Abstract

Since Al Gore published his book “An Inconvenient Truth”, climate change has become an omnipresent issue. Droughts are increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa; glaciers melt away, and the number of flash floods and storms in South-East Asia is rising. However, these crises are not limited to some regions of the world but affect the whole globe. Research shows that people in developing and least developed countries are more vulnerable to these events than those in North America or Europe. In this paper the author summarizes the influences of climatic changes and the respective natural disasters on developing countries in South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania from a human-centered point of view. The information about the impact of climate change in third world countries builds then the stage for a discussion of different ways to advance this global crisis categorized in top-down and bottom-up approaches. In relation to top-down approaches the role of intergovernmental, governmental, and non-governmental entities is discussed. Also, arising security issues as well as the necessity of technology transfer are described. With regard to bottom-up approaches water management, farming techniques, early warning systems, and the self organized insurance system Seguro Solidario are described. The paper concludes with a recommendation of combining top-down and bottom-up approaches in order to increase effectiveness. This could be accomplished by means of a Multi Stakeholder Platform on a local scale and an International Coordination Mechanism (ICM) and a new office of a UN High Commissioner for the Environment on a global scale. In this way the human efforts can be concentrated in a holistic approach combining the strength of governmental programs, NGO intervention, and self protective efforts of local people to address the problem of global climate change.