Following the decision of its Executive Board to support an initiative called "Boots on the Ground," which addresses the weak capacities of LDCs in the area of climate change policy, UNDP recruited and has trained 26 national climate change policy advisors and four regional experts.
March 2011: The Executive Board of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has recently approved a strategic initiative to address the weak institutional capacities within Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to tackle climate change, known as “Boots on the Ground.”
Through this initiative, UNDP has recruited and trained 26 national climate change policy advisors and four regional experts to support this work in Southern Africa, Western Africa, Arab States and Asia-Pacific. National advisors will be responsible for: strengthening the capacities of government agencies for policy support on climate change, while promoting perspectives and frameworks that encourage a better integration of development and climate change agendas; empowering governments to better articulate their needs within the UNFCCC negotiations; and advising on the steps to transform economies towards low emission, climate resilient development. National climate policy advisors are also expected to support the delivery of UNDP’s corporate goals, such as mainstreaming climate change and poverty reduction into development projects and programmes.
The countries participating in this initiative are: Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Liberia, Maldives, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Samoa, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Togo, Timor Leste, Yemen and Zambia. [IISD RS sources]