From Plans to Actions: Fostering Climate Action in the Agricultural Sectors Through National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)

Highlights

Julia Wolf, moderator of the event and technical advisor for the NAP-Agriculture Programme for FAO, noted the significant role adaptation is starting to play, as 131 out of 189 countries mention it in their list of national priorities.

Kirsten Orschulok from the German Ministry for the Environment (BMUB) spoke on their role in the programme. BMUB has put in 15 million Euros to support the programme.

Rohini Kohli, the lead technical specialist for UNDP on the NAP-Agriculture Programme, stressed the importance of ensuring programme activities in each country are aligned with the global topics being discussed and negotiated.

Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Head of UNDP’s Climate Change Adaptation Portfolio, noted the need to contextualize climate change threats to agriculture in economic terms, presenting the results of the USAID -UNDP Capacity Building for Economics of Adaptation Programme. “For example, in Sri Lanka, USD$94 per hectare could be lost due to climate change, resulting in rising poverty levels and a general backward rather than forwards movement,” said Kurukulasuriya.

Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Head of UNDP’s Climate Change Adaptation Portfolio, noted the need to contextualize climate change threats to agriculture in economic terms. “For example, in Sri Lanka, USD$94 per hectare could be lost due to climate change, resulting in rising poverty levels and a general backward rather than forwards movement,” said Kurukulasuriya.

John Furlow from USAID also spoke at the event: “Since the work being carried out by NAP-Agriculture has never been done before, all involved parties are learning as they go.” He referred to the act that there is no blueprint for the programme to link NAPs work to the Paris Agreement and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

A country-focused panel discussion then followed. Representatives from the Gambia, the Philippines and Uruguay, which are three of the 11 participating countries, stressed their countries’ strategy of making adaptation a long-term plan so as to ensure the sustainability of such strategies. All panelists stressed the need for increased dissemination of information and more effective communication on climate change adaptation, especially with local communities.

South-South cooperation, sharing best practices and tying agricultural adaptation to its impacts on other national and international sectors were also issues highlighted during the event.

An animated video was released to explain how the agriculture sectors are the most vulnerable to climate change and climate variability.

The NAP Agriculture Programme supports partner countries to identify and integrate climate adaptation measures for the agricultural sector into relevant national planning and budgeting processes. It is a multi-year initiative (2015-2018) funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), through the International Climate Initiative (ICI), implemented in partnership by UNDP and FAO. The programme is operational in 11 countries. You can find details of this programme and other NAP-related programmes at www.globalsupportprogramme.org and www.fao.org/in-action/naps/en.