The Regional Workshop on Adaptation Planning and Mainstreaming of Climate Risks into National and Sectoral Planning Processes was conducted in Moldova on 30 October – 1 November 2019 to support policy makers and technical officials in the six countries to address the adverse impacts of climate change through medium and long-term National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Mainstreaming of Climate Risks into Sectoral Planning processes. This training workshop aimed to strengthen countries’ technical efforts toward formulating an integrated and evidence-based national adaptation plan. It also aimed to facilitate a regional exchange, providing guidance, highlighting emerging best practices and case studies, and presenting existing tools that policymakers and technical government officials can use. The workshop also featured experience sharing and discussions on the formulation of proposals to mobilize resources for the formulation of NAPs. The workshop had the participation of government officials from all six EaP countries. A total number of 69 participants attended the regional workshop, including 40 Governmental officials. The EU Delegation to Moldova and UNFCCC were among the participants, as well as representatives from UNDP, UN Habitat, and the Green Climate Fund. The main topics covered during the workshop:
- Experience of EaP countries with adaptation planning;
- Key steps in developing a national adaptation plan;
- Approaches to analyse climate data;
- Adaptation on regional, national and local levels
- Presentation of the Global NAP support program by UNDP;
- Economic appraisal and ways to finance adaptation activities;
- Mainstreaming adaptation to other sectoral policies.
The Steering Committee approved the provision of technical assistance to Belarus and Ukraine for adaptation planning. The initiation of activities in Belarus has been delayed until their official project registration. Nevertheless, consultations have been conducted with Belarus during the inception workshop to prioritize sectors for their adaptation planning activities. Throughout the workshop, it became clear that stocktaking as well as monitoring and evaluation, must be done in pursuit of commonly agreed adaptation goals, which prioritize populations and sectors most in need. Addressing knowledge gaps is also important for leveraging climate finance, as Countries are often required to demonstrate, based on sound evidence, the need for projects and their potential impact. Successful case studies emphasized the importance of building institutions (including legislation) in support of climate adaptation, as well as framing such measures within already existing mandates and budgetary allocations. It is also helpful to use economic appraisal instruments (Cost-Benefit Analysis – CBA, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis – CEA and Multi-Criteria Analysis – MCA) to make a case for immediate action – especially as adverse consequences of climate change are already visible.