1. Climate Change Governance in Africa By: Masego Madzwamuse Environment & Development Consultant

2. Policy makers have recognized the need to integrate CC adaptation into all spheres of public policy. International responses include; additional focus on adaptation in climate change negotiation Additional focus from development cooperation through key reports focusing on Poverty & CC; and the Declaration on Integrating CC into Development Cooperation an increase in availability of finance for climate change adaptation. BUT instruments for climate change adaptation governance are under -developed - Key questions include; State of adaptation preparedness Institutional arrangements The scale of funding required for adaptation responses Mechanisms to ensure that adaptation efforts target and benefit the most vulnerable sectors of society. Background & Context

3. Appropriate strategies are required to respond to the CC challenge facing Africa – these include assessments of adaptive capacity in Africa; Thus HBF commissioned 7 country studies to assess adaptation preparedness in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria and Ghana. For each country, the studies assessed the following; Impacts of and vulnerabilities to climate change Climate change adaptation policies, plans and strategies in the country Main institutional actors involved in climate change policy and responses including their capacity to effectively play their role Levels of public awareness on climate change; and The role played by state and non state actors in international climate change negotiations The Governance Study

5. But it is also a local phenomena requiring the engagement of stakeholders at national and local levels

6. Key governance questions become;Who has influence? Who makes decisions? How decisions are made and how citizens and other stakeholders have their say? How power and responsibilities are exercised? CC Adaptation is a governance issue

7. Climate Change & Governance Principles

8. Climate Change & Governance Principles

9. Adaptation agenda falls short of key governance principles – participation, transparency & accountability Adaptation responses at national level are not devoid of political considerations – spheres of power determine policy outcomes Gvt institutions dominate the adaption agenda – space for civic engagement is limited Gvt Institutions charged with the responsibility for crafting adaptation responses lack the capacity & political will to engage with stakeholders beyond state agencies and the Pvt Sector Results in; representation of stakeholder interests & needs Lack of checks and balances to facilitate accountability and transparency Emerging Issues

11. Existing NCCRs/NAPAs tend to;

12. respond narrowly to biophysical vulnerabilities

13. follow a sectoral and project approach to adaptation and fail to facilitate integrated approaches to adaptation and adequately address socio-economic vulnerabilities

14. Projects/interventions proposed in NAPAs are not included in the sector plan and budgets of the responsible institutions i.e. In the case of Tanzania.Strategic visioning for climate change is undermined

15. Macro-economic development frameworks undermine adaptive capacity; The drive towards attracting FDI industrial competitiveness, fiscal policy, and moderation of wage increases so as to attract foreign investment and facilitate economic growth have marginalised the poor CC responses in agric ignore the needs of subsistence farmers i.e. agric sector due to bias towards macro-economic issues the adaptation needs of subsistence farmers are marginalised - Promote commercial farming & technological transfers Land and agrarian reform policies which have simply replaced one set of commercial farmers with a new breed of commercial farmers – as result of incentives put in place (South Africa) Capital interests have led to displacements of local land owners and resource users to make way for; major tourism interests, commercial forestry & agriculture for export A significant number of rural dwellers landless, without access to biodiversity and natural resources and vulnerable

19. Institutions can limit access to much needed natural resources and therefore hamper adaptation responses for communities who may be faced with crises and needing to adaptThe crosscutting impacts of climate change and the imperative need for an integrated response requires a formidable set of institutions and actors to be engaged in adaptation

20. A number of coordination agencies have been established – Nation CC Committees & Specialized Units (Nigeria Special CC Unit & Ghana CC Coordination Unit) Despite these there is a prob of confused mandates, dysfunctional arrangements for inter-agency working & weak incentives for pro-active action Some of the coordination units lack the political clout and authority to facilitate the required government wide response Institutions tasked with coordination tend to be over stretched and the domestic agenda suffers Spend the bulk of their time responding to international demands UNFCCC/COP – problem of monopolizing information Meeting donor procurement requirements Low income countries such as Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have challenges with attracting and retaining skilled staff Challenges facing government institutions

21. Wide set of actors & dispersed mandates Main challenges facing government institutions Uganda actors landscape on climate change and environment (GTZ 2010

