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The important global, national and local benefits provided by protected areas may come at a cost to communities, and any resultant experience of injustice can undermine protected area conservation. Conversely, the success of many areas conserved by Indigenous Peoples and local communities makes a compelling case for the stronger engagement of local rights-holders and stakeholders in all types of protected area. The Convention on Biological Diversity recognises the need to govern and manage protected areas effectively and equitably; this briefing provides an equity framework to support policymakers, protected area managers, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and other local stakeholders in achieving this.

The scale of climate change adaptation investments demands robust assessments of the expected and actual returns. We need to know how effectively adaptation keeps development on track and equally importantly how equitably adaptation costs and benefits are distributed. Adaptation initiatives may be placed into three broad categories: addressing the existing ‘adaptation deficit’; managing incremental changes in climate-related risks; and proactively addressing the more profound longer term manifestations and impacts of climate change by transforming or replacing existing systems and practices.

Climate change poses a massive threat to development. The poorest populations of poor countries - the Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States, and the nations of Africa - face the concentrated challenge of tackling the worst of the impacts with the least capacity to do so. Clearly, adaptation to climate impacts must be seamlessly integrated into any development planning and policy. This four- step plan for mainstreaming climate change aims to fulfil that need. A 'learning by doing approach, it focuses first on national capacity to ensure that development in all sectors and at all levels is effectively climate-proofed.