What is effective climate adaptation? Case studies from the Least Developed Countries
Adaptation is an investment that becomes effective over time through learning. International climate talks are serving as a key platform for bridging such learning. The Least Developed Countries (LDCs), from the frontlines of climate impacts, are pioneering large-scale and innovative adaptation responses. This issue paper draws from experiences in the international dialogues and of LDC national practice to explore how the adaptation narrative is developing at both levels. It examines where they are aligned, and where they clash, in influencing adaptation scope and delivery.
Some key lessons to be learned from the LDC Group are (p. 5):
- The most effective mechanisms are domestically driven and owned, and work to strengthen national and sub-national institutions and governance systems;
- Delivering activities over long timeframes, promoting long-term, robust climate-resilient planning and accessing long-term finance for climate-resilient investments are crucial;
- Reaching more people and covering all regions are also vital;
- Given the interconnected and interdependent nature of human and ecological systems, effective interventions deliver against multiple international frameworks;
- Just decision making requires women and men who have experienced climate impacts to participate in policy spaces and in delivery decisions;
- Communities and indigenous peoples have longstanding relationships with their environment and have built knowledge and practice by managing complex ecosystems over generations, so strengthening local knowledge systems and enabling the integration of scientific and technical knowledge within them are vital.