NEWS

The 8th Annual Community-Based Adaptation Conference (CBA8) brought together over 400 stakeholders and practitioners in community-based adaptation (CBA) for field trips, plenaries and meetings, focusing on financing CBA, sharing best practices and integrating lessons learned into development planning. The conference concluded with the adoption of a declaration that calls for a focused and human rights-based approach to financing local adaptation to climate change.

CBA8, which was organized by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), took place from 24-30 April 2014, in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Conference opened with a three-day series of field trips to irrigation and community forest projects to learn about issues related to their financing. The first day of meetings addressed securing finance, challenges faced by funding agencies, and capacity building, as related to local adaptation and its finance. The second day focused on private sector finance, while the third explored civil society participation and possible synergies between CBA and disaster risk reduction (DRR) financing.

CBA8 wrapped up on the fourth day with the launch of the 'Kathmandu Declaration on Financing Local Adaptation,' which calls on developed countries to provide adequate finance in accordance with their international obligations. The Declaration emphasizes the importance of, inter alia: targeting the most vulnerable communities; providing open access to information; creating a multi-stakeholder and inclusive process; and investing in local government capacity building. The Declaration states that "[a]t least 50 per cent of all financing for adaptation should be allocated to local level actions and local communities."

On the final day of the conference, Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, addressed various points raised in the Kathmandu Declaration. Recalling her own childhood in Costa Rica, Figueres described the many ways communities have been affected by climate change and the different modes of adaptation she has witnessed. She underlined that from moving to higher ground in Fiji to organic composting in Nepal, local communities and grassroots leaders are at the frontlines of adaptation to climate change.

Figueres connected activities at the international level and under the auspices of Parties to the UNFCCC to the needs and actions of local communites. She pointed to finance that is being mobilized for multilateral efforts like the Adaptation Fund to support the work local communities are undertaking. However, she warned that much remains to be done, including a meaningful 2015 climate change agreement and scaling finance to the necessary levels.

Figueres concluded by stressing the global role of CBA, underlining that community-based "efforts and accomplishments resonate far beyond […] settlements, farms, villages and towns." [CBA8 Website] [Kathmandu Declaration on Financing Local Adaptation to Climate Change] [Remarks by Christiana Figueres] [UN Press Release]

read more: http://climate-l.iisd.org/news/cba8-adopts-kathmandu-declaration-on-financing-local-adaptation/