In the period 2011-2013 the EU funded SEARCH project implemented activities to increase social, agricultural and ecological resilience in the face of climate change and other drivers of change in Morocco, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon. The lessons learned and experienced obtained have been brought together in a toolkit.
The innovative aspect of the project is threefold. Firstly it makes the concept of resilience more concrete by looking into its four components: diversity, infrastructure, self-organization and learning. Secondly it recognizes in all aspects that climate change is just one among many factors that especially cause stress on societies in least developed regions. Last but not least, the toolkit that was prepared in the frame of the project provides practical tools for using the theoretical concept ‘resilience’ to integrate climate change adaptation not only in national strategies but also in the strategies and plans at local and watershed levels. The toolkit clearly demonstrates the flows of activities under each practical step for developing resilience and how the different steps are interlinked to deliver the overall integrated plan and its implementation.
The toolkit can support all those involved in the design of resilience initiatives in the sectors of Agriculture, Water and Natural Resource Management by providing step-by-step guidance. The toolkit is designed for the use in planning and dialogue within and between local, intermediate and national levels. However, elements of the toolkit are appropriate for use in stand-alone activities within a single municipality, district, governorate, or region.