22. Decentralization & the role of local gvt needs to be strengthened. Some challenges include; Weaknesses in linkages between regional, district and lower levels of governance Overburden of environmental policy and legislative frameworks which add layers and complexity to env governance and makes things cumbersome (provides an excuse for no action) Lack of cooperation and power struggles between democratically elected structures and traditional structures Financial and human capacity constraints Main challenges facing government institutions

23. Inadequate finance for adaptation led to a jostling for coordination mandates and undermines cooperation/integrated planning Inadequate allocation of internal resources for adaptation – has implications for resource mobilisation and ODA as it reflects on the national priorities Lack of transparency and accountability Pertains mainly to corruption and financial accountability – acute within local level governance structures where systems and controls tend to be underdeveloped Problem not only confined to governments but extends to CSOs – undermines credibility Main challenges facing government institutions

24. Inadequate investment in strategic areas for climate change adaptation Most actors are involved in climate change awareness raising, capacity building and research Fewer investments in legislative aspects, coordination, advocacy and financial cooperation Climate change adaptation policies are underdeveloped and local interventions far between Main challenges facing government institutions climate change in Uganda by number of actors involved

25. Climate change has boomed as an issue of focus – in response to needs, interests and expectations of funding opportunities Very little involvement of community based organizations Space for civic engagement is limited due to financial, human resources and political constraints Faced with limited donor funding especially in middle income countries Non state Actors and Adaptive Capacity

26. Lack of coordination and limited local level adaptation activities International NGOs are considered to be implementing externally driven and disparate interests and activities leading to intangible outcomes and a general lack of oversight Very few concrete adaptation activities at local level Where coordination mechanisms exist i.e. SACCAN, NigeriaCAN, Climate Justice Now very little exchanges of experiences and sharing lessons takes place Non state Actors and Adaptive Capacity

27. Untapped potential of for private sector involvement Very few private sector entities are engaged in adaptation –even though fisheries, tourism and agriculture industries have insights into climate variability related shocks in business Business responses to adaptation are lacking Non state Actors and Adaptive Capacity

28. Research does not adequately respond to national knowledge gaps on climate change adaptation Lack financial resources and technologies to undertake policy oriented research on climate change A lack of coordination or umbrella entity guiding and prioritising research work Disjuncture between research areas and priorities in terms of knowledge gaps in adaptation policy and other responses Research capacities are being drawn down to collaborate on disparate, foreign led research which answers to external research agenda’s Inadequate dissemination of research findings Non state Actors and Adaptive Capacity

29. Donors are establishing coordination groups within the countries they operate in i.e. energy, environment, agriculture e.t.c. Few have established coordination mechanisms on climate change Main challenges include; coordination and communication is restricted to the env working groups Despite commitments to coordinated development assistance – project approach is still dominant Some donors are merely rebranding existing initiatives as climate change There is different expectations within donors and NGOs on how funding modalities for climate change will operate Development Partners

30. With these challenges a multi-tiered approach is required to build adaptive capacities in Africa On Policies: Mainstreaming climate change into economic frameworks & sectoral policies is of paramount importance The assessment of social and economic vulnerabilities need to be strengthened so as to inform processes of identifying adaptation priorities There is a need for national adaptation policies that provide clear guidelines for integration Macro-economic policies must be reviewed to ensure that they build resilience of the poor to adapt to CC impacts Key Recommendations

31. On institutional frameworks Coordination capacity needs to be strengthened and placed with a Ministry that has the political clout and convening power to facilitate integration across ministries – responding to the national agenda must be a core function Adaptation should be integrated into the planning frameworks of decentralized governance structures and adaptive capacity built at that level Need for increased adaptation funding at local and national level however priority must be given to the adaptation needs of the most vulnerable (women, small scale farmers, subsistence farmers etc) Recommendations

32. Capacities sitting within donor partners and non state actors need to be harnessed to support national adaptation needs; Respond to national priorities The role played by CSO especially needs to be acknowledged and partnerships facilitated with government Overall adaptation governance in Africa calls for a relook at the quality of growth and development, an emphasis on equity and efforts to improve levels of public engagement in the formulation of national responses Recommendations

33. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION