• Understand what risk assessments and the components of risk are

• Learn how to develop climate change impact chains

• Learn how these approaches can help us identify EbA options

• Climate-related risk: Potential adverse consequences for human or ecological systems due to
climate change, which results from the interaction of hazards, vulnerability, and exposure (IPCC,
2022).
• Climate change impact chain: An analytical tool that helps us to understand, order, analyse and
prioritise factors that drive risk in the system of concern (i.e., cause risk in a proposed project)
(GIZ, EURAC & UNU-EHS, 2018).
• Climate change impacts: The direct and indirect consequences of climate change for natural or
human systems. They form the basic building blocks of climate change impact chains (GIZ,
EURAC & UNU-EHS, 2018).
• Indicators: Quantify factors that influence exposure, hazard and vulnerability (GIZ, EURAC &
UNU-EHS, 2018).

1. Risk is a function of hazards, exposure and vulnerability – the latter of which is composed of
sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Examples of climate risks include loss of lives, dwellings and
livelihoods for communities, food insecurity for rural populations, biodiversity loss and species
extinctions, and damage to public infrastructure.
2. The components of risk (hazards, vulnerability and exposure) interact in complex ways,
determining the overall level of risk. In the centre of the left diagram (below), you can see the
interactions among climate change, ecosystems and society from which risk can emerge. The
diagram on the right shows that these same interactions can also provide opportunities for EbA
and climate-resilient development to reduce risks.
 (Source: IPCC, 2022)

3. Climate change impact chains help us to understand cause-and-effect in a socio-ecological

system and identify EbA actions that can reduce the potential impact of a climate hazard.
4. Climate change indicators help track changes over time in factors that influence risk. A good
indicator is SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented and Time-limited.
Indicators often have different measurement units and need to be normalised before they can
be aggregated.

• Climate Risk Assessment for Ecosystem-based Adaptation – A guidebook for planners and
practitioners (by GIZ, EURAC & UNU-EHS, 2018). This step-by-step guide on climate risk
assessments for EbA includes guidance on preparing a risk assessment, developing impact
chains, understanding the outcomes of a risk assessment, identifying adaptation options and
utilising risk assessments for monitoring and evaluation. It builds upon GIZ’s Vulnerability
Sourcebook and Risk Supplement.
• Voluntary guidelines for the design and effective implementation of ecosystem-based
approaches to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and supplementary
information (by the CBD, 2019). This document consists of three sections. The first section
highlights the advantages of EbA and discusses how it can be integrated into plans and policies
focused on climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. The second section provides
guidelines to practitioners on how to effectively design and implement EbA at the programme
and project levels. And the third section covers outreach to different sectors.
• Adaptation, Livelihoods and Ecosystems (ALivE) Planning Tool (by UNEP, the Global
Environment Facility, IISD, IUCN and UNEP’s International Ecosystem Management
Partnership (UNEP-IEMP)). ALivE is a computer-based EbA planning tool that can be used to
understand and analyse the linkages among ecosystems, livelihoods, and climate change and
plan effective EbA solutions.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. (2014). The Vulnerability Sourcebook:
Concept and guidelines for standardised vulnerability assessments. GIZ: Bonn, Germany. 180 pp.
https://www.adaptationcommunity.net/download/va/vulnerability-guides-manuals-
reports/vuln_source_2017_EN.pdf
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH & Climate Adaptation Working Group of
the Conservation Measures Partnership (CMP). (2020). Conservation Standards to Ecosystem-based
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CMP_CoSEbA-Guidance.pdf
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for Ecosystem-based Adaptation – A guidebook for planners and practitioners. GIZ: Bonn, Germany. 120
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