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The past decade was the hottest in human history. Apocalyptic fires and floods, cyclones and hurricanes are increasingly the new normal, and emissions are 62 per cent higher now than when international climate negotiations began in 1990.
The evidence is clear. We are in a race against time to adapt to a rapidly changing climate – one of the three planetary crises we face along with biodiversity loss, pollution and waste.
Nature is a critical component to scaling up climate change adaptation and resilience. However, financing mechanisms are needed to mainstream approaches such as Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), a nature-based solution for climate adaptation, to reach the communities who need them the most. A recent session at CBA15 discussed the challenges of scaling up and financing EbA in Africa, with a focus on the role of innovation.
In Cuba, local communities have joined forces with the government to restore damaged mangrove forests. These ecosystems cover 70 per cent of the country’s coasts and are vital to prevent the effects of climate change, since they protect the coastline from storms and floods and contribute to the health of coral reefs and seagrasses.
4 June 2021, Nairobi/Rome – Leaders in global politics, science, communities, religion and culture joined hands today to officially kick off the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration - a rallying call for the protection and revival of millions of hectares of ecosystems all around the world for the benefit of people and nature.
Find the original version of the newsletter here.
Global Network News
Representatives from 32 Asian city and university partnerships will participate in a pioneering initiative that matches climate resilience and adaptation challenges in cities with local university departments and students. The upcoming virtual EPIC-Asia Workshop event (25-27 May) is the second Asia training hosted by the Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities – Network (EPIC-N), and signifies growing international interest in this approach.
Responding to the profusion of challenges at our doorstep, world leaders have been stepping up – and making ambitious commitments.
World Environment Day, which falls on 5 June, marks the official launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global push to revive natural spaces lost to development.
Snaking along the northeastern shore of Manhattan is one of New York City’s last remaining marshes.
The wetlands were built just two decades ago atop what was an illegal dump. But rapid erosion, a byproduct of climate change, is threatening to wash them away.
To save the marshes, a group of conservationists has embarked on an ambitious push to build an offshore reef – and return the shore to the way it once was.
Near Omar Gona’s house in Djibouti’s Tadjourah city stands a wall three metres high and five metres thick. What might be an eyesore for some is a godsend for the city because the wall holds back the monsoon rains that have decimated people’s lives here for decades.
Food, water, medicine, energy: the planet’s ecosystems provide the essentials of life, so long as they’re taken care of.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t been happening. During the last several decades, human development has pushed many of the world’s forests, savannahs and other natural systems to the brink of collapse.
Are you looking for funding to bring your innovative adaptation ideas into reality?
UNEP and the Climate Technology Centre & Network (CTCN) are providing USD 5 million worth of technical assistance to foster innovation for adaptation in developing countries (up to USD 250,000 for each successful application). The second call for proposals is now open until 30 April 2021.
Wednesday 7th April - A USD 10 million initiative, financed by the Green Climate Fund, is using ‘nature-based solutions’ in four cities of Lao PDR to build resilience towards flooding caused by climate change. The project is expected to benefit 10 per cent of the country’s population.
The five-year project is restoring urban wetland and stream ecosystems to regulate water flow and reduce flood risk. The initiative aims to shift the paradigm of urban flood management in Lao PDR, from hard infrastructure towards the integration of nature-based solutions.
Thursday 1st April - The government of Zambia has launched a new initiative to use nature to adapt to climate change. The project is part of a wider attempt in the country to improve the livelihoods of rural communities by restoring damaged ecosystems.
With over USD 6 million from the Global Environment Facility, a major funder of climate change projects, the initiative is focusing on the Lukanga and Bangweulu wetlands in the Central and Luapula parts of the country (respectively).
Network News
Thursday 25th March - The Global EbA Fund has opened its first Call for Proposals. Led by IUCN and UNEP, the Global EbA Fund is a quickly deployable mechanism for supporting innovative approaches to Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA). The Fund aims to encourage catalytic initiatives to help overcome barriers for upscaling EbA.
Thursday 25th March – Pakistan has officially begun the process of creating a National Adaptation Plan for building resilience to climate change. The announcement comes only six weeks before the nation hosts the landmark World Environment Day on June 5th.
Did you know nature is one of humanity’s best defences for adapting to climate change? A new funding opportunity is scaling up ecosystem-based adaptation across the world. The call for proposals is now open.
On March 10th, an engaging technical session organized by UN Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Global Adaptation Network (GAN) shared perspectives from across the Asia Pacific region on how to close knowledge gaps and scale up adaptation action, including nature-based approaches.
Hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Japan, this event welcomed partners from all over the world to present on the achievements of GAN to date. Each of GAN's regional networks discussed how GAN has been helpful to upscale the work of their network and share their success stories. Moreover, GAN’s crucial partners spoke about the most impactful GAN activities and proposals for GAN’s future directions.
Please watch the event recording here.
How can we respond to adaptation barriers?
The Pacific Islands are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts such as sea level rise, storm surges, flooding, and erosion, which negatively affect communities’ food and water supplies, livelihoods, and culture. Here, there is an urgent need to enhance climate change adaptation efforts. Yet adaptation knowledge gaps, whether it is the absence of knowledge or lack of access to existing knowledge, have been shown to pose a significant barrier to successful adaptation actions.
During the online session of the fifth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) which took place 22-23 February 2021, a short online poll was conducted.
The “contribution of the environmental dimension of sustainable development to building a resilient and inclusive post-pandemic world” was discussed by delegates taking part in “leadership dialogues” sessions during the Fifth Session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) in Februar
At the 7th Asia Pacific Adaptation Network, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is co-leading the Nature-based Resilience Stream together with IUCN.
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The development of the GAN involved a broad UNEP-facilitated consultative process, including an international consultation meeting and four regional consultations.