Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week



Montevideo, Uruguay, 20-23 August 2018

Regional TEM-A: Adaptation planning for vulnerable groups, communities and ecosystems
Through specific regional, national and local examples, this session organized within the contex of the LA&C Climate Week, presented and discussed the experiences, knowledge and opportunities for adaptation action and optimising resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The technical examination process on adaptation (TEP-A) is being conducted from 2016-2020, consisting of technical expert meetings (TEMs), technical papers and summaries for policy-makers (SPMs) with a view to identifying concrete opportunities for strengthening resilience, reducing vulnerabilities and increasing the understanding and implementation of adaptation actions. The two high-level Climate Champions, leading the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action,  provide highlevel strategic and overall guidance on the TEMs, during 2018 this is guided by SDGs 8, 9 and 12.
Paragraph 9 of UNFCCC Decision 13/CP.23 invites Parties and non-Party stakeholders to organize regional technical expert meetings, building on existing regional climate action events, as appropriate, with a view to examining specific finance, technology and capacity-building resources necessary to scale up actions in regional contexts, including through regional mitigation and adaptation initiatives, and to provide their reports thereon to the secretariat as input to the technical examination processes.
The session focussed on Gaps and needs for adaptation planning (This first part of the session looked at the importance of local governments, local communities and indigenous peoples’ knowledge and examples of how this can be integrated into adaptation planning and action); Adaptation at the level of local communities and indigenous peoples (This second one examined how information and knowledge gaps on adaptation are being addressed by different actors at various scales. Case studies from national and regional perspectives were featured) and Opportunities for advancing regional action for adaptation planning for the vulnerable groups, communities and ecosystems. 


Cecilia Hidalgo talked about “Enhancing interdisciplinary, interinstitutional, intersectoral and multistakeholder engagement and cooperative action on adaptation” in the context of this last part of the session that explored concrete and pragmatic ways that may be used to increase capacity for resilience and sustainability through cooperation, including through the formulation and implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).





We share a comment on the session:
 Representatives from joint FAO-UNDP NAP-Ag Programme connect sectoral adaptation plans with achievement of Paris Goals and 2030 Agenda

 27 August 2018, Uruguay - This year’s Latin American and Caribbean Climate Week (LACCW), hosted in Uruguay from August 20 to 23, pushed global ambitions to address climate change and facilitated important discussion between country representatives, organizations and the private sector on moving forward on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and synergies to reach the global targets outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The project team from the Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans Programme (Nap-Ag), a joint initiative from FAO and UNDP, took part in the regional Technical Expert Meeting on Adaptation (TEM-A), exploring gaps and needs for adaptation planning, how to include indigenous peoples and vulnerable communities in adaptation planning, and how to scale up adaptation efforts.
María del Pilar Bueno, Co-Chair of the UNFCCC Adaptation Committee, and Ignacio Lorenzo, Director of Climate Change in Uruguay, opened the TEM-A session, exploring experiences, knowledge and opportunities for adaptation action in Latin America and the Caribbean.
During the discussion the need for enhancing the link between science and policy was highlighted. Regional coordination in adaptation monitoring and climate information services was also identified as a pillar for adaptation action in the region. According to event participants, inclusive approaches to adaptation through inter-disciplinary, inter-institutional and multi-stakeholder action in adaptation – including the assimilation of knowledge and concerns from indigenous peoples and local communities in planning processes – will make adaptation planning more effective.
Uruguay´s approach for adaptation planning was presented on the Pitch Hub. On August 21, Cecilia Jones, the National Coordinator in Uruguay, shared impacts and lessons learned from the NAP-Ag Programme. Jones summarized the results of the national consultation, held in 2017, that identified the need to strengthen rural livelihoods by promoting the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices that manage climate risks while preserving the ecosystem services in agriculture. The NAP-Ag programme promotes a development path towards agriculture that is resilient and adapted to climate change, working in 11 countries worldwide to promote informed adaptation planning for the agriculture sector.
As part of the Pitch Hub presentation, National Coordinator Myrna Campoleoni presented lessons learned from the Nap Cities and Infrastructure sectoral plan, while National Coordinator Mónica Gómez shared details from the Coastal NAP.
During the last day of the LACCW a Talanoa Dialogue was organized to collect inputs from stakeholders on how to reach the Paris Agreement goals in the Latin American and Caribbean Region. The NAP-Ag team contributed to the event as facilitators of the participatory  session.
Link: https://reliefweb.int/report/world/latin-america-and-caribbean-climate-week-galvanizes-climate-action