Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content
MRV/Transparency helpdesk

:

News : CGE conducts regional hands-on training workshops on identifying adaptation actions and reporting them in national communications

Technical resources for implementing the measurement, reporting and verification arrangements under the Convention and the enhanced transparency framework under the Paris Agreement.
CGE conducts regional hands-on training workshops on identifying adaptation actions and reporting them in national communications

The Consultative Group of Experts on National Communications from Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention (CGE) held three regional hands-on training workshops on identifying and reporting adaptation actions in 2018 for Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention. The first workshop, for the African region, was held in Lomé, Togo from 23 to 26 July, the second, for the Latin American and Caribbean region, was held in Asunción, Paraguay, from 17 to 20 September, and the third, for the Asia-Pacific and Eastern European regions, was held in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 8 to 11 October.

The workshops were designed based on the CGEs assessment of the problems, constraints and lessons learned and best practices in the preparation of national communications (NCs) and biennial update reports (BURs), feedback from past workshop participants, and surveys conducted with the national focal points and NC and BUR coordinators. The CGE has identified that countries often lack rigorous and scientific assessment of vulnerability and adaptation (V&A), and thus the adaptation options/measures are generic. In most cases, countries face challenges in selecting appropriate and practical methodologies to their national circumstances and carrying out complete sectoral assessments. Furthermore, while a few countries have explored the possibility of conducting vulnerability and adaptation assessments in the context of preparation of NCs as an opportunity to integrate climate change responses into relevant national and sectoral policies, there is still a need to provide a broader picture of how the assessment of impacts and vulnerability to climate change can lead to adaptation options that can inform formulation of robust climate resilient sectoral policies, plans or programmes. 
Workshop Objectives
The objectives of the workshops were to enhance the technical knowledge of national experts on the science, methods and tools necessary for conducting vulnerability and adaptation assessments, translating the assessment results into adaptation actions and reporting the actions in their national communications. The workshops were similar in design and structure and several sessions were conducted at each. The following topics were covered through presentations and interactive hands-on exercises: 1) Big picture: global landscape of climate change impacts and action, 2) General steps in V&A assessments and frameworks, 3) Sectoral V&A assessment, planning and implementation, 4) Translating sectoral V&A assessment results into national policies and plans, 5) Reporting to the Convention, 6) Establishing or enhancing national institutional arrangements and 7) Peer exchange.
For the session on sectoral V&A assessment, planning and implementation, the following four sectors were presented: (i) water; (ii) coastal; (iii) health; and (iv) agriculture. These sectors were chosen through a survey amongst national focal points, NC and BUR coordinators to identify the interest and need of the countries.
Each presentation was followed by question and answer sessions and breakout group exercises based on case studies. These exercises generated an exchange of views and lessons learned during the process and allowed participants to gain a skill set for identifying adaptation actions and reporting them in NCs.
The workshops were designed to allow for flexibility on the level of detail. Before each regional workshop commenced, a pre-workshop survey was conducted to understand the level of experience of the participants and their expectations for the workshop, with the organizers using the findings to customize and adjust the level and approach of the sessions.  During the four days, participants and resource persons reviewed these expectations to ensure that the participants needs were met.
Participants Assessment and Feedback
Overall, the participants of the regional hands-on training workshops appreciated the opportunity to work with a set of methods and tools necessary to conduct V&A assessments through hands-on exercises. After each of the regional workshops, a post-workshop survey was conducted to assess if the workshop met the objectives and expectations of the participants as well as allowing the CGE to adjust and improve the content and approach for the workshop. The assessment also allows the CGE to adjust and improve the content and approach for the workshop. The response rates for the workshops were 76 per cent for the African region, 63 per cent for the Latin America and Caribbean, and 81 per cent for Asia-Pacific and Eastern European regions.
Per the survey results, most surveyed participants found the quality of the regional hands-on training workshops to be either excellent (42%, on average) or good (54%, on average). Participants found the content of the workshop to be either very relevant (41-48% for each session) or relevant (40-47%) to their daily work
Workshops Success
In general, the workshops were successful in several areas including: 1) Familiarization of the entire cycle of planning and conducting a V&A assessment, identifying adaptation options, decision-making and planning and reporting adaptation actions in NCs, 2) Serving as a platform for sharing experience and lessons learned among national experts from the same region, 3) Promoting networking among national experts, 4) Clarifying the context and mandate for developing countries to report information on adaptation in their NCs, and 5) Providing a platform for the CGE to interact with national experts and gain first-hand insight into lessons learned and experience as well as constraints and challenges countries are facing.
Appreciation
The CGE, the secretariat and participants expressed their appreciation to the Governments of Nepal, Paraguay and Togo for hosting the workshops. The CGE also extended its appreciation to RCC Lomé and to the UNDP country offices in Paraguay and Nepal for organizing the logistical arrangements for these workshops. The CGE thanked the resource persons from Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), Deltares, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, the United Nations Development Programme National Adaptation Plan Global Support Programme and the World Health Organization.The CGE thanked those developed country Parties included in Annex II to the Convention and other developed country Parties that provided financial resources for the workshops.
The full report on the regional workshops is available here.
The CGEs annual progress report to the Subsidiary Body for Implementation can be found here.
The first CGE hands-on workshop was held in Lomé, Togo from 23-26 July, 2018.