12 July 2017: Regional and national initiatives of the past few weeks focused on advancing public policy on and capacity building for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate change objectives. The recent capacity building-related developments discussed in this Update address climate change adaptation, the climate-energy-water nexus, and gender issues.

Member countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA), including Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic, participated in a three-day workshop aimed at building capacity for the formulation, development and management of climate change learning policies, as well as to strengthen the relationship and collaboration among SICA members. Part of the regional UN CC:Learn Programme titled ‘Scaling-Up Climate Change Education, Training and Awareness-Raising in the SICA,’ the workshop took place in San Jose, Costa Rica, from 12-15 June 2017. [UNITAR Press Release] [SICA Website] [Scaling-up Climate Change Education, Training and Awareness-Raising in the SICA]

ESCWA convened a regional capacity building workshop organized under the strategic framework on strengthening the capacity of governments of the ESCWA member countries on mainstreaming the energy-related SDGs into their national development plans.

The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), comprising 18 Arab countries in Western Asia, convened a regional capacity building workshop themed ‘Water – Energy Nexus Operational Toolkit: Renewable Energy,’ which took place in Beirut, Lebanon, from 11-12 July 2017. The workshop was organized under the strategic framework on strengthening the capacity of governments of the ESCWA member countries on mainstreaming the energy-related SDGs into their national development plans and within the context of the work programme for 2016-2017. It addressed the potential use of commercialized renewable energy technologies to improve water security by providing the required energy sources for water-related activities. [Workshop Webpage] [Workshop Agenda] [Information Note] [SDG Knowledge Hub Event Entry]

Representatives from communications services of Burkina Faso’s ministerial departments and the media participated in a training workshop titled ‘Climate change issues for the socio-economic and cultural sectors of Burkina Faso,’ held in Koudougou, Burkina Faso, from 29-30 June 2017. The workshop was organized by Burkina Faso’s National Council for Environment and Sustainable Development (CONEDD), with the support from the One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership (UN CC:Learn). It focused on, inter alia, concepts and terminology related to meteorology and climate, the country’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), international climate negotiations and climate governance, and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN). [UNITAR Press Release]

CIFAL Newcastle, the University of Newcastle and local partners, with support from the Government of Australia, hosted a ‘Training of Trainers (ToT) Workshop on Women and Disaster Resilience’ in Nadi, Fiji, from 29-30 June 2017. The workshop developed a training package for building the capacity of women leaders on disaster resilience in Fiji’s remote and rural areas, and advanced the planning phase of the project seeking to support Fijian partner organizations in conducting a training course.

CIFAL Newcastle is part of the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)’s network of International Training Centre for Local Authorities/Actors (CIFAL) training centers for sustainable local development. [UNITAR Press Release]