Country office
Taxonomy Term List
SCALA Argentina
Argentina is considered a high-income economy with a GDP of US$600 billion in 2016 and a population of over 44 million. In the last decades, the country has experienced marked growth in its agriculture and food sectors, accounting to 54 percent of its land use, and playing a strategic role in the socio-economic development of the country, with 54 percent of employment. Agriculture and animal husbandry and fragile ecosystems are also especially vulnerable to the intensification of extreme climate events, affecting the production and supply of food on a national and global scale. The country is considered a top emitter for agriculture, forestry and other land use sectors, contributing to 2.1 percent of the global emissions, and with domestic emissions made up of livestock (21.6 percent); agriculture (5.8 percent) and land-use change and forestry (9.8 percent).
Argentina’s agriculture is highly innovative and has much to offer in terms of win-win climate actions. It has great potential to scale up actions and production processes that will simultaneously cut mitigate emissions and enhance resilience to improve productivity. Argentina is one of the 100 countries being supported by UNDP’s Climate Promise to enhance their NDCs. The country is also part of FAO’s Sub-Regional Project on "Low Emission Livestock, a contribution to the Sustainable Development of the Sector in South America”, and many other projects related to climate management.
The government of Argentina considers the SCALA programme as strong support for the revision of its NAP in the agricultural sector, and to carry out actions that allow the implementation and achievement of the commitments established in the country’s NDC. The programme will leverage participatory methods to address Argentina’s institutional and financial barriers, which allow for a transformative shift in the agriculture and land use sectors. Moreover, to engage and mobilize the private sector to increase its investments in climate action. With the SCALA programme supporting Argentina over the next five years, UNDP and FAO will strive to foster a more inclusive multi-stakeholder process that eventually meets the needs of smallholder farmers, rural communities, women, and youth, who are the most vulnerable to climate change.
In 2016, Argentina submitted its nationally determined contribution (NDC) that identified several agriculture-related priorities. Argentina has prioritized the development of adaptative capacities and the promotion of agriculture’s strategic role as a solution to climate change. In 2020, the country signed the new United Nations Strategic Cooperation Framework (2021-2025) and confirmed its interest to push forward the agenda that seeks to enhance ambition and catalyze action for land-use and agriculture. Argentina submitted its second NDC in December 2020, ratifying a more ambitious commitment to the Paris Agreement and providing a specific and broader role to adaptation, with the national goal of decreasing 19 percent of its total GHG emissions by 2030. The country has committed to elaborate its Long-Term Climate Strategy by the end of 2021.
The key priorities communicated for the agriculture and land-use sector focus mainly on prioritization of adaptation, strengthening the role of agribusiness as a source of solutions to climate change, integrating agro-industrial production and encouraging the development of process and product technologies. To support the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process, Argentina is implementing the Readiness Project for the NAP Process, financed by the Green Climate Fund and implemented by UNDP.
Along with these actions, the country aims to strengths the implementation of Minimum Budgets for the Environmental Protection of Native Forests, as well as achieve a substantial reduction in the deforestation rate. To support this goal the country implements the National Forest Management Plan with Integrated Livestock (MBGI), the Forest Watershed Plans and Comprehensive Community Plans (PIC), and the national forest extension system and the Deforestation Early Warning System (SAT). By 2030, the country also expects to deepen the development of fire, flood, and drought prevention measures - of great importance for the agricultural, livestock and forestry sectors.
SCALA Costa Rica
Costa Rica is in Central America and has a varied topography that includes coastal plains separated by rugged mountains, including over 100 volcanic cones and inhabits around 5 percent of the planet’s biodiversity. Costa Rica is among global leaders in responding to climate change, with a long history of environmental protection, sustainable development, and action on climate change mitigation. Costa Rica’s vulnerability to extreme climate events and natural hazards is a result of the presence of populations in areas prone to volcanic eruptions and unstable lands, degraded by wide-spread cattle ranching, or in poorly planned settlements prone to landslides and flooding. A total of 36 percent of Costa Rica’s land use is attributed to agriculture, and it accounts for 14 percent of the country’s employment.
Reports
The SCALA programme can contribute to strengthening market access for products developed through low-carbon value chains to help increase the capital flow to communities (at the farm level) that adopt technologies and help contribute to scaling up climate action. The SCALA programme will support Costa Rica in transforming how the agriculture and land use sectors operate and incorporating adaptation and mitigation measures. In addition to the support on soil management practices, SCALA in Cosa Rica will support the resilience of family farmers to cope with pathogens, so they have the resources to invest in sustainable low-carbon practices. The country is currently developing a road map for its National Adaptation Plan and aims to strengthen conservation initiatives and expand its environmental services payments program to include ecosystem-based adaptation. Costa Rica continues to promote renewable energies, stronger environmental management practices through agroforestry systems and watershed management, as well as tools for municipal-level land use planning to reduce the long-term vulnerabilities of its population and enhance its food security.
Project videos
Female herders of Costa Rica: towards gender-sensitive climate action (2023)
Combating climate change in Costa Rica's livestock sector (2023)
Disponible en Español.
Costa Rica prioritizes transformative climate practices in its agri-food chains
22 October 2021 - To learn more about how Costa Rica is scaling up its climate ambition in land use and agriculture to meet the targets of its NDC and related climate strategies, the SCALA programme sat down with the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Mr. Renato Alvarado to unpack the opportunities and challenges in this process as part of a new interview series.
Costa Rica’s National Climate Change Adaptation Policy (2018-2030), states the priorities with respect to agricultural sustainable production, namely the 1) promotion of adaptation based on ecosystems outside the State's natural heritage, through the conservation of biodiversity in biological corridors, private reserves and farms under forest regime 2) promotion of water security in the face of climate change, through the protection and monitoring of sources and proper management of hydrological basins. The National Development Plan (2019-2022) reaffirmed the ambitious goal to promote a carbon neutral economy by 2021 and laid out strategies to promote renewable energy, reduce GHG emissions, and consider adaptation initiatives.
