Removing barriers towards climate change adaptation in Central Asia

Transcription

1 The Regional Environment Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) Regional training: Removing barriers towards climate change adaptation in Central Asia September 2014, Almaty, Kazakhstan TRAINING PROCEEDINGS CAREC, 2014 Almaty, Kazakhstan

2 Table of contents 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE SESSIONS PROCEEDINGS SESSIONS SUMMARY OPENING REMARKS AND INTRODUCTION DAY 1 PROCEEDINGS DAY 2 PROCEEDINGS CONCLUSION

3 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Acknowledging that climate risks cut across borders between Central Asian countries, there were a number of studies and assessment performed over the past years in all countries, including regular publications of National Communications on climate change under the UNFCCC and recent overview assessment conducted by the World Bank team on Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Central Asia (CAMP4CA). In light of abovementioned as well as recognizing that the countries are facing similar sectoral challenges, where resilience and adaptation measures should be strengthened and barriers for addressing these challenges, minimized, it was decided to raise awareness and capacity of the young professions and reconfirm the findings of the current and expected trends of climate change and its impacts on development sectors in terms of recent studies and assessments. The main objective of the training is to tackle climate change challenges emerging in socioeconomic and environment sectors in each country of Central Asia (vulnerability mapping) by providing not only a set of adaptation measures but also to identify and prioritize barriers, hampering the progress of the development sectors towards resilience and adaptation to climate change impacts. Participants have prioritized (i) Water Resources and Management, (ii) Agriculture, (iii) Energy (incl. Hydro), and (iv) Forestry as the main economic sectors proved to be the most vulnerable to climate risks, while (v) Health and (vi) Biodiversity have been identified as the key socio and environmental segments to be most susceptible to climate change impacts. The key barriers that hamper the progress in integrating adaptation measures in ALL sectors of socio-economic development and natural ecosystems were the following: Policies and regulations (lack of appropriate legal basis as well as program and development plans, envisaging climate change and adaptation, bureaucracy) Institutional capacity (absence of inter-departmental body/office/staff dealing with climate change and overseeing integration of cc adaptation into sector-based interventions, activities) Information exchange and access to data Communication and coordination of activates/initiatives on climate change among different players (ministries, departments, academia and civil society institutions) Technical capacity (lack of capacity of different target groups, including policy-makers, specialists and local communities about best practices and policies on climate change) Finance (lack of state budget and high dependence on external resources) to cover measures and interventions on climate change Awareness and education (weak awareness and education about climate change at different levels: schools, universities, work places, etc) Crosscutting barriers: migration and gender inequality => intensify vulnerability risks across the sectors. The training once again reconfirmed that the most vulnerable sectors of economic development 3

4 for the Central Asian region remain water resources, agriculture, energy and forestry. Human health and biodiversity have been found as the most susceptible too. Yet, despite of different level of efforts, which all countries of Central Asia are undertaking to adapt to climate change, barriers to mainstream adaptation measures in these important sectors are the same across all countries. For example, smart and lean policies on climate change and its mainstreaming into key sector-based programs and plans, as well as the lack of institutional and technical capacity have been unanimously highlighted the same across all countries of the region. On the other hand, migration and gender equality have been prioritized for the countries like Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and partially for Uzbekistan. The training results found out that the target group consisting of mid-level specialist and young leaders should be in focus while delivering practical trainings on climate change and related topics. This may help to strengthen the inter-institutional capacity and improve the coordination process among the key institutions. 2. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE It is well known that all five countries of Central Asian 1 are considered as most vulnerable to climate change 2 and face common climate challenges in terms of social-economic and environmental developments. The emerging climate change impacts in Central Asia are becoming well-recognized and the countries are focusing on reducing vulnerability and moving towards climate-resilient development. Acknowledging that climate risks cut across borders between Central Asian countries, the World Bank has launched the initiative targeting on Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Central Asia (CAMP4CA). The program aims to strengthen climate-smart information, institutions and capacity for cross-sectoral and crosscountry planning, and investment preparation and implementation, in order to increase regional collaboration in the long-term. All five countries agreed that a regional program for climate adaptation and mitigation is extremely timely and can build on, and strengthen, existing experience and initiatives in the region. On the other hand, the work by the Central Asia Technical Working Group on Climate Change 3, which is an integral part of the regional program initiative, also indicated that the countries are facing similar sectoral challenges, where resilience and adaptation measures should be strengthened (e.g., agriculture, water, energy, health, forestry, and biodiversity) as well as barriers and gaps for addressing these challenges (e.g., knowledge and capacity, lack of an enabling regulatory framework, and access to finance and technology). These commonalities lend themselves well to a systematic and integrated approach at the regional scale that can improve the effectiveness of the response in each country, by maximizing synergies across sectors. Having in mind that the regional interventions on climate resilience and adaptation are becoming more pronounced nowadays, the Regional Environment Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) in close collaboration with the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) conducted a two-days practical training to tackle climate change challenges emerging in socio-economic and environment sectors in each country of Central Asia (vulnerability mapping) by providing not 1 Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan 2 Fay, Marianne, Rachel I. Block, and Jane Ebinger, eds Adapting to Climate Change in Eastern and Central Asia. World Bank: Washington, DC. 3 A group of technical experts nominated by the Governments of the five Central Asian countries to work across borders and sectors on climate-smart solutions 4

5 only a set of adaptation measures but also to identify and prioritize barriers, hampering the progress of the development sectors towards resilience and adaptation to climate change impacts. This is especially relevant from the perspective of the World Bank s initiative to support the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Central Asia (CAMP4CA), and refer to the principle findings 4 emerged from the missions and forums. The principle method of the training is to use PSD, or Participatory Scenario Development approach. PSD is an approach applied in a multi-stakeholder context to help anticipate and understand the consequences of climate change in the context of plausible socio-economic futures, and then to identify well-suited adaptations encompassing hard and soft measures to reduce risks, remove barriers and increase resilience and adaptation in accordance with goals over different time horizons 5. It is a process that involves the participation of stakeholders to explore the future in a creative and policy-relevant way (more details are in Annex 2: PSD Overview). PSD workshops and trainings are not a stand-alone activity, and they are better applied in tandem with other methods and tools. This means that PSD training results are more robust and relevant if the workshops/trainings are linked with inputs from other assessments and information available for the country or region. And this is where CAREC intends to go step by step with the recent assessments and interventions on climate change recently undertaken by the World Bank in Central Asia. The key objective of a two-day regional practical training is tackle climate change challenges emerging in socio-economic and environment sectors in each country of Central Asia (vulnerability mapping) by providing not only a set of adaptation measures but also to identify and prioritize barriers, hampering the progress of the development sectors towards resilience and adaptation to climate change impacts. Expected results of the training: - Capacity of the stakeholders (participants) coming from different sectors in Central Asia on issues related to climate change impacts, vulnerabilities, adaptation and barriers is strengthened; - Recent findings of the World Bank s assessments and interventions to develop the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Programme for Central Asia (CAMP4CA) are validated and complimented by additional adaptation actions (if necessary). 3. SESSIONS PROCEEDINGS 3.1. SESSIONS SUMMARY The training was conducted for 2 days. It was structured in a way to capture climate change impacts in socio-economic sector and environment (Day 1) and prioritize adaptation measures 4 CAREC will refer to the assessment reports prepared by the World Bank s team of experts on climate change in each country of Central Asia 5 Livia Bizikova, Thea Dickinson, László Pintér, Participatory scenario development for climate change adaptation. IISD: London. 5

6 and provide a set of ways forward for removing the barriers (Day 2). The training consists of 7 sessions and primary focused on group work exercises. An introductory session (overview, approach, main directions and task) was provided prior to the group work exercise. Please, see the agenda in Annex 1. The first training day introduced four sessions, which were dedicated to the socio-economic development in Central Asia, climate change impacts and its validation of countries vulnerabilities in economic, social sectors and natural ecosystems. After each session participants broke down in three groups by the types of climatic and topographic conditions of the Central Asian region, including "Mountain", "Valley", "Desert groups, and had been asked to do group exercises according to the tasks and target questions. Identify key sectors of economic development in Central Asian countries; Identify the most vulnerable sectors of economy in times of climate change and map out key climate factors for those sectors; Identify the most vulnerable natural ecosystems in times of climate change and map out what segments of the population are the most vulnerable to climate risks and why. In the second day of training three sessions were introduced. The sessions covered such topics as adaptation measures for the key vulnerable sectors, key barriers for implementing adaptation measures and how they can be removed. For the session 5 participants remained in the same groups as in the previous day. For the other sessions they broke down into four thematic groups: (i) Policies, (ii) Capacity building and awareness raising, (iii) Technologies and (iv) Finance. The trainees have been given the following tasks: Identify possible adaptation measures for key socio-economic sectors and natural ecosystems; Identify key barriers and issues for those socio-economic sectors and ecosystems, which impede the progress of adaptation measures; Identify key measures and interventions, which will support the removal of the barriers OPENING REMARKS AND INTRODUCTION The first day of the training started at 09:00 a.m. with the registration and introduction of the participants. Benjamin Mohr, CAREC Technical Advisor, opened the training and welcomed all participants. He particularly highlighted the importance of the training in light of recent socioeconomic developments in the region, and different paths undertaken by different countries. Nailya Mustaeva, Trainer, CAREC program manager, was Opening speech: Benjamin Mohr and Nailya Mustaeva moderating the sessions. Firstly, she introduced the participants with the background information, rationale and main objectives of the training. She also briefly explained the expected results and thematic sessions, which will be followed over the two days of the 6

