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Region, Country Climate-related stress Adaptation practices
China ? Landslide Dense and deep-rooted vegetation helps to
bind soil together, resisting slippage of surface
layers. China’s Grain for Green program
bans logging and agriculture on steep slopes
and prohibits forest clearing for shifting
agriculture in the mountains of Southwest
China. In exchange, the local communities get
grain provisions and cash subsidies, as well as Abu Dhabi, UAE
resilience against flooding events.

Canada ? Permafrost melt; change in Changes in livelihood practices by the
ice cover Inuit, including: change of hunt locations;
diversification of hunted species; use of
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology;
encouragement of food sharing.

? Extremetemperatures Implementation of heat health alert plans in
Toronto, which include measures such as:
opening of designated cooling centres at
public locations; information to the public
through local media; distribution of bottled
water through the Red Cross to vulnerable
people; operation of a heat information line to
answer heat-related questions; availability of an
emergency medical service vehicle with
specially trained staff and medical equipment.

Source: Schneider et al. (2007) and World Bank (2009)

8
Prioritizing Adaptation Responses

There are number of options available when to responding to expected climate impacts, depending on,
for example, available capacities; cultural, social and economic preferences; urgency of actions; adaptation
options that need to be evaluated and prioritized. Prioritizing among adaptation options based on
criteria that recognizes the importance of sustainable development also helps to realize synergies and
avoid conflicts with other dimensions of sustainability. Box 14 outlines additional criteria that could be
adjusted to particular local situations. In the context of water resource management in South Africa, an
example of how criteria could be used to prioritize adaptation options is provided (Box 15). This case

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