In 2016, Costa Rica submitted its first NDC. Costa Rica’s National Climate Change Adaptation Policy (2018-2030), as well as the National Decarbonization Plan (2018-2050) and the NAMA coffee, NAMA livestock, NAMA sugarcane and NAMA Musaceae (banana), reflect some of the country’s key agri-food chains, which are livestock, coffee, rice, Musaceae and cane sugar. The country’s NDC aims to consolidate an agricultural model that is based on sound approaches in existing policies and strategies. To date, the country has developed a National Low Carbon Livestock Strategy, a National Low-emission Coffee Strategy, and the Low Carbon Banana Strategy, which focus on reducing risks and vulnerabilities in these value chains.
SCALA Cote D'Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire is located in West Africa along the Gulf of Guinea with the Atlantic running along its southern coast. As one of the world’s top exporters of cocoa, palm oil, banana and cashews and with two-third of the actively working population is percent employed by the agriculture sectors, Côte d’Ivoire is vulnerable to variations in weather and climate, as well as external shocks in its export trade. Côte d’Ivoire has the second largest economy in West Africa. High rainfall in the south fuels a fertile agricultural industry, which contributes to 27 percent of country’s GDP. A heavy economic reliance on agriculture, in addition to continued environmental degradation, rising temperature, prolonged dry season and deforestation all contribute to the country’s vulnerability to climate change. In addition, agriculture contributes 12 percent of total GHG emissions with livestock contributing the largest proportion (63 percent).
To support the country in implementing these plans, the SCALA programme partnered with Côte d'Ivoire for the next four years. The SCALA programme will help Côte d'Ivoire accelerate the implementation of its NAP and pursue action to achieve the commitments outlined in its forthcoming NDC. The programme will work with government stakeholders to overcome barriers at the institutional, technical, and financial levels to support a transformative shift in the agriculture and land use sectors. Through the SCALA programme, FAO and UNDP will strive to create an inclusive multi-stakeholder process between institutions and partners in Côte d'Ivoire that will help fill gaps, improve capacities and reach the country’s climate targets.
Côte d’Ivoire ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016 and submitted their first NDC the same year. The NDC intends to reconcile development and reduction of GHG emissions. Due to the country’s vulnerability to climate change impacts, especially in the key agricultural exports sector, adaptation is also a priority.
The revision of the NDC is ongoing, and the NAP process has been underway in Côte d’Ivoire since 2015. The adaptation planning is crucial in 11 identified priority sectors that are most vulnerable to climate change, including agriculture, fisheries, forestry, land use and gender as a cross-cutting theme. The second generation National Agricultural Investment Program 2017-2025 aims to increase added value of agricultural products; strengthen agricultural production systems that are respectful of the environment; and promote inclusive growth.
Along with the ongoing NDC submission, Côte d'Ivoire has several climate plans and policies in place, such as the National Strategy for Climate-Smart Agriculture 2018-25, National Strategic Plan for the Development of Livestock, Fisheries and Aquaculture 2014-20 and National Strategy for Forest Conservation, Rehabilitation and Extension, to build resilience and reduce GHG across key sectors.
SCALA Egypt
The Arab Republic of Egypt is a developing country in Northern Africa. This terrain consists of a vast desert plateau that has a fresh water renewable resource - the River Nile and its Nile Valley and Delta. Most of Egypt’s population and infrastructure are concentrated in the Nile Delta and along the Mediterranean coast, which makes the country vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise, particularly inundation and saltwater intrusion. About 15 percent of the most fertile arable land in the Nile Delta is already negatively affected by sea level rise and saltwater intrusion. With this negative impact, climate change studies predict a reduction in productivity of two major crops in Egypt - wheat and maize – by 15 percent and 19 percent, respectively, by 2050. Nevertheless, agriculture is the biggest employer involving over 31.2 percent of the total population. The agriculture sector contributed 14 percent to the GDP in 2009 and contributes 10 percent of the country's total GHG emissions.
Reports and Publications of relevance to Country Teams
The Ministry of Environment and the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency has officially approved and cleared the implementation the SCALA programme in Egypt. A background desk review of relevant climate change plans and documents has been undertaken, as well as a baseline report has been produced. This will be further informed by the stocktaking and climate action review exercise for the identification and validation of climate actions with transformative potential in the AFOLU sectors.
Through initial consultations with the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Agriculture & Land Reclamation, it has been recommended that the SCALA programme supports the NAP development process under the recently launched GCF-NAP Readiness project. SCALA deliverables therefore will be designed to serve as inputs to the NAP project through which Egypt’s overall NAP will be developed. Contributions will mostly be towards evidence generation through climate risk and vulnerability assessments, innovative climate research on water management and irrigation adaption measures, capacity needs assessment reports on disaster risk reduction and early warning mechanisms in AFOLU sectors, and environmental impact assessments of land use plans.
By supporting the preparation of National Adaption Plan Framework, which will target to address the mitigation and adaptation barriers, the SCALA programme in Egypt will contribute to the country’s long-term goal of decreasing climate vulnerability and building climate resilience of AFOLU sectors. By establishing a framework for improving institutional and technical capacity for climate change adaptation planning it will help the country enhance climate action needed by 2030. The programme will support assessments of climate risks and vulnerabilities, determining climate change mitigation and adaptation priorities, and integrating climate change mitigation and adaptation into national and sectoral planning and budgeting.