7 training. She also highlighted the main approach, which will be used, namely the Participatory development scenario and guided to the principle rules and guidance notes. After the introductory session, Inna Osmanova, CAREC program assistant, made a tour of introduction of the participants and collected their expectations from the training. She also distributed the handout materials of the training. Handout materials 3.3. DAY 1 PROCEEDINGS Nailya Mustaeva started the first session: Socio-economic development in Central Asia with an overview of high level of vulnerability to climate risks by Central Asian countries and stressed out the principle socio-economic sectors, which are both the key drivers of development and exposure to climate impacts. More detailed presentation was made by Benjamin Mohr, who focused on energy sector development in Central Asia. Along with the introduction to the current situation in energy sector, challenges and opportunities towards energy security in the region, he gave a summary on the regional and national energy-related Benjamin Mohr, explaining energy sector development initiatives CAREC is doing now in Central Asia. After a question and answer sessions, which had been following the presentation of Mr. Mohr, Nailya Mustaeva introduced the first task to the participants, i.e. to identify key sectors of economic development in Central Asia. Participants broke down into three groups: (i) Mountain countries, (ii) Valley countries, (iii) Desert countries. Working in groups: Valley countries During the group work exercise trainees identified main economic sectors, which drive the development in their respective type of the country and presented the key findings. Throughout the presentation of key findings, participants have to prioritize the key sectors, which are relevant to all countries in Central Asia. The list is the following: agriculture, water resources and management, forest management, energy. For Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan the food industry turned out to be also a significant production sector. 7

8 In the second session Climate change impacts and vulnerability of economic sector, Nailya Mustaeva explained why Central Asian region is one of the most vulnerable region to climate change and gave the overview of existing climate trends and future scenarios in Central Asia. After the presentation, the trainees have been asked to perform the second task and identify the most vulnerable sectors of economy in times of climate change and map out key climate factors (drought, extreme weather events, etc.). After presenting findings by each group, participants tried to summarize all results to describe general situation, which is characterized for whole region. During the discussion they identified: increase of air temperature, fluctuation in atmospheric precipitation, change in snow cover, melting of glaciers as key climatic factors, which negatively affect the most vulnerable sectors of economy such as agriculture, water sector, forestry, energy sector and food industry and security. Working in groups: Mountain countries During the third session: Climate change impacts and vulnerability of social sector and natural ecosystems, Nailya Mustaeva introduced the participants with climate risks and their linkages with social sector and how climate impacts the natural environment and ecosystems. A particular attention was given to the countries of Central Asia. She also pointed out such crosscutting issues, as migration and gender sensitivity and inequality, which aggravate coping capacities and increase a risk of vulnerability in the region. Next presentation was made by Ekaterina Strikeleva, Water Initiative Support Program Manager, CAREC, who provided a more in-depth insight to Conflicts over water resources and finding solutions. Mrs. Strikeleva spoke about social tensions emerged over water resources between Kazakh and Kyrgyz parts of Aspara river basin, and stressed Ekaterina Strikeleva speaking about social tensions over out that such a situation will most likely natural resources become regular in times of climate change. It is evident that all scenarios show that increase of air temperature and change in atmospheric precipitation will cause a decline in water runoff in Central Asia and hence, will aggravate a conflict between water-shared countries over the water resources. One of the feasible solutions, which Mrs. Strikeleva has highlighted, is to set up the local-based water coordination councils from both conflicting sides and bring them on board for negotiations. She particularly mentioned that the same approach had been proved efficient in case of Aspara river. After the presentation and a round of questions and answers, participants came back to their work groups to implement the third exercise, i.e. to identify the most vulnerable natural ecosystems in light of climate change and determine what segments of the population are the most vulnerable to climate risks and why. The trainees remain in the same group and had 8

9 to focus on the pre-defined climate risks, which they had mapped in previous group session, as well as to consider other cross cutting challenges and risks, which they think play a critical role. The key findings of the work group showed that most of the trainees defined water resources, flora and fauna, soil and forest ecosystems as the most vulnerable to climate change impacts. They also consider rural population as the most vulnerable; at the same time, women, children, old and disabled people and other marginalized group of population as most critical with low capabilities to cope with climate risks. During the last fourth session: Validation of climate change impacts on socio-economic sector and natural ecosystems (in accordance with the countries priorities and WB assessments) and prioritizing at least 5-7 sectors (socio-economic and natural ecosystems) for adaptation Mrs. Mustaeva summarized the results of the first day, made a comparative analysis between the findings of the World Bank assessments and results of the working PSD approach: Validation of results groups. She noted that the finding of participants were close to the results of the World Bank assessment, and to some extend even more detailed and comprehensive DAY 2 PROCEEDINGS The work of the second day started from a brief overview of upcoming sessions and expectations for the second day of the training. Afterwards, Nailya Mustaeva introduced the participants to the fifth session: Identifying adaptation measures for the key vulnerable sectors and spoke about adaptation measures, their effectiveness and need to respond to climate risks and vulnerability. She pointed out that adaptation measures should include not only practical solutions for the economic and social sectors (e.g. agriculture, land management, energy, health, natural environment, etc.) but touch policies and institutional capacity. After a general insight about the adaptation measures, which are proven for a typical Central Asian region, she gave a floor to Ekaterina Strikeleva, Water Initiative Support Program Manager, CAREC, to introduce in-depth solutions and best practices on adaptation in agriculture and water management sectors. In her presentation, Ms. Strikeleva introduced a numbers of small scaled projects in Central Asia countries, which focus on adaptation and efficient use of water recourses. She brought examples about growing forest protection belts, rational use of sand pasture ecosystems, autumn and early spring irrigation of fields and pastures, water loading irrigation schemes, sowing of drought-resistant crops of wheat, Speaking about best practices in agriculture 9

