Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change in the Global South Initiative

A satellite map view of the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam — *The Mekong River Delta in Vietnam, where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the South China Sea, seen from space | Photo credit: Lavizzara*

Global warming continues to produce larger and more destructive wildfires, longer and more severe droughts, and more powerful and frequent flooding events. But while most climate change research is centered in the developed world, the effects of the earth’s warming will be – and are being – felt most in low- and middle-income countries. With limited social safety nets, uneven state capacity, and more agrarian economies, these countries are particularly susceptible to climate shocks and often lack the resources to adapt effectively, despite growing international funding for adaptation efforts.

The Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change in the Global South Initiative is providing policymakers with evidence that can be used to craft adaptation policies and influence funding priorities, and is generating publicly available data for researchers and government officials studying climate adaptation and resilience in the developing world. Specifically, the initiative is creating a spatially referenced program database that describes where and when an adaptation policy was active and links that database to information on development and socio-economic indicators. In combination, the datasets will help researchers study whether social protection programs reduce the harms of climate change to economic growth, political stability, and health.