The Government of Albania launched its national adaptation plan (NAP) process in February 2015, with the support of GIZ and UNDP, through consultations with national stakeholders and a stocktaking exercise. The NAP process is framed within the National Adaptation Framework Document and a multi-sectorial coordinating mechanism (the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Climate Change, or IMWGCC) headed by high-level authorities.
The analytical exercises carried out so far highlighted the existing weaknesses and demonstrated the prevailing barriers to climate change adaptation (CCA) planning in Albania. The results confirmed that to adequately address climate change vulnerabilities, Albania must overcome information gaps, vulnerability assessments and climate adaptation planning capacity weaknesses, and a lack of awareness of CCA – both at the national and subnational levels. In addition, climate change is not integrated into existing environmental and development policies, or their associated budget priorities, and financing appropriations for funding CCA are absent.
This project is designed to help the Government of Albania to build and strengthen capacities for mainstreaming CCA, produce actionable climate risks and vulnerability assessments, and implement effective methods, tools, and information systems to better inform decision-making on climate risks and catalyse and direct climate investments. It will also support the formulation of financing strategies and mechanisms for scaling up adaptation in the mid- to long-term.
The overall goal will be to reduce climate change related risks throughout Albania, through the strengthened institutional and technical capacities that will support integrated CCA planning in the long-term. All the envisaged activities will be carried out utilizing an integrated gender-sensitive approach. Activities will be achieved through 3 outcomes and related sub-outcomes, as follows:
- The strengthening of a national mandate, strategy and steering mechanism that focuses on assessing and addressing capacity gaps (particularly in the priority sectors of tourism, urban development, agriculture, transport, and energy) – Outcome 1.
- The development of a NAP Strategy action plan document and its implementation plan – Outcome 2.
- The development of financing, monitoring and evaluation strategies to ensure that capacities and funding options are institutionalized for the long-term sustainability of adaptation planning beyond the life of the project – Outcome 3.
Reducing Albania’s vulnerabilities to climate change requires greater investments in data management and capacity building, and greater integration of CCA and disaster risk reduction (DRR) into on-going development programs, and therefore this project will result in a variety of deliverables including an improved hydrometeorological database, a NAP Strategy document, and curricula and tools to improve capacity for climate adaptation planning, budgeting, and gender mainstreaming within the CCA.
To address these issues, the Government of Albania took strides to start to coordinate climate adaptation efforts at the national level by establishing in 2014 an Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Climate Change with the mandate to draft policies related to climate change, promote institutional coordination across ministries, and contribute to UNFCCC processes on behalf of Albania.
The IMWGCC, which is chaired by the Deputy Minister of Environment and includes representations from 12 ministries, needs to be restructured to fit within the structure of the new government under territorial reform.
UNDP is seeking for a Gender Expert to provide technical assistance and guidance to prioritize mainstreaming of gender considerations into future CCA efforts in Albania.