United Nations Environment Programme

UNEP’s Work to Advance the Preparation and Implementation of National Adaptation Programmes of Action 3 September 2007 Bangkok, Thailand

Status of NAPA Preparation Out of 15 countries, 2 are effectively still in progress (Afghanistan, CAR), 1 is about to begin and has just been technically cleared by the GEF (Angola), and 11, the majority, have either submitted or about to submit their NAPAs.

Status of NAPA Preparation

Targeted Activities Undertaken To Meet Specific Needs

Areas Where Time Delays Can Be Reduced in NAPA Preparation Accuracy of financial reporting and accountability Workload Consultation process Expertise

STATUS OF NAPA FOLLOW UP We have formally submitted two projects as follow ups to NAPAs: Mauritania: submitted to the GEF Secretariat on January 08, 2007 and approved May 16th, In the process of renegotiating project design with the AfDB. Djibouti project concept was submitted on June 25th, 2007 and we are awaiting feedback. In response to some priorities identified and recommendations by the GEF, UNEP has informally submitted to the GEF a “cluster” or grouping of projects under one title for coastal zone management and disaster risk management including APELL, a risk management tool developed by UNEP DTIE. A number of countries have agreed to the concept: Comoros, Senegal, The Gambia, Djibouti. -We have also received a request for assistance from Lesotho which we are in the process of discussing. -Rwanda is also beginning to prepare its request for funding for implementation with joint support from UNEP and UNDP under the framework of the One UN initiative -Tanzania has requested support from UNEP for implementation is to identify a national executing agency to begin project development.

UNEP Engagement in the GEF including for adaptation Strengthening meteorological and climate early warning systems Developing and using climate information to effect changes in relevant sectoral policies based on climate science Integrated Coastal Area and River Basin Management (together with the Regional Seas and GPA Program)

NAPA Implementation NAPAs mainstreamed in national processes facilitates NAPA implementation Effective communication strategies Champions in Ministry of Finance and Planning Donor forums at country level

Challenges During NAPA Implementation Engagement of ministries and decision makers if they were not involved in the preparation process. Challenge to identify what component of a project is “adaptation” and to avoid duplication with development. Involvement of sector experts important to avoid duplication. More detailed and better developed NAPA profiles are, quicker it will be to implement.

1. Partnerships and collaborating centres 2. Information and awareness raising 3. Capacity building for adaptation

1.Partnerships: UNEP Collaborating Centres Contributing to Adaptation A.Adaptation cuts across several UNEP Divisions B.Key collaborating centres include: the Global Resource Information Database (UNEP- GRID) network UNEP Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC)

Other partners Global Change Observing Systems World Meteorological Organization Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

2. Information sharing Through national, regional, and global partner institutions, UNEP facilitates: early warning on emerging environmental issues, trends and threats; Integrated environmental assessment processes, such as the Global Environment Outlook (GEO), a five year review of the state of the world's environment; Utilization of remotely sensed data and GIS for monitoring and mapping natural resources — including support to National Adaptation Programmes of Action.

Global Earth Observing Systems Support to the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and its Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) 10-Year Implementation Plan - Understanding, assessing, predicting, mitigating, and adapting to climate variability and change. Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) Global Climate Observing System (GCOS)

The World Glacier Monitoring Service The series contributes to the understanding of: –how glaciers are changing, –the impacts on flooding and sea-level rise, –how to plan for future water supply and policies, –also serve as indicators of climate change Five-yearly series ‘Fluctuations of Glaciers’—a working tool for the scientific community, Internationally collected, standardized data on changes in glaciers. UNEP follow up: projects to improve environmental management in order to reduce the risks of disasters caused by glacial melt.

WCMC: Biodiversity and Climate Change

Potential to provide countries with information, analysis and capacity exists. A number of products and initiatives are underway. 3.Building Capacity in Countries to design Adaptation Strategies

Products available for Adaptation Handbook on Methods for Climate Change Impact Assessment and Adaptation Strategies. Vulnerability indicators for coastal zones used for instance in Pacific SIDS. Maps and data analysis for thirteen countries to support identification and design of adaptation priorities.

Bridging gaps through building Capacity Glacier information for adaptation: shipping hydroelectricity, flood control. (EU) Building Science Capacity: Assessment of Impacts and Adaptation to Climate Change (AIACC - GEF) Help build national capacity for environmental early warning and information management Support policy makers in eastern Africa (forestry, energy, drylands management) using economic instruments and climate information (UNEP and GEF) Trainings (NAPAs), on coastal zone management and sea-level rise

Conclusions A strong scientific basis is needed to design adaptation interventions UNEP’s work on assessment, methodology development, identifying and managing emerging environmental threats and capacity building are key Adaptation is a development issue, and it is also an environment issue