Moving from climate commitments to action: The 2022 Adaptation Academy
A recent Adaptation Academy course held at IHE Delft focused on the water sector and its role in shaping efforts to adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
The 23 participants in the 10 October to 28 October course, held as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) Climate Action and Support Transparency Training (CASTT), work in government bodies, non-governmental organizations and the private sector all around the world.
The Academy aims to build a stronger community of practice and enhance governments’ capacity to measure and report on their Paris Agreement commitments in a transparent manner. Participants picked up new tools, skills and frameworks not only from the experts but also from each other through presentations, field trips and lectures.
“Water is an enabler for industry, agriculture and economic development and is still underrepresented in NDCs,” said Ann Nabangala Obae, a course participant and principal programmes officer at Kenya’s Water Sector Trust Fund. As a final outcome of the course, participants presented and discussed critical reviews and reflections of their countries’ NDCs and NAP reports.
Though NDCs and climate change adaptation were addressed in a comprehensive manner, the course particularly focused on water-related matters. Participants discussed issues such as the clean water and sanitation plans in NDCs and mechanisms to finance such plans.
Participants said the course was beneficial because it helped them develop capacity to improve policy coherence and narrow governance gaps for better planning and financing of climate change adaptation measures.
"Good governance, capacity building, planning and most importantly, finance, are crucial to fulfil SDG6"
“The enthusiasm and desire of the participants to learn from the course and to meaningfully contribute to their countries’ climate change adaptation activities is the most encouraging experience,” said course coordinator Shreedhar Maskey, IHE Delft Associate Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources.
UNFCC representative Jigme urged participants to share what they learned with their peers and others, including governmental leaders: “For concrete things to happen, education is crucial,” he said.
IHE Delft Vice Rector Charlotte de Fraiture highlighted the cultural and political diversity of the group as a main asset and encouraged course participants to learn from each other’s insights and viewpoints and to form networks.
IHE Delft developed the programme in collaboration with the Korean Environmental Institute (KEI), Alliance for Global Water Adaptation, Asian Institute of Technology and Oregon State University.