In 2011, a National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction was released. This strategy lays out the path to overcome the challenges raised by climate change and estimates the investment required to reach its strategic goals. Egypt ratified the Paris Agreement in June 2017 and submitted their nationally determined contribution (NDC), which focuses on the sustainability of agriculture, the environment, water resources, energy, and land management as priority areas.
Egypt’s NDC pledges to reduce its GHG emissions; particularly reducing CO2 emissions by 20 percent from the baseline emissions level of 250MtCO2 emissions by 2030. Each sector of the economy has set mitigation targets; particularly for the agriculture, forest, and other land-use sectors, the mitigation targets include recycling agricultural waste and manure and the implementation of a national MRV system. Additionally, the NDC outlines Adaptation Action Packages with specific adaptation goals for the most vulnerable sectors, including agriculture. Such adaptation actions include building an effective institutional system to manage climate change associated crises and disasters at the national level.
UNDP office in Egypt is implementing a Green Climate Fund (GCF)-financed National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Readiness project aiming to formulate and advance Egypt’s National Adaptation Plans Process. This NAP process targets to build/enhance climate resilience in all the sectors of the economy by improving institutional and technical capacity for climate change adaptation (CCA) planning, examining climate risks, determining CCA priorities, integrating CCA into national and sectoral planning and budgeting, and increasing investment in adaptation actions. This NAP process also targets to identify private sector actors with potential to invest in climate change actions. Already there is a large and fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector and a large domestic market.
SCALA Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a landlocked country in Northeast Africa and has a population of over 112 million people. Its agriculture sector plays a major role in the national economy, contributing to 34.5 percent of GDP in 2020. Smallholder farming accounts for approximately 95 percent of agricultural production and 85 percent of total employment. In Ethiopia, agriculture and land-use are high GHG emitting sectors with around 80 percent of domestic emissions. Ethiopia’s agriculture sector is extremely vulnerable to climate change due to its high dependence on natural resources, and relatively low adaptive capacity – especially in rural areas – to deal with frequently experienced extreme events and longer-term variability, including droughts and floods, rainfall variability and pest invasions.
Reports and Publications by country teams
The Government of Ethiopia aims to proactively pursue further integration of climate change adaptation in its development policies and strategies, including macroeconomic and sectoral policies at regional and local levels. In support of this target, the SCALA programme will leverage participatory methods to address Ethiopia’s institutional and financial barriers to mainstream climate change at all administrative levels, to allow for a transformative shift in their agriculture and land use sectors. Building on the capacity gaps identified in scoping exercises, the programme will seek to enhance institutional capacities of the country to support the management of climate budget tagging systems, to undertake climate finance and resource mobilization, and to engage and mobilize the private sector to increase its investments in climate action. It also intends to develop stronger knowledge and information sharing platforms for bridging the gap between national, regional and woreda level governance mechanisms. Additionally, the implementation of SCALA programme will support the establishment of enabling environment and de-risking instruments to engage and incentivize private sector investments in climate actions.
The expectation of undertaking such activities is that they will help the country accelerate its NDC and NAP implementation. With the SCALA programme supporting Ethiopia over the next five years, UNDP and FAO will strive to foster a more inclusive, multi-stakeholder process that meets the needs of smallholder farmers, rural communities, women, and youth, who are the most vulnerable to climate change.
The Government of Ethiopia submitted its nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2016, and formally submitted an updated NDC in July 2021. The updated NDC builds on, and is in line with, the country’s development goals as laid out in its Growth and Transformation Plan II, its Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) Strategy, the emerging Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy, the Green Legacy Initiative, and Ethiopia’s 10-year Development Plan. The bulk of Ethiopia’s NDC adaptation commitments are focused on the agriculture and land use sectors, with priority areas including livestock diversification, drought-resistant animal breeding, rangeland management, crop, and livestock insurance. Ethiopia formulated its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) in 2017, along with a NAP Implementation Roadmap that further categorized the short-term adaptation priorities (such as capacity building, strengthening the enabling environment and promoting research), as well as long-term sector-specific priorities.
In its final National Adaptation Plan (NAP-ETH, 2019), Ethiopia prioritized adaptation in the sectors considered most vulnerable to climate change, namely: agriculture, forestry, health, transport, energy, industry, water and urban. Within these sectors, 18 adaptation options are identified for implementation at all administrative levels, recognizing the considerable diversity in context and vulnerability across Ethiopia’s regions and social groups. Ethiopia is working to integrate climate information into planning and decision-making for development interventions, and prioritizing climate resilience across policies to improve the adaptive capacity at national/federal, regional and Woreda levels. The plan is guided by the principles of participation, coherent interventions, stakeholder empowerment, gender sensitivity, equitable implementation, and partnership, especially with the private sector.
SCALA Senegal
Located in West Africa, Senegal has a steadily growing economy over recent years. However, poverty in Senegal is still prevalent in rural areas, where roughly 60 percent of the population resides. The other 40 percent of the population resides in urban areas, where the majority live in rapidly growing urban suburbs. Low agricultural production, limited capacity of the economy to create sustainable jobs, and inadequate resource allocation for social services contribute to poverty. While the agriculture, livestock and fishery sectors are contributing to food and nutrition security and representing 60 percent of the Senegalese rural labor force, these sectors are vulnerable to several climate-related impacts, such as drought, locust invasion, flooding, sea-level rise, coastal erosion and related health epidemics, as well as bush fires.
Reports and Publications of relevance to Country Teams
Senegal has a strong motivation to enhance its climate strategies and create more sustainable production patterns and food systems. The country plans to achieve its climate objectives in terms of land use and agriculture through the transformation of agri-food systems. The systemic approach adopted by the SCALA programme with all stakeholders constitutes an innovative approach to overcome obstacles and help define actionable priorities. Through fostering stakeholder commitments, to build institutional, financial and technical capacities and foster transformation actions such as agroecology, improving crop varieties, agroforestry and the importance of operationalizing the concept of agripreneur, the SCALA programme will further support the government of Senegal in accessing sustainable solutions, by considering cross-cutting issues and promoting synergies between ongoing initiatives.