10 introduction of water-saving technologies in rural communities. After the presentation, participants have been requested to rotate and break down into four different groups, namely, working on the issues, like (i) Policy, (ii) Technologies, (iii) Finance, and (iv) Capacity building and rising of awareness. Nailya Mustaeva appointed a speaker in each of the group and introduced the fourth task to the participants, i.e. to identify possible adaptation measures for key socio-economic sectors and natural ecosystems, using the niche given to the group. She explained that each of the group should identify measures for improving resilience and adaptation efforts in policy and regulations, technologies, finance management and capacity building. The latter should not be limited to the practitioners only, but to include policy makers, middle management, institutions, etc. The sectors, which should be in focus, remain as prioritized in Day 1: water sector, agriculture, energy, forestry, health and loss of biodiversity. In the subsequent sixth session: What are the barriers, which hamper the integration of adaptation measures?, Nailya Mustaeva outlined the areas, which foresee a common set of barriers, such as political frameworks, institutional frameworks, information exchange and access to data, communication and coordination, technical and institution capacity, finance, awareness and knowledge. All these barriers not only hamper the integration and mainstreaming of adaptation measures but also increase a risk of sensitivity and vulnerability to climate change. The floor was afterwards given to Ludmila Kiktenko, Coordinator for resource mobilization, CAREC, to make a presentation about study tour - as a key element of capacity building initiatives and raising awareness. Mrs. Kiktenko gave an overview of existing different types of study tours and spoke about demonstration tours for media visiting industry facilities, which follow the rational use of natural resources, especially, recycled/reused water. The demo tour was organized by CAREC in frameworks of one of the awareness raising project. During presentation the speaker highlighted the way this method contributed to raising awareness of the target group (media) about adaptation measures and sustainable use of natural resources. Ludmilla Kiktenko speaking about study tours as key element of capacity building 10

11 After the presentation and a round of questions and answers, Nailya Mustaeva requested the trainees to stay in the same groups (i) Policy, (ii) Technologies, (iii) Finance, and (iv) Capacity building and raising of awareness and identify the main barriers, which hamper the mainstreaming of adaptation measures. This was the task for the next group work exercise. During the work group, the participants mapped out key barriers, which have been later grouped in accordance with areas pointed out by Mrs. Mustaeva in her presentation. In the Session 7: Synchronizing adaptation measures and drivers for removing the barriers in socio-economic sector and natural ecosystems, Nailya Mustaeva introduced measures, which can be important instruments for synchronizing adaptation measures and barriers. The floor was given to Saniya Kartayeva, Environmental Management Program Specialist, CAREC, who made a presentation about information exchange and data management as a critical part for the removal of barriers. During the presentation she explained what type of quality should possess the information and which sources and references are reliable. Mrs. Kartayeva presented the instrument for the Shared Environmental Information System, which was launched as an initiative of the European Commission, required to collect data according to the unified standards, which can be compared and calculated, as well as publicly available. The speaker also highlighted some useful publications with Saniya Kartayeva speaking about access to data available environmental information for further use and references. For the sixth task Nailya Mustaeva asked the participants to identify solutions to remove the barriers in the selected sectors. Participants stayed in the same groups (i) Policy, (ii) Technologies, (iii) Finance, and (iv) Capacity building and raising of awareness. During the work group, the participants mapped out key barriers, which have been later grouped as: information exchange and access to data, building institutional capacity, promotion of innovation and transfer of new technologies, strengthening regional and transboundary cooperation, improving cross-sector coordination, etc. The final session was dedicated to questions and answers, as well as discussion. Nailya Mustaeva summarized the results of the training and once again logically linked all thematic sessions. Once the final session was over, Inna Osmanova proceeded with evaluation exercise. She reminded the participants about their expectations from the training which they had prioritized in the beginning of the first day and asked them to evaluate the training event by filling feedback questionnaires. In feedback questionnaires the following questions had been included 6 : 1. Please indicate how useful was the training? 2. How useful do you think were the sessions of the training? (Each thematic session) 3. What are the strongest aspects of the training you would like to mention? 4. And what would you like to improve while conducting similar trainings in the future? 5. Please, inform if the expectations from this training have been met? 6 The feedback questionnaires have been processed and analyzed; the outcomes are presented in a separate evaluation summary 11

12 6. What are the other topics of the trainings, which you would like to have in the future? At the end of the training, Nailya Mustaeva and Benjamin Mohr continued with awarding ceremony. All trainees have been awarded the certificates and thanked for the active participation in the sessions and group work exercises. Benjamin Mohr and Nailya Mustaeva awarding certificates 12

13 3.5. CONCLUSION The key barriers that hamper the progress in integrating adaptation measures in ALL sectors of socio-economic development and natural ecosystems were the following: Policies and regulations (lack of appropriate legal basis as well as program and development plans, envisaging climate change and adaptation, bureaucracy) Institutional capacity (absence of inter-departmental body/office/staff dealing with climate change and overseeing integration of cc adaptation into sector-based interventions, activities) Information exchange and access to data Communication and coordination of activates/initiatives on climate change among different players (ministries, departments, academia and civil society institutions) Technical capacity (lack of capacity of different target groups, including policy-makers, specialists and local communities about best practices and policies on climate change) Finance (lack of state budget and high dependence on external resources) to cover measures and interventions on climate change Awareness and education (weak awareness and education about climate change at different levels: schools, universities, work places, etc) Crosscutting barriers: migration and gender inequality => intensify vulnerability risks across the sectors. The training once again reconfirmed that the most vulnerable sectors of economic development for the Central Asian region remain water resources, agriculture, energy and forestry. Human health and biodiversity have been found as the most susceptible too. Yet, despite of different level of efforts, which all countries of Central Asia are undertaking to adapt to climate change, barriers to mainstream adaptation measures in these important sectors are the same across all countries. For example, smart and lean policies on climate change and its mainstreaming into key sector-based programs and plans, as well as the lack of institutional and technical capacity have been unanimously highlighted the same across all countries of the region. On the other hand, migration and gender equality have been prioritized for the countries like Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and partially for Uzbekistan. The training results found out that the target group consisting of mid-level specialist and young leaders should be in focus while delivering practical trainings on climate change and related topics. This may help to strengthen the inter-institutional capacity and improve the coordination process among the key institutions. Key observations of the trainees should also be taken into consideration: Selection of participants for the training was successful enough; they represented national governmental agencies, private sectors and civil society organizations, who are dealing with climate change and environmental management issues; Before the training, participants had not had complete understanding about climate change impacts and their linkages with economic and social development in Central Asia. 13

14 Neither had they known about barriers, which hamper the mainstreaming of adaptation measures. Information with practical examples and in-depth insights to the topics as well as a logical approach, which had been used by trainees and speakers, helped the participants to acquire new knowledge about climate change adaptation and barriers. Moreover, group exercises and rotation of participants around the groups strengthened their willingness and motivation to express their opinion and attain better understanding in this field of expertise. Acquired skills and knowledge will definitely help the participants to better interact around climate change topic and connect it to their everyday job upon arrival. Having in mind, that the trainees are the young leaders, who are junior specialists and experts within their national affiliated organizations (governments, private sector, academia and NGOs), it is expected that the institutional capacity on climate change and its risks for the socio-economic development will be strengthened. In fact, the regional training provided a unique platform to exchange knowledge and experience among the target groups in Central Asia and enhance the collaboration network. In the end of the training, the participants expressed their appreciation for the training and thanked the speakers and trainers of the CAREC and APAN for a productive event. End of the two-days regional training 14

15 AGENDA Annex 1: Removing barriers towards climate change adaptation in Central Asia Venue: Kazzhol Hotel, Almaty, Kazakhstan September 2014 Day 1: Vulnerability assessment and priorities in key socio-economic and environment sectors 08:30 08:45 Registration All participants 09:00 09:30 Welcoming speech (CAREC) and overview of the agenda 09:30 10:00 Introduction of participants and expectations from the training (pre-evaluation) 10:00 10:15 Session 1: Socio-economic development in Central Asia 10:15 11:00 Working in groups (participants break down into 3 groups according to the regional topography: mountain sub-region; valley subregion and desert sub-region) Benjamin Mohr, Technical Advisor, Nailya Mustaeva, Climate change and sustainable energy Program Manager, CAREC Inna Osmanova Practical example: Development of the energy sector in Central Asia. Benjamin Mohr All participants 11:00 11:30 Coffee break 11:30 12:00 Presentation of the results (5 min per group) 12:00 12:15 Session 2: Climate change impacts and countries vulnerabilities (economic sector) Nailya Mustaeva 12:15 13:00 Working in groups All participants 13:00 14:00 Lunch 14:00 14:30 Presentation of the results (5 min per group) All participants 14:30 14:45 Session 3: Climate change impacts and countries vulnerabilities (social sector and natural ecosystems) Practical example: Conflicts over natural resources (water). Possible solutions. Yekaterina Strikeleva, Water Initiative Support Program Manager, CAREC 15

16 14:45 15:00 Working in groups All participants 15:00 15:30 Coffee-break 15:30 16:00 Presentation of results (5 min per group) All participants 16:00 16:15 Questions and answers All participants 16:15 16:45 Session 4: Validation of climate change impacts on socio-economic sector and natural ecosystems (in accordance with the countries priorities and WB assessments) and prioritizing a 5-7 sectors for adaptation Nailya Mustaeva 16:45 17:00 Wrap-up and close of the Day 1 Nailya Mustaeva 16

