Working Plan and CEPB Methodology

Working Plan and CEPB Methodology

The Ceará Biodiversity and Climate Change Working Plan Objective

Organize efforts, through the instrument of the State Integrated Plan for Biodiversity, Climate Change and Combating Desertification, among the technical and institutional partners to develop a state plan focused on planning and management of biodiversity in the State of Ceará. Its structure should consider/define subsidies (content) for municipal public policies and projects focused on conservation, restoration and sustainable use of the territory that makes up the biomes present in Ceará. Such policies will have as priority objective alternatives for the maintenance of biodiversity and the combat of desertification, related to the adoption of mitigation and adaptation practices to the effects of climate change, aiming at the durable, resilient and sustainable development (environmental, economic and social) in the territory of the State of Ceará.

Working Plan Goals

As part of the Ceará Biodiversity and Climate Change Plan Working Group, CEPB is collaborating on conducting data analysis on various variables and key focus areas relevant to the current and future impacts of Climate Change in Ceará, Brazil. 

The Ceará Biodiversity and Climate Change Working Plan outlines the following goals:

Research and collaborate in reporting the following:

  •  established indicators of land degradation and desertification
  •  factors affecting land degradation and desertification
  •  impacts of desertification in the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest
  •  interaction between land types and desertification
  •  factors contributing to resilience against desertification
  •  impact of protected areas on desertification
  •  established indicators of biodiversity and biodiversity loss
  •  impact of climate change on biodiversity
  •  impact of protected areas on biodiversity
  •  the links between climate change and the SDGs
  •  the impact of climate change on the achievement of the SDGs in Brazil and other countries to date
  •  how climate change (including desertification and biodiversity loss) affects the SDGs in Ceara (including impact on agriculture)
  •  interventions and plans that could help reduce the negative impacts of climate change on the SDGs in Ceará

These goals fit into the three identified focus areas of 

  1.  desertification, 
  2.  biodiversity, and 
  3.  sustainable development

(quantified through the UN Sustainable Development Goals, i.e. SDGs). The focus areas fall under the key ways that climate change is expected to impact the people of Ceará and also highlight topics that urgently need addressing to preserve and improve the quality of life in Ceará. 

Photograph depicting the state of the municipality of Quixadá —one of the municipalities of Ceará suffering from desertification — in 2020.
Source: Disclosure / Ceará Water Resources Management Company (COGERH).


CEPB’s Role

In order to help facilitate research, transparency, and improvement in these three focus areas, CEPB has committed to providing technical and logistical support for the project. Part of this support includes: 

  • Coordination with partners and working group members
  • Research concerning the national and international context of Biodiversity and Climate Change agendas and climate change impacts on biodiversity and economic activities in Ceará and within SDG frameworks
  • Data analysis (including machine learning and GIS)
  • Classification of municipalities to face greater impacts from climate change
  • Organization of diagnostic information to format into the final plan
  • Survey of possible resources for the execution of working plan actions

All three focus areas affect and depend on one another. To most effectively address the urgent threat of climate change in Ceará, CEPB will first focus on preparing a diagnosis for desertification, followed by biodiversity, and thereafter sustainable development  as ordered by immediacy and order of complexity.


Photo: José dos Santos
 


Methodology

To evaluate (establish a baseline for) past, present, and future desertification (trends) in Ceará and gather information on how desertification could be ameliorated in Ceará, CEPB proposes the following methodology:

  1.  Factors that affect land degradation and desertification
      •  Interaction between land types and desertification
  2.  Established indicators of land degradation and desertification
  3.  Impacts of desertification on the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest
      •  Desertification
          • Location
          •  Intensity
          •  Distribution (units that previous studies used)
      •   Impacts
  4.  Factors that contribute to resilience against desertification
      •  Effect of protected areas on desertification
  1.  Literature review
  2.  Impacts of desertification on the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest
      •  Degree of desertification 
          •  Location
          •  Intensity
      •  Distribution of desertification
          •  By municipality
          •  By biome 
              •  Caatinga
              •  Atlantic Forest
  3.  Interaction between land types and desertification
  4.  Impact of protected areas on desertification
  1.  Literature review
  2.  Impacts of desertification on the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest
      •  Degree of desertification 
          •  Location
          •  Intensity
      •  Distribution of desertification
          •  By municipality
          •  By biome 
              •  Caatinga
              •  Atlantic Forest

The goal of CEPB is to find an effective and easily reproducible way to assess the region’s climate risk and design efficient adaptation strategies for the most affected, vulnerable rural communities.

 

How you can help

We count on your support to do the work of collecting data, maintaining partnerships, communicating with affected communities, collaborating with local agencies, governments, and associations, and sustaining the CEPB team. Help us assist agencies, governments and communities with the information necessary to create the best adaptation policies for vulnerable populations affected by climate change.