Get Involved with the LAKI

Learn more about LAKI phase II
and opportunities for engagement.

get involved!

Are you a researcher, funder, regional organization or stakeholder interested in closing adaptation knowledge gaps across developing regions and Small Island Developing States (SIDS)? The LAKI currently seeks partners to support the organization and implementation of programme activities that will narrow existing gaps and bring the Initiative to new sub-regions. Commitments to addressing specific priority knowledge gaps from expert organizations are also welcome.

Please write us at nwp@unfccc.int to express your interest and learn more about how you can support the LAKI!

Objectives of LAKI Phase II

The pilot phase of the LAKI (2014-2018) enjoyed international recognition and support from partners as well as Parties to the UNFCCC. The next phase will:

Bridge priority knowledge gaps identified across six sub-regions.
The LAKI seeks to partner with research institutions, academia and practitioners to close adaptation knowledge gaps. The LAKI will catalyze collaborations between these public, private, non-profit and civil society institutions to improve access to existing knowledge and, when necessary,distil technical information into accessible formats for knowledge users, including policymakers. We will also cultivate high-impact partnerships that bring resources and technical expertise to bear on implementation challenges across the LAKI’s priority sub-regions.
Scale up the LAKI to new sub-regions.
Moving forward, we will focus on replicating our methodology, including priority-setting workshops, in new sub-regions, targeting areas within least developed countries, SIDS and African countries.

Current phase II Activities:

North Africa and the West Asia/GCC Subregions

The secretariat is collaborating with the World Green Economy Organization as the RCC Dubai to narrow knowledge gaps in the GCC and North Africa subregions. The partnership is one of the first adaptation initiatives that the secretariat has undertaken with RCCs.

The secretariat is also collaborating with the UNEP West Asia office as ESCWA for the initiative, the aim of which is to engage institutions and experts in identifying and supporting implementation of activities that will narrow the priority adaptation knowledge gaps of targeted knowledge users in the GCC and North Africa subregions; and disseminating knowledge outputs to those knowledge users in these regions, as well as in other relevant subregions, to suport regional, national and subnational adaptation planning and implementation.

A technical expert meeting will be held to identify and develop a roadmap of collaborative activities and responsible organizations to address the knowledge gaps of the targeted knowledge users; determine what additional expertise or capacity support is required to support activities, where relevant; catalyze new collaborations and strengthen existing partnerships for closing the priority knowledge gaps.

Indian Ocean Islands Sub-region

Graduate students from the University of Michigan (School for Environment and Sustainability) undertook a capstone project that focused on evaluating the impacts of sea level rise and storm surge on the Seychelles’ critical infrastructure. The project was undertaken to help address two knowledge gaps prioritized by countries in the Indian Ocean Islands sub-region. The students worked closely with Seychelles' Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, National Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Risk and Disaster Management. The project was undertaken in two phases: the first phase by four students in 2018-2019, and the second by three students in 2019-2020. The students developed a Climate Scenario Planning Toolkit that describes five future climate scenarios for the Seychelles to help decision makers plan for a variety of plausible futures. In addition, the students also produced a Summary for Policy Makers, Geographical Information System Maps and a Final Report.

Hindu Kush Himalayan Sub-region

In 2019-2020, graduate students of Harvard University (John F. Kennedy School of Government) undertook a capstone project to help address a knowledge gap in the Hindu Kush Himalayan sub-region. They worked with UNFCCC regional partner ICIMOD. The project delivered two major outcomes:1) an in-depth policy analysis report that analyzes barriers and solutions to promote early warning systems for multiple hazards in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, and 2) a policy brief developed with ICIMOD to inform policy makers on the key benefits, mechanics and implementation considerations of the Community-Based Flood Early Warning System.

Andean Sub-region

In 2019-2020, graduate students from Yale University (School of Forestry and Environmental Studies) partnership with IUCN and The Mountain Institute (TMI), undertook a capstone project to narrow two out of the 13 knowledge gaps prioritized by countries in the Andean sub-region in the context of LAKI. The project documented six good practices from the Mountain Institute's Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Framework that stood out particularly useful fpractitioners implementing similar projects around the world.

Previous Activities

20-21 November 2018: The Global Development Network and their partners organized a “Knowledge-to-Action” Lab in New Delhi, connecting technical experts with knowledge users and climate finance decision-makers. Together, they defined strategies for linking adaptation research to the knowledge and data that support effective implementation – a step forward in closing priority knowledge gaps for the Hindu-Kush Himalayan sub-region. They presented these results at COP24. Read more.

9 November 2018: The UNFCCC secretariat and United Nations Environment Programme convened a COP23 side event to share the outcomes from the first phase of the LAKI and discuss implementation of its second phase. Read more.

2 December 2017: The UNFCCC secretariat, UN Environment and ICIMOD hosted a LAKI satellite event, “Repackaging Research for Use in the Hindu Kush Himalaya," in Kathmandu, Nepal during the Resilient Hindu Kush Himalaya Conference. The event discussed eight interventions that will help reduce climate vulnerability and contribute to closing priority gaps in the sub-region. Read more.

13 May 2017: On tside-lines of the intersessional climate change conference in Bonn, Germany, ICIMOD, the UNFCCC secretariat and UN Environment organized an event that facilitated dialogue on the modalities, challenges and opportunities associated with closing adaptation knowledge gaps around the world, with a focus on the Hindu Kush Himalayan sub-region. Read more.

6-7 March 2015: In collaboration with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture and the UNFCCC secretariat, the Global Adaptation Network held the first Global Adaptation Network Forum in Panama City, Panama – an event that brought together adaptation knowledge networks and institutions, government officials and experts for dialogue and knowledge transfer. Read more.

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