17 Day 2: Removing barriers towards adaptation in key socio-economic sectors and natural ecosystems 08:30 08:45 Registration All participants 09:00 09:30 Introduction to the Day 2 sessions and expectations 09:30 09:45 Session 5: Identifying adaptation measures for the key vulnerable sectors 09:45 10:30 Working in groups (participants remain in 3 groups according to the regional topography: mountain sub-region; valley sub-region and desert sub-region) Nailya Mustaeva Practical example: Best practices on climate change adaptation at the community-based level. Yekaterina Strikeleva, Water Initiative Support Program Manager, CAREC All participants 10:30 11:00 Presentation of the results (5 min per group) All participants 11:00 11:30 Coffee break 11:30 11:45 Session 6: What are the barriers, which hamper the integration of adaptive measures? 11:45 12:00 Working in groups (participants break down into 4 main groups: policy, technologies, finance, capacity and awareness) Practical example: Study Tours as driver for capacity building and raising awareness. Ludmilla Kiktenko, Resource Mobilization Coordinator, CAREC All participants 12:00 12:30 Presentation of results (7 min per group) All participants 12:30 13:00 Discussion All participants 13:00 14:00 Lunch 14:00 14:45 Session 7: Synchronizing adaptation measures and drivers for removing the barriers in socio-economic sector and natural ecosystems 14:45 15:00 Working in groups (composition of groups remains as in session 6) Practical example: Information and data exchange as one of the drivers for the barriers removal. Saniya Kartayeva, Program Specialist, CAREC All participants 17

18 15:00 15:30 Coffee-break 15:30 16:00 Presentation of results (5 min per group) All participants 16:00 16:15 Final discussion and evaluation of the training All participants, Inna Osmanova 16:15 16:45 Awarding certificates on training completion Benjamin Mohr, Nailya Mustaeva 16:45 17:00 Wrap-up and closure of the training Benjamin Mohr 18

19 Annex 2: 19

20 20

21 21

22 22

23 The Regional Environment Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) Regional training: REMOVING BARRIERS TOWARDS CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN CENTRAL ASIA September 2014, Almaty, Kazakhstan EVALUATION SUMMARY CAREC, 2014 Almaty, Kazakhstan

24 Table of content 1. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE OBJECTIVE AND EXPECTED RESULTS APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY TARGET GROUP STRUCTURE OF THE TRAINING KEY FINDINGS FEEDBACK OF PARTICIPANTS AND USEFULNESS OF THE TRAINING NEW TOPICS FOR THE NEXT TRAININGS

25 EVALUATION SUMMARY On of September 2014, a two-day regional practical training aiming to removing barriers towards climate change adaptation in Central Asia was conducted in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The main objective of the training is to tackle climate change challenges emerging in socio-economic and environment sectors in each country of Central Asia (vulnerability mapping) by providing not only a set of adaptation measures but also to identify and prioritize barriers, hampering the progress of the development sectors towards resilience and adaptation to climate change impacts. 1. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE It is well known that all five countries of Central Asian 1 are considered as most vulnerable to climate change 2 and face common climate challenges in terms of social-economic and environmental developments. The emerging climate change impacts in Central Asia are becoming well-recognized and the countries are focusing on reducing vulnerability and moving towards climate-resilient development. Acknowledging that climate risks cut across borders between Central Asian countries, there were a number of studies and assessment performed over the past years in all countries, including regular publications of National Communications on climate change under the UNFCCC and recent overview assessment conducted by the World Bank team on Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Central Asia (CAMP4CA). In light of abovementioned as well as recognizing that the countries are facing similar sectoral challenges, where resilience and adaptation measures should be strengthened and barriers for addressing these challenges, minimized, it was decided to raise awareness and capacity of the young professions and reconfirm the findings of the current and expected trends of climate change and its impacts on development sectors in terms of recent studies and assessments. 2. OBJECTIVE AND EXPECTED RESULTS The key objective of a two-day regional practical training is tackle climate change challenges emerging in socio-economic and environment sectors in each country of Central Asia (vulnerability mapping) by providing not only a set of adaptation measures but also to identify and prioritize barriers, hampering the progress of the development sectors towards resilience and adaptation to climate change impacts. - Capacity of the stakeholders (participants) coming from different sectors in Central Asia on issues related to climate change impacts, vulnerabilities, adaptation and barriers is strengthened; - Recent findings of the World Bank s assessments and interventions to develop the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Programme for Central Asia (CAMP4CA) are validated and complimented by additional adaptation actions (if necessary). 3. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY The principle method of the training is to use PSD, or Participatory Scenario Development approach. PSD is an approach applied in a multi-stakeholder context to help anticipate and understand the consequences of climate change in the context of plausible socio-economic futures, and then to identify well-suited adaptations encompassing hard and soft measures to reduce risks, remove barriers and 1 Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan 2 Fay, Marianne, Rachel I. Block, and Jane Ebinger, eds Adapting to Climate Change in Eastern and Central Asia. World Bank: Washington, DC. 3

