This thematic brief is part of a four-part series by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) which highlights lessons learned from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) special report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (known as SREX).

This best practices guidance document is intended to help development professionals and government officials who are involved in agricultural and rural development investment operations to mainstream climate change considerations in programme identification, design and supervision.

Since the rises in food prices in 2008 and beyond, food security is high on the development agenda. Recognizing that water is an essential element to achieve food security goals, several high level events this year put 'water and food security' as their main theme.

The outcome of the December 2011 United Nations climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa, provides an important new opportunity to move toward an international climate policy architecture that is capable of delivering broad international participation and significant global CO2 emissions reductions at reasonable cost.

The objective of ‘Green Economy in a Blue World’ is to analyse the challenges and opportunities of a potential transition towards a green economy in key sectors heavily linked to the marine and coastal environment – the blue world.

In 2007, the world became a predominantly urban society. An estimated three-quarters of economic production now takes place in cities. Urbanization brings with it the possibilities of improved access to jobs, goods, and services for poor people in developing countries and beyond as globalization trends connect cities worldwide.

Soils are the most significant nonrenewable geo-resource that have for ensuring water, energy, and food security for present and future generations while adapting and building resilience to climatic change and shocks. But soil’s caring capacity is often forgotten as the missing link in our pursuit of sustainable development.

In 2002, countries met in Johannesburg, South Africa for the 10th anniversary of the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Humankind recently crossed an important threshold: over half of all people now live in cities. In contrast to most of human history, cities have become the default condition for human habitation almost everywhere on earth. Urbanization is proceeding rapidly and at unprecedented scales in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.