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There are many options and opportunities for countries to adapt to climate change, with adjustments and changes required at every level: community, national and international. Appropriate adaptation strategies involve a synergy of the correct assessment of current vulnerabilities to climate change impacts; use of appropriate technologies; and information on traditional coping practices, diversified livelihoods and current government and local interventions.
In order to address the urgent adaptation needs of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the approach, through NAPAs (Box 5.10), now involves a focus on enhancing adaptive capacity to climate variability, which itself should help address the adverse effects of climate change.
Box 5.10: National Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPAs) for climate change
NAPAs take into account existing coping strategies at the grassroots level, and build upon this to identify priority activities, rather than focusing on scenario-based modelling to assess future vulnerability and long-term policy at state level. The NAPA process gives prominence to community-level input as an important source of information, recognizing that grassroots communities are the main stakeholders. NAPAs provide a process for LDCs to identify priority activities that respond to their urgent and immediate needs with regard to adaptation to climate change. The rationale for NAPAs rests on the limited ability of LDCs to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.
The NAPAs focus on urgent and immediate needs - those for which further delay could increase vulnerability or lead to increased costs at a later stage. NAPAs are designed to use existing information; and no new research is needed. They must be action-oriented and country-driven and be flexible and based on national circumstances. Finally, in order to effectively address urgent and immediate adaptation needs, NAPA documents should be presented in a simple format, easily understood both by policy-level decision-makers and by the public.
The steps for the preparation of NAPAs include synthesis of available information, participatory assessment of vulnerability to current climate variability and extreme events and of areas where risks would increase due to climate change, identification of key adaptation measures as well as criteria for prioritizing activities, and selection of a prioritized short list of activities. The development of a NAPA also includes short profiles of projects and/or activities intended to address urgent and immediate adaptation needs of LDC Parties. Upon completion, the NAPA is submitted to the UNFCCC secretariat, where it is posted on the website, and the LDC Party becomes eligible to apply for funding for implementation of the NAPA under the LDC Fund. A copy of the NAPA is also sent to the Global Environment Facility
Source: Chronological Evolution of LDC Work Programme and Concept of NAPAs |
Attention is now turning to mainstreaming NAPAs so that their policies and measures for addressing climate change are integrated into national and regional development policies, development planning, sectoral decision-making and regular budgeting processes, rather than being treated as stand-alone measures or as a separate sector. This is meant to provide for a more efficient use of resources and improved sustainability of investments in the context of a changing environment. For example, “UNDP is engaged in discussions to support Government of Uganda to access GEF resources to develop adaptation measures that respond to the identified priority interventions in Uganda’s NAPA to climate change. These initiatives are hoped to support the integration of climate change adaptation measures in the country’s agriculture sector policies and programmes.” Scharr (2008) provides an overview of adaptation mainstreaming activities (see http://www.undp.or.ug/whatwedo/21#climate).
Bubu Jallow notes that such mainstreaming “requires cross-sectoral cooperation, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches and considerable political will” and that it is necessary:
- to engage other development sectors (particularly ministries and agencies responsible for national development) from the beginning and throughout the preparation and implementation process;
- to raise awareness from a scientific and socio-economic perspective of the implications of climate change for various sectors and groups within a country, to engage key stakeholders on this issue;
- to link adaptation efforts to established policy-making processes; and,
- to promote cross-sectoral and interdepartmental coordination, accountability and transparency in implementing NAPAs.
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