Africa Pavilion

The 22^nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22/CMP12) is being held in Marrakech from 7-18 November 2016. COP22 is expected to take critical decisions on the implementation of the Paris Agreement that was reached in December 2015 in Paris. COP 22 is being held in Africa only 6 years after South Africa held a very successful COP17 in Durban, in December 2011. 

The NEPAD Agency is undertaking a number of engagements towards supporting the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

The AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in its 16^th Ordinary Session took a decision mandating the creation of a physical space at COP17 in Durban to allow for formal and informal meetings of different African participants in the COP. The Africa Pavilion at COP21 was a huge success and received rave reviews from a broad range of stakeholders including the African Union Assembly. The Africa Pavilion is a joint initiative of the NEPAD Agency, African Development Bank, African Union Commission and the UN Economic Commission for Africa. 

Africa Pavilion side-events

Launch of the Africa Environment Partnership Platform

In conjunction with the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment and the Government of Egypt, the NEPAD Agency will jointly launch the Africa Environment Partnership Platform.

The 14^th Session of AMCEN called for the creation of an African Environment Partnership Platform (AEPP) to “coordinate, mobilise resources, foster knowledge and align support for the implementation of the Environment Action Plan” The goal of the platform is to promote sustainable environment management through enhanced partnership, coordination and harmonisation of activities on environment and pooling of resources at various levels. The side event is expected to create awareness and advocate for the AEPP which will hold its first meeting in 2017.  

NEPAD Climate Change Fund (video documentary)

Following the successes recorded with the implementation of the NEPAD Climate Change Fund the NEPAD Agency will hold a side event to showcase these successes. The NEPAD Climate Change supported the implementation of 22 projects in 18 African countries.  A panel discussion on the climate financing will also deliberate on access to climate finance especially for African countries.

Agriculture in the INDCs of African countries

The side-event will bring together a wide range of stakeholders from countries and regional institutions in SSA to discuss the important role of agriculture in the INDCs.  The potential role for CSA will be highlighted and shared while challenges and best practices in the planning, design and implementation of CSA policies and action plans will be presented by a distinguished panel.

The core purpose of the side event is to expose practical opportunities in the NEPAD Agriculture Climate Change Programmes and the Climate Change Fund and provide a coherent implementation support to national and regional level efforts to scale-up CSA and Climate change mitigation-adaptation measures. The Side Event discussions will also expose and broker potential partnerships on CSA, Climate change and land restoration initiatives in Africa. The event is organised in association with the FAO.

Gender, Climate Change and Agriculture Support Project

Recognising the impact of climate change on African agriculture, especially on women smallholder farmers and pastoralists, the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency) is implementing the Gender, Climate Change and Agriculture Support Programme (GCCASP) with support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). The GCCASP aims to enable implementation of regional and country-level interventions to empower rural women and other vulnerable sections of communities to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change. The programme operates within the context of NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), Environmental Action Plan and Rural Futures Programme, but with clear policy implications for other sectors and for the design and funding of climate programmes. The side event will detail the programme design process and examples of best practices and lessons learned, the key intervention areas identified, and the resource mobilisation process currently under way.

Towards building a Convening Platform for various Landscapes Initiatives in Africa

The Paris Agreement, among other international instruments, recognises that the restoration of degraded lands and the fight against desertification are key to adapt to and mitigate climate change impacts. This first aim of this event is to show that there is, in on hand, a growing number of water and land-related initiatives at regional and continental levels but also, on the other one, discuss how these initiatives are linked and what synergies can be built for a better governance and coordination.

While the second goal of this gathering is to emphasise the importance and complementarity of these initiatives that contribute to the progressive adoption of integrated landscapes management (ILM) into countries’ planning processes and development strategies. These key initiatives (non-exhaustive list) include: the African Resilient Landscapes Initiative (ARLI), the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), the African Landscapes Action Plan (ALAP), the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI), etc.

Managing land and water and addressing climate-fragility risks for resilient development and food security in the Regional Economic Communities

This event intends to discuss relevant programmes and policies of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on sustainable land and water management (SLWM) to share lessons learned and develop a deeper understanding on addressing climate-fragility risks through the following guiding questions:

• What are the most pressing regional climate-fragility risks to development? How are they addressed and where are gaps?
• How to integrate climate risks into regional land and water management programmes? What initiatives offer the most promising and most relevant entry points?
• To this end, what can be the role of early warning systems of the RECs in building national early warning capacities on potential climate change-related impacts (including possible conflict prevention and mechanisms)?
• What are SLWM approaches and opportunities for RECs to link climate resilience relevant plans and activities across national, regional, and continental levels?

Schedule of events