Climate Change Adaptation in the News

November 2019

November 2019

Somalia and UNDP Launch New U.S.$10 Million Project for Pastoralist Communities

All Africa

Wednesday 13 November 2019

Somalia and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) today launched a new US$10 million climate adaptation project to help rural communities secure access to diminishing water supplies. More than 360,000 farmers and pastoralists are set to benefit from sustainable water management, expanded drought, and flood early-warning systems and more profitable livelihoods.

"With the onset of climate change, our country is facing more frequent droughts and floods. Those living in rural regions are particularly vulnerable," said Deputy Prime Minister, H.E. Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid. "Under this new project, we will put in place the foundations for Somalia and its people to manage their precious water. This includes reforming national policies and systems; building knowledge and skills at the national, state and community level; and expanding climate-monitoring infrastructure and early-warning systems."

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Instan a entidades públicas a implementar acciones para el cuidado del ambiente

Publi News Guatemala

Tuesday 12 November 2019

El Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) y la Red Local de Pacto Global Guatemala firmaron un convenio para replicar acciones por el cambio climático que afecta el ambiente.

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En un país cuya economía depende altamente del sector agropecuario uno de los mayores desafíos es lograr que el avance no sea a costa de una devastación ambiental. Al respecto, el administrador del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD)

Ultima Hora

Tuesday 12 November 2019

En un país cuya economía depende altamente del sector agropecuario uno de los mayores desafíos es lograr que el avance no sea a costa de una devastación ambiental. Al respecto, el administrador del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), Achim Steiner da algunas recetas para lograr el equilibrio y alcanzar un desarrollo sostenible.

La planificación adecuada, el monitoreo y la inversión en el sector público son algunas claves, señala.

“En el caso del segmento agroganadero, el país podría concertar sobre lo que significa una producción sostenible de los commodities como carne y granos, y posicionarse no solo como un top productor de materia prima sino como uno sostenible, con criterios o estándares nacionales claros, monitoreados con sistemas de información sólidos y transparentes”, apunta.

Sobre la planificación indica que se debería atender preguntas esenciales como: “¿Qué hacer, dónde, con qué objetivo?, ¿Cómo consideramos adecuadamente los derechos de cada uno de los habitantes del país?”.

Menciona que posterior a esto, se debe monitorear que el desarrollo se cumpla adecuadamente orientando a todas las instituciones estatales en esta dirección.

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Indígenas colombianos reivindican el saber ancestral contra el cambio climático

La Vanguardia

Monday 11 November 2019

Unos 200 representantes de 22 pueblos indígenas colombianos reivindicaron este viernes el saber tradicional para luchar contra el cambio climático, en el "I Foro sobre el Cambio Climático y los procesos de adaptación de los pueblos indígenas" que se realiza en el país suramericano. Ataviados con vestidos tradicionales, los asistentes, provenientes de comunidades de los Andes, el Amazonas, el Pacífico, los Llanos Orientales y el Caribe, escucharon a líderes del sector y propusieron estrategias para detener el acelerado daño al planeta. El líder del pueblo arhuaco Geremías Torres afirmó que "la tarea (es la) de recuperar y rebuscar el conocimiento de dónde esté para encaminarlo hacia la protección de la vida". El foro, que se inició el pasado miércoles y concluye hoy en la ciudad de Montería (norte), es apoyado por el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) y la Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia (ONIC). Jimena Puyana, coordinadora del Área de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible del PNUD, explicó a Efe que estos días también sirvieron para "tejer puentes" entre los saberes indígenas y el "conocimiento occidental". En ese sentido, el PNUD está impulsando junto el pueblo indígena Zenú una iniciativa en la región de la Mojana que consiste en un sistema hidráulico tradicional ideado por ese pueblo que llegó a ser "el más grande del mundo", pero que fue destruido por el impacto de la ganadería extensiva, proyectos hidráulicos y la agricultura. La Mojana, una subregión de 500.000 hectáreas en los caribeños departamentos de Bolívar, Córdoba y Sucre, regula los caudales de los ríos Magdalena, Cauca y San Jorge, tres de los más importantes del país, y en ella viven algunas de las comunidades más pobres de Colombia.

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IRENA Concludes its Eighteenth Council

Modern Diplomacy

Monday 11 November 2019

High-level representatives from 124 member countries attended the 18th meeting of the IRENA Council, held on November 5 and 6, 2019, in Abu Dhabi, to review the Agency’s progress and explore its future plans to accelerate the global energy transformation to ensure a sustainable, climate-safe future.

Council Chair Mr. Guy Lentz, Luxemburg Coordinator for the EU and Inter Energy Issues, set the tone of the discussions by encouraging IRENA Council delegates to strive for a fair energy transition through renewables.

IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera echoed the Council Chair by emphasizing the central role renewable energy plays in both sustainable development and climate action. “This morning, we reflected on the profound shift in the global energy dynamics which will result in a very different world in the coming decades. The evolution of the existing energy architecture into a low-carbon and economically vibrant system is central to the global strategy on sustainable development and climate,” he said.

