UN showcases success story of Nairobi Work Programme on adaptation to climate change

The UN Climate Change Secretariat has published a report showing that a key adaptation programme under the UNFCCC has been successful in contributing towards building the capacity of governments, communities and many stakeholders to better protect lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable people around the world from the inevitable impacts of climate change.

The report is on the achievements of the Nairobi Work Programme (NWP) over the past five years. The NWP is an inclusive network of over 450 leading and diverse organizations committed to closing knowledge gaps and scaling up climate adaptation action in countries and regions. The programme has been building knowledge in areas ranging from ecosystem protection to water management.

Youssef Nassef, Director of the Adaptation Division at UN Climate Change, said: “The Nairobi Work Programme’s ability to convene actors from all relevant sectors and levels to curate knowledge and address needs that hinder adaptation in all the different regions and across shared ecosystems is more critical than ever.”

The overarching mission of the NWP is that no stage of adaptation to climate change should falter due to a lack of knowledge and information.

In many cases, such knowledge and information are still missing, insufficient or not available in accessible formats, particularly when countries are implementing ways to achieve long-term transformation. This means that adaptation plans are not drawn up or effectively implemented, hampering the pace of adaptation efforts even as the impacts of climate change grow.

The NWP, through its work at the national, subregional and regional level, already plays an important role in closing adaptation knowledge gaps. For example, the NWP has led to the establishment of groups of experts for regions that share similar ecological and climatic characteristics or a common ecosystem.

Inspiring examples highlighted by the NWP expert group on biodiversity and climate change include a community-based watershed management scheme implemented in the temperate forests of Myanmar, and the planting of native seedlings designed to help the area adapt to the impacts of deforestation, forest degradation and soil erosion in Sudan.

Another example is the publication of Coastal Adaptation and Nature-based Solutions for the Implementation of National Adaptation Plans: Considerations for the Green Climate Fund Proposal Development by the NWP expert group on oceans.

Ocean and climate issues are often intertwined, particularly for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The publication shows that in their National Adaptation Plans, a number of countries have communicated their intentions to increase efforts to adapt ocean ecosystems to promote sustainable development while safeguarding oceans.

Measures are focused on investing in ocean and the ‘blue’ economy and protecting marine and coastal ecosystems, with a focus on coral reefs and mangrove restoration. These solutions have a clear role for coastal protection and prevention of coastal erosion as well as lessening the impacts from severe weather events.

Growing number of strategic partnerships

The NWP has already achieved long-term strategic partnerships for regional action with global, regional and subregional organizations and networks in enhancing knowledge of shared ecosystems and ways to protect them when taking action to address climate change.

These partners and experts represent different regions, various areas of knowledge and diverse organizations, including Indigenous Peoples organizations.

For example, people in the Hindu Kush Himalayas increasingly need to adapt to flash floods, depleted water resources and forest degradation. These impacts are not limited to countries’ political boundaries but are often transboundary in nature, making it necessary to shift to subregional and regional cooperation. This is a shift that the NWP facilitates through regional partnerships pushing for innovative ways to increase resilience and implement practical, effective and priority adaptation actions in regions.

Experts meeting under the Lima Adaptation Knowledge Initiative (LAKI) under the NWP have exchanged knowledge on measures ranging from the restoration of critical rangeland and forest ecosystems to developing conservation corridors to connect fragmented forest habitats and protected areas.

Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said: ““LAKI is a critical, strategic partnership through which ICIMOD is working together with regional partners to develop adaptation action that is relevant and responsive to the situation, that is led by those affected, and that is sensitive to the differences in how climate change impacts the different genders and communities. Together, we can make a difference by building and sharing knowledge that influences regional policy and drives action and investment for a greener, more inclusive and climate resilient Hindu Kush Himalayas.”

The way forward for the NWP

At the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 last year in Dubai, delegates meeting for the global stocktake recognized that climate change impacts are transboundary in nature, thereby requiring regional consideration and knowledge-sharing, climate-informed transboundary management and cooperation on global adaptation solutions.

The NWP, building on its outcomes and achievements over the years, is uniquely placed to continue supporting adaptation action at the regional and subregional level, especially in areas with shared or common ecosystems.

It can also bring about transformation and fulfil the potential of the Global Goal on Adaptation, which is currently being fine-tuned by governments.

Going forward, the NWP will continue to strengthen partnerships at the regional and transboundary level, especially in the thematic area of mountains and scaling up the LAKI in more subregions. The focus will be on understanding ways to strengthen resilience and implement practical, effective and priority adaptation action in regions. The next milestone is the UN Climate Change Conference SB60 in June, at which governments will consider progress under the NWP.

The Nairobi Work Programme on impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation to climate change (NWP) was established in 2005 at COP11, in Nairobi to facilitate and catalyse the development and dissemination of information and knowledge that would inform and support adaptation policies and practices, with a focus on developing countries. Since then, the NWP has engaged countries and a growing network of partner organizations, experts and other relevant organizations from all fields and world regions in sharing the latest information and knowledge, to bridge knowledge gaps and scale-up action in response to the adaptation knowledge needs identified by the Parties to the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement.