20th June 2023, Kampala – A new $2.9 million initiative has been launched in Uganda to address the growing impacts of climate change by developing a National Adaptation Plan (NAP). Backed by the Green Climate Fund with support from UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the project will be executed by Uganda's National Climate Change Department in the Ministry of Water and Environment.
The project will increase the skills, awareness and knowledge for long-term climate adaptation planning in the country. By carrying out climate risk assessments and developing district-level adaptation strategies, the project plans to mainstream these insights to the national level, helping Ministries align their objectives with adaptation goals.
The project launch event took place at the Royal Suites Hotel in Kampala on the 20th June, attended by a range of ministries, civil society organizations and UN agencies.
In his speech at the event, Bob Natifu, Assistant Climate Change Commissioner with the Ugandan Ministry of Water and Environment, underscored the urgency of this project: “As a country, we grapple on a daily basis with climate impacts. If it’s not floods, it’s drought or slow onset events that lead to damaging impacts. The science is clear and there’s a need to act.”
“Therefore, I am consciously optimistic that, as we launch this NAP project, this as a starting point to help Uganda frame a unilateral approach to address the adaptation challenges we have been faced with for years on end.”
At its core, this project seeks to enhance Uganda's response to climate change at all levels. It strives to develop a shared national understanding of climate change scenarios, conduct detailed climate risk assessments in six Districts, provide clarity on adaptation targets, build capacity across all Districts, and incorporate adaptation into sectoral investment plans to leverage regular development budgets for adaptation.
"The National Adaptation Plan process is an important tool to shift from ad hoc project-based adaptation interventions towards strategic and programmatic approaches that are supported by a whole of government approach," said Atifa Kassam, UNEP’s Task Manager for the project.
The project will also develop five-year expenditure frameworks for 5 Ministries and collate/ disseminate lessons learned from the NAP process
“Limited funds are a major challenge for addressing climate change, and therefore there’s a need for the mobilization of more climate finance at both the national and international level,” said the launch event’s Guest of Honour, the Honourable Lawrence Songa, Chairperson for the Parliamentary Committee for Climate Change. “There’s also a need for adaptation action at the local level and this can be improved through building the capacity of district officials on climate change information.”
UNEP is currently supporting more than 22 countries with the development of their National Adaptation Plans.
To learn more about the National Adaptation Plan project, officially titled Strengthening Adaptation Planning in Uganda, contact Jessica.Troni@un.org
