Knowledge Events

The following offers information about past and upcoming knowledge events hosted by the Fund or in collaboration with other institutions.

Upcoming knowledge events

Insights from the Adaptation Fund’s portfolio in financing locally-led innovation for adaptation        

Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change (CBA18) | 6-9 May  2024 in Arusha, Tanzania  

This event will showcase AF case studies of locally-led innovation and have a discussion on the enabling environment for scaling up innovative solutions. The focus will be on the diversity of actors (youth, women led enterprises, indigenous groups) that can play a role in designing and implementing innovative adaptation projects.

More information will be provided soon..

 

Country Exchange | Knowledge Fair, Tanzania, 13-17 May 2024

Building resilience through Locally-led Adaptation

The objective of this country exchange visit is to facilitate direct experience and cross learning on the full project life cycle for National Environment Management Council (NEMC) of Tanzania’s LLA project(s), from project preparation, design through to implementation, completion, and evaluation. The country exchange will also serve as a platform to build relationships and networks and leverage the unique skills and perspectives of NIEs to advance climate change resilience through AF funded LLA projects and programmes.

More information will be provided soon..

Past knowledge events

2024

Monitoring of Locally-led Adaptation Interventions: Challenges and Opportunities

Thursday, March 7th 10 AM ETS | 9 PM (GMT+6; Bangladesh Time)

GOBESHONA Global Conference 2024 – Webinar

The Adaptation Fund (AF) was the first climate fund to fully operationalize direct access to climate finance through which National Implementing Entities (NIEs) are able to directly access financing and manage all aspects of climate adaptation and resilience projects, from design through implementation to monitoring and evaluation. The Enhanced Direct Access (EDA) modality offers opportunities that help build the capacity of local organizations to program adaptation finance and design and implement their own projects through locally led action.

Adaptation Fund NIE Seminar and Project Visit in the Dominican Republic, October 2023

Adaptation Fund NIE Seminar and Project Visit in the Dominican Republic, October 2023

A fundamental aspect of a successful LLA initiative is to have robust monitoring and institutional systems, which can support the efficient tracking of impacts at the local level and create the enabling conditions for the model to be sustained and potentially replicated. This session focused on the implementation and monitoring of locally led adaptation projects and will present concrete examples from the AF NIEs implementing such initiatives. Furthermore, the AF Secretariat discussed funding mechanisms available for locally led adaptation initiatives, including how to access such funding windows, etc.

The session also discussed effective strategies for local community engagement, methodologies for assessing project impacts and outcomes, mechanisms for adaptive management, avenues for capturing local knowledge and fostering innovation, as well as strategies for nurturing sustainable learning and facilitating knowledge exchange within communities.

Relevant links: 

2023

Adaptation Fund: Making lasting impacts in vulnerable countries while reducing disaster risks

Saturday, 02 Dec 2023 | 18:30-20:00 | Dubai, UAE

COP28 – United National Climate Change Conference

Extreme climate events, such as floods, droughts, extreme heat, cyclones and severe storms are increasing in frequency and intensity. Building long-term resilience through disaster risk reduction and early warning systems is a key area of the Fund’s work with its large portfolio of adaptation projects and its long experience as a pioneer and innovator in adaptation finance.

The Fund’s disaster risk reduction and early warning systems portfolio works to support vulnerable countries to strengthen long-term resilience. The event presented key lessons learned from the AF study “Strengthening Resilience through Disaster Disk Reduction and Early Warning Systems Interventions: Experiences and Lessons Learned from the Adaptation Fund Portfolio ”.

AF-funded project in Pekalongan, Indonesia. The project is developing interventions to adapt to sea rise, including mangrove restoration, wave deflection barriers and sustainable livelihoods.

The event also included presentations of concrete project examples from the implementing entities representatives and partners about disaster risk reduction interventions and challenges faced while implementing projects that aim to enhance climate resilience and deliver tangible results for vulnerable communities.

