populations at risk – by damaging agriculture and threatening many plant and animal species with extinction. To equip communities with the knowledge and skills they need for coping with climate change, FAO has just released an update of its e-learning tool on community-based climate change adaptation.

The update reflects the fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and is now available in Russian language, in addition to the already available English, Chinese, French and Spanish.

The report of the fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change points to several key trends, such as an increase in global mean temperature and changing precipitation patterns. These phenomena are explained in detail in the updated e-learning tool.

Community-based climate change adaptation involves making adjustments in natural or human systems in order to take advantage of the opportunities presented by a changing climate.
The e-learning tool uses real-world examples from FAO field projects and country-specific case studies. One highlighted example is recurrent flooding in the low-lying Bereg region of Hungary – a phenomenon that is expected to worsen due to climate change. Community-based adaptation involves creating flood reservoirs to absorb excess water, changing from intensive agriculture to more extensive land use in the polders, and utilizing the polders as natural buffer zones and protected habitat to attract tourism.

“It is important that everyone understand the effects that climate change will have on their community and learn ways to adapt,” said Olga Buto, a climate change officer with FAO’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia. “By providing users with the latest scientific knowledge on key variables and the impacts of climate change, we empower them to take timely and appropriate action to combat it.”

The FAO e-learning tool is organized in four thematic modules – climate change, climate change and food security, preparing for community-based adaptation, and implementing community-based adaptation. It is specifically designed to assist agricultural extension staff, community organizations, field practitioners, and development partners.

FAO is working in all parts of the world to help people and agriculture adapt to climate-related changes that are happening now, or projected to occur in the coming years.

1 October 2015, Budapest, Hungary