Disponible aussi en Français.
Strengthening transformative approaches in Senegal’s climate action plans
6 November 2021 - The programme was officially launched during a two-day inception workshop in September 2021, where key stakeholders discussed SCALA’s activities and objectives to be implemented over the next four years. The discussion centered on the agroecological solutions (such as composting), improving crop varieties, agroforestry and the importance of operationalizing the concept of “agripreneur”. To learn more about the national priorities discussed, the SCALA programme sat down with two technical advisers from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Equipment, Mr. Boubacar Drame and Mr. Younoussa Mballo, to unpack the opportunities and objectives of the programme.
This report captures the participatory mapping of actors in the millet/groundnut and market gardening system and identification of challenges and barriers preventing an environment favorable to agroecological transformation in Senegal.
Senegal developed a National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) in 2006 and submitted an INDC in 2015, which outlined the country’s plans for mitigation and adaptation. The NDC was recently revised and submitted ahead of COP26 in 2021, while sectoral NAPs are currently under development. The Plan for an Emerging Senegal (Plan Sénégal Emergent) reflects the strong political will for development based on more sustainable production patterns and food systems. Since 2019, various actors involved in agroecology in Senegal have come together under the DyTAES (Dynamique pour une Transition AgroEcologique au Sénégal) framework to contribute to the reflections of the Senegalese government to build an agroecological transition policy.
In Senegal, the agriculture sector represents 36 percent of its GHG emissions followed by land use change and forestry (22 percent). As communicated in the NDC, the emissions from the agriculture sector will increase gradually and steadily, until 2030. Henceforth, to reduce emissions, Senegal will first create synergies between local community stakeholders and the private sector to reinforce acquired knowledge and build on good practices in terms of mitigation and adaptation to scale up action.
Strongly threatened by climate change, Senegal aims to enhance adaptation and mitigation measures in the agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry sectors. Particularly in the crop production sector, the mitigation priorities are focused on the Intensive Rice Cultivation System, composting and assisted natural regeneration. Regarding adaptation priorities, the country will focus on vulnerable ecosystems and will work with vulnerable populations to increase their resilience to climate change impacts. Senegal will concentrate on promoting agriculture-livestock-agroforestry production systems, sustainable land management, use of adapted varieties, agriculture insurance, generic improve of species and animal health, promote sustainable aquaculture and restoration of mangroves field.
SCALA Uganda
Uganda experiences the effects of climate change in the form of increased temperatures, frequent disease outbreaks and insect infestations, disrupted rainfall patterns, and frequent floods and droughts. While Uganda has progressively undergone social and economic growth and transformation, consequently reducing its poverty rate by 23 percent over the last two decades, sustained gains will require continued investments in agriculture, and the inclusive participation in the economic growth of women as well the population reported poor in 2019. With 81 percent of the population engaged in rain-fed subsistence farming for food and cash income, the country’s reliance on rain-fed agriculture remains a risk to economic growth, income of farmers, as well as export earnings. Agriculture contributes up to 40 percent of Uganda’s total GDP and over 90 percent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. The agriculture sector contributes to 27 percent of emissions, followed by the land-use and forestry sector with approximately 60 percent of emissions.
Case Study
Experiences of safeguarding livelihoods and promoting resilience through National Adaptation Plans: Case study Uganda
Uganda identifies barriers, solutions, and investment opportunities for gender-responsive agri-food value chains in the cattle corridor
26 October 2021 - The SCALA team sat down with Mr. John Chrysostom Birantana, Senior Principal Policy Analyst at the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries to understand the challenges related to scaling up both climate change adaptation and mitigation in the cattle corridor landscape, and how the country plans to overcome those barriers to achieve its ambitious climate agenda.
Uganda was part of the FAO and UNDP supported Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans (NAP-Ag) Programme from 2015-2020, and developed a gender-responsive National Adaptation Plan (NAP) for the agriculture sector and its monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework which now requires support for implementation. Uganda has undertaken steps to implement the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and increase its ambition. The country developed its latest NDC through inclusive and participatory processes and aligned the NDC with its climate-resilient, long-term emission strategy. Most significantly is Uganda’s formulation of the National Climate Change Act 2021 to give the force of law to the Paris Agreement.
Based on the first and updated interim NDC, Uganda continues to prioritize adaptation as the first response to climate change and aims to strengthen mitigation actions, starting with the expansion of extension services and climate-related information. The country is committed to working on reducing climate change vulnerability and addressing climate actions in several key economic sectors including energy, waste, and industrial processes and product use (IPPU). As well the agriculture and livestock, forestry, sustainable land management (SLM), and sustainable natural resources management (mainly wetlands and natural forests restoration, open water bodies protection), are considered as the country’s greatest source of emissions. The country will scale up to increase resilience and adaptability at the community level and leverage synergies with the county’s land-based mitigation goals.
Strengthening climate information and early warning systems for climate resilient development and adaptation to climate change in Guinea
The 4-year project (2019 - 2023), "Strengthening climate information and early warning systems for climate resilient development and adaptation to climate change in Guinea", sought to support strengthened national capacities, including the participation of communities to prevent, reduce, mitigate and cope with the impact of the systemic shocks form natural hazards. The project also aimed to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to mainstream climate change adaptation policies into national development plans.
