Global Adaptation Network Newsletter: April - May 2022

Find the original version of the newsletter here.

Global Network News

Around the world, cities race to adapt to a changing climate - A story by UNEP outlines the efforts to adapt to climate change in cities across the world. “Cities are both a hotbed of climate threats and a hotbed of climate solutions,” said Jessica Troni, Head of UNEP’s Climate Change Adaptation Unit. UNEP lends its technical support and helps governments access adaptation finance with a global network of projects.

Facing floods and landslides, Afghans turn to nature for protection - The combination of floods, landslides and persistent drought has compounded the challenges of living in Afghanistan. In the Deh-shahr catchment of the Badakhshan province, local residents - with support from UNEP and the Aga Khan Foundation - have been replanting native trees and restoring vegetation cover to protect themselves from floods and landslides.

Mountain adaptation solutions: Turning challenges into opportunities - Mountains communities are feeling the impacts of climate change. UNEP, together with GRID-Arendal and regional partners, have published two new booklets titled Mountains ADAPT, supported by the Adaptation at Altitude programme. They feature 27 solutions to adapt to the climate crisis in mountains – 18 in East Africa and 9 in the South Caucasus.

Podcast: Sponge cities that fight flooding - Sponge cities use nature and green spaces to slow down, soak up and reuse flood water. In this episode of the podcast People Fixing The World, UNEP spoke with the BBC about the growing popularity and interest in sponge cities, exemplified by the CityAdapt project, which is helping coffee farmers in El Salvador to protect their crops against climate impacts.

Deadline extension for Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator - As part of the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator, UNEP and The Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) are administrating $5 million-worth of grants (up to $250,000 each) to enhance climate resilience in developing countries. The deadline for applications in the third call for proposals is now 30 September 2022.

Strata: Custom climate security analytics - UNEP and partners have developed Strata to enhance monitoring, analysis and early warning of environmental and climate-related security risks. The tool allows users to visualize data on climate change, environment, peace and security to identify converging risks, and to design and prioritize responses. Join us for a hands-on demo and Q&A about the platform on 9 June. Register here.

Act Now, Speak Up! - Climate action is a task for all of us. Join the Act Now campaign and speak up for climate action! To contribute to the global count of individual actions, download the mobile app and log the 'Speak Up' action each time you use your voice to drive bigger change. Appeal to world leaders, urge your city, your bank and your employer to take action toward climate resilience and net-zero emissions.

World Environment Day 2022 - Join us for World Environment Day 2022 on 5 June! This year, the #OnlyOneEarth campaign is calling for collective, transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore our planet. A new Practical Guide has been launched for "living sustainably in harmony with nature", which you can download here. See the event calendar here. 

Solutions in Focus: Key Themes for Ecosystem-based Adaptation - This new publication intends to inspire policy- and decision-makers by showcasing a selection of 20 solutions from the PANORAMA platform that have been applied in different settings. The report shows EbA is being implemented successfully in a broad range of countries and ecosystems, and it is driven forward by all kinds of different people and organizations.

Stockholm+50 - The Stockholm+50 event, which took place on June 2-3, commemorated the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, and celebrated 50 years of global environmental action. The 2-day meeting concluded with a statement from co-hosts Sweden and Kenya, drawn from Member States and stakeholders through the meeting’s plenaries and leadership dialogues. See the press release here.

Highlights from the Nairobi Work Programme: UNFCCC’s knowledge-to-action hub for adaptation - The Nairobi Work Programme (NWP) works with its network of over 450 partner organizations to enhance implementation of adaptation action by closing knowledge gaps. Learn more about these actions: Annual report and Summary report on the outcomes.

News From The Regions
Africa

The climate-nutrition-agrifood nexus in Uganda - The FAO- & UNDP-led programme known as Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through NDCs and National Adaptation Plans (SCALA) has convened stakeholders from Uganda’s public and private sectors to discuss linkages and opportunities between climate, nutrition and agrifood systems in the country. Read more here.

EBAFOSA’s Climate Action Digest - This issue of the Ecosystem-based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly’s (EBAFOSA) Climate Action Digest focuses on the implications of the recently-concluded UN Environment Assembly and its implications for Africa, as well as climate action initiatives that help curb plastic pollution in the continent and improve the living standards of people through the creation of climate-resilient livelihoods.

Ethiopia enhances irrigation, and watershed and pastureland management - The programme known as Scaling Up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through NDCs and National Adaptation Plans (SCALA) was officially launched in Ethiopia earlier this year. In a Q&A article, SCALA talks with two key experts in Ethiopia to learn about the programme's workshops and its plans over the next 5 years.

Increasing adaptation knowledge in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) - Climate-smart agriculture and nature-based solutions are crucial means of dealing with the impacts of climate change, but people - particularly in developing countries - need more information and capacity to take action. During a Lima Adaptation Knowledge Initiative event at MENA Climate Week, participants learned how to close adaptation knowledge gaps in the region.

News from the Regions
Asia Pacific 

Fiji taps into nature-based solutions to boost its ecosystems and economy - Fiji is facing the impacts of climate change, and as a result, the country has been looking to innovative nature-based solutions to reduce climate risks and ensure human wellbeing and biodiversity benefits. In a Q&A article, UNEP speaks with Mr Joshua Wycliffe, the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, to discuss the country’s experiences. 

Engaging academic and research institutions to close adaptation knowledge gaps in Asia Pacific - In May, the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) brought together key stakeholders from the academic and research world for a webinar to explore the success factors and challenges around their partnerships with local communities, particularly in terms of closing local adaptation knowledge gaps in the Asia-Pacific region. Watch the webinar recording here.

News from the Regions
Latin America & the Caribbean 

Costa Rica launches National Adaptation Plan – In April, Costa Rica launched its National Adaptation Plan 2022-2026, which represents a roadmap for the country to strengthen its resilience to climate change. The UNEP-supported project, titled Building subnational capacities for the implementation of the National Adaptation Plan in Costa Rica, has been instrumental in articulating local and national agendas of climate change adaptation.

Launch of the Adaptation In The Andes Community of Practice - UNEP, in collaboration with the Andean Mountains Initiative (IAM) and partners, have launched a Community of Practice to facilitate learning and engagement among various actors in seven Andean countries. We encourage you to register and participate in the coming sessions, commencing June 8. For more details, see this informative video (Spanish)

Upcoming Events

June 5
World Environment Day 2022

June 6 - July 16
56th Session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)