The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) together with the European Capacity Building Initiative (ecbi) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) organised a four day workshop from 04th to 07th June in Sri Lanka. Janathakshan (Gte) Ltd was selected to be one the co-organisers in Sri Lanka and Janathakshan handled the logistics and ensured the smooth running of the 4 day workshop which also included a field day. The first two days of the workshop was led by SIDA and IIED and it was on “Climate Change Experience Sharing and Lessons Learning Forum”. The workshop was held at Galle Face Hotel on the 4th & 5th of June, 2018. The final two days, 6th and 7th of the workshop was organised by ecbi and IIED and it was on “ecbi Training and Support Programme Regional Training Workshop for Asia and Pacific.” More than 25 participants representing several countries from the Asia Pacific region took part in both the workshops.
The First Day
This was initiated with a field visit to Diyatha Park and Diyasaru Wetland Park in Battaramulla, Sri Lanka. The primary objective of the visit was to share the lessons and experience of the urban flood mitigation and urban space development initiatives carried out by Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC). Diyatha Park and Diyasaru Wetland park are projects that have displayed success regarding urban flood mitigation. Conserving and managing wetland parks in the city of Colombo has other major benefits for social, economic and environmental stability within an urban setting. For instance, from an environmental perspective wetlands provide ecosystem services such as enhancing biodiversity, increase habitats for semi-aquatic species, importantly flood mitigation and also acts as a natural carbon sink. From a social perspective, it is a great stress relief for the busy urban life of a city worker. From an economic aspect, wetland parks can be used to create revenue via tourism. This can be achieved by advertising Colombo as a green sustainable city and bring in great economical profits.
Introduction to the field visit also included two presentations from the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Cooperation (SLLRDC); One presentation was on “Wetlands for Flood Resilient” and the other was on the “Weras Ganga Storm Water Drainage and Environment improvement Project”. These presentations provided insight into the recent development successes in Sri Lanka with regards to flood mitigation.
The field visit ended with fruitful lessons and experience on urban flood mitigation strategies and plans to prepare for climate change.The first day ended with a visioning session held in the afternoon to identify the priorities and incentives for each country to shift towards low carbon resilient development, setting the background for the day two of the workshop.
Second Day
Climate Change Experiencing Sharing and Lesson Learning workshop was to share experiences between nations and compare and analyse the differences. The workshop initiated with presentations from both Mr. Manjeet Dhakal from Nepal and Mr. Thinley Namgyel from Bhutan. They discussed the planning process and implementation of the Paris agreement objectives. After that, Pascale from the Legal Response Initiative gave a brief presentation on plenary report and intervention which addressed legal tools available while implementing climate plans. A video presentation was sent by Marshal Islands which discussed the development of long term climate strategies while also sharing experiences from their country.
These presentations and discussions provided plenty of insight into climate change related policy and projects that have been undertaken in the Asia Pacific region. These provided base for the final group discussions which were categorised into 3 parts namely, increasing national transparency, strengthening institutions and capacities for better NDC implementation and financing NDC implementation.
The Third Day
The ecbi (European Capacity Building Initiative) 2 day training workshop for junior negotiators from vulnerable developing countries was a regional training workshop for Asia and Pacific. The introduction for the workshop focused on the UN guidelines. Achala Abeysinghe, head of the ecbi Training and Support Programme, outlined the purpose and objectives of the training workshop. She stated that the goal way to iron out the inequalities between states and address the challenges that prevent developing states from proactively taking part in the process. After the morning refreshments, first session addressed the tips and tricks of becoming a better UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) delegate. During this first session, Manjeet Dhakal, advisor to the LDC chair, provided a brief note on UNFCCC proceedings, Paris agreement and some practical information.
The second session was presented by Gebru Endalew, who is the current Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group for the UNFCCC. focused on the 2018 UNFCCC negotiations and describing the outline for the year ahead. This session addressed what is at stake, what needs to be achieved, and the important events that are relevant to the UN climate negotiations.
Session 3 covered the part 1 of mock negotiations convened; the topic for this year’s mock negotiations was on Gender and Climate Change. All participants were provided with a draft decision, other related documents and a Pocket Guide to Gender Equality as a advance reading on the topic. Each participant was ask to select a placard with any country and act as a delegate from the respective country, the resource people acted as advisors for all delegates. The Chair to the mock negotiations Gebru Endalew lead the session and it was a success with many participants speaking up on their designated countries and supporting one another while also opposing each other’s stance on the topic.
The 4th session discussed adaptation and the Paris agreement and it was addressed by Thinley, Chief Environment Officer, National Environment Commission, Bhutan. Participants shared their thoughts on adaptation communications or the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and their countries plan to implement them. The final session of the day was used to discuss the negotiations and feedback on the proceedings.
Final Day
The final day of the workshop initiated with a group position scenario where participants were asked to negotiate a G77 Group position based on a hypothetical suggestion from the Umbrella Group that the SBSTA undertake work on geoengineering techniques as a response to climate change under the guidance of the G77 Chair.
The second session of the day focused on the Talanoa Dialogue and its role within the Global Stock-take (GST). It was presented by Manjeet Dhakal explaining the role of Talanoa Dialog. Talanoa dialog is supposed to facilitate discussions amongst the parties to increase their ambition through their NDCs. GST will assist parties to bridge the mismatch between their own commitments and the commitments needed to realise the Paris Agreement.
The third session was presented by Anju Sharma, it was regarding means of implementation and the Paris Agreement addressing major provisions for finance, capacity building and technology development and transfer under the Paris Agreement. In summary, climate finance is elusive at present due to disagreements between developed and developing countries regarding the climate finance gap and the arbitrary figure of $100 billion contributions. She explained the role of Green climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund and methods of accessing these funds for developing nations.
Pascal Bird, legal officer and advice coordinator, Legal Response Initiative addressed the fourth session which was on enhanced transparency framework. She explained the importance and the need for transparency under the Paris agreement. Transparency framework covers both mitigation and adaptation and she highlighted that transparency reviews can still be done after the NDC submissions. Some of the key challenges for parties for the next steps is the need to discuss the interlinkages with mitigation, adaptation, finance, accounting and guidance for NDCs.
Mock negotiations for the second part focused on finalising a proposed text. Gebru Chaired the second sessions as well and the role of the secretariat was played by the ecbi team. The delegates negotiated topics including gender, technology transfer, finance and capacity building. Once again the mock negotiations were very successful at representing the real negotiations.
The final session was addressed by Binyam Gebreyes, researcher in the Climate Change Group at IIED. An effective compliance mechanism will help countries to implement the agreement and encourage them to carry out their obligations. Compliance mechanisms have features such as expert driven evaluations, facilitative mechanisms, transparency, non adversarial dispute resolution mechanism and more.
The ecbi workshop concluded with a feedback session, where participants and the organisers shared their thoughts and thanked each other for a successful workshop. Special emphasis was given to the mock negotiations and everyone appreciated the realistic simulation of the negotiations, where the chair for the mock negotiations was Gebru Endalew who is the current Chair of the LDC group at the UNFCCC.
Organisers are thankful for the attendance of all the participants and for representing 13 countries and hope that participants will continue and practice what they learnt during both the workshops.
Written By- Avishka Sendanayake
