Albania’s primarily rural population is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, where extreme rain events frequently result in destructive flooding, while agricultural livelihoods and drinking water supplies are threatened during dry periods. As temperatures rise, climate scenarios predict increased severity and frequency of these extreme wet and dry conditions, along with decreasing total annual rainfall. These changes place Albania’s population at risk and pose a threat to the burgeoning hydropower and tourism industries.
To address these vulnerabilities, 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 analytical exercises highlighted the existing weaknesses and demonstrated the prevailing barriers to climate change adaptation (CCA) planning in Albania. The results confirmed that in order 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 therefore 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 catalyze 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.
Specifically, this funding request will support Albania to develop a national plan for CCA through:
o 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,
o The development of a NAP Strategy action plan document and its implementation plan – Outcome 2, and
o 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. To address these issues, the Government of Albania took strides to start to coordinate climate adaptation efforts at the national level.
Currently, the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Climate Change (IMWGCC) is adopted by the Council of Ministers decision no. 155 dated 25th of April 2014, but it will need to be restructured to fit within the structure of the new government under territorial reform. This body led the finalization of the Third National Communication to the UNFCCC. This body is chaired by the Deputy Minister of Environment and includes representations from 12 ministries. This body has the mandate to draft policies related to climate change, promote institutional coordination across ministries, and contribute to UNFCCC processes on behalf of Albania. The role of the IMWGCC was further reinforced through the official launch of the NAP process by the Deputy Minister of Environment on 19 February 2015, and the IMWGCC will lead this effort. Also under this project, training to enhance the technical capacity and knowledge base for climate risk management and long-term adaptation planning within the IGEWE in Albania will be completed.
UNDP is seeking for a Climate Change Policy Expert to provide technical assistance and guidance under the project National Adaptation Planning for the Republic of Albania to strengthen technical capacities, institutional and legal framework for Climate Change Adaptation (CCA).
