In a webinar, with the participation of the Minister of Environment, Milcíades Concepción, Panama presents the results of the participatory process accompanying the preparation of its ENACE.

Panama City, October 31st, 2022 - Last Friday, October 28th, the Ministry of Environment of Panama put an end to the participatory process it launched to nurture its National Climate Empowerment Strategy with a gender, intergenerational and human rights approach, towards a low carbon and resiient society.

The event was attended by Milcíades Concepción, Minister of Environment of Panama, who highlighted the relevance of having an ENACE for climate policies, assuming that "the goal is an empowered population aware of the importance of climate change, for which the ENACE will be inspired and oriented towards strengthening capacities and closing institutional and sectoral gaps: State, local governments, civil society, academia and the business sector, with a renewed emphasis on women and girls as actors of climate resilience, and a transgenerational approach anchored in the creation of spaces for action and empowerment for young people."

For her part, Elena Oliveros (FIIAPP) presented the general guidelines of EUROCLIMA+ and its work in accompanying the National Action Strategies for Climate Empowerment, which the programme is carrying out with 6 countries in the region through the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policy. Elena wanted to "highlight the fact that the National Climate Empowerment Strategy also becomes a means of implementation of all the processes that Panama is undergoing at the level of public policy on climate change. (...) an absolutely interdisciplinary, inter-institutional and very diverse work, enriched by the work and contributions that have been made, not only from the public sector that has been involved in this process, but also with all the groups and all the people who have been working at the level of civil society and citizenship to implement all the contributions and reflections".

Rita Kotov, Matizart's consultant for FIIAPP, then presented the development of the process, the methodology used (Generative U-dialogue) and the main inputs obtained from the consultation. A process that has been developed with a total of 18 workshops, including face-to-face, virtual and regional events, with the participation of representatives from the public and private sectors and civil society organisations. The challenge of guaranteeing the representation of gender, ethnic and generational diversity was highlighted, with the participation of more than 300 people.

Finally,  Ligia Castro, Director of Climate Change at the Panamanian Ministry of Environment, pointed out the importance of involving the whole of Panamanian society in the climate challenge. To this end, "capacity building is important because we have to transform the culture of our behaviours, attitudes and practices that allow us as individuals, families, communities, businesses, governments, municipalities, civil society and academia to contribute to the teamwork as a society that we have to do in order to build a country with sustainable development that is sustainable, inclusive, low in emissions and resilient to climate change".

CONCLUSIONS 

The participatory process has allowed for direct dialogue with Panamanian society, which has highlighted the importance of education and training as priority tools for capacity building on climate change. One of the main ideas is to promote Action for Climate Empowerment and to develop training and awareness-raising actions with the Panamanian population, especially taking into account indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in the process. To this end, it is considered crucial to consider collaboration with other institutions that promote formal training - such as the Ministry of Education in Panama (MEDUCA) - or intersectoral work from the regions, which addresses climate change training for young leaders in the country.

Undoubtedly, Panama is taking on a great challenge in this line towards capacity building as a key element of Climate Empowerment Action according to Article 12 of the 2015 Paris Agreement.  

About EUROCLIMA+
 
EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union and co-financed by the German federal government through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as by the governments of France and Spain through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.  

The Programme's mission is to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects in 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting mitigation, adaptation, resilience and climate investment. It is implemented according to the "Spirit of Team Europe" under the synergistic work of seven agencies: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the AFD Group: the French Development Agency (AFD)/ Expertise France (EF), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

Contact 

Daniel Fernández This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.