June 2014: The Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), a member of the CGIAR consortium, has published a policy brief, titled ‘Climate Adaptation and Agriculture: Solutions to Successful National Adaptation Plans.’ The brief emphasizes that the design of effective national adaptation plans (NAPs) hinges on careful consideration of the actors and institutions with the most influence and leverage.

Drawing on the 2013 CCAFS report, titled ‘Planning Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture: Meta-Synthesis of National Adaptation Plans in West and East Africa and South Asia,’ and a workshop held at the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 19) to the UNFCCC, the policy brief documents challenges to implementing NAPs and examples of successful cross-sectoral adaptation planning. Among the 12 countries studied in the report and brief, finance was the most commonly identified challenge. The policy brief targets national policymakers in the developing world, intergovernmental organizations, climate change negotiators and donors.

The brief offers five key recommendations for these decision makers, namely: countries should consider how local levels can be brought into planning and prioritization; better capacity is needed in developing countries to identify and rank climate risks and prioritize response activities; sources for NAP implementation finance should be identified during the planning phase; increased capacity for integrated approaches to adaptation is needed; and the stakeholder engagement process should be widened, especially to include the private sector and marginalized groups. [CCAFS Publication Webpage] [Publication: Climate Adaptation and Agriculture: Solutions to Successful National Adaptation Plans] [IISD RS Story on 2013 CCAFS Report]