Four countries meet in Accra to accelerate climate adaptation action
Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and the Netherlands have begun a three-day peer learning dialogue in Accra to accelerate the implementation of national climate change adaptation plans.
The meeting, which runs from Monday, August 17 to Wednesday, August 19, is focused on helping the four countries move from developing adaptation plans to implementing practical measures that can strengthen the resilience of communities, economies and ecosystems.
The event is being co-organised by the Government of Ghana and the NAP Global Network and brings together government officials, development partners and adaptation project implementers to share experiences, challenges and practical solutions.
Speaking at the opening ceremony on Monday, August 17, Nana Dr Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, Director of Adaptation, Climate Resilience and Risk Management at the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), said having a national adaptation plan is only the beginning of the process.
“Having a good plan is only part of the journey. It’s not the entire journey. The real test is whether those priorities translate into investments and actions that strengthen the resilience of our communities, ecosystems, and economies,” he said.
He said the transition from planning to implementation requires more than financial resources, adding that there is the need for strong institutions, effective coordination, credible projects, reliable data and monitoring systems.
He said the peer learning event would allow participating countries to examine practical approaches to coordination, climate finance, locally led climate action, nature-based solutions and monitoring.
The event follows a similar in-person peer learning meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in April this year.
The Netherlands is supporting the peer learning series through the NAP Global Network, which was established to help developing countries advance their national adaptation planning and implementation processes.
Also speaking at the event, Dr Rens Twijnstra, First Secretary and Head of the Economic Affairs Department at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, said the focus should now be on translating plans into tangible action.
“Until you dig a hole, plant your tree, water it, and make it survive, you haven't actually done a thing. You're just talking. So that's, I think, what this is all about: to move gradually from talking, not to stop talking, but gradually from talking to action,” he said.
Dr Twijnstra said the Netherlands was willing to share its experience with Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, particularly in areas such as water management and climate-resilient agriculture.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Thabang Phago, Director of Climate Change Adaptation in the Natural Resource Sectors Department of South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, identified financing and stakeholder collaboration as key to successful implementation.
“Financing, of course, becomes one of the important things, particularly when you talk about national adaptation planning, that we need to be moving towards implementation, and we can only move towards implementation if we have resources to do that,” he said.
Mr Phago said South Africa had developed several climate strategies and plans but continued to face challenges in translating them into implementation at the required scale.
The three-day event will also provide opportunities for participants to examine how adaptation priorities can be linked to financing, strengthen institutional coordination and develop projects that are ready for implementation.
The NAP process was established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2010 to help countries identify and address medium- and long-term priorities for adapting to climate change.
The NAP Global Network, established in 2014, supports developing countries through peer learning, knowledge sharing and national-level support for the formulation and implementation of adaptation plans.