26 increase resilience and adaptation in accordance with goals over different time horizons 3. It is a process that involves the participation of stakeholders to explore the future in a creative and policy-relevant way. PSD workshops and trainings are not a stand-alone activity, and they are better applied in tandem with other methods and tools. This means that PSD training results are more robust and relevant if the workshops/trainings are linked with inputs from other assessments and information available for the country or region. And this is where CAREC intends to go step by step with the recent assessments and interventions on climate change recently undertaken by the World Bank in Central Asia. The training has been structured in a way to capture climate change impacts in socio-economic sector and natural ecosystems (Day 1) and prioritize adaptation measures and provide a set of ways forward for removing the barriers (Day 2). The training consisted of 7 logical sessions and envisaged the session on validating the findings from the group work and results of the recent World Bank assessment and the session on synchronizing defined measures on adaptation and removing the barriers in the priority sectors of socio-economic development and natural ecosystems. See the pic. 1. Synchronizing measures on adaptation and removal of barriers Mapping socioeconomic development trends in Central Asia Assessment of the socio economic sectors and natural ecosystems to climate change risks Defining adaptation measures for priority sectors of socio-economic development and natural ecosystems Defining/ removing barriers towards adaptation Validation of the findings with WB assessment results Pic 1. Logical structure of the training 4. TARGET GROUP Around 30 participants from all countries of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) coming from different sectors, including governmental agencies, NGOs, private sector and academia, attended the training (Pic.2). Turkmenistan Tajikistan Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan Kazakhstan Pic.2 Representation of participants 3 Livia Bizikova, Thea Dickinson, László Pintér, Participatory scenario development for climate change adaptation. IISD: London. 4

27 These were primarily young professionals, dealing with environmental issues (water, agriculture, waste energy, etc.) in their organizations. The composition of female and male participants comprised 43% Vs 57% accordingly. Participants Academia Business Government NGOs Pic.2 Composition of participants STRUCTURE OF THE TRAINING The lectures were followed by the group work (Pic. 3). The content of the lectures were primarily focusing on guidance and provision of practical examples, covering Central Asian region. For example, session 1 was dedicated to the overall socio-economic development trends in the region, while the practical example targeted at Energy Sector as the main driver of the economic development. The group work exercise envisaged the participants to be split into three main groups: (i) mountain sub-region, (ii) valley sub-region and (iii) desert sub-region during the first four sessions, while the next three sessions encouraged the participants to break-down in four groups according to adaptation/ barriers categories: (i) policy, (ii) technologies, (iii) finance and (iv) capacity and awareness. Pic.3 Working in groups and presentation of outputs 6. KEY FINDINGS Participants have prioritized (i) Water Resources and Management, (ii) Agriculture, (iii) Energy (incl. Hydro), and (iv) Forestry as the main economic sectors proved to be the most vulnerable to climate risks, while (v) Health and (vi) Biodiversity have been identified as the key socio and environmental segments to be most susceptible to climate change impacts. In fact, the findings of the work group perfectly correlate to the results of the World Bank assessment, which have prioritized the similar sectors but for the exception of Tajikistan, the country, which considers energy as key economic driver, requiring measures to strengthen resilience and Kyrgyzstan, which pointed out a risk of climate-induced disasters as a crosscutting segment. On the other hand, forestry management is also a priority for Kyrgyzstan, while the results of the group work defined this sector as common for all countries. In overall, the findings of the group work, provided a more in-depth insight with almost all sectors to be identified as priorities. The Table 1 below provides a validation of both exercises. 5

28 Table 1. Validation of the WB results vs findings of the work group World Bank assessment results Work Group findings 1. Agriculture (all countries of CA) Economic sectors: 1. Agriculture (all countries of CA) 2. Water resources and management 2. Water resources and management (all (all countries of CA) countries of CA) 3. Healthcare (Turkmenistan and 3. Forest management (all countries of Kyrgyzstan) CA) 4. Forest management and biodiversity 4. Food industry (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (Kyrgyzstan) and Turkmenistan) 5. Climate-induced disasters (Kyrgyzstan) 5. Energy (all countries of CA) 6. Energy (Tajikistan) Social sector and natural ecosystems 1. Healthcare and human security (all countries of CA) 2. Biodiversity (all countries of CA) The recommendations for adaptive measures have been defined as following: Economic sectors: 1. Agriculture o Selection of new and adapted varieties of agricultural crops (e.g. drought resistant) o Introducing new water-saving technologies for irrigation (e.g. grey water, drip irrigation, etc.) o Introduction of proven technologies for sustainable land management (e.g. terracing, etc) o Use of techniques for pest outbreaks (especially locusts in dry seasons) o Provision of timely agrometeorological forecasts to farmers o Capacity building and education of farmers about new technologies, and o Using traditional knowledge of local communities o Introducing policies to smoothly transit from one agriculture product to other in light of climate change (e.g. alternatives to rice cultivation and cotton production, which are water-exhaustive) 2. Water resources and management o Promotion of new water saving technologies especially in industry and agriculture (two most water-consuming sectors) o Re-consideration of household payment tariffs and installation of water meter devices o Renovation of water canals to minimize evaporation and penetration rate o Expand the plantation of water capturing trees and plants to moisturize soils o Improve the drainage systems and canals to avoid a risk of flooding in light of intense rainfalls o Install water reservoirs to keep water for drinking and irrigation purposes in dry seasons o Encourage early warning and monitoring system of water use o Capacity building and raising awareness among different target groups 3. Forest management o Increase afforestation and reforestation measures o Install monitoring and early warning system to be timely informed about forest fires and perform preventive measures o Introduce new varieties of trees, which are resistant to pests and climate conditions and expansion of agro-forestry for sustainable livelihoods o Introduce biotechnological methods for pest out breaks o Sanitary cutting of dead trees and preventive measures to sustain forests o Application of GIS and other technologies to map forest areas and define new spots for tree plantation o Introduce avalanche-preventive installations o Provide the means of alternative type of fuel to minimize a risk of clear cutting (especially using wood as an energy resource) o Inclusion of forest areas that play a value added role to the national parks and protected areas 6