Ambitious renewable energy targets are now common in many countries, however, Mr. La Camera identified the gap between deployment goals and the investments necessary to achieve them as the biggest challenge facing the energy transformation.

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Da Nang to host int’l conference on green marine economy in 2020

Saigon Giai Phong Online

Thursday 7 November 2019

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment released the date and venue at a press conference held in Hanoi on November 4.
The content of the conference has been designed by the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI) under the ministry’s direction after a meeting with representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam.
At the event, more than 400 domestic and foreign delegates are set to discuss the close relationship between a green marine economy and climate change adaptation, as well as the contribution of major sectors to maintaining the economy and building smart coastal areas that can adapt to climate change.
They will also delve into ocean pollution and plastic waste, food security, and the resilience capacity of vulnerable communities, among other topics.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Quy Kien said the conference will contribute to demonstrating Vietnam’s active role in tackling global challenges, particularly given the country’s upcoming tenures as ASEAN Chair in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021.
He assigned the VASI to work with the UNDP to prepare drafts for the conference’s joint statement and Vietnam’s initiatives, and asked other agencies to take care of hospitality and security matters.

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‘Climate Change Affects Health, Security’ – New Study Finds

Front Page Africa

Wednesday 6 November 2019

A report conducted on ‘Liberia Climate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment for the Coastal Zone’ has established that climate change impacts strongly affect health and security of the population and disrupt economic activities.

Climate vulnerability and risk assessment for the coastal zone is one of the first steps towards building up coastal resilience, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a release.

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Le COMESA développe un cadre de résilience aux changements climatiques

Xinhua News

Tuesday 5 November 2019

Le Marché commun pour le développement de l'Afrique orientale et australe (COMESA), le plus grand bloc économique d'Afrique, a déclaré mardi avoir élaboré un projet de cadre de résilience régionale visant à aider les pays membres du bloc à développer leurs capacités à résister aux catastrophes provoquées par les effets nuisibles des changements climatiques.

Ce cadre a été élaboré en raison de la vulnérabilité croissante des pays de la région aux changements climatiques et aux auters catastrophes telles qu'inondations, glissements de terrain, sécheresses, cyclones et épidémies, selon ce communiqué.

Le cadre s'attaquera également à l'approche fragmentée et désorganisée de la gestion des risques, des chocs et des tensions, qui a prouvé son inefficacité face à l'ampleur grandissant des dégâts et des pertes causées.

Ce projet de cadre sera soumis à l'examen détaillé des États membres avant d'être présenté aux organes décideurs du COMESA pour être adopté et plus tard mis en oeuvre, a-t-il dit.

La résilience augmentera la capacité des pays membres à réduire les risques de catastrophes liées aux changements climatiques pour leurs économies nationales, a-t-il ajouté.

Selon ce communiqué, le COMESA a mis en place un partenariat pour développer ce cadre, avec des partenaires de coopération tels que la Commission de l'Union africaine, les Communautés économiques régionales, le Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement ou encore l'Autorité intergouvernementales pour le développement.

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Women’s capacity building in climate change should be ensured

Prothom Alo

Sunday 3 November 2019

Water resource and climate change specialist, emeritus professor of Brac University Ainun Nishat said the intensity and frequency of natural calamities will increase in Bangladesh in the coming days due to climate change and women and children are the worst sufferers of the change in nature.
 
“Flowers don’t bloom in time, rainfall has become unpredictable. We can understand the danger by erratic behavior of the nature,” he told a roundtable on Saturday adding climate change adaptation is a must although it is a long term endeavour.
 
Prothom Alo, in association with Manusher Jonno Foundation, organised the roundtable on the role of rural women in climate change adaptation.

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National Adaptation Plan for medium and long term climate change adaptation investment

ReliefWeb

Saturday 2 November 2019

Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly going to launch a three year project titled, ”Formulation and Advancement of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Process in Bangladesh” with financial support from the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The inception workshop of the project was held on October 26, 2019 at the Department of Environment, Agargaon, where the Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Abdullah Al Mohsin Chowdhury, was the chief guest. Addressing the workshop, he said, “NAP should not be considered a requirement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It should not be considered merely a document with a list of projects. NAP should be considered a process of harnessing adaptation within the national development planning process in Bangladesh.”

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Countries step up ambition: Landmark boost to coffers of the world’s largest climate fund

Green Climate Fund

Friday 1 November 2019

The shared urgency of addressing climate change took an historic step forward today with 27 countries pledging to replenish the Green Climate Fund (GCF) by USD 9.78 billion equivalent for the next four years. The resources will help developing countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the negative effects of global warming, such as rising sea levels, record temperatures, prolonged drought, and more frequent and severe weather events.

The amount pledged exceeds the USD 9.3 billion announced at the Fund’s previous pledging conference in 2014, even though some of those contributors have yet to pledge. Three-quarters of the countries increased their pledges in national currency. Nearly half of them doubled or more than doubled their pledges. This is a seventy percent increase in our programming resources on an annual basis. The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and Sweden are the top contributors. The Fund will continue receiving contributions in the coming four years.

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