23 October 2014
UNDP Ecosystem-based Adaptation Event Discusses Links to Post-2015 Agenda
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A UN Development Programme (UNDP) event examined how ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) can contribute to the post-2015 development agenda.

The event, which gathered representatives from government, multilateral institutions and NGOs, concluded that a climate-resilient future will not be possible without a strong emphasis on EbA, and that EbA can also contribute to sustainable development more broadly.

UNDP9 October 2014: A UN Development Programme (UNDP) event examined how ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) can contribute to the post-2015 development agenda. The event, which gathered representatives from government, multilateral institutions and NGOs, concluded that a climate-resilient future will not be possible without a strong emphasis on EbA, and that EbA can also contribute to sustainable development more broadly.

The event was organized by UNDP on behalf of the ‘EbA in Mountain Ecosystems’ program, which is part of a partnership initiative between the UNDP, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and financially supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).

Presentations covered: the current status of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); contributions by EbA programs to food security in Nepal, Peru and Uganda, and disaster risk reduction in Grenada and Seychelles; and EbA in climate-resilient development. A panel discussion addressed the questions of whether EbA is a novel approach, and whether the SDGs can be achieved without EbA.

Participants raised, among other issues: exploring and advocating “untapped links” between SDGs and EbA with the aim of mainstreaming EbA into the post-2015 development agenda; country context-specific challenges in existing EbA projects; and EbA as an integral part of climate-resilient development and green growth.

The side event, titled ‘Ecosystem-based Adaptation: Contributing to the Post-2015 Development Agenda,’ took place on 9 October 2014, in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, as part of the Rio Conventions Pavilion, during the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 12) to the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD). [EbA Programme Press Release] [IISD RS Sources] [IISD RS Coverage of CBD COP 12]


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