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Africa Adaptation Programme Board meeting builds momentum for 2011

This year’s first meeting of the Board of the Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP), held last week in New York, reviewed the progress and challenges of 2009 and 2010, and discussed the work ahead for 2011.

 

AAP takes a unique approach to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.  “The AAP is not an adaptation project; rather, it is a transformative model that will create an enabling environment for long-term development to have a lasting effect, well beyond the project’s completion deadline,” said Veerle Vanderweerd, Director of the UNDP’s Environment and Energy Group, the division implementing the AAP. 

 

All of the 20 country projects are now in the full implementation stage, at varying degrees.  Detailed presentations of national projects were provided by representatives from Morocco and Kenya at the Board Meeting.  In Morocco, the AAP is supporting the preparation of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).  Morocco has also integrated the AAP with other climate change initiatives in the country, including the Moroccan Climate Plan.  In Kenya, visual mapping is in progress with the first phase completed – mapping existing stakeholder networks. 

 

In 2010, the AAP launched the Cross-Practice Strategy, which brings together experts from UNDP’s core practice areas to provide multi-desciplinary technical services.  Despite these successes, countries face key challenges that are affecting the implementation of the programme.  These challenges include insufficient human resources to manage an increasing number of projects for climate change, and  limited knowledge and understanding of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in countries.  

 

To overcome these challenges and build on successes, AAP’s 2011 Strategy focuses on two streams of assistance.  Stream 1 will continue direct assistance to national projects through technical support and project guidance.  Stream 2 will implement strategic initiatives, including leadership transformation, organisationsal effectiveness, and integrated service delivery.

 

Ian Rector, Programme Manager of the AAP, presented the key challenges and successes of the AAP and the 2011 Strategy to address these challenges and build on successes.  “2011 will be a crucial year for the AAP.  This meeting helped build momentum for implementation of the AAP’s 2011 Strategy.  A number of important decisions were made which will help move action forward,” said Mr. Rector.

 

The AAP is a flagship programme of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with UNIDO, UNICEF and WFP, with funding of $92.1 million from the Government of Japan. The programme is working with the governments of 20 countries across Africa to strengthen their ability to identify their climate risks and vulnerabilities and develop the capacity to design and implement holistic climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies that correspond with their national development priorities.