The Government of Côte d’Ivoire began consulting national stakeholders on the NAP process in October 2015, through a series of workshops. Preliminary observations and recommended action plans for implementing the NAP were proposed off the back of the stocktaking exercise and stakeholder interviews. The Government of Côte d’Ivoire sees the NAP process as a key step to achieving the adaptation objectives outlined in its 2015 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), as well as the revised version of this NDC it is currently working on ahead of COP26.

 

This project is addressing gaps in Côte d’Ivoire’s adaptation toolkit. Côte d’Ivoire has a relatively comprehensive institutional framework for adaptation. The 2015-2020 National Climate Change Programme (PNCC) is core to this, but there are gaps in financing, data availability, and national technical capacities. The project is supporting the development of a national plan for climate change adaptation that doesn’t jeopardize national efforts to strengthen the industrial sector of the economy.

 

The project is working with the government to map out the development of a NAP that will address the existing barriers to the integration of climate change adaptation into national and sub-national planning and budgeting. The NAP will focus on the priority sectors identified as highly vulnerable: agriculture, livestock, aquaculture, land use, forestry, water resources, energy, and coastal areas. These barriers have already been identified through the 2015 stakeholder consultations and the 2015 and 2017 Stocktaking reports. The NAP process will focus on establishing and strengthening research institutions and research universities within Côte d’Ivoire, coordinating efforts between distinct stakeholders, and exploring entry points for private sector engagement in adaptation projects for long-term sustainability (beyond the life of the projects themselves). It is likely that several iterations of adaptation planning will be required for climate change adaptation to become fully integrated in decision-making.

By targeting these priority sectors and attracting private financing through risk reduction, the project is mainstreaming adaptation planning. By focusing on research conducted locally, the information gathered is more effective and can predict the effects of climate change under business as usual scenarios. Meanwhile, the oversight and coordination capabilities of the PNCC will ensure that climate action and adaptation remain a national priority during the country’s economic resurgence.

 

 

Côte d’Ivoire, a West African nation with a population of around 26 million people, is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its economic dependence on agriculture. The country was ranked 165 out of 189 on the 2019 Human Development Index. The country’s economy suffered between 1985 and 2011 due to political instability and civil unrest, which pushed many residents into poverty. Since 2012, the national economy has rebounded, reaching a GDP growth rate of 6.9 percent in 2019, making it one of the most dynamic economies in Africa. However, Côte d’Ivoire remains highly vulnerable to climate change because agriculture makes up such a significant portion of the country’s GDP and exports. Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s largest exporter of cocoa and the world’s third largest exporter of coffee, with the two crops’ export revenue equating to around 15 percent of the country’s GDP. One of the gravest climate risks the country is experiencing is the half degree increase in average temperatures that have occurred over the last five decades and the consequent shrinking of the rainy season by 10 to 27 days in coastal regions. These change jeopardize not only agricultural output but also energy security, since Côte d’Ivoire derives 42 percent of its energy from hydropower. 

 

 

Côte d’Ivoire’s vulnerability to climate change and economic dependence on rainfall require that adaptation becomes a fully integrated factor in national and sub-national policy-making and planning, especially in the nine priority sectors. In 2015, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire made steps toward this goal by compiling a Stocktaking Report, which laid out the NAP process, stakeholder interests, and recommendations for the next steps toward adaptation planning, including the need for workshops to educate workers in relevant Côte d’Ivoire agencies about the NAP process. 

 

Côte d’Ivoire’s NAP process is in complete alignment with the adaptation portion of the country’s NDC of 2015 , which called for adaptation support in agriculture, coastal zones, energy, forestry, and water. Apart from forestry, which will be most directly addressed by REDD+ projects, these sectors and an additional sector, health, will be the focus of adaptation projects undertaken through government policy and planning and private sector investments. To that end, the government of Côte d’Ivoire prepared a Readiness Proposal in 2019, which highlights the importance of local research and private sector financing.

 

Côte d’Ivoire is also engaged in UNDP’s Climate Promise, an offer to support at least 100 countries enhance their NDCs by COP26 – and is currently revising its NDC through this initiative. Côte d’Ivoire intends to review targets in the waste sector with the goal of raising its mitigation ambitions in that sector. Other sectors under review and with plans to be updated from a mitigation perspective are industry, forestry, agriculture and transport. Ensuring that this new NDC is gender responsive is a top priority, cross-cutting all NDC activities. This NAP project is complementing this work.

 

 

A serious lack of coordination between national and sub-national levels for climate change adaptation has caused a confusion in overlapping roles and responsibilities in relation to climate action in Côte d’Ivoire. As of yet, climate change adaptation is not integrated into policy or planning for water, energy, agriculture, land use, or coastal resources. Despite these barriers, there are some existing national plans and frameworks charged with adapting to the effects of climate change. The Ministry of Sanitation, Environment, and Sustainable Development is the effective national authority on climate change and serves as the National Designated Authority for the GCF. Meanwhile, the 2015-2020 National Climate Change Programme is designed to coordinate and propose strategies to address climate change. The 2015 NDC remains the most comprehensive plan for climate action developed for Côte d’Ivoire to date. 

 

 

The Government of Côte d’Ivoire has prioritized stakeholder consultation throughout the NAP process. Stakeholders were first involved through workshops in Abidjan leading up to the 2015 Stocktaking Report. The Stocktaking Report used the input from stakeholders to conclude that the lack of shared, public information is a significant barrier to engagement in climate change adaptation. This conclusion was made after consultation with the attendees: professionals from ministries in charge of Budget, Environment, Sanitation, Sustainable Development, Construction, Housing, Animal Resources, Agriculture, Economy, and Health, as well as UNDP staff, media, and local community organizations.

 

The 2015 Stocktaking Report highlighted a significant lack of coordination and communication between distinct stakeholders. This problem still exists and must continue to be addressed going forward. However, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire has already taken some action to ameliorate the negative effects of divided stakeholders through the 2015-2020 National Climate Change Program, which seeks to improve shared knowledge on climate change and strengthen the technical, human, and synergistic capacities of the stakeholders. In addition, there are initiatives that complement the NAP process that also address the need to unite stakeholders. For example, the REDD+ project has had an established network of public, private, and civil society organizations as stakeholders since 2011, which will be used as a model for the type of stakeholder network needed to undertake Côte d’Ivoire’s NAP process. 

 

Pursuant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals relating to gender equality, stakeholder consultation throughout Côte d’Ivoire’s NAP process includes engagement plans designed to be inclusive to women, who face unique effects from climate change and are often excluded from policymaking and planning decisions. Upholding this initiative will be an expectation of public and private stakeholders.