CRiSTAL Project Management Tool

The impacts of a changing climate—less predictable rainfall, more frequent droughts, rising sea levels, new pest and disease outbreaks, disappearing sea ice—are increasingly being felt by people living around the world. These changes have real implications for farmers, fishers, foresters and others who rely upon natural resources for their living. These groups suffer disproportionately from climate variability and change, particularly in developing countries.

Community-level development projects can play a critical role in helping people adapt to the impacts of climate change through activities that, inter alia, restore ecosystems, strengthen local capacities for risk management and diversify livelihoods. But it can be difficult to exploit this potential and minimize maladaptation without some concrete understanding of how projects influence climate-related vulnerability and adaptive capacity. CRiSTAL helps project planners and managers do this.