Climate Change
... is by it’s very nature a complex field. The work I undertake is rooted in robust analysis, but is presented and explained in a way that is actionable to the decision maker or the “man on the street”. This is done by contextualizing climate concepts to real world experiences to which non-climatologists can relate and that are easily understood. Current research is focused on more efficient automated analysis so more time can be spent to unpacking the impacts in practical ways.
Recent climate projects undertaken
Climate vulnerability assessment for Sustainable Communities for Climate Action in the Yucatan Peninsula (ACCIÓN Yucatan)
Team leader. The project objective is to conduct a pre-feasibility study pre-feasibility study to assess the vulnerability of selected ecosystems, productive systems, and communities following GCF’s requirements and guidelines and build a robust climate rationale for the ACCIÓN project to demonstrate the ability of the proposed activities’ potential to adapt to the impacts of climate change while promoting sustainable development and a paradigm shift in the Yucatan Peninsula
Newinbosch Estate Climate Adaptation Plan
Team leader. Delivered the Climate Adaptation Plan (CAP) for the requirements of 4.1 Climate adaptation of GOV-4 Community Resilience credits for the Green Star SA Sustainable Precinct dispensation for the Newinbosch Estate in Stellenbosch.
Lesotho WEF Nexus GCF SAP
Climate change specialist. My work sought to provide the climate rationale for Lesotho giving over all projected climate changes and providing regional priority for intervention as well as at the local scale assessing high-resolution temporal changes in the climate impact parameters affecting water, food, and energy nexus.
Blue-Green Investment Corporation (BGIC) in Barbados
Climate change specialist. This GCF project will provide funding for green, affordable, gender-inclusive housing, energy generation, water conservation, food security and low-carbon transport initiatives and technologies. The BGIC is envisaged to become a significant institution for practical and strategic financing of climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and measures, supporting the Governments of Barbados to achieve national resilience and emissions reduction targets. My work related to providing the historical and projected climate baselines for BGIC lending operations and providing the rationale for intervention planning.
Recharge Pakistan
Climate change and GCF ITAP specialist. David reviewed the work done on the Recharge Pakistan climate and hydrological assessment. He identified and strengthened the technical adaptation component. The project sought to mitigate flood and drought impact in the Indus River basin through EbA and green infrastructure interventions. David enhanced the climate rationale and hydrological assessment and improved the technical robustness of the project such that the project proposal met with technical barriers associated with the GCF ITAP process.
Climate rationale for Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa
Climate change specialist. The project was in the initial feasibility assessment phase and required an assessment of broad-spectrum climate changes to inform the project development pathway. The analysis included historical impacts and trends, projected changes to standard annual and monthly climate variables of temperature and precipitation, changes in extreme events and hourly precipitation rates, heatwaves, drought potential and potential renewable energy feasibility
Drakensberg 2022 seasonal impact assessment
Meteorological and disaster risk specialist. The flooding in KZN in 2022 was devastating to the local communities and infrastructure. An assessment of the observational rainfall changes in the last 40 years was undertaken to determine the long-term rainfall trends in this region and if return events of this nature are in line with potential projected future occurrences. The assessment focused on the convective rainfall anomalies from Jan-April 2022 to assess the timing, magnitude, and spatial variance from climatological norms
SADC drought assessment
Climate change specialist. The project looked at the long-term future climate changes in the SADC region, most significantly the changes in rainfall and how that may lead to future meteorological drought with impacts on the agricultural and water security sectors. The spatial assessment was undertaken at the national level while a detailed statistical assessment was done at the Köppen climate zone scale giving more detailed future impacts at the sub-national resolution.
Heritage Colombia (HECO): Maximizing contributions of Sustainably Managed Landscapes in Colombia for achievement of Climate Goals
Climate change and GCF ITAP specialist. The GCF application required further development of the technical climate rationale. This included climate trend and seasonality analysis, model validation and scenario justification and long-term extent of change. CCliC was contracted to build robustness into the adaptation component of the project such that the project proposal met with technical barriers associated with the GCF ITAP process.
Climate change analysis and Climate change vulnerability assessment of 14 Local municipalities in South Africa
Climate change and GIS analyst. Climate Change Vulnerability assessments (CCVA) were conducted in the 14 selected local municipalities in South Africa. The assessments focus primarily on the themes of Natural and Managed Ecosystems (NME) and Community and Livelihoods (CL). This is done to provide two distinct pillars of environmental change. These assessments are further broken down into physical climate exposures (hazards). These exposures are heatwaves, cold snaps, flooding, drought, and rainfall variability. The assessments allowed for the prioritisation of the top three most vulnerable to climate change. These are selected for the development of concept notes for climate intervention.
Effective Management of the Peruvian Amazon Protected Areas for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
Climate change and GCF ITAP specialist. Development, advisory and analysis for the adaptation component of the GCF-funded management of Peruvian forests for the WWF. The project entailed providing custom analysis informing the climate rationale and meeting GCF ITAP requirements. Adaptation interventions were aligned with the outcomes from the stakeholder engagement with indigenous communities. This included building climate resilience into local livelihoods, diversifying opportunities and market access, and utilisation of non-timber forest products to provide realistic and functional alternatives to forest and ecosystem degradation activities. The team was contracted to build robustness into the project such that the proposal met with technical barriers associated with the GCF ITAP process.
Climate Modelling and GIS Mapping of three estuaries in Mozambique assessing the role of tropical cyclones as risk multipliers
Climate change and land cover logical assessment technical lead. Development of climate and land-use and tropical cyclone impact analysis in the Limpopo, Zambezi, and Bons Sinais estuaries for the development of the Funding Proposal for this GCF-funded project. These estuaries are home to a variety of climate-exposed livelihoods including agriculture near the riverbanks, and fishing. The noted impacts are the large flooding events, the saline intrusion from a rising ocean and storm surges associated with high-intensity tropical cyclones. The objective of this project is to highlight the logical cause and effect relationships of various impacts allowing for the design of intervention activities promoting more sustainable and protected land-use activities.