The following offers information about past and upcoming knowledge events hosted by the Fund or in collaboration with other institutions.
Upcoming knowledge events
Advancing climate resilient development in Latin America and the Caribbean: lessons learned from the Adaptation Fund portfolio and new financing windows
COP29 | The Spanish Pavilion, Baku, Azerbaijan | November 13, 2024, 13:00-14:00
At this event, the Adaptation Fund (the Fund) will present lessons learned from its portfolio of projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as will showcase its new funding windows and operational modalities under the second Medium Term Strategy MTS2 (2023-2027).
The objective of the event is to raise awareness about innovative and transformative adaptation solutions in the region that can be replicated and strengthen recipient national implementing entities’ capacity on the availability of resources. The event is intended for national and regional implementing entities, designated authorities of the Fund as well as executing entities and coordination centers.
Climate finance for adaptation in fragile and conflict-ridden settings: lessons learned from the Adaptation Fund and the Global Environment Facility
COP29 | The Climate Funds Pavilion, Baku, Azerbaijan | November 15, 2024, 11:00am-12:30pm
At this event, the Adaptation Fund (the Fund) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) will present lessons learned from its portfolio of projects and programs in fragile and conflict-ridden settings, including challenges and opportunities.
The objective of the event is to raise awareness about lessons learned and challenges from the implementation of adaptation interventions in fragile and conflict-ridden settings. The event is intended for national and regional implementing entities, designated authorities as well as executing entities and other interested stakeholders.
Relevant links:
- AF-GEF Event Agenda
- Report: Addressing climate change adaptation in fragile settings and conflict-affected countries: Lessons learned from the Adaptation Fund’s portfolio
- Global Environment Facility
- COP29 website and programme
Past knowledge events
2024
Country Exchange | Knowledge Fair, Tanzania, 13-17 May 2024
Building resilience through Locally-led Adaptation
The Knowledge Fair builds on Country Exchange goals and approach for adult-learning and knowledge sharing from participating projects/NIEs so that the learning becomes a two-way process. The objective of the knowledge fair was to facilitate and exchange of lessons learned, challenges and experiences among the participant NIEs from the implementation of their projects with elements of locally-led adaptation.
NIE Presentations:
Indonesia | Kenya | Peru | Senegal | South Africa | Zimbabwe | Tanzania | Bangladesh | Bhutan | Cook Island | Costa Rica | Cote D’Ivoire | Dominican Republic | India | Micronesia |Panamá | Rwanda | Uganda
Relevant links:
- Tanzania Country Exchange photo album
- Country exchange visits page
- Tanzania NIE Exchange: Lessons Learned and Applied
Innovative Pathways: Local Solutions for Community Resilience
Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change (CBA18) | 6-9 May 2024 in Arusha, Tanzania
This session explored drivers, challenges, and opportunities for locally-led
innovation for climate adaptation. Drawing insights from key actors and various
initiatives participants will engage in discussions focused on fostering collaborative
innovation in climate resilience. Through insightful presentations, case studies, and
table discussions, attendees will gain valuable insights into empowering local
communities and leveraging their knowledge and resources to address the impacts
of climate change effectively.
Hosts: UNDP, Savannas Forever Tanzania Forever, Centre for Community Initiatives, UNEP,
Adaptation Fund, EIT Climate-KIC, Tanza Ventures, Kilimanjaro Project, Climate Hub
Tanzania, Sahara Ventures, ELICO Foundation, NovFeed
Website: CBA18 – local solutions inspiring global action
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
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:
- Event description & Agenda
- AF M&E and LLA presentation
- Enhanced Direct Access
- Enhanced Direct Access e -course English | Spanish | French
- [Study] Local Leadership in Adaptation Finance
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:
- Event summary doodle
- Event agenda
- [Press release] Adaptation Fund Study Shows How Disaster Risk Reduction and Early Warning Systems Strengthen Long-Term Resilience to Climate Change
- [Study] Strengthening Resilience through Disaster Disk Reduction and Early Warning Systems Interventions: Experiences and Lessons Learned from the Adaptation Fund Portfolio
- [Project story] As climate disasters grow, early warning systems become essential
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
NIE presentations
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Chile
- Cote D’Ivoire
- Dominican Republic
- Honduras
- India
- Kenya
- Niger
- Peru
- Senegal
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
Presentations
- Community Adaptation For Forest-Food Based Management in Saddang Watershed Ecosystem in South Sulawesi -Indonesia
- Enhancing Resilience of Communities to Climate Change through Catchment-based Integrated Management of Water and related Resources” -EURECCCA Project
- An integrated approach to physical adaptation and community resilience in Antigua and Barbuda’s northwest McKinnon’s watershed -Antigua and Barbuda
- Reducing Vulnerability in Critical Areas of Costa Rica – Adapt2+
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:
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:
Presentations
- Session by AF on Local Leadership in Adaptation Finance
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).
Report for 2020 country exchange in Senegal