Relevant documents and links: 

 

Empowering the most vulnerable, women, youth, elderly, indigenous populations, and incorporating local and traditional knowledge

Friday, October 6, 2023 | Montreal, Canada | 8:30-10:00AM EDT (UTC-4)

Adaptation Futures 2023, October 2-6, 2023

The Adaptation Futures Conference series is the premier international conference devoted entirely to climate change adaptation, bringing together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, industry representatives and communicators to present their work in adaptation, learn what others are doing, and build networks.

In this side event, the Adaptation Fund (AF), National Implementing Entities (NIE), NGO representatives and AFCIA grantees discussed lessons learned from projects and programs that benefit and empower the most vulnerable communities such as women, youth, the elderly, and indigenous populations, and incorporate local and traditional knowledge.

 (click to see full doodle)

Relevant documents and links: 

Presentations:

 

Knowledge Fair, June 9, 2023, Indonesia

The Knowledge Fair builds on Country Exchange goals and approach to enhance capacities for project design through adult-learning and knowledge sharing for participating projects/National Implementing Entities (NIEs). The objective of this Knowledge Fair was to exchange lessons learned, challenges and experiences among the participating NIEs from the implementation of their projects with elements of ecosystem-based adaptation.

Relevant documents and links:

Lessons Learned – NIE Exchange Brochure

2023 Knowledge Fair Agenda

Country Exchange video

NIE presentations

 

Seventh meeting of the Global Network of Basins Working on Climate Change Adaptation
25-26th May 202 | Geneva and virtual

The Global network of basins working on climate change adaptation was created by the secretariat of the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), serviced by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), in cooperation with the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO) in 2013. It aims to promote cooperation on adaptation in transboundary basins, to compare different methodologies and approaches for adapting to climate change and to promote a shared vision between the participating basins.

This meeting brought together representatives from governments and regional basin authorities to discuss and exchange experiences and updates from activities being implemented in different transboundary basins.

Main discussion points included:

  • Opportunities for mainstreaming transboundary aspects into global climate processes/bodies under the UNFCCC, Global Biodiversity Framework, etc.
  • Drought and Flood management: examples from basin organizations
  • Adaptation of wetlands to climate change in transboundary basins
  • Financing climate change adaptation in transboundary basins

Relevant documents and links:

Meeting Agenda

Adaptation Fund presentation

Event page

 

Challenges and Opportunities in the Monitoring of Locally-led Adaptation Initiatives

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 | 12 pm – 1:30 pm EST | Virtual

A fundamental aspect for a successful locally-led adaptation initiative is to have  robust monitoring and institutional systems, which can support the efficient tracking of impacts at local level and create the enabling conditions for the model to be sustained and potentially be replicated.

This event brought together national implementing partners from South Africa and Costa Rica, and a CSO partner from Georgia to share experiences from the Fund’s groundbreaking Enhanced
Direct Access programme and Locally Led Adaptation projects on the ground.

Relevant documents and links:

Event flyer

Event agenda

Recording link

Passcode: W8J2&A9V

 

2022

Adaptation Fund COP 27 Side Event: “Adaptation Fund Engages Next Generation”

Date:  November 11, 2022, 15:00 – 16:30, Room 5 Memphis, live webcast

Since its inception, the Adaptation Fund (AF) has supported projects that have largely benefited youth. This support occurs both directly and indirectly as youth make up a significant proportion of the population in project locations. Projects have invested especially in building capacity of youth through training and worked with them to raise awareness in their communities. The AF supports locally led adaptation actions to increase the resilience of the most vulnerable social groups. As such, it has a unique position to capitalize on its knowledge bank about youth’s role in adaptation across regions of the developing world.

This side event discussed youth’s participation in climate adaptation projects supported by the AF, their roles as actors and beneficiaries of these interventions and the barriers they faced.

Find below the event agenda, recording and presentation:

Agenda

Recording

Presentation: 

Scaling up adaptation finance  – experiences and lessons learned from the Adaptation Fund

 

Global Workshop on Water, Agriculture and Climate Change

Date: 17-18 October 2022, hybrid – Palais des Nations, Geneva

This workshop brought together more than 200 experts from the water, climate change, agriculture, environment communities as well as from transboundary basin organisations to strengthen cooperation and jointly discuss best practices and lessons learned in addressing water scarcity and water quality through improving climate adaptation and equitable and sustainable water allocation on the national and transboundary levels. Participants included representatives of governments, non-Governmental and intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, academia, the private sector and other experts.