Expected Outcomes:
• 1. Enhanced capacity of national hydro-meteorological (NHMS) and environmental institutions to monitor extreme weather and climate change
• 2. Efficient and effective use of hydro-meteorological and environmental information for making early warnings and mainstreaming CC in the long-term development plans
Outcome 1. Enhanced capacity of national hydro-meteorological (NHMS) and environmental institutions to monitor extreme weather and climate change
Outcome 2. Efficient and effective use of hydro-meteorological and environmental information for making early warnings and mainstreaming CC in the long-term development plans
Saving Lives, Protecting Agriculture Based Livelihoods in Malawi (M-Climes)
Climate change severely threatens sustainable development opportunities for Malawi. The country faces a number of climate-induced disasters including floods, droughts, stormy rains and strong winds. The intensity and frequency of climate-related hazards have been increasing in recent decades, due to climate change as well as other factors like population growth, urbanization and environmental degradation. Farmers and rural populations have been amongst the most affected. The impacts of climate hazards have severely disrupted food production, led to the displacement of communities, loss of life and assets, and caused an overall reduction of community resilience.
The “Saving Lives and Protecting Agriculture Based Livelihoods in Malawi: Scaling Up the Use of Modernized Climate Information and Early Warning Systems” (M-Climes) project will support the Government of Malawi to take important steps to save lives and enhance livelihoods at risk from climate-related disasters. The project focuses on Malawi’s technical, financial capacity, and access barriers related to weather and climate information (CI). These barriers will be addressed by investing in enhancing the hydro-meteorological capacity for early warnings (EWs) and forecasting; developing and disseminating tailored products for different actors (including smallholder farmers and fishers); and strengthening capacities of communities to respond to climate-related disasters.
PIFs
Climate change severely threats sustainable development opportunities for Malawi. The country faces a number of climate-induced disasters including floods, droughts, stormy rains, and strong winds. The intensity and frequency of climate-related hazards have been increasing in recent decades, due to climate change as well as other factors like population growth, urbanization and environmental degradation. Farmers and rural populations have been amongst the most affected. The impacts of climate hazards have severely disrupted food production, led to the displacement of communities, loss of life and assets, and caused an overall reduction of community resilience.
The “Saving Lives and Protecting Agriculture based Livelihoods in Malawi: Scaling Up the Use of Modernized Climate Information and Early Warning Systems” project will support the Government of Malawi to take important steps to save lives and enhance livelihoods at risk from climate-related disasters. The project focuses on Malawi’s technical, financial capacity, and access barriers related to weather and climate information (CI). These barriers will be addressed by investing in enhancing the hydro-meteorological capacity for early warnings (EWs) and forecasting; developing and disseminating tailored products for different actors (including smallholder farmers and fishers); and strengthening capacities of communities to respond to climate-related disasters.
The project is aligned with the Government of Malawi's national strategies such as the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy and the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA). The design of the project followed extensive stakeholder consultations. This process allowed the project to gain the support of the relevant stakeholders including the community members from targeted districts, the civil society and local and international NGOs. The project is also supported by the pertinent government ministries and departments and local government with local offices in the targeted districts (DCCMS, DWR, MoAIWD).
Approximately 1.4M direct and 0.7M indirect beneficiaries (total 12% of the population) will gain access to critical weather information as a result of the project. It will reduce vulnerability of lives and livelihoods, particularly women’s, to impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. In addition, it will increase the resilience and enhance livelihoods of the most vulnerable people communities and regions.
Output 1: Expansion of networks that generate climate-related data to save lives and safeguard livelihoods from extreme climate events
- Activity 1.1: Expanding coverage of Meteorological and hydrological infrastructure through installation of AWS, hydrological monitoring stations, lightning detection systems, and lake-based buoys.
- Activity 1.2: Capacity-building of hydromet staff on operations & maintenance, data analysis, modeling, and forecasting.
Output 2: Development and dissemination of products and platforms for climate-related information/services for vulnerable communities and livelihoods
- Activity 2.1: Develop tailored weather/climate based agricultural advisories for 14 food insecure districts and disseminate through ICT/mobile, print, and radio channels
- Activity 2.2: Develop and disseminate tailored warnings and advisories for fishing communities of Mangochi, Salima, Nkhata Bay and Nkhotakhota around Lake Malawi
- Activity 2.3: Develop and deploy the flood and water resource modelling and decision support system to enhance coverage for disaster risk and water resource management
- Activity 2.4: Enablea demand-based model for climate information and services stimulating private sector engagement
- Activity 2.5: Knowledge sharing and management for development, dissemination and use of EW and CI to enhance resilience
Output 3: Strengthening communities capacities for use of EWS/CI in preparedness for response to climate related disasters
- Activity 3.1: Scale-up community-based EWS in flood-disaster prone areas of Karonga, Salima, Dedza, Nkhotakota, Nkhata Bay, Rumphi, Phalombe and Zomba
- Activity 3.2: Capacity development of national, district and community level actors on disaster and climate risk management
Project-level monitoring and evaluation will be undertaken in compliance with the UNDP POPP and the UNDP Evaluation Policy. The Project Manager that will be in charge of running the project on behalf of Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) will be responsible for day-to-day project monitoring. S/he will develop annual work plans to ensure the efficient implementation of the project.
The UNDP Country Office will conduct, within other monitoring activities, annual supervision missions. The UNDP Country Office will be responsible for complying with UNDP project-level M&E requirements. Additional M&E, implementation quality assurance, and troubleshooting support will be provided by the UNDP Regional Technical Advisor as needed.
A Project Implementation Report (PIR) will be prepared for each year of project implementation. The Project Manager, the UNDP Country Office, and the UNDP Regional Technical Advisor will provide objective input to the annual PIR. The Project Manager will ensure that the indicators included in the project results framework are monitored annually well in advance of the PIR submission deadline and will objectively report progress in the Development Objective tab of the PIR. The annual PIR will be shared with the Project Board and other stakeholders.
An independent mid-term review (MTR) process will be undertaken and the findings and responses outlined in the management response will be incorporated as recommendations for enhanced implementation during the final half of the project’s duration.
