CEP research published on measuring recovery from extreme weather events

ClimateXChange has published a report prepared by CEP and partners measuring recovery from extreme weather events.

ClimateXChange has published the report ‘Measuring recovery from extreme weather events’ which was prepared by CEP and the University of Strathclyde.

This research built on CEP’s work on flood resilience and investigated international approaches to assessing recovery from extreme weather events, the data sources they use and their applicability to Scotland. The aim was to develop a common understanding of climate resilience and the critical components in planning for local and national recovery from extreme weather.

The report identifies monitoring frameworks used internationally which could be relevant to Scotland and evaluates the extent to which they would work with the approaches set out in Scotland’s National Performance Framework and the Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme (SCCAP).

Based on international experience, the building blocks for developing a system for monitoring recovery from extreme weather events in Scotland are:

• Framing recovery within a set of wider social goals such as wellbeing or resilience.

• An approach that establishes the different areas or recovery that need to be considered and the role the community will play in deciding the system to be used.

• A set of indicators of recovery.

• Joined-up data across different scales (national, regional/local and community) with a focus on process and outcomes.

• Relevance of the spatial scale at which data is collected and the timing and frequency of collection to the indicator.

• Drawing on existing information.

For more information, please contact the Project Director, Paula Orr (Technical Director).

CEP reviewing evidence on flood resilience for Defra

CEP is leading an evidence review of flood resilience for Defra and the Environment Agency.

CEP is leading a project to provide an evidence review of flood resilience for Defra and the Environment Agency. The project was commissioned in summer 2019 and is expected to conclude in spring 2020. CEP’s consortium partners are the Flood Hazard Research Centre at Middlesex University and HaskoningDHV UK Ltd.

The government’s 25 Year Environment Plan includes a goal to reduce the risk of harm to people, the environment and the economy from natural hazards including flooding and coastal erosion. “Boosting the long-term resilience of our homes, businesses and infrastructure” is one of the measures by which this will be achieved. Resilience is also central to the Environment Agency’s draft National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England which emphasises the need for ‘climate resilient places’.

The overall objective of the project is to review the concept of flood resilience and how it can be used in a resilience framework for managing flood and coastal erosion risks in England. 

So far the project has:

• Developed evidence from peer-reviewed and grey literature on the main approaches to flood resilience that are currently in use.

• Provided a summary of the responses to Defra’s ‘Call for Evidence on Flooding and Coastal Erosion’ to inform the Government’s policy on flood and coastal erosion resilience.

• Supported engagement of flood risk management policy-makers and practitioners in exploring how resilience concepts, frameworks and metrics could best be implemented in policy and how to address any barriers to implementation.

• Facilitated cross-Government consideration of the different concepts of resilience currently in use, how these could best be aligned and what targets and metrics could be used.  

The results of the research will be published by Defra later this year.

For more information please contact CEP’s Paula Orr (Project Director) or Spela Kolaric (Project Coordinator) for more information.

CEP to research how to measure recovery from extreme weather events

CEP HAS RECENTLY BEEN AWARDED A NEW PROJECT TO HELP CLIMATEXCHANGE UNDERSTAND HOW TO MEASURE RECOVERY FROM EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS .

ClimateXchange has commissioned Collingwood Environmental Planning (CEP), in partnership with the University of Strathclyde, to undertake research to help develop an approach to monitoring recovery from extreme weather events, including flooding, storms, drought, extreme cold in winter and above normal heat in summer.  The research will look at possible targets and indicators, which should be relevant to broader resilience frameworks and strategies in Scotland.  The main aim of the research is to enable a common understanding of climate resilience and the critical components in planning for local and national recovery from extreme weather.  

This research will involve an evidence review of recovery monitoring systems used elsewhere, identification and review of potential datasets that could be used to measure recovery from extreme weather events, and consideration of how monitoring recovery from extreme weather events can link and contribute to Scotland’s National Performance Framework, the Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme and the Preparing Scotland guidance for getting ready for and dealing with emergencies.

The project began in January and will come to a close at the end of March 2020.

For more information please contact CEP’s Paula Orr (Technical Director) or Dr Sian Morse-Jones (Principal Consultant).

CEP contribute to climate resilience book

CEP author of communication, collaboration and co-production chapter on building climate resilience

A new book on climate resilience “Resilience to Climate Change - Communication, Collaboration and Co-production” by Candice Howarth, Katya Brooks and Sian Morse-Jones has recently been published (August 2018) by Palgrave Pivot, which brings together multiple work on the challenges and opportunities of climate shocks.  

The Chapter “The importance of Communication, Collaboration and Co-production” by Candice Howarth and Sian Morse-Jones examines how communication and collaboration could be enhanced, in order to build resilient responses to nexus shocks.

For further information please contact Dr Sian Morse-Jones, Senior Consultant.