Building resilience
UNEP’s comparative advantage on climate change adaptation is rooted in its global environmental leadership mandate and its convening power. Highlights include initiatives such as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the Global Environment Outlook, the Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change initiative (AIACC), and UNEP’s work on National Adaptation Programmes of Action, Integrated Water Resource Management and Regional Seas programmes.
These activities have laid the foundation for UNEP’s credibility in capacity building, ecosystem management and knowledge dissemination for adaptation at global, regional and national levels.
UNEP’s climate change adaptation strategy focuses on building the resilience of ecosystems and economies that are most vulnerable to climate change in developing countries. This is supported through technical, policy and financial interventions in three mutually supportive areas:
- building adaptive capacity in the developing world
- increasing ecosystem resilience
- mobilizing and managing knowledge for adaptation policy and planning.
In the coming three years (2009–2011) UNEP’s work on adaptation will primarily focus on Africa, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and mega deltas, and within these areas, on ecosystems that are vulnerable to climate change, in particular low lying coasts and drylands. These activities will be supported by global and regional adaptation networks.
UNEP’s main contribution to the overall adaptation portfolio in the UN system covers the following types of actions:
- assessments of ecosystem vulnerabilities and adaptation services
- adaptation measures to increase the resilience of key ecosystems
- helping support and strengthen policies, knowledge and institutional capacity
- development of national economic, legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks integrating climate
- change adaptation into national development planning
- providing technical, analytical and policy support to major climate change financing mechanisms.
Focusing on the most vulnerable
Among UNEP’s key priority areas is promoting adaptation measures in Africa that address climate change-induced water stress related to both water scarcity and flooding. Scenario analysis and the design and piloting of adaptation actions are contributing to disaster risk reduction and solutions for the inevitable displacement of large numbers of people due to water scarcity. The key target is to help the 75–250 million people who will suffer increased water scarcity by 2020.
UNEP is also building institutional capacity and providing climate-proofing options for the millions of people living in SIDS and low-lying coastal areas and mega deltas in Asia and Africa. Policy guidance, the development of tools, technologies and best practices, and their integration in management processes is addressing the threat of sea level rise.
In the Himalayas, the Highland-Lowland Partnership for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction will enhance the adaptive capacity of Himalayan communities and their governments through knowledge management and technology and policy support to prepare for and reduce the risks of short-term climate change-related disasters, such as glacier lake outburst floods and landslides, and to support adaption to the long-term projected decrease in water supply.
Global climate change adaptation network
UNEP is facilitating an international process for the development of a Global Climate Change Adaptation Network to build the adaptive capacity of developing countries. The Network will provide coherence in mobilizing the resources of relevant ground stations, regional centres and international technical institutions to enhance key scientific, technical and institutional adaptation capacity. Information and knowledge bases will be improved and made more accessible, and policy making, planning and adaptation practices will be strengthened.
The ongoing first phase up to the end of 2009 includes the elaboration of the Network initiative and the piloting of Network components and functions in regions, starting with Africa and Asia-Pacific. This will include the identification,initiation and enhancement of pilot regional networks, building on existing facilities and centres. An overall implementation plan for the Network will be developed at the same time through international and regional consultations. The consultative process was initiated in October 2008, in Changwon, Republic of Korea, and regional consultations will continue through 2009.
Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change Activities
- UNEP Adaptation Training Workshop,
8 - 9 April 2008, Nairobi, Kenya
- Worksheets and Technical Notes for Preparation of National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA)
- Technical Support to Countries on data to support the preparation of NAPAs
30 August - 2 September 2006, Nairobi, Kenya
- Technical Training for Ranking and Prioritization of Adaptation Options
22 - 25 October 2005, Tanzania, Dar es Salaam
- Training Workshop on Assessing the Vulnerability and Adaptation of Coastal Zones to Climate Change
8 - 12 May 2004, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Workshop on Integrating Vulnerability and Adaptation into Sustainable Development Planning in Southern and Eastern Africa
15 - 17 September 2004, Nairobi, Kenya
UNEP's GEF Portfolio for Climate Change - Adaptation
UNEP is able to access resources from the Global Environment Facility, the Special Climate Change Funds and the Least Developed Countries Fund to the meet the needs of developing countries in adapting to climate change. Most effort has gone into supporting countries to do their National Action Plans for Adaptation and to implement priority actions coming from those exercises. How the division has also worked with Mckinsey to cost out the impacts from and the solutions to adapt to help policy makers make more informed adaptation choices.