SEI and ICIMOD are co-organizing the Inclusive Resilience Stream at the 7th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum, with the theme “Enabling Resilience for All: The Critical Decade to Scale-up Action”.
The Asia-Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN), developed and launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2009 under the Global Adaptation Network (GAN), is the first regional adaptation network that strives to equip adaptation actors in the region with knowledge for designing and implementing adaptation measures, building capacity to access technologies and finance, and integrating climate change adaptation into policies, strategies, and plans towards building climate change resilient and sustainable human systems, ecosystems, and economies. APAN has established close partnerships with key sub-regional organizations and has become an important adaptation knowledge mobilizer in the Asia-Pacific region.
Human societies have long demonstrated resilience in the face of ever-changing environmental, political, and technological circumstances, although climate change is testing human capacity to adapt, particularly where communities are also struggling to address poverty, environmental degradation, and conflicts over land and natural resources. Resilience strategies must tackle the social drivers of vulnerability, further reflecting inter alia the special considerations associated with gender and the special needs of highly vulnerable groups in society (children, elderly, differently-abled, indigenous groups, migrants, etc).
This stream will focus broadly on how specific actions and strategies can deliver resilience benefits, emphasizing the linkages between governance (institutions), policy, technology, and finance and how the resilience of human and social systems can be enhanced and built on demonstrated resilience in other areas. Important sub-themes will include climate change and food security, health, education, migration, and conflict resolution.
Key aspects under this topic may include gender perspective; indigenous communities and local knowledge; disabilities; human rights-based approaches; equity; migration; social protection; health; and education.
Description:
To ensure that everyone is resilient to climate change, policy and climate governance requires a people-centred, inclusive and accessible approach at all levels. The goal of this session is to generate insights on how policy and climate governance can build inclusive resilience at regional, national, and sub-national levels so that scale specific resilience practices take into account social vulnerabilities and differential access to power, knowledge, and resources of the poor, marginalised and climate vulnerable groups.
This session will provide space for participants to think creatively and optimistically about the future in order to identify actions to be more inclusive in climate change action and sustainable development planning and implementation.
Session Title: Supporting human rights-based inclusive resilience for all
Description:
A human rights-based approach can be used to guide policies and measures of climate change mitigation and adaptation to ensure that no one is left behind. The panel discussion will provide an opportunity for people and civil society organizations to discuss the adverse impacts of climate change on the effective enjoyment of the rights of vulnerable peoples. The particular attention will be on the good practices in the gender-responsive and human rights-based approach to the planning and processes of the climate adaptation.
Session Title: Enhancing resilience across borders: using science to call for regional action in the HinduKush Himalaya
Description:
Climate induced risks and vulnerability in the Himalayan region are not confined to the region alone but have serious ramifications for nations downstream and are not being systematically addressed in national climate action. Science and assessment are crucial in understanding how physical impacts may translate into social and economic impacts and identify and evaluate potential solutions. Such assessment must also consider Indigenous knowledge and locally led efforts and the adaptation insights that they produce.
The session will have a keynote outlining the present scientific understanding on climate risks and panel presentations on transboundary climate risks and the implications for inclusive resilience followed by a short update on the essentials of National Adaptation Plans and commitments from the HKH which will also highlight the gaps to address Inclusive Resilience. This will be followed by an interactive session with the participants which aims to draw suggestions for immediate action. The session with be wrapped up by a short summary of key messages and recommended climate actions that need to be taken forward to COP26.
Session Title: Building community resilience by scaling up women’s access to technologies and strengthening voice and leadership
Description:
We know that a gender perspective and ultimately gender equality is key in building climate resilience, but how do these efforts and practices look like on the ground? How can we measure success and who will bring the stories and experiences further? The session will provide the audience with tangible and concrete experiences of the value of gender responsive measures on resilience building through access to technology and enhanced voice and leadership and show evidence on what difference a gender perspective can make to climate resilient development and addressing the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19.
Session Title: Climate finance in flux: how can finance flows steer resilience pathways that truly leave no one behind?
Description:
Inclusive resilience requires the recognition and engagement of voices to represent human diversity in all its forms, including national, ethnic, or geographic origins, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disabilities, political or religious affiliations, socioeconomic status, and others. In the critical decade for humans to scale-up actions facing the climate emergency, how can the web of climate finance institutions, adaptation planners, and stakeholder groups collectively sow an arc that truly leaves no one behind?
This session will seek to gather reflections, insights, and lessons learnt from individuals with experience in organizations involved in project design, stakeholder engagement, and resource mobilisation on ongoing efforts, models, and priority areas to increase inclusion in resilience-building activities as enabled by finance and investments.
For more information about the event, visit www.asiapacificadapt.net/adaptationforum2020
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