The session featured presentations by Leo Zulu (Michigan State University) and Edmund Barrow (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), and included working group discussions for all participants to voice their ideas and experiences with vulnerable communities, groups and ecosystems.
Through these presentations and the subsequent discussions, the following take-away messages for adaptation planning and practice became apparent:
· Vulnerable communities and vulnerable ecosystems are interlinked. As a result, climate adaptation plans ought to be designed to strengthen the resilience of both communities and ecosystems in order to maximize the benefits of each adaptation action taken.
· Countries have already made efforts to include vulnerable groups, communities, and ecosystems in their NAPs.
· There is a need for documenting and sharing of information relating to these issues – especially on assessment tools, empirical evidence of good practices, and lessons learned.
· Countries need to advance their work into the implementation stage, recognizing that comprehensive planning is useful but not necessary to implement no-regret actions.
· Countries should include ecosystem-based adaptation measures as part of their overall adaptation practices.
· Integrating local, indigenous and traditional knowledge into adaptation plans can help better respond to the needs and priorities of vulnerable communities.
Based on the outcomes of this session, the LEG will engage relevant experts in developing a technical paper on the consideration of vulnerable communities, groups and ecosystems in adaptation planning and implementation. The paper will contribute to providing technical guidance to the government teams currently developing NAPs, including in the Least Developed Countries.
For more information on existing technical guidance on NAPs, visit NAP Central.