An independent terminal evaluation (TE) will take place no later than three months prior to operational closure of the project. UNDP Country Office will include the planned project terminal evaluation in the UNDP Country Office evaluation plan, and will upload the final terminal evaluation report in English and the management response to the public UNDP Evaluation Resource Centre (ERC) (www.erc.undp.org).The MTR and TE will be carried out by an independent evaluator. The evaluation report prepared by the independent evaluator is then quality assessed and rated by the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office.
Protecting Malawi with climate information and early warning systems, published by the Green Climate Fund, December 2019
Strengthening climate information in food insecure districts in Malawi
Henry Msiska is a 49-year-old Lead Farmer from Mziliwanda village in Nchenachena in the northern district of Rumphi. To Msiska, delayed onset of rains is undoubtedly the biggest challenge in his agri-business. “I remember some years back, the rainy season used to start in November and last in April or May. But nowadays, the rain would start in December and end even before March,” observes Msiska. Due to this unpredictability of the present-day rainfall patterns his crops have been subject to new pests and diseases, a development that has drastically been reducing his farm yields. Despite growing more climate-resilient crops, it has still been very difficult for him to put more focus on them (crops) due to the changes in the climatic conditions. Msiska is not alone in this predicament as this phenomenon affects thousands of other farmers across Malawi. However, with the use of tailored-weather information and advisories, that he and other community members are expected to be receiving through mobile phones, print and radio channels, under the M-CLIMES Project, such challenges are expected to be a thing of the past. The M-CLIMES Project, which is being implemented with funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) aims at increasing the farmers’ adaptive capacity and their decision-making through timely provision of climate-related risks information.
UN support enhances delivery of improved weather services in Malawi
The Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services has said UN capacity building support to the department has improved their capacity to generate, analyse and disseminate weather information in the country. The department’s deputy director Rodrick Walusa said this on 27th July 2018 when the UN Resident Coordinator, Maria Jose Torres, visited their offices in Blantyre to appreciate impact of UN support to the department. “UNDP has provided us with support to improve our infrastructure for handling weather information,” said Walusa. “We have transformed many of our weather stations into automated ones. With UNDP support, 10 automated weather stations have been fully automated and additional 33 automated weather stations are being procured by UNDP for installation in some of the remaining sites across the country.”
Farmers and fishers benefiting from digitized weather data in Malawi
The exercise which is set to run for 17 days is being conducted in Zomba District under the Green Climate Fund (GCF) funded ‘Saving lives and Protecting Agriculture-based Livelihoods in Malawi: Scaling up the use of Modernized Climate information and Early Warning Systems (M-CLIMES), being implemented by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma).
The DCCMS Chief Meteorologist, Mr. Fred Kossam, said that the digitization of climate data is expected to bring many benefits to Malawi and will provide a fundamental building block for climate change adaptation and disaster management in the country by improving the accuracy of seasonal rainfall forecast.
The positives of preparing for disaster
Knowledge is power. In terms of climate change, this translates into using a growing understanding of how rising global temperatures lead to localised weather disasters. This improved knowledge can help reduce the physical and social devastation of climate change by providing early warning...
While the landlocked nation of Malawi is highly susceptible to droughts, it also provides an example of how flooding can pose a problem for a number of African countries – even those located far from coastlines. Lake Malawi, one of the largest lakes in the world, is a central geographical and economic feature of the country. A GCF project in Malawi being implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a GCF Accredited Entity, is installing automatic weather stations and lake-based weather buoys to increase the capacity to identify and forecast flood risks.
A major component of this USD 16.3 million early warning project is ensuring that climate information is transmitted to vulnerable farming and fishing communities around the lake. The sharing of climate information to the right people is a key part of all effective early warning systems. In the case of the Malawi project, this will include making sure affected communities know what to do with enhanced weather information. The capacity of local communities, district councils, and national agencies to respond to emergencies will be strengthened through training and improved emergency services.
Malawi's farmers watch climate change
Malawi: Illiteracy Levels Affecting Meteorological Services
Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services has attributed its information communication dissemination challenge to high illiteracy levels in the country, saying people fail to instantly understand the information they present at once. Amos Ntonya, a Meteorologist in the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services said this on Tuesday during a meeting organised to sensitise Nkhotakota District Executive Committee on 'Saving Lives and Protecting Agriculture-based Livelihoods in Malawi: Scaling up the Use of Modernised Climate Information and Early Warning Systems (M-CLIMES)' Project.
Maravi Post
The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will embark on scaling up the use of modernised climate information and early warning systems (M-CLIMES) Project aimed at reducing vulnerability of communities to climate change. Briefing the District Executive members (DEC) in Mchinji on Friday, Project coordinator of M-CLIMES DODMA, Rabi Narayan Gaudo, said the six year project (2017-2023) will target two million beneficiaries including farmers, fishermen and flood-prone communities. “The Information Systems Programme will help reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts on lives and livelihoods, particularly of women, from extreme weather events and climate change, and strengthen community capacities in preparedness for response to climate related disasters,” he said. Gaudo said through the project, automated weather stations will be installed in 19 districts, automated rain gauges will be installed for enhanced community early warnings, and all 21 districts will benefit from improved accurate and reliable climate weather forecasts for agriculture.
New climate project to support 3 million Malawians
4 October 2017, Lilongwe
The Government of Malawi, through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) and with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has officially launch a new project to scale up the use of modernized early warning systems and climate information across 21 of the country’s 28 districts. The project called Saving Lives and Protecting Agriculture-based Livelihoods in Malawi: Scaling Up the Use of Modernized Climate Information and Early Warning Systems (M-CLIMES), is co-financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a global fund created to support efforts of developing countries to respond to the challenge of climate change. The M-CLIMES project will reach an estimated three million people in the country with lifesaving early warnings, and improve the monitoring, packaging and distribution of valuable climate information that can save lives, protect livelihoods, and inform decision-making on development plans.
