UNDP Guidance for National Communication Project Proposals UNFCCC Workshop on the Preparation of National Communications from non-Annex I Parties Manila, April 2004 United Nations Development Programme

Stocktaking Exercise Should generate essential information for the preparation of SNC project proposal Will ensure that SNC builds on previous activities, studies, experiences, and institutional settings –A comprehensive stocktaking should identify gaps and needs for further studies, and is a critical step in the design of activities to be carried out under the SNC. The stocktaking should be carefully planned by national teams. It is important to keep in mind that the stocktaking should not be prepared as a stand-alone activity.

Stocktaking Exercise  Work carried out under previous climate change enabling activities: o Gaps, identify additional studies/assessments to improve information or to fill gaps. o Uncertainties, develop a strategy on how to increase reliability of information o New areas of work, determine new studies to cover areas not included in the INC o Priorities for SNC: activities to focus on priority areas

Stocktaking Exercise  Synergies with related programmes: how the SNC will build on - other on-going enabling activities e.g. (NCSA, NAPA), - regional projects, and national activities under other relevant international conventions (e.g. biodiversity, land degradation).  Lessons learned in INC: technical issues and experiences of process/arrangements adopted for the INC that could provide lessons or best practices

Stocktaking Exercise Some general questions to consider when doing the stocktaking: o What were the main gaps of the INC? Why? How could these gaps be filled? o What were the main sources of uncertainties of the different studies/assessments? Can they be reduced? o What new studies and/or additional assessments are needed? Why? Would they help to meet other national priorities? o What were the technical capacity constraints? How could these be addressed? o Are there other national initiatives/programmes/projects relevant to the national communication? What are the potential linkages?

National Circumstances Focus on those areas where new information may be available or where there is a need for update Determine the areas where no further efforts are required Keep in mind that national circumstances should be relevant to other sections of the NC Assess the experience and adequacy of the institutional arrangements adopted for the preparation of the INC  what worked  what did not work and why  what is needed to strengthen institutional arrangements

Greenhouse Gas Inventories Assess needs for data improvements by source category  Identify (preliminary) data gaps and main sources of uncertainties in the GHG inventory of the INC  Focus on sources that are significant and/or with high uncertainties  Assess whether data sources would need to be expanded/researched  Identify needs for improving data management systems  Engage experts involved in the inventory of the INC  Consult with other experts on information availability and needs

Greenhouse Gas Inventories Assess options for prepareing GHG inventories  Identify sources and gases not reported in the INC  Assess whether methodologies used were appropriate  Determine whether higher tiers / national methods could be adopted  If new/improved emission factors are to be proposed, ensure that priorities are addressed  Assess technical capacity requirements and resources constraints  Identify strategy to involve relevant institutions and experts in data compilation needs  Set clear activities and realistic targets to improve inventory data, focusing on main sources of emissions  Determine whether the IPCC Good Practice guidelines would be applied

Greenhouse Gas Inventories Review inventory system proposed under the INC for data managing and archiving, if applicable  Assess experience in its implementation, if any  Identify needs for updating/creating a new inventory management system on the basis of current institutional arrangements Examine approaches used to report levels of uncertainty of the previous inventory, if applicable  Identify constraints in the estimation and reporting of uncertainties of the inventory in the INC  Determine needs for addressing uncertainty in the SNC. In doing so, decide on whether the IPCC Good Practice guidelines could need to be applied.

Programmes containing measures to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change Provide a brief overview of the vulnerability studies carried out under the INC  Sectors covered (e.g. agriculture, water, forest, health)  Sub-sectors addressed (e.g. types of crops, forest types, diseases)  Scale of the studies (regional, national, local)  Gaps and uncertainties of the studies, if feasible  Methodology and tools used  Type of studies (qualitative, quantitative)

Programmes containing measures to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change Explain whether adaptation assessments were carried out  Methodological approaches used (e.g. whether rigorous assessment of adaptation or a list of potential options)  Type of studies (qualitative, quantitative)  Weakness of adaptation analysis  Linkages with national priorities or critical sectors  Barriers analysis of adaptation options identified  Technical capacity constraints in adaptation assessments

Programmes containing measures to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change Determine areas of work/studies to be addressed in the SNC. Discuss the following to the extent possible  Sectors/areas to be addressed  Justification of the assessments, e.g. linkages with national priorities, improvement of previous studies, new sectors/areas  Scale of the assessments, e.g. national, regional, local  Scope of the assessments, e.g. adaptation programmes  Approaches to be adopted, if feasible  Critical elements of assessments, e.g. baselines, climate and socio- economic scenarios

Programmes containing measures to mitigate climate change Provide a brief overview of the mitigation analysis carried out under the INC  Sectors covered (e.g. energy, agriculture, LUCF, waste) and approaches used in the analysis  Methodology and tools used for mitigation analysis  Gaps and uncertainties  Scope, scale, type (qualitative, quantitative) of the analysis  Mitigation priorities identified  Recommendations for additional analysis, if any

Programmes containing measures to mitigate climate change On the basis of the above overview, determine additional mitigation analysis to be addressed in the SNC. In doing so, the following should be discussed to the extent possible  Justification of new studies, e.g. areas not addressed in the INC, improvements of previous analysis, new approaches available  Linkages with national priorities on the basis on previous GHG inventories  Linkages with other national development objectives  Scope of the analysis and proposed methodologies

Other information considered relevant to the achievement of the objective of the Convention  Ensure that the work on technology needs assessment under the top- up, if applicable, is adequately considered.  Review the scope of the assessment, main outcomes and constraints.  Describe how this information would feed into the SNC, including other areas of technology transfer activities  If climate-observing system was addressed under the top-up, ensure that this information will provide the basis for reporting in the SNC. If additional work is needed, explain why.  Assess how other activities reported in the INC, namely research, education, training and public awareness will be updated in the SNC, as needed.  Reporting on capacity building should build on information under the National Capacity Self-assessment (NCSA), National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), and top-up activity.

Project Document UNDP project document format –Situation analysis –Strategy –Management arrangements –Monitoring and evaluation –Legal context –Annual workplan format, including outputs with corresponding indicators and means of verification