UNITAR Supports a Workshop on “Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in Water Resources” for Asian Countries

16 September 2017, Seoul, South Korea - The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Regional Training Workshop for Asia on “Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation into Water Resources” took place from the 13th to 16th of September 2017 in Seoul, South Korea, back to back with the NAP Regional Expo. The training targeted governments in the Asian region. Participants who attended this workshop were representatives from the Ministries of Environment, Ministries of Water, Ministries of Agriculture, Ministries of Local Government, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Energy and Ministries of Planning Development and Finance of Asian developing countries (LDCs and non-LDCs), as well as key resource people from partner organizations.

Participants of NAP Regional Training Workshop for Asia

The workshop was co-organized by the National Adaptation Plan Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP), a joint United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) led initiative, financed by the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) and the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD), and the Korean Environment Institute (KEI)-Korea Adaptation Center for Climate Change (KACCC). The workshop was facilitated by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). 

What were the objectives of this workshop?

The overall objective of this training was to increase the capacity of policymakers and technical people for effective decision-making by tackling climate change adaptation for water resources. As a key natural resource, water is a multi-sectoral issue and provides an entry-point for mainstreaming climate risks through the NAP process. This included a focus on extreme events and other slow onset aspects related to water (such as droughts, floods, sea level rise, salinity, etc.).

Participants of NAP Regional Training Workshop for Asia 2

How did the workshop take place?

The training took place over 4 days and allowed participants to build their theoretical knowledge on adaptation, but also to share their experiences and to think constructively about the most appropriate institutional framework for implementing an effective national plan of action on adaptation. It tackled several theoretical training modules, provided participants with practical exercises, and gave the floor to testimonials and contributions from participants through lectures and group work.
Sixty people attended the workshop from twenty different Asian countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen. Participants were representatives from a range of ministries such as Ministries of planning, environment, finance, water. 
The main role of UNITAR was to facilitate subgroup discussions, ensure coherence of the agenda and evaluate learning outcomes. 

After four very dense and prolific days, participants were able to improve the understanding of the NAP process and start the design of an indicative roadmap on climate change adaptation mainstreaming in their own countries. 

Participants of NAP Regional Training Workshop for Asia 3

Do you want to know more about NAP process?

In brief, the NAP-GSP programme supports more than 50 countries, in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA), Caribbean, Central America, South America. Activities include facilitating training on the NAP process, technical assistance, and providing opportunities for knowledge sharing on NAPs. The NAP-GSP has provided support to developing countries since 2013, through financing from the GEF-LDCF. The first phase of the NAP-GSP for LDCs was operational from 2013-2015. During this phase, the NAP-GSP held Regional Training Workshops in which decision-makers from Environment, Planning and Finance Ministries from LDCs were oriented on the steps for National Adaptation Planning as well as on leveraging finance. The programme received funding for the second phase of expanded support to LDCs from 2016-2019. The NAP-GSP for developing countries is a parallel programme from 2017-2019, funded by the SCCF – currently supporting 24 countries with their NAP processes.

The NAP-GSP activities are the following: 

  • Country Support: Tailored one-on-one support is provided to countries to initiate or advance their NAP process, including stocktaking, customised training, and support to develop NAP roadmaps.
  • Technical assistance: Training packages – including tools, methods and guidelines – are developed for countries to advance their NAP process. National technicians are trained to assess long-term vulnerability to climate change and relevant adaptation options through targeted training workshops. 
  • Knowledge brokering: Exchanging experiences (South-South/North-South), is essential to ensure the perpetuation of good practices relevant to medium to long-term national, sectoral and local planning and budgeting processes. The NAP-GSP captures NAP learning, produces NAP training materials and develops country reports and case studies to demonstrate medium to long-term adaptation planning.

Additional information

NAP-GSP Websites: http://globalsupportprogramme.org
Workshop website: http://globalsupportprogramme.org/node/4158
Contact: delphine.clement@unitar.org 


About NAP-GSP 

The National Adaptation Plan Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP) helps Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to identify, finance, and implement appropriate medium to long-term adaptation actions at national, sub-national and local levels. The NAP-GSP is a global collaborative effort led by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), with more than ten international organizations involved. The programme includes three pillars: i) institutional support; ii) technical support, and iii) knowledge brokering. UNITAR provides support to country assessments, national and regional training events, and knowledge-sharing.


Photo 1: Participants of NAP Regional Training Workshop for Asia

Photo 2: Participants of NAP Regional Training Workshop for Asia 2

Photo 3: Participants of NAP Regional Training Workshop for Asia 3

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