A@A Knowledge Network: Learning event #2 Summary

Summary

The Adaptation at Altitude (A@A) Knowledge Network held its learning event on 9th July 2024 focussing on: “Lessons learned: Designing and implementing transboundary adaptation in mountains”. The meeting was hosted online by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) under the Adaptation at Altitude programme, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The event gathered approximately 30 participants all working on or with an interest in mountain environments, and shared insights from panellists about their transboundary work, as well as discussions surrounding designing and implementing transboundary adaptation in mountains. 

The A@A Knowledge Network meeting was opened by Rosie Witton and Kate Williamson (SEI), who provided a brief introduction to the A@A Knowledge Network and provided an overview of the meeting agenda.

Katy Harris (SEI and Adaptation Without Borders) gave a pre-recorded key note speech focussing on an introduction to transboundary climate risk, which can be found below.

The panellists were then introduced and shared a brief presentation of their work and experience in transboundary mountain projects:

• Mandira Singh Shrestha, Senior Water Resources Specialist at ICIMOD​
• Cristina Dengel, Knowledge Management Team Lead at the Adaptation Fund​
• Marc Prohom, Head of Climatology at the Meteorological Service of Catalonia​

Reducing risks and building resilience in the HKH region – Mandira Singh Shrestha, ICIMOD

The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is a hot spot for disasters and more than 1 billion people are at risk of exposure to increasing frequency and intensity of natural hazards. In particular 44% of disasters in the HKH countries between 2000-2019 were reported to be floods.

Two examples of transboundary disasters were highlighted:

• Bhote Koshi GLOF, 2016: A glacial lake in China breached in July 2016 and resulted in huge losses in the downstream in Nepal damaging a 39 MW hydropower project that was shut down for around 3 years before it could start again. No formal early warning system was in place across national borders. ​
• Koshi Floods, 2008: ​In the Koshi basin a breach in the embankment in Nepal resulted in a huge flow downstream to India, changing the river’s path. More than 500 people were killed and around 4 million were impacted. Unfortunately, there were no early warning systems in place.

There are new innovative technologies and climate services in early warning systems that can minimize adverse impacts, accelerate climate action and build resilience of mountain communities. Technologies such as the High Impact Weather Assessment Tool (HI-WAT), a meteorological modelling tool with a 54 hour lead time has been developed by the ICIMOD SERVIR HKH programme. Currently this is available in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and is in development for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Customizing applications to ensure use and awareness by communities is vital. Building off the HI-WAT system in Nepal, the Prakop Alert mobile app was developed based on user demand and in partnership with local partners to provide weather and flood forecast information to communities in Nepal.

At a transboundary level there is a need for cooperation and collaboration between different stakeholders, including the Government, academia, local authorities and communities. Capacity building, awareness and sharing of best practices is critical to forge regional cooperation and partnerships, to improve adaptive capacity, and minimize the adverse impacts of climate change.

Lessons learned on transboundary adaptation ​- Cristina Dengel, Adaptation Fund

The Adaptation Fund was set up under the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It was established in 2001 to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement (which the Fund has been serving  since Jan 2019). 

It is the only global UN fund created to fund concrete adaptation projects in the most climate-vulnerable developing countries. It has pioneered innovative ‘Direct Access’ climate finance modality and as the urgency of climate change has risen, it has grown rapidly to $1billion funding today worldwide.

Projects under the Adaptation Fund have focused on areas such as transboundary water management, the enabling environment, water security, nature-based solutions, and ecosystem-based adaptation. An emphasis has also been placed on environmental and socio-economic benefits, particularly for the most vulnerable, and gender considerations.

Transboundary adaptation projects are necessary to tackle climate risks that cascade and are also shared across borders. This regional, cross-border approach has the potential to create multiple benefits, including:

• Fostering a culture of regional coordination and shared learning
• Where there are common languages across nations/borders, communities are more readily able to share experiences and knowledge of climate impacts and solutions
• Increasing capacity of entities and authorities at regional level or basin-level
• Increasing cost-effectiveness
• Knowledge-sharing and learning across scales

Pyrenean Climate Change Strategy​ – Marc Prohom, Meteorological Service of Catalonia​

The Pyrenees mountain range has approximately 2,625,190 people over an area of​ 41.876 Km2. There is a governmental body called Working Community of the Pyrenees that involves all the regions and Andorra, working to improve inhabitants’ wellbeing. Since the working group was established in the 1980s there have been multiple different projects including the Observatory of Climate Change in the Pyrenees (OPCC).

