The journey of Chad’s National Adaptation Plan towards implementation

The Republic of Chad is named after Lake Chad, the second biggest lake in Africa. From the 1960s’ to the 1990s’, Lake Chad had a steep reduction in size by 95 percent due to a combination of drought and excessive use of irrigation. Today, its size continues to fluctuate but remains relatively stable. The lake remains an important freshwater resource in Chad’s arid landscape and a large wetlands area, and needs to be safeguarded from the impacts of climate change. 

The average temperatures in Chad are projected to increase exponentially, which would mean lower crop yields, more strain on water resources and degraded soil and lands for farmers. The Government of Chad has taken the required steps to build resilience for the current and future climatic changes and impacts. Chad started working on its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) in 2018 with full size project funding of $US 27 million from the Global Environment Facility and implementation support from UNDP. In 2019, additional support from the UNDP-UNEP joint National Adaptation Plan Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP) contributed to the finalization of Chad’s NAP document. 

Following the country’s recent NAP submission to the UNFCCC in 2022, UNDP sat down with Mr. Mahamat Abdoulaye Issa, the UNFCCC Focal Point at the Ministry of Environment, Water and Fisheries in Chad during the Africa Climate Week in Libreville, Gabon to learn about how the NAP is advancing. 

How is Chad’s National Adaptation Plan process going? What are the latest achievements?

Chad launched its NAP process at the same time it was revising its nationally determined contribution (NDC) in 2021. Both climate plans play an integral part in the country’s overall development. The country took a participatory approach to launching its NAP process. To build long-term and sustainable capacity, consultants were trained to provide consultations to technical staff from ministries and civil society from across the country to ensure all stakeholders at the national and regional level were involved in the planning. The government has engaged all levels of society for the formulation their first NAP.

What are the adaptative priorities outlined in Chad’s NAP and NDC – where are the synergies between these two climate plans? 

The main advantage in aligning these climate plans with Chad’s Vision 2030 is that now our climate action is more transparent and harmonized, and we can communicate the country’s priorities more clearly. Based on the studies conducted, we identified eight adaptative priority areas in our NAP, which include, agriculture and livestock, environment, forests, education and communication, gender and social action, water resources, waste and sanitation, and renewable energy. These plans were formulated at the same time through a concerted effort. 

During the NDC revision process, several NAP priorities were retained to include energy, agriculture and livestock, industry and waste. This made the two climate plans complimentary of one another. The implementation of the NAP contributes to the implementation of the NDC, especially on adaptation, but also brings together mitigation co-benefits. In the NAP, we plan to develop adaptation projects that focus on agroforestry, agriculture and water-related activities, which will aim to reduce GHG emissions at the same time. We are trying to approach both plans in a synergized way to allow for better resource mobilization and capacity building.

How has Chad navigated their NAP process and challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic? 

Our two climate plans were formulated during a challenging period. Chad was going through a difficult time with the death of the President and on top of that, there was the COVID-19 pandemic, so Chad was in a transition period. However, with both the support from partners and the Government’s strong political will, Chad submitted these two climate plans to the UNFCCC. 

The quality of our NAP and NDC were acknowledged by the international community, and we would not have managed without our international partners, such as UNDP and the NAP Global Network. They were present when we needed support. Additionally, thanks to this collaboration, we managed to set up a coordination mechanism for partners with UNDP, European Union, ICAT and the NDC Partnership. It was due to this collaboration that we were able to produce high-quality climate plans. 

The European Union supported Chad’s mitigation efforts, while UNDP supported Chad’s adaptation. The NAP Global Network provided support on gender-related activities. Chad’s next step will focus on implementation. The country will require a strategy for implementation as well as resources. Chad’s second and more comprehensive NAP is awaiting completion of the GEF-funded NAP that will include new data. Kick starting the implementation will require continued support from partners, including the UNDP Climate Promise initiative, which will allow win-win scenarios towards the NDC as well.