The Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP)

27 March - 1 April 2022. Virtual Gobeshona Global Conference. 

The seven-day long annual Gobeshona Global Conference on Locally Led Adaptation will was hosted by the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) fully online! See all the recordings here. This conference brought together researchers as well as practitioners and supporters of LLA under one platform to focus on Learning and Measuring progress locally, nationally and globally, each year and track progress year on year.

Extract of the events (see the Gobeshona Global Conference 2 programme)

29 March 2022. The Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program 

(AAAP) hosted a session titled, "AAAP: Transformative Adaptation to Accelerate and Scale Climate Action". The recording was put online 28 April 2022.

• Edith Adera moderator AAAP
• Joash Moitui
• Sonia Borrini African Development Bank · Full-time, Communications and knowledge management specialist
• Muthoni Nduhiu

The session focused on policy shifts, the enabling environment, financing, community engagement and private sector involvement to accelerate and scale climate adaptation in Africa.

The session brought together policy makers, sustainable financiers, climate resilience experts and youth advocates to discuss the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that calls for increased speed and scale in implementing adaptation actions.

"Climate change impacts are already occurring, faster and more severely than previous IPCC reports indicated. This new report makes it clear that we are already facing irreversible losses and damages to human societies and ecosystems around the world" Dr. Rebecca Carter, the Acting Director, Climate Resilience Practice at the World Resources Institute, setting the scene for the session.

There is the need to incorporate indigenous knowledge with scientific knowledge to develop the most effective adaptation interventions and solutions. Farmers, use indigenous knowledge to predict drought and rainfall and this knowledge is important for adaptation action, Prof. Philip Antwi-Agyei, Associate Professor at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Lead Author of IPCC's special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C

Zambia Ministry of Green Economy and Environment official Chitembo Kawimbe Chunga said adaptation should be integrated into local and national development plans.

She added that laws, policies and regulations on adaptation exist in Zambia that show where and how to adapt. Zambia is working with development partners including the African Development Bank to explore best practices for adaptation and resilience building among communities. Chunga is also the National Coordinator of both the Transforming Landscapes for Resilience and Development and the Zambia Strengthening Climate Resilience projects.

The audience followed presentations on different funding sources, including green bonds and blended finance to mobilise finance for adaptation.

Background:

The Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) is an Africa-owned and Africa-led response to the continent's expressed needs and priorities to reduce its vulnerabilities as well as harness opportunities. 

See AFDB (2021) The Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) #24 p.

• It will contribute to closing Africa’s adaptation gap, support African countries to make a transformational shift to put climate adaptation and resilience at the center of critical growth-orientated and inclusive policies, programs, and institutions. 
• The AAAP builds on the priority areas identified by the countries in their NDCs and NAPs and accelerates momentum through large scale proof of concept investments, innovations, and knowledge and technical assistance initiatives. 
• The program is designed to drive a harmonized approach to project implementation and monitoring.
• The AAAP was first presented and was well-received at the Climate Adaptation Summit in January 2021. The Summit was the largest gathering ever of global leaders on adaptation. The AAAP was officially launched on April 6th at the Leaders Dialogue on Covid-19 and climate emergency. 
• More than 30 African heads of state and other global leaders rallied behind the AAAP, endorsing it as a key vehicle to operationalize the Africa Adaptation Initiative's mandate. Following this event, a communiqué was issued by African leaders underlining the importance of climate resilience as a key element of Africa’s economic recovery plans.

29 March 2022.  A2R CIFOR-ICRAF: Locally-led nature-based solutions for accelerating climate adaptation and resilience

The recording was put online 8 May 2022.

In this session, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), and the UN Climate Resilience Initiative (A2R) supported by the FAO, along with local partners, highlighted how locally-led nature-based solutions can accelerate climate action and policy with regards to adaptation and resilience.

• Sylvie Wabbes FAO, Operations Officer
• Houria Djoudi 
• Nubabaare Ophilia(Speaker)Blessed Women Ghana, Founder
• Florencia Zapata
• Lucio Roblero
• Flower Msuya University of Dar es Salaam, Botany Department · Full-time, Senior Researcher