Similarly to what is seen in other parts of the world, there are clear signs of the impacts of climate change in Arab countries. The region, which hosts a variety of ecosystems, already shows the signs of damages to the climate balance due to human-induced climate change. According to the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate variability and extreme events have been affecting the Arab region in a variety of ways. Apart from increases in temperatures, trends such as erratic rainfalls and extended droughts have been negatively affecting agriculture and livestock production, leading to property losses and threatening livelihoods. The above state of affairs illustrates the need for a better understanding of how climate change affects the Arab region, and for the identification of processes, methods and tools which may help the countries and the communities in the region to adapt. There is also a perceived need to showcase successful examples of how to cope with the social, economic and political problems posed by climate change in Arab countries, especially the ways of acting, production and consumption of communities and traditional populations. It is against this background that the “Symposium on Climate Change Adaption in the Arab Region,” is being organized by the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE), the Research and Transfer Centre “Applications of Life Sciences” of the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Manchester Metropolitan University (UK) and the International Climate Change Information Programme (ICCIP). The Symposium will be a truly interdisciplinary event, mobilizing scholars, social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies, undertaking research and/or executing climate change projects in Arab countries. The “Symposium on Climate Change Adaption in the Arab Region,” will focus on “managing climate change in the Arab region”, meaning that it will serve the purpose of showcasing experiences from research, field projects and best practice to foster climate change adaptation among countries in the region, which may be useful or implemented elsewhere.

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