Developing a nutrition-sensitive approach to climate adaptation
IIED is working together with World Vision and communities in Tanzania and Solomon Islands, to develop a nutrition-sensitive approach to climate adaptation, as part of the NOURISH programme.
Community members providing valuable direction into climate risk assessment on food and nutrition security in Toroa Community, Makira Province, Solomon Islands (Photo: World Vision)
Climate change is affecting agricultural production and food systems. Responses tend to focus on protecting or improving agricultural productivity, particularly of high-carbohydrate crops such as maize and rice.
However, many climate response efforts to date have neglected the crucial consideration of maintaining good nutrition and dietary diversity, by providing a diet that is rich in all essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
World Vision Ireland, with funding from Irish Aid, is implementing a five-year programme, Nature-based Opportunities Underpinning Resilient and Sustainable Households (NOURISH), in five countries.
The programme aims to reduce poverty and hunger among vulnerable communities by focusing on sustainably improving livelihoods, particularly for vulnerable/female-headed households, through nutrition-sensitive, climate-smart approaches.
IIED is working together with World Vision and communities in Tanzania and the Solomon Islands, to assess climate risks and vulnerabilities related to food security and nutrition. The partners are collaborating with communities to develop a nutrition-sensitive approach to climate adaptation, which will support the production of a diverse range of affordable, nutritious, climate-resilient, culturally appropriate, and safe foods.
What is IIED doing?
IIED, together with World Vision, co-designed simple climate risk and vulnerability assessment tools with community members in Tanzania and the Solomon Islands.
Tanzania
In Tanzania, the project team is working with the Ngwamanota community in Kishapu District in Northern Tanzania to explore nutrition-sensitive options for climate adaptation.
The primary livelihood activities in this community are subsistence agriculture and livestock rearing. The community reported that they currently use a range of coping strategies, for example, engaging in casual labour, replanting and planting earlier.
However, these strategies will come under increasing pressure due to increased climatic changes, and some coping strategies are maladaptive. For example, children between the ages of seven and 12 years told us they often skip meals as a coping strategy. This can lead to severe impacts, including child stunting and long-term development challenges. Climate action should ensure that households, and especially children, don't have to resort to this option.
Community members suggested adaptation strategies such as afforestation and reforestation (including planting fruit trees), constructing dams for irrigation, planting early maturing and drought-tolerant nutritious seeds, prioritising storage of food for consumption, access to climate information, joining savings groups and education on better farming practices, nutrition, entrepreneurship and gender equality.
When combined, the diversity of strategies can help support enhanced food security and nutrition-sensitive adaptation to a changing climate.
Solomon Islands
Toroa is located on the northeast coast of Makira, one of the main islands in the Solomon Islands, and is home to a close-knit community of approximately 250 residents. Toroa highlights the reality of being both left behind and vulnerable: there are no telephones, electricity, health centres or secondary school, and the community struggles with increasing climate risks. All residents rely on subsistence farming or fishing to support their livelihoods.
Toroa is experiencing climate hazards that can impact regions for two to three weeks, restricting access to the sea, the market and the production of staple foods. The absence of scientific early warning and communication systems exacerbates these issues.
Despite being a food-rich community, worsening climate impacts are exposing people to food insecurity in a context in which nutrition is deprioritised. Meals are shaped by availability, taste and culture, rather than nutrition. Staples like taro, cassava and yam provide energy for farming and fishing, while vegetables are often avoided for their taste.
People in Toroa use previous experience to adapt to climate impacts, but this is becoming more and more challenging.
The communities' adaptation strategies are evolving. For instance, supporting yam plants with poles was introduced as an innovative approach to enhance production and help crops withstand winds. However, as wind intensity and frequency increased, this method became ineffective. The community then reverted to their traditional practice of allowing the plants to spread horizontally along the ground.
But this affects production for both the number of plants per area and the quality of the harvest. Yams grown this way are also more susceptible to flooding. This highlights the complexity of managing multiple climate impacts.
During adaptation planning meetings, communities also suggested other strategies to link climate resilience with food security. These strategies include developing spice gardens and fishponds, better access to resilient crops, improving nutrition knowledge, promoting land access for women and establishing savings clubs.
These offer a range of strategies to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change, while also considering nutrition, food security and equity.
Community adaptation plans
IIED, together with World Vision, will support the implementation of these community adaptation plans, working with the community, government and NOURISH programme staff.
The lessons learnt will be shared with other NOURISH country programmes for potential scale up and peer learning.
IIED will also publish a step-by-step guide on how to conduct this assessment that can be replicated by any organisation and applied in additional communities and countries, to support greater linkages between climate, nutrition and food security and for the development of community-led, nutrition-sensitive, climate adaptation plans.
