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Fostering Adaptation in Eastern and Southern Africa

Recognizing the high vulnerability of African countries to the impacts of climate change, the Integrating Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change into Sustainable Development Policy Planning and Implementation in Eastern and Southern Africa project (ACCESA) was initiated by the United Nations Environment Programme with the support of the Global Environment Facility. The project is providing support for community-level actions that enhance resilience to climate change in the short and long term. It is also supporting the development of strategic approaches for integrating adaptation to climate change into policy- and decision-making at the national and subnational level.

Project Overview

• Project goal: To reduce the vulnerability of communities in Eastern and Southern Africa to the impacts of climate change, thereby improving their well-being and protecting their livelihoods.

• Objective: To promote the mainstreaming or integration of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change into sustainable development plans and planning processes through pilot projects undertaken in Kenya, Mozambique and Rwanda.

• Planned outcomes:

  • Generation of capacity in each pilot project country to implement adaptation measures in the field that will reduce their vulnerability to climate change.

  • Increased capacity in each country to generate and use information about climate change to effect change in relevant development policies.

  • Increased knowledge of the linkages between development planning and climate change, including the policy process and methodologies.

• Partners: Global Environment Facility; United Nations Environment Programme; the governments of the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Kenya, Mozambique and Rwanda; International Institute for Sustainable Development; Centre for Science and Technology Innovations; Arid Lands Resource Management Project; Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit; AMBERO-IP; and the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology.

Pilot Projects

As part of the ACCESA project, pilot projects are being undertaken in Kenya, Mozambique and Rwanda to identify effective strategies for reducing the vulnerability of communities to climate change and promote support for these strategies into national policies and planning.

• Kenya: Increase Community Resilience to Drought in Makueni District
  Working with the people of the Sakai sublocation, the pilot project is promoting actions that reduce the vulnerability of farming communities to current and future drought conditions. The pilot project aims to increase household food security, reduce poverty through improved livelihoods and facilitate the integration of adaptation to climate change into policies related to disaster management and the sustainable development of arid and semi-arid lands. Implementation of this project is being led by the Centre for Science and Technology Innovations in partnership with the Arid Lands Resource Management Programme.

• Mozambique: Community-Based Fire Management in Central Mozambique
  Bush fires are an issue of increasing concern in Mozambique, and their frequency and intensity could rise due to climate change. AMBERO-IP and Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) have responded to this situation by providing training in fire prevention and management at the community level, helping district governments develop and implement policies and processes for monitoring and responding to fire threats and occurrences, and encouraging policy coherence at the national level around fire management.

• Rwanda: Reducing the Vulnerability of Rwanda's Energy Sector to the Impacts of Climate Change
  Hydropower plays a critical role in meeting Rwanda's electricity needs. Generation of this energy, though, is being compromised by degradation of local watersheds and poor maintenance and operation of hydropower facilities. Climate change is expected to exacerbate this situation. Working in the Northern Province, the team is helping local communities improve their agricultural practices and access to energy; building capacity to integrate climate change considerations into the management and operation of the province's two hydropower facilities; and promoting changes in national energy, land, agricultural and environmental policies that will reduce vulnerability to climate change over the long term. The Kigali Institute of Science and Technology is leading implementation of these activities.

Regional-Level and Outreach Activities

A number of regional-level and outreach activities are also being undertaken as part of the ACCESA project to support the cross-pollination of ideas, capacity building and knowledge sharing:

• Presentation on adaptation in Eastern and Southern Africa, Brussels, Belgium, October 2008
  An overview of the ACCESA project was provided in the presentation Adaptation in Eastern and Southern Africa: Supporting Ground Level and Policy Change (PDF – 888 KB) delivered in Brussels at Open Days 2008: European Week of Regions and Cities, held October 6–9, 2008, in Brussels, Belgium.

• Regional team meeting, Nairobi, Kenya, February 2007
  Members of the project management and pilot project implementation teams came together in February 2007 to share experiences to date, discuss plans for the future, address current concerns and identify opportunities for collaboration. Regional Team Meeting Proceedings (PDF - 285 KB).

• Workshop on integrating vulnerability and adaptation into sustainable development planning in Southern and Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, September 2004
  To solicit interest in and support development of the ACCESA project, UNEP hosted a three-day workshop in September 2004. The objectives of this workshop were to explore current understanding of and experience with integrating vulnerability to climate change into sustainable development planning, and to launch the development of potential pilot projects that would further explore these issues.

Funding

Financial support for this project is being provided by:

• The Global Environment Facility's Strategic Priority on Adaptation
• The Government of the Netherlands
• The Government of Norway

As well, in-kind support is being provided by the governments of Germany and Kenya, and by the project's executing agencies and pilot project implementation teams.

For further information about this project, please contact:

• Jo-Ellen Parry, Program Manager, Climate Change and Energy, IISD
• Anne Hammill, Senior Researcher, Climate Change and Energy, IISD

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