Under the EUROCLIMA+ programme framework, climate change experts and public officials from the LAC region discussed the monitoring and evaluation

of adaptation.

Santiago, Chile, July 24, 2019. The VI Workshop of the Regional Group of Latin America and the Caribbean: “Monitoring and Evaluation of Climate Change Adaptation in light of the Reinforced Transparency Framework”, ended with a call to strengthen spaces for dialogue, experience exchanges and lessons learned with a view toward the design and implementation of robust climate change adaptation strategies that ensure progress towards compliance with the Paris Agreement.

The activity was held in Cartagena, Colombia from July 16 to 19, as a joint effort of the Government of Colombia, the Alliance for Transparency in the Paris Agreement (PATPA) and the EUROCLIMA+  programme, through its Climate Governance component implemented by FIIAPP, GIZ, ECLAC and UN Environment, in collaboration with LEDS LAC.

The workshop addressed the challenge of building national monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems for climate change adaptation in order to know about their progress and thus support the formulation of public policies in countries of the region and help promote a framework of transparency on an international level.

Vanessa Moosmann, representative of the Alliance for Transparency in the Paris Agreement (PATPA), highlighted the importance of these types of dialogue spaces to achieve greater progress in the implementation of effective climate policies and in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Meanwhile, Maria Järviö, representative of the European Union Delegation in Colombia, highlighted the role that EUROCLIMA+ has in the region. “EUROCLIMA+ is a reflection of the European Union's commitment to the Latin American region. This workshop is an example of the value that EUROCLIMA+ can bring to the region,” she said.

The event was attended by Jose Francisco Charry, Director of Climate Change and Risk Management (MiAmbiente, Colombia), who highlighted the importance of the workshop. “For the first time we are beginning to see a joint vision between mitigation and adaptation. Colombia is in the process of updating its NDC and everything we learn here will be a contribution in that regard. The inclusion of adaptation to climate change in planning instruments in the territories is essential to confronting climate change,” he explained.

Regarding the completion of the Pre-COP in Costa Rica, and COP25 in Chile, Jimy Ferrer, economic affairs officer of the Division of Sustainable Development and Human Settlements of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), stressed the importance of these two events to discuss M&E systems for adaptation at a regional level. “These are spaces for discussion to address the need for such systems at the regional level for the field of climate change adaptation,” he said.

For her part, Diana Vargas, deputy director of the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) of Colombia, called for applying the knowledge acquired in this activity: “After this workshop we have to take action. Our responsibility is to return home and implement the adaptation measures we need,” she emphasised.

 Conclusions from the workshop

One of the issues discussed by event participants was the importance of institutional strengthening for adaptation M&E. Taking into account that information generation, collection, measurement and dissemination involves more than one institution, with an emphasis on the need to make progress on articulation and coordination within governments themselves, between levels of government (national and sub-national), among the governments of the region, and among the organisations that work on these issues.

Another topic highlighted in the workshop was the need to mainstream adaptation in country planning processes and development strategies. Not only would this have the objective of advancing mitigation and adaptation policies, it would also constitute a stimulus to greater growth of the economy, employment, and reduction of poverty and inequality.

Another important point reiterated by event participants was the possibility of taking advantage of the experience acquired by some countries in matters of metrics or indicators that identify progress or setbacks in areas such as vulnerability reduction, strengthening of resilience and increasing adaptive capacity Considering these experiences would allow us to choose and work with a common metric, thereby moving towards sustainable development.

On the other hand, attendees agreed on the need to continue working under the framework of South-South cooperation, working synergistically, with partnerships between countries and communities of practice to achieve progress in the monitoring and evaluation of adaptation. In this context, the role of EUROCLIMA+ and the Alliance for Transparency in the Paris Agreement (PATPA) in supporting Latin American and Caribbean countries in these tasks was emphasised.

The activity brought together public officials from the region involved in monitoring and evaluation, planning and/or coordination of adaptation to climate change.

During its four days of development, the event combined active learning methodologies focused on the interaction between participants with the objective of exchanging experiences at the regional level. The workshop also had technical training spaces and practice sessions.

About EUROCLIMA+

EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union to promote environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient development in 18 Latin American countries, in particular for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations. The Programme is implemented under the synergistic work of seven agencies: Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), French Development Agency (AFD), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Expertise France (EF), International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and UN Environment.

Contacts

Contact for the Alliance for Transparency in the Paris Agreement (PATPA)

Vanessa Moosmann: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Contact EUROCLIMA+ and the implementing entities of the Climate Governance Component: 

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