The OPCC acts as an umbrella to join efforts through common instruments:

• Providing knowledge about climate change impacts and vulnerabilities in the Pyrenees.​
• Promoting innovation and successful experiences.​
• Creating demonstrative experience and generating alliances in the territory.​
• Supporting transfer and replicability, and decision-making in adaptation policies within the CTP territory. ​
• Improving the visibility of the Pyrenees across Europe and internationally. 

Moving forwards, the Observatory has a systemic and holistic approach to climate change, a vision for 2050 and a roadmap for 2030. In 2021 a Pyrenees climate change strategy was launched, in collaboration with multiple actors including the government, local communities and research institutions.

The LIFE-SIP PYRENEES4CLIMA project (2023-2031) will help implement the strategy.

Discussion

Learning from previous adaptation fund projects, could you highlight some of the key enablers and barriers to designing and securing funding for implementing transboundary adaptation initiatives?

Cristina: The Adaptation Fund completed a study about 1.5 years ago on transboundary adaptation which includes examples from our portfolio, from different regions of the world. By analysing all these case studies, we identified enablers and barriers to implementing transboundary adaptation.

Enablers:

• A transboundary approach that involves multiple governing authorities has the potential to manage climate risk effectively.
• The common climate challenge across borders, allows a transboundary approach at regional level, rather than a country by country approach. 
• Common languages across borders may be beneficial, however, steps should be taken to ensure that dominant languages do not prevent the equitable participation of minority groups such as Indigenous communities.
• The availability of high quality and up-to-date information is essential for such a delivery of projects at the transboundary level.

Barriers:

• National legislation could constitute a barrier to a regional approach, since it can differ across countries.
• Countries may be in a conflict or a fragile setting.
• Language could be a barrier to project design and implementation.
• Coordinating meetings with a large number of busy officials across countries.
• Infrastructure variabilities, such as broadband or transportation, across project territories.

What institutional or policy mechanisms can be put in place to help foster successful regional cooperation?

Marc: It’s essential to create an alliance with management and build decision making capacity, where all the participants or actors have the same status and the same level of decision. However, cooperation is costly. It’s complex and long term dynamics needs to be established which takes an extraordinary amount of funds and governance.

For example, in our case we have the LIFE project running for eight years, but within the same project we have a working group that is looking for extra funds for stabilising the amount of money for implementing the strategy for the future. So it’s not enough with one project and stability is needed jointly, of course, with a good governance between the different actors.

How can local and transboundary approaches be bridged and how can local communities be engaged with the design and implementation of trans boundary projects?

Mandira:

From the regional to the national and down to the province and community level, there needs to be communication of the information between various stakeholders. So the engagement of stakeholders is very important in the process. Bringing various stakeholders into dialogues, understanding their needs and priorities is instrumental to know the adverse impacts are minimised. It’s also important at the local level to communicate and to liaise with the municipalities and the local governments.

Technology plays a very key role, like the example that was given earlier in terms of forecasting early warning from different levels and reaching and engaging the local communities. You can provide the information, but communities need to understand it and have time for action to take place. Thus, it is important to take into account the social and cultural aspects and then integrate it into the system.

Are any climate risk assessment resources or methodologies that capture transboundary risks?

Mandira: There are many different methodologies for risk assessments at the national and local level. When we talk about transboundary, it’s mainly to do with shared risks and vulnerabilities across borders. So that element needs to be focused on while using some of the already available risk assessment methodologies that are in place.

Marc: To succeed, you need a good strategy, a good implementation plan and direct effects on the ground. Cases have to be identified, focusing on transfer and replication, because when people see that something is changing on the ground and it’s improving their quality of life, they see the direct benefits. It’s good to identify demonstrative cases with solutions that can be implemented everywhere.

To see the full presentation and discussion please watch the recording below and linked here: A@A Knowledge Network: Designing and implementing transboundary adaptation in mountains (youtube.com)

The A@A Knowledge Network

The Adaptation at Altitude programme, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), seeks to support mountain communities and those working with them by improving the knowledge of appropriate climate change adaptation strategies in the mountains, and transferring that knowledge through science–policy platforms to inform decision-making in national, regional and global policy processes.

The A@A Knowledge Network is a global community through which we can share experiences and knowledge on adaptation in the mountains and collaborate to accelerate the uptake of innovative solutions. To get involved keep an eye out for our upcoming meetings and events: The Adaptation at Altitude Knowledge Network – weADAPT