Sustainability
Sustainability is commonly divided into technical and institutional
aspects. Technical aspects are related to whether the interventions stay
viable to the problem they address. This may involve the capacity of
local communities to benefit from the intervention in the long term in
terms of a) access , b) affordability and c)
knowledge to the resources involved in the intervention.
Furthermore the interventions which reduce vulnerability in the
short-medium term should not cause mal-adaptation in the long-term.
Institutional aspects are concerned with assessing whether mandated
stakeholders have the capacity to manage interventions into the medium
and long-terms. When evaluating the sustainability of an adaptation
project, it is useful to consider the following questions:
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Are local communities able to harness the benefits of the adaptation
interventions in the long-term?
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Are interventions designed to deliver adaptation benefits in the short
term increasing vulnerability in the medium or long term
(mal-adaptation)?
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Do local governments have sufficient capacity and endogenous resources
(regarding access, affordability and knowledge) to sustain the
adaptation process?