The GCVCA practitioners guidebook provides a framework for analyzing vulnerability and capacity to adapt to climate change and build resilience to disasters at the community level, with a particular focus on social and in particular gender dynamics, and on Mozambique. It incorporates and builds on content from the Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis (CVCA) Handbook, which has been used and adapted in different ways since its initial release in 2009, within CARE and with other organizations. Feedback on its strengths and weaknesses often included demand for more specific guidance on applying the approach in a more gender-sensitive way.
The main objectives of the GCVCA are to:
- Analyse vulnerability to climate change and adaptive capacity at the community-level with a focus on social and in particular the gender dimensions. The GCVCA is a methodology for gathering, organizing and analyzing information on the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of
communities, households and individuals. It provides guidance and tools for participatory research, analysis and learning. It also takes into account the role of governance, i.e. local and national institutions and policies in facilitating adaptation.
- Help assess community knowledge on climate as a complement to scientific data to achieve greater understanding of the local impacts of climate change on different groups in a community. The process of gathering and analyzing information with communities serves to build local knowledge on climate issues and appropriate strategies to adapt. The participatory exercises and associated discussions provide opportunities to link the knowledge of different groups in a community to available scientific information on climate change. This can help local stakeholders understand the implications of climate change for the livelihoods of women and men, girls and boys, so that they are better able to analyze risks and plan for community-based adaptation.