The Asia component of USAID’s Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative (CACCI-Asia) was launched at the recently concluded COP27 in Egypt. USAID, in collaboration with the Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, held a side event titled ‘NDC Implementation in Asia: South-South Learning and Launching of CACCI-Asia’ at the Pavilion of the Republic of Tajikistan at COP27 in Sharm-El-Sheikh on Nov 11, 2022. The event was used to launch CACCI-Asia as a program and highlight how to move forward with NDC implementation, including South-South learning in Asia. It presented USAID’s CACCI approach and the role of regional partnerships in climate change interventions and their implementation. It provided an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss and raise awareness at the regional and sub-regional levels on climate change issues, as well as initiate dialogue with potential partners to expand NDC implementation initiatives further in other Asian countries.
Hon. Bahodur Sheralizoda, Chairman of the Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan (CEP), along with Mr. Pablo Vieira, Global Director of the NDC Partnership, Ms. Sashi Jayatileke, Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, USAID, and Ms. Yasmine Siddiqui, Director, Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture, Asian Development Bank provided opening remarks. Ms. Sashi Jayatileke emphasized the need for urgent action against climate change in the most vulnerable countries in Asia. She highlighted that the USAID’s CACCI approach could help in increasing capacity for country-level policy analysis, result in more effective regional coordination and engagement, lead to broader ownership of agricultural policies and investment plans that accelerate climate adaptation and mitigation in the food system, and create a stronger evidence base through a monitoring system.
Suresh Babu, Head of Capacity Strengthening at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), gave an overview presentation on “South and Southeast Asia Perspective: Launching of CACCI-Asia.” He highlighted the activities involved in the CACCI approach for NDC implementation in Tajikistan and discussed the potential for the expansion of CACCI to other countries in Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. He emphasized that an approach. The key initial set of activities underway includes mapping of the policy system, partners, institutions, resources, and stakeholders involved in NDC implementation and coordination of the development partners through supporting the NDC Secretariats (NDCS) for NDC implementation.
Four panelists provided their updates on NDC implementations during the panel discussion that followed. Mao Hak, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of the National Council for Sustainable Development, Cambodia; Sabnam Shivakoti, Joint Secretary from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Government of Nepal; Nguyen Dinh Tho, General Director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural resources and Environment, Vietnam; and Kate Hughes, Senior Climate Change Specialist, Asian Development Bank. They highlighted the importance of a mechanism like CACCI to fill the evidence and implementation capacity in the Asia region.
As a next step, the CACCI ASIA launch event also discussed the expansion of the approach initiated in Tajikistan to several selected Asian countries. These activities, depending upon the local need and context, will include strengthening institutional capacity for national-level coordination for NDC implementation; strengthening the analytical capacity of network partners, including policy analysis and preparing evidence-based programming for NDC implementation; developing a strategy for a prototype monitoring, tracking, and reporting system; and developing a common platform for real-time reporting of the progress.
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