national climate change awareness-raising workshop - UNDPCC.org

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horizon for the assessment. In the past, adaptation was discussed only in the long term. However, adaptation is now also discussed in terms of short-term climate variability, since there are already perceptible climate change impacts being felt by countries. In the discussion, participants raised a number of issues and questions, such as whether the adaptation scenario should cover managed forests or unmanaged forests, as well as whether it would include plantations and protected areas. Some participants noted that the focus should not be limited to forestry, but include the broader system of land use and rural livelihoods through better management. Some recalled that, unlike the mitigation scenario which focuses on measurable emission reductions, the adaptation scenario should focus on reducing the vulnerability of communities to climate change, which is a much more difficult concept. Participants also discussed possible resources for helping set boundaries for the assessment. While information is available in national accounts, it would need to be “teased out”. On forestry resources, the UNFCCC secretariat has produced a compendium of models to assess climate change vulnerability. After reviewing the last four steps, participants generally agreed that an indicative scenario could be created. Previous work on inventories could provide useful information. The country team would need to establish dynamic scenarios and produce an indicative funding gap for adaptation. Possible data sources include: • The Ministry of Environment and Tourism, which has well established forest accounts and enterprise-based models of investment portfolios; • A recent detailed analysis completed for the Millennium Challenge Corporation in the US included the “green scheme” on irrigated agriculture. This should have fairly good economic data on the irrigation sector and livestock sector; • An agriculture census completed a few years ago; • Participatory surveys that look at household data; • The Community Based Natural Resources Management Report; • Information on forest products, which could credibly be extrapolated to other areas; • Capacity building reports for Land Boards in the regions on land use planning; • Detailed surveys of standing stocks done by community forest programs; • A major study on bush encroachment (a carbon sink, but leads to loss of farming revenue); • University of Cape Town studies on vegetation. How does one construct a viable adaptation scenario for Namibia Possible policy options could include dealing with variability by diversifying farming system into perennials, which could involve using local water harvesting and storage. This in turn would require investments and financial flows, which could possibly be offset with carbon credits. There are also options that would make use of traditional knowledge for dealing with extreme climate variability. Other options could be drawn from the extensive international literature available on dry land management. Participants agreed that creativity would be needed for adaptation scenarios. All of the examples discussed relate to making livelihoods more resilient to the impacts of climate change. There is a richness and range of measures that could be introduced as part of this scenario. In addition, it will be important to work in “shock absorbers” to deal with setbacks. Most of the ideas are not covered the second national communication or integrated into ongoing adaptation work, as much of that work has been done on coastal areas and water issues. Namibia presents a challenge, given its natural diversity, which is why options are important. The country team will need to cost them out in sections of the assessment for delineating the scope. Closing UNDP noted that it would produce a report of the workshop, as well as terms of reference outlining the technical capacities needed to undertake the assessment of financial flows and the data needed. Namibia will 16
now need to develop a work plan indicating the individuals to be hired and their responsibilities, as well as a timeline for producing the assessment prior to COP 15 in December 2009. In addition, regional centres of excellence, which will provide technical assistance, will need to be selected. Lastly, the importance of a solid country team was highlighted, as the underlying idea of the project is to have different ministries working together to ensure the accuracy of the assessment. A representative from Namibia agreed that the process would require considerable coordination from the organizations that host the needed data. Team members will be assigned after a meeting of the National Climate Change Committee (NCCC). Some incentive measure may be needed for colleagues that are already overburdened. Lastly, she thanked UNDP for placing confidence in Namibia for this important pilot project. 17
Page 1 and 2: NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS-R
Page 3 and 4: Reforms may be needed to allow for
Page 5 and 6: o Awareness of increasing rate of f
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Page 11 and 12: Namibian National Report on Land Us
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Page 15: • Provide guidance on how to cond
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national climate change awareness-raising workshop - UNDPCC.org

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