Report from the AP-PLAT seminar at COP27

Seminar Title	Formulation and Implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) in the Asia Pacific - Establishing a System to Promote Adaptation Towards the Achievement of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA)
Date & Time	11 November 2022, 10:30-12:30 Egypt time
Venue	Hybrid event - In-person: Sharm el-Sheikh International Convention Center, Egypt - Online: Zoom webinar
More information	Download Agenda Download Flyer

The AP-PLAT seminar discussing National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) in the Asia-Pacific took place on November 11, 2022, at the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP27) in Egypt. The seminar was part of the Japan Pavilion program.

The seminar was held in person and online and had about 85 participants.

We want to thank all speakers for their invaluable contribution to the seminar and the audience for their participation.

PROGRAM

Download Agenda for full program details.

The seminar was chaired by Ms. Keiko Yoshikawa, Deputy Director of the Center for Climate Change Adaptation (CCCA), National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES). First, opening remarks were delivered by Mr. Hiroshi Ono, Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ). Then, Dr. Yuji Masutomi, from CCCA, NIES, introduced the outline and objectives of the seminar.

The seminar comprised two parts: short presentations and a panel discussion.

Seven short presentations on Adaptation in the Asia-Pacific region were moderated by Dr. Linda Anne Stevenson from the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN).

The first presenter, Mr. Gen’ichiro Tsukada, Director of the Climate Change Adaptation Office, MOEJ, presented Case study 1: Implementation challenges of the Climate Change Adaptation Plan in Japan. Mr. Tsukada outlined the comprehensive adaptation efforts in Japan based on the Climate Change Adaptation Act enacted in 2018. He particularly focused on the promotion systems and institutional arrangements behind the country’s Climate Change Adaptation Plan, which is revised every five years based on the Impact Assessment Reports that summarize key scientific findings. Mr. Tsukada emphasized that each country needs to put in place adequate promotion systems and institutional arrangements for adaptation measures and underscored the importance of regularly checking progress through Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) mechanisms. Such institutional backbone enhances national adaptation and is also an important initiative towards achieving the Global Goal of Adaptation.

Ms. Justina Aurea Da Costa Belo from the National Directorate of Climate Change (NDCC) under the Secretary of State for the Environment, Timor-Leste, presented Case study 2: Implementation challenges of National Adaptation Plan in Timor-Leste. Ms. Belo presented on behalf of Mr. Augusto Manuel Pinto (who could not attend the seminar due to unforeseen circumstances). Ms. Belo provided an overview of her country’s NAP and described multiple challenges faced in the implementation process. The key challenges included financial support to implement NAP, capacity building support (such as project proposal development and engagement with research institutions, e.g., for gathering geospatial and hydrometeorological data), technology development and transfer, and lack of guidelines/information, and lack of M&E framework for NAP implementation.

Mr. Md. Mizanul Hoque Chowdhury, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and Director of the NAP formulation project in Bangladesh presented Case study 3: Status and challenges of National Adaptation Plan in Bangladesh. A newly approved NAP was formulated through an extensive consultation process with stakeholders and approved by the government just before COP27 on October 31, 2022. With a plan that set 6 adaptation goals and 23 strategies in 8 priority sectors, the key challenges include mobilizing international finance and other funding sources necessary for the implementation and developing a fully operationalized M&E framework within a short timeframe.

A pre-recorded video message by Professor Rajib Shaw from Keio University in Japan was presented on Perspectives on Adaptation in Asia, sharing insights from his experience working on the IPCC 6th Assessment Report, especially within the context of Asia. Prof. Rajib mentioned the issue of digital inequality as a newly emerging risk in the global risk landscape and the need to put the climate change and disaster risk reduction perspective in this context. For example, app-based early warning systems have recently become common, but if there is a digital access failure in a small remote community, delivering early warning or other help to the community will be a challenge. Prof. Shaw also mentioned the need to develop new adaptation practices that address compounding and complex disasters and cascading risks where several hazards occur together, as opposed to the traditional model when an adaptation measure addresses a single issue.

Ms. Akane Matsuo, Policy Researcher at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), discussed findings from a recent IGES survey in status of the adaptation plans in the Asia-Pacific on the current status of adaptation planning in the 39 Asia-Pacific countries. For example, while all countries in the region have submitted their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), less than ten have submitted their NAPs and Adaptation Communications (ACs). In their submissions, over 30 countries identified Agriculture & Food, Health, and Water as priority sectors. However, less than half of the countries clearly mention Implementation and M&E strategies in their adaptation plan documents. Overall, what is required is a more detailed analysis of the status, gaps, and needs of the countries, including the financial/technical support needed for adaptation plan development, update, and implementation.

Dr. Yuji Masutomi, Section head of the Asia pacific Climate Change Adaptation Research Section at CCCA, NIES, introduced the web-based platform that aims to support adaptation in the Asia-Pacific via three pillars: scientific information, developing tools, and capacity building. To illustrate these essential activities, Dr. Masutomi highlighted several features available on the AP-PLAT website: scientific tools ClimoCast and Climate Impact viewer, an extensive Adaptation Literacy section with multiple online courses, and a new Adaptation Planning section which was released just before COP27 and offers practical information on adaptation plan development, guidance on NAPs and other UNFCCC processes, and information on the status of adaptation planning in the Asia-Pacific.

The final presentation was delivered by Dr. Linda Anne Stevenson of APN, who introduced a new APN-IGES initiative on Locally Led Adaptation in the Asia-Pacific region. Dr. Stevenson emphasized that the co-creation of knowledge and solutions is needed to facilitate effective and sustainable adaptation action and affordable technology to ensure workable locally-led adaptation (LLA) practices. LLA has to be a part of NAP and NDC implementation to establish effective linkages with national and international policy processes. Capacity building should not be a one-off process; collaboration and partnerships are critical to sustainable capacity building. Dr. Stevenson also outlined a new APN-IGES project which aims to catalyze local adaptation innovations by addressing capacity gaps at the local level, with the project activities focusing on Model Case Sites (MCS) in three subregions: South Asia (Nepal), Southeast Asia (Vietnam) and the Pacific (Fiji).

Short presentations were followed by panel discussion, in which the moderator Dr. Linda Stevenson and five panelists: Mr. Gen’ichiro Tsukada, Ms. Justina Belo, Ms. Zakia Afroz (Bangladesh), Ms. Akane Matsuo and Dr. Yuji Masutomi, discussed the progress and challenges of the NAP formulation and implementation in the Asia-Pacific, the role of NAP formulation and implementation in achieving the GGA, and the expected role of international platforms and organizations (such as AP-PLAT and APN) in achieving a climate-resilient Asia-Pacific region.

The seminar concluded with closing remarks by Mr. Yasuo Takahashi, Executive Director of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES).

AP-PLAT Secretariat would like to thank all the speakers and audience for their participation. We are looking forward to the next opportunity to meet and collaborate.

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The seminar was organized by the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), and co-organized by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN).

(Posted : 1/DEC/2022)