Regional Short Course on Integrating Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction to Reduce Vulnerability

Applications for this Short Course are now open

Applications will close on 18 February 2025

Apply now

Through Australia Awards Short Courses, the Australian Government offers and funds short-term training opportunities. Short Courses develop participants’ skills and knowledge and help them build networks to drive change and contribute to the development in their home countries and regions.

Hydrometeorological hazards such as floods, droughts and tropical cyclones afflict many regions of the world, but their impact in terms of lives lost and livelihoods disrupted tends to fall most heavily on the poor in developing countries. Climate change threatens to heighten these impacts, both by changing the frequency and/or intensity of extreme events and by bringing changes in mean conditions that may alter the underlying vulnerability of populations to hazards. The result in the decades to come may be an increase in the global burden of weather-related disasters – events that can threaten the sustainability of development and undermine progress toward poverty reduction.   

Climate change and its impact exposes and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities and inequalities between rural, regional, and urban areas, Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, those with health and disability requirements, and between generations, income, and health status, all of which, increase the relative climate change risk faced by some groups and places.   

According to the World Health Organisation, climate change is expected to cause approximately an additional 250,000 deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress alone. The International Disasters Database finds that in 2021, a total of 432 catastrophic events were recorded the world over, which is significantly higher than the average of 357 annual disaster events between 2001–2020.10 Floods dominated these events, with 223 on record, up from an average of 163 annual flood occurrences between 2001–2023.  

In 2015, Australia and other members of the United Nations adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. The Sendai Framework aims to achieve the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods, and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural, and environmental assets of persons, communities, and countries. To achieve these ends, the framework is explicitly built around the following goal: ‘Prevent new and reduce existing disaster risk through the implementation of integrated and inclusive economic, structural, legal, social, health, cultural, educational, environmental, technological, political, and institutional measures that prevent and reduce hazard exposure and vulnerability to disaster, increase preparedness for response and recovery, and thus strengthen resilience’.  

In its Sixth Assessment Report Climate Change 2022 Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that in Asia there are significant barriers to climate resilient development such as fragmented, reactive governance; inadequate evidence on which actions to prioritise and how to sequence them; and finance deficits. Some Asian countries and regions offer solutions to overcome these barriers, through use of advanced technologies (for example in situ observation and remote sensing, a variety of new sensor technologies, citizen science, artificial intelligence and machine learning tools); regional partnerships and learning; improved forecasting capabilities; and better risk awareness.   

Holistic management of disaster risk requires action to reduce impacts of extreme events before, during and after they occur, including technical preventive measures and aspects of socio-economic development designed to reduce human vulnerability to hazards. Approaches toward the management of climate change impacts must also consider the reduction of human vulnerability under changing levels of risk. A key challenge and opportunity therefore lie in building a bridge between current disaster risk management efforts aimed at reducing vulnerabilities to extreme events and efforts to promote climate change adaptation. Through better understanding of the extent to which current disaster management practices reflect future adaptation needs it should be possible to assess what changes may be required to address future risks.   

This Short Course will consider how building greater policy coherence between disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation can contribute to advancing sustainable development. Linkages between DRR and climate change adaptation will be explored through the dimensions of policy, innovation, and practice.   

Participants

This Short Course will be offered to approximately 24 participants from the Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia program region.

Women, people with disability, people from diverse social backgrounds and people from diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and sex characteristics are encouraged to apply.

Participants for this Short Course should meet the following criteria:

Specific:

  • demonstrate a strong commitment to contributing the skills and knowledge gained during the Short Course within and across participants’ organisations to support whole of government connectivity
  • willing to participate in a virtual ‘community of practice’ with other participants and the course provider to maintain connections made during the course
  • have occupied their current position for at least 12 months and not planning/scheduled to retire in the next 24 months
  • have at least two years relevant work experience
  • have access to the internet and be computer literate.

General:

In addition to the course specific eligibility criteria listed above, applicants must:

  • be a citizen of the nominated country, currently residing in nominated country
  • not be applying for or hold permanent residency in either Australia or New Zealand, or be married to, engaged to, or a de facto of a person who holds, or is eligible to hold, Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency. This criterion applies at any stage of the application, selection or mobilisation phases of the course
  • be able to provide attested documents for processing a visa application to enter Australia for the duration of the Australian component of the course and satisfy all requirements of the Department of Home Affairs for an Australian Student Visa (Subclass 500) or an Australian Visitor (Business Visitor stream) Visa (Subclass 600)
  • not be a currently serving military personnel
  • obtain the necessary study and travel approvals from their employer and be available and committed to participate in the course based on the anticipated course schedule outlined below
  • not have attended any previous Short Course (however Australia Awards Scholarships alumni who have completed their degrees more than two years ago may be considered)
  • when assessing applications, the following criteria will be considered:
  • evidence of organisational support for the objectives of the course and the applicant’s participation for the duration of the program
  • the relevance of the applicant’s current workplace role and responsibilities to the course outcomes
  • the applicant’s demonstrated capacity and willingness to act as an organisational change agent, sharing new skills and knowledge with colleagues to build capacity in short course theme
  • the criteria may vary according to country and will be determined by that country’s Australian High Commission/Embassy.

Participants must be committed and available to participate in the activity both in person and online and must obtain the necessary study leave approvals from their business.

Activity Dates
Preliminary Activity (Online) 7–8 April and 12 May 2025
Core Learning Elements (in-Australia) 2–13 June 2025
Applied Learning Activity (Online) 25–26 August 2025

 

All dates and locations are tentative, and more information will be provided at the time of selection.

To apply for this Short Course, applicants must complete an application online at https://oscar.australiaawardssouthasiamongolia.org/ and upload the required documentation by 18 February 2025. Only completed applications submitted online will be considered.

All candidates will need to submit an online application, including their responses to application questions (exploring their motivation for joining the Short Course) and a CV outlining the roles and responsibilities of their current role, as well as any other relevant experience or qualifications.

Applicants must upload the following documents in their application:

Employer nomination letter, Head of Agency endorsement, passport bio page, academic certificates (highest degree only), CV (any format), English proficiency evidence (if available).

Applications close Tuesday 18 February 2025, 11:59pm Dhaka time. 

Australia Awards South Asia and Mongolia Posts together with DFAT Canberra will determine the final list of participants for this Course.

Please note that depending on the quality of applications submitted, participants may not ultimately be selected.

All individuals who submit completed applications will be informed on outcomes by email no later than 5 March 2025.

For any inquiries, please contact the Australia Awards office in your country.