Scaling Up the Use of Modernized Climate Information and Early Warning Systems in Malawi
New UNDP-Supported Project Funded by the GCF Works to Reduce Vulnerability to Climate Change Impacts
By Srilata Kammila
A recently approved project supported by the UNDP and funded through the Green Climate Fund is providing new opportunities to scale up the use of climate information and early warnings in Malawi. The innovative $11 million project focuses on building weather- and climate-related services and has the potential of reaching approximately 2 million people, providing farmers, fishers and communities impacted by a changing climate with the information they need to protect lives and build livelihoods. This includes investing in the use of climate information for planning agricultural and on-farm activities, providing warnings of severe weather for fishers on Lake Malawi, improving flood forecasting and monitoring, and fostering information exchanges through mobile platforms....
Output 1: Expansion of networks that generate climate-related data to save lives and safeguard livelihoods from extreme climate events
Output 2: Development and dissemination of products and platforms for climate-related information/services for vulnerable communities and livelihoods
Output 3: Strengthening communities capacities for use of EWS/CI in preparedness for response to climate related disasters
Addressing the Risks of Climate Induced Disasters in Bhutan through Enhanced National and Local Capacity for Effective Actions
The current NAPA II project, Addressing the Risk of Climate-Induced Disasters through Enhanced National and Local Capacity in Bhutan, will address urgent and immediate climate change adaptation needs and leverage co-financing resources from national government, bilateral and other multilateral sources, and the private sector. The project is working to “enhance national, local and community capacity to prepare for and respond to climate induced multi-hazards to reduce potential losses of human lives, national economic infrastructure, livelihood and livelihood assets.”
The USD 11.49 million project is funded by Global Environment Facility/Least Developed Countries Fund, and coordinated by the National Environment Commission Secretariat in partnership with UNDP, Bhutan. The project will safeguard essential economic and livelihood infrastructure in hazard-prone communities and key industrial areas from increasing climate hazards such as floods, landslides, windstorms and forest fire through reducing vulnerability at high-risk areas and increasing adaptive capacity of community-level disaster risk management institutions.
Source: UNDP Bhutan Project Identification Form (May 1, 2012), and the Bhutan NAPA II brochure, June 2015.
Brochures, Posters, Communications Products
Brochure - ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE: Implementing Bhutan’s National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) II Project
Assessments and Background Documents
Plans and policies of relevance to NAPs for Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
Bhutan National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) Official Document - May 2006
PIFs
The overarching objective of the project is to increase national, local and community capacity to prepare for and respond to climate-induced multi-hazards to reduce potential losses of human lives, national economic infrastructure, livelihoods and livelihood assets. This objective is fully aligned with the development priorities of the RGoB as set out in Bhutan’s tenth 5-year plan, which is in turn underpinned and guided by the long-term development vision of Gross National Happiness (GNH) and Bhutan 2020: A Vision for Peace, Prosperity and Happiness. Under the four pillars of GNH (i.e. sustainable and equitable socio-economic development; environmental conservation; preservation and promotion of culture; and good governance), the 5-year plan places a strong emphasis, among others, on balanced rural-urban development for poverty alleviation, expansion/maintenance of key economic infrastructure including road infrastructure that connects rural and urban centers, and strengthening of the agricultural sector which continues to employ the majority of Bhutanese and be the backbone of the rural economy.
This project will implement priority interventions addressed in Bhutan's National Adaptation Programme of Actions corresponding to the following objectives, in part or full, as outlined in NAPA profile:
- Disaster management strategy
- Weather forecasting system to serve farmers and agriculture
- Landslide management and flood prevention
- Flood protection of downstream industrial and agricultural area
- Rainwater harvesting
- Promote community-based forest fire management and prevention
Situated on the southern slope of the Eastern Himalayas, Bhutan’s landscape is mountainous and rugged with elevations ranging from 100m in the southern foothills to 7500m towards north. Due to its topography, habitable and arable areas are limited to approximately 8.3% and 2.9%, respectively, of the landmass. Agriculture, which employs 69% of the population and accounts for 78% of monetary income in rural households, and industrial activities are largely practiced in this highly confined space that its topography permits. While Bhutan is in general endowed with abundant water resources from the four major rivers and their tributaries, most of the large rivers are at the bottom of valleys and gorges rendering these rich water resources largely inaccessible for agriculture or domestic use. As a result, irrigation is limited to areas near small perennial streams that exist above main rivers and majority of farmers rely primarily on monsoonal rains, which account for 60-90% of annual precipitation.
Bhutan is one of the most disaster prone countries in the Asia-Pacific region, irrespective of the presence of climate change. The country is exposed to multiple hazards, most prominently flash floods, landslides, windstorms, earthquakes, forest fires, and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). In terms of relative exposure to flood risks (as % of population), Bhutan ranks fourth highest in the region. Although the direct human risks of landslides, windstorms, and forest fires are not particularly higher compared to other countries, the socioeconomic repercussions from these events are thought to be high due to the baseline poverty prevalence.
Climate change is likely to magnify the intensity and frequency of these hazards. In fact, according to the International Disaster Database, among the top 10 natural disasters in Bhutan between 1900 to 2012, in terms of the number of casualties and number affected, all of them occurred in the last two decades (except epidemic outbreaks), which makes certain degree of attribution of climate change to the increasing magnitude of such hazards plausible. The most pronounced consequences of climate change in Bhutan are two folds: disruptions in the monsoonal system and increasing/intensifying trends of extreme hydro-meteorological hazards, both of which are obviously closely linked. These disturbances will amplify the socioeconomic challenges for the Bhutanese society, especially in rural areas where the majority of the population is engaged in rain-fed agriculture and rampant poverty makes them least equipped to adapt to creeping changes in climate.
