Institute of Development Studies

BASIC

'Building and Strengthening Institutional Capacities on Climate Change in Brazil, India, China and South Africa '

The BASIC Project is an action orientated research and capacity development project focusing on supporting the institutional capacity of key developing countries to undertake analytical work to determine what kind of national and international climate change actions best fit within their circumstances and priorities. BASIC stands for Building and Strengthening Institutional Capacities on Climate Change in Brazil, India, China and South Africa. These four countries were chosen because of their environmental, economic, social and political importance.

To achieve these objectives the Project has created the BASIC network - a multi-national project team linking over 40 individuals from 25 research and policy institutions, the majority based in BASIC countries with coordination provided by IDS. 

For further details of BASIC partners and research and capacity development activities go to the BASIC Project website.

The underlying premise of BASIC is that international climate policy has tended to be internationally determined and based on top-down approaches that have not examined the social, political and economic feasibility of implementation. BASIC has sought to reverse this dynamic to ensure that future climate policy is informed by countries’ particular circumstances and challenges. The BASIC network unites experts from developed and developing countries engaged in both domestic implementation and international climate policy & negotiations. The Project has contributed both to development and implementation of domestic policy as well as to the formulation and analysis of proposed international agreements around post 2012 frameworks.

• IDS key contact: Farhana Yamin
• Project dates: December 2005 - December 2007
• Project status: Closed
• Funder: European Commission (EC); Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Researchers

• Farhana Yamin

Selected Outputs

• Yamin, F. (2007) 'The BASIC Project Final Report'