Find below the event agenda, presentation and workshop page for more information:

Agenda

Presentation

Workshop page

2021

AF side event at COP 26: “Adaptation Fund: Adapting to Climate Change through Locally-led Action” (November 6, 2021 18:30-19:45 -GMT)  Loch Lomond Auditorium and virtually

The Adaptation Fund, implementing partners and CSOs met to showcase concrete examples of locally led adaptation actions from field. Expanded and innovative finance modalities such as Enhanced Direct Access, project scale-up and innovation grants were discussed, as well as building broader resilience amid the pandemic.

Below you will find the agenda of the event and presentation:

Agenda

Presentations

Knowledge fair organized as part of the Adaptation Fund 2021 virtual country exchange hosted by NABARD, India (August 24, 2021)

India hosted the third country exchange visit. In the context of the continuing health crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the exchange visit was held virtually in the premises of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in the form of a webinar. The objective of this virtual exchange visit was to enhance the accredited NIE’s capacity for project design, development and implementation by facilitating interaction and engagement with project stakeholders and facilitation of benchmarking for these NIEs towards an Adaptation Fund project within the food security sector.

The third and final session of the country exchange webinars was held on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, in the form of a knowledge exchange between participating NIEs and the NIE hosting the event. The webinar involved exchanges of lessons learned, challenges faced and experiences between NIEs in terms of the design and implementation of projects financed by the Adaptation Fund.

Please find more information on the Virtual Exchange by NABARD below:

NIE Country Exchange 2021 Brochure (1)

NIE Country Exchange 2021 Brochure (2)

Knowledge event organized in collaboration with AECID (March 2, 2021)

The Adaptation Fund in collaboration with the Spanish Office for Climate Change acting as the secretariat of the Ibero-American Network of Climate Change Offices (RIOCC) and the Spanish Agency for International Development and Cooperation (AECID) organized a virtual event on March 2 aimed at raising awareness in the LAC region about knowledge tools made available in Spanish by the Adaptation Fund to access adaptation financing through the Direct Access modality. As part of the event, several of the Adaptation Fund NIEs shared experiences and best practices on this process.

 

Below you will find the agenda of the event and presentation:

Agenda

Presentations

Gobeshona Global conference (January 18-24 2021)

The Gobeshona Global annual conference started in January 2021 and lasted seven-day long annual. The focus was on Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) across different geographical regions and was hosted by the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) virtually. The conference was an opportunity to bring together a distinguished and multidisciplinary group of scholars, policy-makers, researchers and practitioners from around the world to share their knowledge, research, and practical experiences on climate change issues.

 

Please find more information on the Gobeshona Global Conference below:

Agenda of the session “Local Leadership in Adaptation Finance: Learning from Locally-led Action in Adaptation Fund Projects and Programmes”

Presentations

2020

Knowledge fair as part of the Adaptation Fund 2020 virtual country exchange hosted by Senegal (December 2020)

Senegal hosted the second country exchange visit. In the context of the health crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the exchange visit was held virtually in the premises of the Ecological Monitoring Center (CSE) in the form of a webinar. The objective of this virtual exchange visit was to share Senegal’s experience in the fight against coastal erosion and disaster risk reduction based on CSE’s Adaptation Fund funded project: Adaptation to coastal erosion in vulnerable areas and a second World Bank project titled: Coastal risk monitoring and soft solutions in Benin, Senegal and Togo which was financed with a contribution from France through the French Environment Fund.

The third and final session of webinars of the country exchange was held on Thursday, December 10, 2020 which was in the form of a knowledge exchange between participating NIEs and the NIE hosting the event. The webinar involved exchanges of experiences between NIEs in terms of the design and implementation of projects financed by the Adaptation Fund and the presentation of the documentary film produced by the Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE).

 

3rd Webinar Report

Report for 2020 country exchange in Senegal

Lessons learned from the Senegal country exchange

Leçons tirées de l’échange avec le pays du Sénégal