Eight countries discuss how to integrate agriculture in their National Adaptation Plans

Representatives of Ministries of Agriculture and Ministries of the Environment from Nepal, Kenya, the Philippines, Thailand, Uganda, Uruguay, Viet Nam and Zambia are for the first time actively engaged in discussing how to ensure the integration of the agriculture sectors and sub-sectors in national adaptation planning processes.    

As part of the Programme "Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans", FAO together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are hosting a Global Capacity Development Workshop on this topic in Rome, Italy from 5-7 April 2016.  

During the first day of the workshop, discussions focused on climate change adaptation and food security from the perspective of different agriculture sectors: livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture. Countries also looked at the synergies between climate change adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction as well as the co-benefits of adaptation and mitigation. Mainstreaming climate change adaptation and the entry points for adaptation in development planning and budgeting was also discussed. 

“The programme is assisting us to build systems for example applying risk analysis and the economic appraisal of adaptation options. This should be done through national and sub-national experts and institutions,” said Maikut Chebet, Commissioner/Head of the Climate Change Department of the Ministry of Water and Environment in Uganda. 

Climate Change poses very diverse impacts on agriculture sectors in different countries, and even within countries. When speaking about the challenges Mr L.N Acharya from the Ministry of Agriculture in Nepal explained that “the rise in temperatures in the Himalayan region can result in melting glaciers and burst lakes which can cause unprecedented flooding resulting in loss of land, agricultural production, livestock, human life and ultimately food and nutrition insecurity in the country.” 

Detailed technical conversations at the meeting include topics such as: developing a common understanding on the NAP process, challenges related to sector and sub-sector integration, boosting national capacity and how to build evidence and get support for implementation. The meeting is also part of the peer-to-peer exchange between countries on adaptation strategies and approaches. 

The second day of the workshop will look at building an evidence base for climate change adaptation in agriculture and leveraging support for NAPs.

About the programme   

"Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans" is a FAO-UNDP programme that was launched last year. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) to respond to the challenge of climate change in the agricultural sectors. FAO and UNDP are specifically working with ministries of agriculture, environment, finance, and planning in the eight partner countries. They support these countries to identify and integrate climate adaptation measures in the agriculture sectors into relevant national planning and budgeting by: 

  • strengthening local technical skills in the use of climate risk management strategies,

  • adjusting planning and budgeting processes to incorporate climate change risks, and

  • supporting farmers - especially women - in adopting best practices in climate change adaptation.


Presentations

Opening Session

UNDP Support to Climate Change Adaptation Advancing Climate Resilient Livelihoods and Food Security
FAO’s Work on Climate Change
Overview of the NAP Technical Guidelines
Paris Agreement and the NAP process Global Capacity Development
The NAP Agriculture Programme


Thematic Session 1: Climate change adaptation (CCA) and food security

Adaptation capacity in livestock production
Building resilience & reducing vulnerabilities to climate change in the fisheries and aquaculture sector
NAPs and the Forestry Sector
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA)
Co-benefits between adaptation and mitigation


Thematic Session 2: Mainstreaming CCA into development planning

Mainstreaming CCA into development planning: Approaches and case studies from UNDP work
Grenada: NAP for climate-resilient decision-making
NAP Process in Uganda
Mainstreaming Adaptation into Development Plans in Vietnam


Thematic Session 3: Building an evidence base for climate change adaptation in agriculture

Building an Evidence base: Introduction to Economics of Adaptation and Impact Assessment
From climate information to climate impacts on agriculture and food security
Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (and Identifying Adaptation Options)
Measuring Progress on Gender Equality with Gender-sensitive indicators
Building an evidence base for climate change adaptation in agriculture: Philippines
Building an evidence base for climate change adaptation in agriculture: The Zambian Experience


Thematic Session 4: Leveraging support for NAP

Climate finance architecture, emerging trends in adaptation
NAP Global Network: Coordinating Climate-Resilient Development
Integrating adaptation, gender and agricultural market development
Uruguay’s experience
Thailand’s Climate Change Adaptation: Responsible Organization & NAP


Thematic Session 5: Supplements to the NAP Technical Guidelines

Supplementary materials to the NAP Technical Guidelines
Voluntary guidelines to support the integration of genetic diversity into national climate change adaptation planning
Ecosystem based Adaptation (EbA) in the International Climate Initiative
NAP Agriculture Technical Guidelines: Approach, Opportunities and Challenges
NAP Agriculture Technical Guidelines: Approach, Opportunities and Challenges
Kenya
Nepal: Climate Change and NAP’s experience
Integration of agricultural subsectors – introduction and examples
Good practices? Experience capitalization for continuous learning