The Asia-Pacific regional workshop on integrating and mainstreaming climate change adaptation, environmental sustainability and disaster risk reduction (DRR), organized by the UN Development Group (UNDG) Task Team on Environmental Sustainability, Climate Change and Rio+20, in collaboration with several partners, provided a platform for participants to share experiences and identify good practices for mainstreaming environmental sustainability, climate change and DRR in country programming.
29 July 2011: The UN Development Group (UNDG) Task Team on Environmental Sustainability, Climate Change and Rio+20, in collaboration with several partners, held an Asia-Pacific regional workshop to advance work on integrating and mainstreaming climate change adaptation, environmental sustainability and disaster risk reduction (DRR). The workshop was organized in recognition of the fact that integrating and mainstreaming these three areas can have profound linkages to poverty reduction and improved livelihoods.
The workshop, which was held from 25-29 July 2011, in Bangkok, Thailand, brought together participants from UN Country Teams who are embarking on the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) roll-out process, and aimed at enabling them to identify opportunities and tools for mainstreaming environmental sustainability, climate change and DRR in country programming. The main objective of the workshop was to create an avenue for participants to share their experiences and identify good practices.
It included a series of “country clinics” that enabled participants to brainstorm to come up with concrete solutions for mainstreaming challenges for the UNDAF. Solutions identified include the early recognition of opportunities to offer evidence and build ownership for mainstreaming, and to identify ‘champions’ in both the UN Country Teams and amongst the ‘power’ ministries and commissions in government. Country participants also prepared work plans to engage the full UN Country Teams and guide their mainstreaming efforts.
The Asia-Pacific regional workshop was the last in the series of three regional workshops, which also covered the Africa and Arab, and the Latin America and the Caribbean regions. The workshops were organized by the UNDG Task Team in cooperation with Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative (CADRI), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the UN System Staff College (UNSSC). The UNDG Task Team is now exploring ways to hold the regional workshops on an annual basis for UNDAF roll-out countries. [UN CC:Learn Press Release]