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perhaps, most importantly in terms of realising tangible benefits forthe most vulnerable and affected communities, the approach shouldbe to swiftly deepen the reach of adaptation efforts and engage withfarmers, ecosystem managers and businesses in all the hotspots ofclimate change impact.The adoption and pursuit of such a climate resilient developmentpath will enable African countries to lead the way in working withdevelopment partners to tackle climate change and address priorityadaptations needed in the region. Fortunately, African leadersat the level of Heads of State and Government are acutely awareof the need and importance of such a route to development. Theeighth Ordinary Session of the African Union held in January 2007,urged African States and regional economic communities (RECs), incollaboration with the private sector, civil society and developmentpartners, to integrate climate change considerations into developmentstrategies and programmes at national and regional levels.African countries have placed high expectations on the United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and itsKyoto Protocol. However, international responses on adaptationhave so far fallen short of what is required. Although several multilateralfinancial mechanisms have been created, delivery has beenlimited. Most National Action Programmes for Adaptation (NAPAs)formulated by African countries remain largely unimplemented.Therefore, African countries continue to hope that effective internationalsupport for their adaptation needs will be forthcoming. Fortheir part, they will continue working together to formulate and negotiatea common position for the post-2012 climate regime.From the African point of view, there are two major considerations,namely fairness and costs. Fairness needs to take into account Africa’sright to development. As part and parcel of fairness, there isneed to address the question of barriers to accelerated deploymentof technologies. In this respect it is very important that adaptationpotential building on indigenous coping strategies should be sufficientlyexplored to underpin technology innovation and adoption.Also, given the high costs that effective adaptation in developingcountries would require -- US$ 28-67 billion by 2030 according toUNFCCC estimates -- the principle of common but differentiated responsibilitiesenshrined in the UNFCCC should be brought to bear to230 Part Five