29 o Capacity building and raising awareness of the local communities about sustainable forest management techniques 4. Food industry o Introduce highly productive varieties of agricultural crops and products o Re-consider the policy of standardization and food exchange in the region 5. Energy, including hydropower o Introducing incentives (e.g. reduced taxation) for the private sector to expand the market with energy efficient assets, commodities and technologies o Re-consider policies for using renewable energy from off-grid to centralized market o Regular cleaning of the water reservoirs to avoid siltation o Introduction of new technologies of energy efficiency and renewable energy use in industry and agriculture (e.g. for water pumping) Social sector and natural ecosystems: 1. Healthcare and human security o Introduction of healthcare policies/amendments (e.g. flexible labor hours in days/periods with extreme temperatures) o Provision of access to clean water and drainage to minimize a risk of water-borne diseases o Regular monitoring of malaria cases (especially transboundary) o Expand a set of medical centres and services in remote areas o Capacity building of medical staff and doctors about climate risks and health o Raising awareness and education of climate-induced risks and its impacts health 2. Biodiversity o Expand the areas of natural biodiversity population as natural parks and protection areas o Improve legal frameworks and policies (e.g. transboundary migration of species) o Research and study of biodiversity and its link with climate change (e.g. migration of animals) o Recovery of the natural ecosystems through afforestation/reforestation measures and re-watering of ponds/reservoirs The key barriers that hamper the progress in integrating adaptation measures in ALL sectors of socioeconomic development and natural ecosystems were the following: Policies and regulations (lack of appropriate legal basis as well as program and development plans, envisaging climate change and adaptation, bureaucracy) Institutional capacity (absence of inter-departmental body/office/staff dealing with climate change and overseeing integration of cc adaptation into sector-based interventions, activities) Information exchange and access to data Communication and coordination of activates/initiatives on climate change among different players (ministries, departments, academia and civil society institutions) Technical capacity (lack of capacity of different target groups, including policy-makers, specialists and local communities about best practices and policies on climate change) Finance (lack of state budget and high dependence on external resources) to cover measures and interventions on climate change Awareness and education (weak awareness and education about climate change at different levels: schools, universities, work places, etc) Crosscutting barriers: migration and gender inequality => intensify vulnerability risks across the sectors 7

30 The measures to remove barriers have been categorized into four key segments: Policy: o Mainstream of climate change adaptation measures and allocate state budget into country development policies and strategic documents (e.g. poverty reduction, sustainable development) o Strengthening of interstate communication and coordination among ministries and departments on climate change o Improve an institutional capacity of the ministry/department and assign a staff/department to consider climate change adaptation in regular activities (e.g. consolidation of terms of references) o Improve reporting system and monitoring of results o Creation of a single online platform (e.g. e-government) to have a feedback o Transfer of state property into private hands in a shorter period o Regular capacity building exercises and on-job trainings of policy makers about climate change and strategic planning Technologies: o Assess of relevant technologies, which can be replicated in the CA conductions o Testing and approbation of new technologies, proved efficient in Europe and South Asia o Increase the state budget for research and studies on climate change o Introduce exchange programs of young scientist/researchers to strengthen academic skills in the region Finance: o Allocate state budget for climate change adaptation o Introduce the mechanisms and instruments allowing the fees for the use of nature resources to be allocated for the nature protection and climate change adaptation o Use a multi-agency approach in the development of the structure of state programs for finance o Establishment of an independent state agency to monitor expenses aimed at climate change Capacity building and raising awareness: o Introduce climate change education modules in all types of compulsory educations o Use local language in outreach the local communities o Mass campaigns on raising awareness and involve media and civil society o Study tours and field trips to be introduced to the best practices of cc adaptation 7. FEEDBACK OF PARTICIPANTS AND USEFULNESS OF THE TRAINING Almost all trainees (98-100%) found the training as very useful and useful enough. The evaluation was conducted according to the content and substance of the sessions and their validity to the current situation. The smaller percentage of votes was allocated to the first and second sessions, with some of trainees finding the sessions almost useless or useful to a small extent. This can be explained by the familiarity of the topic socioeconomic development and impact of climate change in Central Asia. Most of the participants have been introduced to Pic. 4 Feedback of participants the topic before and have already possessed general background information about the situation. On the contrary, the subsequent sessions turned to be new. Hence, the trainees found them more useful. In overall, the targets and expectations that have been set prior to the training were met. The trainees acquired new knowledge and information about climate change adaptation, key barriers and the way how these barriers can be solved. The respondents especially highlighted the way how the information had been delivered. The lectures were followed by the in-depth examples of the topic. For example, the brief 8