22 March 2018: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Adaptation Network (GAN) and Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), convened a regional forum that highlighted specific adaptation challenges facing Gulf States. The 2nd GAN Forum included a regional Technical Examination Meeting on Adaptation (TEM-A) as a contribution to the Technical Examination Process on Adaptation (TEP-A) under the UNFCCC Adaptation Committee (AC), which discussed action that reaches the most vulnerable.

The regional TEM-A will feed into the global TEM-A focused on ‘Adaptation planning for vulnerable groups, communities and ecosystems,’ taking place during the Bonn Climate Change Conference in May 2018. The Forum’s outcomes will also inform the Talanoa Dialogue and deliberations under the UNFCCC.

The 2nd GAN Forum discussed adaptation learning, and different ways to develop, share and apply adaptation knowledge.

The Forum, which convened from 21-22 March 2018 in Abu Dhabi, addressed, inter alia: ways to ensure continued access to clean freshwater; solutions and technologies being developed in the region, including whether they can be applied elsewhere; and the role of the private sector. It considered measuring and assessing different aspects of adaptation, a common metric for measuring physical climate risk, particularly for the private sector, and approaches to assess progress towards climate resilience being developed by cities and multilateral development banks (MDBs).

The Forum also focused on adaptation learning, and different ways to develop, share and apply adaptation knowledge. It looked at the role of universities and institutions in supporting resilience and expanding related programmes, such as the Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation, the UN Climate Resilience Initiative (A2R) and the Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities (EPIC)-Network, a project that links students from sustainability courses to their local city’s real-world problems.

The GAN helps build climate resilience of vulnerable communities and ecosystems. Since 2016, the Network has been initiating learning exchanges, where adaptation practitioners visit their counterparts in other countries to share and promote effective techniques. It links regional networks and partners in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, West Asia and the US. [UNEP Press Release] [Conference Webpage] [SDG Knowledge Hub Sources] [Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation] [Talanoa Dialogue] [TEP-A Website] [EPIC-Network]