Photo: Olia Danilevich
Whether it’s flooding in cities and suburbs, unpredictable drought cycles on farmland or rising sea levels along coastlines, every country needs a plan to adapt to the impacts of climate change that are already occurring or to come.
A National Adaptation Plan (NAP) is a country-led process that outlines where and how a country needs to adapt to climate change over the next five to ten years. Each NAP is developed to be specific to a country's context and climate adaptation needs.
While environmental ministries prepare the National Adaptation Plans and ultimately submit these documents to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the planning process is more effective when it engages all levels of society.
This means NAPs can engage regional governments, municipalities, universities, civil society, farmers groups, the private sector, and many more partners.
Universities play a crucial role for NAPs and climate action. Through their research, knowledge generation, teaching and reach within societies, universities can leverage awareness, create space for information sharing, and educate our future world leaders.
UNDP has provided support to 40 countries in advancing their NAP processes. Through this support, we've seen partnerships cultivated with universities address diverse needs which are essential for climate adaptation.
Educating future leaders on climate adaptation
For centuries, universities have been at the heart of societal transformation. As longstanding centers of learning and debate, they play a vital role in making the science behind climate change accessible to young people and empowering them to become the leaders the world needs.
Ecuador's National Adaptation Plan is focused on developing comprehensive educational resources. UNDP joined forces with the Government to strengthen the skills of local government and sector officials and, as part of this collaboration, worked with IKIAM University to create a master's programme on climate change.
Similarly, in Armenia, the Government partnered with Yerevan State University to build a climate-focused curriculum as a crucial step in the country’s national adaptation planning. Together with students and professors of the Faculty of Journalism at Yerevan State University, Armenia held a three-day workshop with 24 students and lecturers on how to report on climate change adaptation issues.
Closing the gap in climate data and research
Often, one of the first significant barriers countries experience in their climate adaptation planning is gaps in climate data, research and information.
Climate data and research help countries understand their climate trajectory and trends, enabling governments to make science-informed decisions on where, how, and for whom they need to implement climate change adaptation measures.
Universities have the expertise to conduct research and assessments to close these gaps. For example, Albania needed to analyse its current and future climate scenarios and assess the vulnerabilities of its sectors to identify suitable climate adaptation options.
By partnering with the Institute of Geosciences, a research institution within Tirana Polytechnic University, the Government of Albania received a comprehensive analysis of the gaps in their hydrometeorological and climate services. The analysis revealed that some regions didn’t have sufficient weather stations to collect climate data.
Based on this analysis, Albania installed 23 automatic meteorological stations in these areas, generating data that will facilitate the compilation of reports and other proposals needed in the national adaptation process in the future.
Delivering awareness of climate action at the local level
Raising awareness about climate change and its impacts is vital to empowering communities to take informed climate action at the local level.
In Colombia, climate change impacts are expected to accelerate the pace of land degradation and impact water quality and agricultural production. As part of Colombia's climate adaptation planning, UNDP collaborated with the National University of Colombia to assess the impacts of climate change on agrifood systems in the Moorlands of Guasca and Guatavita.
To promote climate resilience, UNDP works closely with native potato producers, supporting them in adopting sustainable practices. Additionally, UNDP partnered with Javeriana University to provide trainings to communities in the mountainous Andes region on ecological restoration techniques.
In addition, in the Sumapaz Paramo region, located in Colombia’s Andes, the partnership with the National University of Colombia led to the design of a 120-hour course on food sustainability and climate action for leaders of farmer organizations. By developing the course and providing scholarships to local leaders, the university bridged an awareness gap and enabled communities in the remote, mountainous areas of Colombia to identify context-specific climate adaptation actions.
Strengthening media coverage on climate adaptation
While countries are developing and implementing their climate adaptation plans, it’s equally important that the public is aware of climate risks and what measures their governments are taking.
Universities offer a strategic and neutral platform for bringing government policy planners, academics, and practitioners together with national broadcasting stations, local media outlets and social media influencers.
In Thailand, UNDP initiated a Media Fellowship on Sustainable Development with the Faculty of Communication Arts at Chulalongkorn University and the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning in the Department of Climate Change and Environment. The goal of the fellowship is to strengthen networks and relationships between the government, academia and media. Over 40 journalists participated in sessions that gave them access to in-depth data from research, reports and ongoing policies, enabling the production of evidence-based journalism.
This evidence-based work helps the public better understand the links between extreme weather events and climate change while combatting climate misinformation.
Holding space for cross-sector collaboration in fragile contexts
Since National Adaptation Plans involve multiple ministries and partners at various levels of society, governments engage all stakeholders with a role in formulating these plans early in the process. However, this can be a difficult task in countries with fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
Even during times of civil or political unrest, which are often compounded by climate change's extreme impacts on social systems, institutions like universities will often remain open and create a safe space for continued collaboration.
For example, Haiti’s National Adaptation Plan focuses on enhancing the capacity of its national institutions and identifies three priority sectors that urgently needed to adapt to climate change: health, agriculture and biodiversity, and water.
With ongoing socio-political challenges, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Planning partnered with Laval University, the State University of Haiti and Quisqueya University to host a workshop for 70 participants from numerous sectors, including government, businesses, civil society, universities and the media. The workshop emphasized the importance of cross-sector collaboration in climate change adaptation with the three universities providing the space for this collaboration to take place.
Universities are well-established institutions within countries. By enlisting their support, governments can bolster the sustainability and longevity of their National Adaptation Plan. In doing so, countries invest in building the capabilities of young people to prepare for the future.
UNDP is seeking to scale up support to universities to drive the research-policy agenda, especially in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). With more climate financing to invest in in-country research, LDCs can be better supported in building, financing and monitoring their adaptation interventions and meeting the needs of their most vulnerable people.
UNDP has supported 40 countries to advance their National Adaptation Plans processes with funding from the Green Climate Fund Readiness Programme. The GCF Readiness Programme grants up to US$3 million to support country-driven initiatives by developing countries to strengthen their institutional capacities, governance mechanisms, and planning and programming frameworks towards a transformational long-term climate action agenda. UNDP is a member of Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA), which aims to translate research on adaptation into action.