National Human Development Report 2009: Socio-Economic Impacts of Climate Change in Moldova and Policy Options to Adapt

Project title: National Human Development Report 2009: Socio-Economic Impacts of Climate Change in Moldova and Policy Options to Adapt;

Implementation period: January 1 – November 20, 2009;

Funded by: UNDP - Moldova;

Project goal: Elaboration of the 2009 Moldova National Human Development Report addressing the key issues of poverty, socio-economic welfare, gender and migration, with particular emphasis on climate related risks to rural economies and local livelihoods;

Main activities:

• Reviewed climate change initiatives, activities and research in Moldova and in the region that has relevance and identified current adaptive capacity in the country;
• Conducted comprehensive stakeholder analysis in the key sectors;
• Reviewed current vulnerability and risks assessments available in Moldova, identified gaps in assessing the impact of climate change nationally;
• Conducted consultations with the stakeholders on the methodology and content of the study, based on national priorities;
• Compiled a range of climate change scenarios for Moldova, based on various emissions projections (source IPCC), to determine the potential negative changes in the biophysical systems that can be expected due to climate change in Moldova;
• Examined and discussed with stakeholders the impact of these scenarios on economic growth and development objectives, including distributional impact on the poorest;
• Determined the extent to which climate has changed, including evidence of extreme weather events, scale and associated costs and damage;
• Identified the most vulnerable sectors of economy as well as geographic areas subject to climate change impacts;
• Investigate the economic, social and environmental consequences of the climate change;
• Drafted policy recommendations based on the analysis above;

Main outputs and outcomes:

• The main output - National Human Development Report 2009 “Socio-economic Impacts of Climate Change in Moldova and Policy Options to Adapt”, providing analysis on the Human Development in Moldova, Climate Change and its Challenges for Moldova, Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources, Vulnerability of the Ecosystems, Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture, Impact of Climate Change on the Transport Infrastructure, Impact of Climate Change on the Energy Sector, Capacity to Mitigate and Transfer Climate-related Risks, and a Policy Discussion Section;
• An update of the statistical indicators describing human development in Moldova;
• Presentations given at the National Conference organized for launching the NDHR 09 on 23 of November 2009;
• A press-kit including key figures and facts from the NHDR 09;

Project impact:

The 2009 National Human Development Report provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the strong influence of climate variability and climate change, and extreme weather events on areas vital to human development in Moldova: water resources, ecosystems, agriculture and energy, transport infrastructure and health. The Report makes clear that “Climate change is global, but its effects are local”. It also examines how well the country's development agenda aligns with climate change realities. The Report concludes that Moldova will face warmer and wetter winters but hotter and drier summers and autumns. As the Report makes clear, the 2007 summer drought can be seen as a warning sign to policy and decision-makers that makes clear that climate change and its impacts need to be urgently considered.