Monsoon rains generally arrive during the summer months (from late June to late September). Downscaled simulations undertaken in Bhutan’s SNC indicate that the mean annual rainfall will increase by 26-30% by 2069 compared to the baseline year of 1980. This increase occurs primarily during the summer monsoon season while the dry winter season rainfall is projected to decline slightly. In addition, accelerated melting of glaciers, which act as a gigantic natural water retention and dispensing mechanism to communities downstream, is disrupting the hydrological regime of the perennial river systems in the region. All in all, climate change will increase the uncertainty of water availability throughout the year, and rural farmers are likely to have to better manage high fluctuation of rainfalls – increasing volume of monsoonal rain so that they can sustain longer dry periods. This poses significant risks to development when built rural infrastructure to alleviate water shortages, such as communal rainwater harvesting, is minimally available.
Source: UNDP Bhutan Project Identification Form (May 1, 2012)
- Outcome 1: Risks from climate-induced floods and landslides reduced in the economic and industrial hub of Bhutan
- Output 1.1: Protection of Pasakha Industrial area from flooding events through riverbank protection, river training and development of flood buffer zones
- Output 1.2: Slope stabilization to reduce climate-induced landslides in the Phuntsholing Township
- Output 1.3: Integrated risk hazard assessment and mapping completed in 4 critical landslide and flashflood prone areas with data collection standards compatible with the national database
- Outcome 2: Community resilience to climate-induced risks (drought, flood, landslides, windstorms, forest fires) strengthened in at least four Dzongkhags
- Output 2.1: Climate-resilient water harvesting, storage and distribution systems designed, built and rehabilitated in at least four Dzongkhags, based on observed and projected changes in rainfall patterns and intensity
- Output 2.2: Community-level water resource inventory completed and maintained by Dzongkhag administration to increase the adaptive capacity of communities in the face of increasing water scarcity
- Output 2.3: Disaster Management Institutions at various levels established and trained in four Dzongkhags to prepare for, and respond to, more frequent and intense floods, storms and wildfire events
- Outcome 3: Relevant information about climate-related risks and threats shared across community-based organizations and planners in climate-sensitive policy sectors on a timely and reliable basis
- Output 3.1: Enhanced quality, availability and transfer of real-time climate data in all Dzongkhags which experience increasing frequency of extreme hydo-meterological events
- Output 3.2: Increased effectiveness of National Weather and Flood Forecasting and Warning Center through improved capacity to analyze, manage and disseminate climate information in a timely manner
Source: UNDP Bhutan Project Identification Form (May 1, 2012)
Project Start:
- Project Inception Workshop: will be held within the first 2 months of project start with those with assigned roles in the project organization structure, UNDP country office and where appropriate/feasible regional technical policy and programme advisors as well as other stakeholders. The Inception Workshop is crucial to building ownership for the project results and to plan the first year annual work plan.
Daily:
- Day to day monitoring of implementation progress: will be the responsibility of the Project Manager, based on the project's Annual Work Plan and its indicators, with overall guidance from the Project Director. The Project Team will inform the UNDP-CO of any delays or difficulties faced during implementation so that the appropriate support or corrective measures can be adopted in a timely and remedial fashion.
Quarterly:
- Project Progress Reports (PPR): quarterly reports will be assembled based on the information recorded and monitored in the UNDP Enhanced Results Based Management Platform. Risk analysis will be logged and regularly updated in ATLAS.
Annually:
- Annual Project Review/Project Implementation Reports (APR/PIR): This key report is prepared to monitor progress made since project start and in particular for the previous reporting period (30 June to 1 July). The APR/PIR combines both UNDP and GEF reporting requirements.
Periodic Monitoring through Site Visits:
- UNDP CO and the UNDP RCU will conduct visits to project sites based on the agreed schedule in the project's Inception Report/Annual Work Plan to assess first hand project progress. Other members of the Project Board may also join these visits. A Field Visit Report/BTOR will be prepared by the CO and UNDP RCU and will be circulated no less than one month after the visit to the project team and Project Board members.
Mid-Term of Project Cycle:
- Mid-Term Evaluation: will determine progress being made toward the achievement of outcomes and will identify course correction if needed. It will focus on the effectiveness, efficiency and timeliness of project implementation; will highlight issues requiring decisions and actions; and will present initial lessons learned about project design, implementation and management. Findings of this review will be incorporated as recommendations for enhanced implementation during the final half of the project’s term.
End of Project:
- Final Evaluation: will take place three months prior to the final Project Board meeting and will be undertaken in accordance with UNDP and GEF guidance. The final evaluation will focus on the delivery of the project’s results as initially planned (and as corrected after the mid-term evaluation, if any such correction took place). The final evaluation will look at impact and sustainability of results, including the contribution to capacity development and the achievement of global environmental benefits/goals. The Terminal Evaluation should also provide recommendations for follow-up activities.
- Project Terminal Report: This comprehensive report will summarize the results achieved (objectives, outcomes, outputs), lessons learned, problems met and areas where results may not have been achieved. It will also lie out recommendations for any further steps that may need to be taken to ensure sustainability and replicability of the project’s results.
Learning and Knowledge Sharing:
- Results from the project will be disseminated within and beyond the project intervention zone through existing information sharing networks and forums.
- The project will identify and participate, as relevant and appropriate, in scientific, policy-based and/or any other networks, which may be of benefit to project implementation though lessons learned. The project will identify, analyze, and share lessons learned that might be beneficial in the design and implementation of similar future projects.
- Finally, there will be a two-way flow of information between this project and other projects of a similar focus.
