Rani Begam's father lost four sisters and his first wife in a cyclone - a tragedy that inspired her to take part in a Red Cross project that gives villagers in southern Bangladesh information about what to do when storms and floods are approaching.

Each of the 85 cyclone shelters in the coastal area has a team of 12 female volunteers who teach other women first aid and how to stockpile supplies ahead of a potential weather disaster. Instead of a sari - which can get caught and cause drowning - women are advised to wear trousers and a tunic, and tie back their hair. They are also told about the different types of flags raised above shelters, which indicate how much time they have to evacuate their homes.

Women are often the worst affected when disasters strike. Where Rani lives, only men used to know about preparing for disasters but the Red Cross initiative has helped to persuade local religious leaders of the benefits of involving women too.

"Developing a good image for female volunteers has taken a long time," she explains in the 2009 World Disasters Report (WDR). "People now see that we are doing a good job to help others."

Far from U.N. climate change talks where international policy on global warming is made, Rani's experiences are an example how communities are dealing with climate risk at a grassroots level. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) says the world needs more community-based programmes if its poorest people are to be protected from the worst consequences of climate change.

"We are focusing on people and communities - after all, that is where disasters are felt," explains Maarten van Aalst, associate director of the Hague-based Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre, in the report. "We are asking communities to think about how risks are changing, how this will affect them and what they need to do about it."

This year's WDR argues the risks of climate change need to be at the heart of decision-making on ways to prepare for the uncertain and unpredictable changes global warming is expected to bring. These include more frequent and severe floods, droughts, storms and heatwaves, and rising sea levels.

"Those future risks may be largely unknown, but by learning to incorporate climate risk into decision-making now, we are paving the way for development to continue and people to prosper, whatever the climate brings tomorrow," says the report.

"Climate risk management is essentially early action for climate change."

Climate change threatens to bring disaster in two key ways: through extreme events that will devastate vulnerable communities; and by compounding the already complex problems faced by poor countries whose populations are growing fast.

The report warns that climate change "could contribute to a downward development spiral for millions of people, even greater than has already been experienced".

AD HOC RESPONSE

It also says global warming offers us the "ultimate early warning" thanks to the huge amount of scientific evidence and projections on its impacts. "We know more about this impending 'disaster' than any other in history," the report notes. Yet the risks posed by climate change have only been addressed on "a piecemeal basis".

The IFRC recommends action on two levels - putting in place early warning systems, and reducing vulnerability over the longer term so communities can cope better with extreme weather.

Examples of widely practised climate risk management include farmers using weather forecasts to decide when to sow and fertilise their crops, and building homes away from flood plains. But even for these simple responses, people need information on weather and climate - described in the report as one of the "weakest links".

Even if information does get to those who need it most, it's often too technical to be of great help. In most poor countries, people don't have the resources to act on the information they do receive.

The report argues that these problems can be addressed quite easily. "All that is needed is commitment and funding," it says.

The solutions it recommends include providing more weather stations in developing countries, particularly African ones, and organising more regional climate outlook forums where experts offer seasonal forecasts.

Once reliable weather data is available for a location, it allows insurers to offer what's known as "index insurance" to farmers, businesses and even governments. This type of insurance pays out according to the weather itself - for example, rainfall - rather than its consequences like crop failure. In turn, it can help farmers get loans.

Pilot schemes are being tested in a number of developing countries. One of the earliest began in Malawi in 2005, and is combined with a loan scheme. Groundnut, maize and tobacco farmers have been able to improve their yields in good seasons by borrowing money to buy better seeds. Quent Mukhwimba says he's doubly pleased because "in case of severe drought, I do not have to worry about paying back loans in addition to looking for food to feed my family".

The report emphasises that climate change - while a huge and urgent challenge - is only one of several global trends threatening the stability of the planet, which include poverty, population growth and the degradation of ecosystems.

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