Adaptation programme for Africa nears closure

The AAP has trained hundreds of Africa's journalists in Climate Change reporting

Delegates from Ghana and 19 other African states have arrived in Dakar, Senegal for a five-day regional conference which will set the tone for the conclusion of the UNDP’s Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP).

The meeting, taking place between November 11 and 16, is on the theme: “Celebrating our Successes” and will be the final opportunity for participants from all 20 countries to meet, share their experiences and identify lessons learned and best practices that can be applied in continuing this crucial work after the AAP itself concludes.
The conference is a “unique gathering that will see experienced and committed individuals who work in key positions all over this continent come together to articulate strategies for protecting its future,” AAP announced in a pre-conference statement issued before the weekend.
It added that as the last meeting of the Programme before it concludes in December, the conference “will provide each country with an opportunity to report on the primary challenges it has confronted, the solutions it has found, and the progress it has made in strengthening its capacity to integrate climate adaptation into national development strategies.”
The AAP, established in 2010 with the support of the Government of Japan, has been working to strengthen the effectiveness of participating countries’ development efforts, which it considers crucial for their transformation from vulnerability to greater resilience to climate change and other threats to human well-being.
Essentially, the programme has supported the governments of 20 African countries to achieve transformational change designed to shift climate change adaption planning and interventions from siloed, single-sector project approaches to a comprehensive, strategic approach characterised by multiple-sector integrated planning.
The 20 beneficiary African states are Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Tanzania and Tunisia.
AAP in Ghana
A major initiative of the AAP was the Media Capacity Building Project, which was based in Nairobi, Kenya, and led to the provision of capacity in climate journalism for several journalists including about 25 people from Ghana.
The AAP’s office in Ghana, hosted by the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also undertook a host of initiatives including capacity building through training workshops for 170 district assemblies to integrate climate change considerations into planning and budgeting processes.
It also carried out in-depth training for representatives from thirty-two (32) newly-created districts and Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Division (PPMED) staff of key ministries on how to mainstream climate change issues into their plans, programmes and policies.
Furthermore, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have participated in training and capacity building activities on mainstreaming climate change in planning and budgeting processes.
In terms of infrastructure, the AAP-Ghana has constructed footbridges in Keta Municipal Assembly to facilitate movement of people and to prevent their economic isolation during flooding and successfully relocated artisans in Enchi from flood-prone area to a high ground area.
In the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation, the project has planted trees around some major river banks to serve as buffer zones of vegetation between the rivers’ edge and the areas that are farmed as well as supported dry season gardening to provide supplemental source of income and reduce hunger during the dry season in the West Mamprusi District in northern Ghana.
Besides, the AAP has conducted a Scoping and impacts study in some key sectors to identify the existing climate change adaptation interventions and gaps. The study aimed at providing baseline data on adaptation in the sectors studied.
AAP-Ghana also reports that a study on indigenous knowledge (IK) on climate change adaptation has been conducted in six (6) different districts across the country. The study documented existing indigenous adaptive mechanisms and practices of the local people and the use of existing knowledge to help plan and implement appropriate adaptation activities for the people in the study areas.

This story was first published in the Public Agenda newspaper on Monday, November 12, 2012. You can also read from publicagendaghana.com