Support Programme on Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through NDCs and National Adaptation Plans (SCALA)

With climate change threatening the agriculture sectors, livelihoods and food security, there is an urgent need for scaled action to cope with climate-related impacts. In response to that, SCALA supports 12 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to both build adaptive capacity and to implement low emission priorities in agriculture and land use. The programme uses a multi-stakeholder approach, harnessing strong engagement from the private sector and key national institutions. National activities focus on strengthening policies, appraising and adopting innovative approaches, as well as removing key barriers related to information gaps, governance, finance, gender mainstreaming and integrated monitoring and reporting. The ultimate goal is for countries to turn agricultural related priorities laid out in their National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) into action.

Project data

Countries: Argentina, Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Nepal, Senegal, Thailand, Uganda
IKI funding: 20,000,000.00 €
Duration: 11/2019 till 12/2025
Status: open
Implementing organisation: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Political Partner: Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Equipement - Senegal

Ministries of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry - Mongolia

Ministry for Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) - Senegal

Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries - Uganda

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries - Cambodia

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MAGyP) - Argentina

Ministry of Agriculture & Land Reclamation - Egypt

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives - Thailand

Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock - Costa Rica

Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development - Nepal

Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources - Ethiopia

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - Colombia

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - Cote d 'Ivoire

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MEFCC) – Ethiopia*

Ministry of Environment (MoE) - Cambodia

Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) - Costa Rica

Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MinAmbiente) - Colombia

Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development - Argentina*

Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development - Côte d’Ivoire

Ministry of Environment and Tourism – Mongolia; Ministry of Environment MoE - Egypt; Ministry of Forests and Environment - Nepal; Ministry of Water and Environment - Uganda; Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning - ONEP - Thailand
Implementing Partner: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Online: http://www.fao.org/in-action/scala/en

https://www.adaptation-undp.org/scala

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State of implementation/results

SCALA is supporting countries to identify, prioritize and unpack transformative climate options in national plans and strengthening capacities to produce and apply information for evidence-based decision-making. All countries are undertaking systems-level assessments (SLAs) to fill information gaps for implementing agriculture sector climate priorities and leveraging finance. Examples include:
- Colombia: 32 risk and vulnerability assessments were completed to monitor climate risks in agricultural sub-sectors and 15 traditional adaptation practices of local communities and indigenous populations are being catalogued.
- Ethiopia: Locally-relevant interventions to transform agricultural practices and strengthen adaptive potential in three micro watersheds were identified, including soil and water conservation practices, technology to enhance livestock production and productivity and conservation agriculture practices for resilient cropping systems.
- Mongolia: an assessment on the implications of a new livestock tax law was conducted to identify evidence-based climate solutions to address livestock management, pastureland degradation and increasing carbon emissions from animal husbandry in support of national development and climate goals.
- Uganda: Transformative climate options related to pastureland and feeding management, improving livestock health and breeding schemes and resilience building of milk and cassava value chains were validated by stakeholders and are being incorporated in district plans.
Outcome 2: Enhancing governance and integration of agriculture and land-use priorities:
SCALA is enhancing governance mechanisms by reinforcing multistakeholder participation and capacitating the institutions in charge of implementing NDCs and NAPs to mainstream agriculture and land use priorities in planning, budgeting, monitoring and reporting. Examples includes:
- Technical assistance to draft, validate the Climate Change Priority Action Plan (CCPAP) for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Sector (2023-2030) (Cambodia); finalize, validate the NAP (Cote d’Ivoire); conduct a study on barriers and incentive mechanisms for Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA), a key priority for the NDC, NAP and Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) (Ethiopia); support the integration of climate change in the Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS) (Nepal); formulate, validate the revised Climate Change Action Plan on Agriculture (CCAPA) and develop a progress tracking framework (Thailand).
- Trainings of local government planners to integrate transformative climate actions prioritized through SLAs into district development plans and budgets (Ethiopia and Uganda).
- Capacity development on M&E and MRV frameworks in line with UNFCCC reporting requirements included enhancing data compilation, information management systems and accessibility for GHG inventory (Cambodia, Mongolia); supporting BTR drafting and preparations for submission (Cambodia, Ethiopia); evaluating existing M&E/MRV frameworks, capacity needs and preparing action plans for improvement (Côte d’Ivoire, Nepal); developing and operationalizing tools for monitoring and MRV (Colombia, Uganda); developing national M&E framework for agrifood systems as part of NAP process (Egypt); training on NDC implementation tracking (Senegal).
- An analysis was undertaken to identify gaps that hinder women’s full participation in livestock production and a roadmap, which will inform the livestock NAMA, was developed to address these barriers (Costa Rica); a social analysis on the issues faced by migrant labourers has been conducted as part of the SLA (Thailand).
- In collaboration with UNDP’s Food and Agricultural Commodities System team, SCALA is adapting the Effective Collaborative Action (ECA) methodology to strengthen coordination for climate action between ministries (Costa Rica).
- SCALA is partnering with national universities to design a diploma in “Food Sustainability for Climate Action”, facilitate scholarships for farmers and develop practical training modules on agroecology, ecological restoration biodiversity monitoring and sustainable land management (Colombia).
Outcome 3: Promoting private sector engagement in climate action:
SCALA is supporting countries to enhance private sector engagement and investment in agriculture and land use and building new alliances for the implementation of priority climate actions. Examples include:
- Supporting the development and adoption of voluntary agreements between government and the private sector to implement climate action in coffee, cocoa and beef value chains (Colombia); piloting a certification scheme for deforestation-free beef production and market study on differentiated meat and dairy products (Costa Rica); private sector roundtable on barriers for private sector engagement in climate action in the livestock and dairy sectors (Egypt); project concept notes formulation on low carbon climate resilient dairy practices in (Egypt), and on watershed management in (Ethiopia); developing market-based instruments to reduce livestock emissions (Mongolia); business plan for apple value chain and stocktake report on agricultural index insurance (Nepal); study on incentive structures for improved manure management and biogas adoption in the livestock value chain (Thailand); market analysis and assessment of barriers and opportunities for private sector investment to inform project concept notes on cassava and livestock production (Uganda).
- Under the SCALA Private Sector Engagement Facility (PSE Facility), a mapping and analysis of the coconut value chain was completed (Equatorial Guinea); a market study assessing the commercial viability of bio-inputs for the production of organic vegetables and commodities was published (Sao Tome and Principe, www.adaptation-undp.org/…); a feasibility study on biogas was finalized (Solomon Islands) a private sector and ecosystem mapping of sorghum, maize and sesame was published (Somalia); and a country-wide biogas resource potential assessment was completed (The Gambia).
Latest events organized by SCALA:
March: co-organized a regional workshop on Making climate finance work for agrifood systems in Asia and the Pacific with FAO’s Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) Partnership. www.fao.org/…
April: co-organized a side event on “How inclusive and cross-scale stakeholder engagement can drive transformational adaptation” at NAP Expo 2024, with the NAP Global Network and UNCDF, featuring speakers from Cote d’Ivoire and Nepal. On the sidelines of NAP Expo, SCALA also organized its 4th Advisory Group meeting. www.adaptation-undp.org/…
June: participated in technical sessions at the SB60 Bonn Climate Change Conference. SCALA country examples, in particular Colombia, were presented during the first UNFCCC expert dialogue on mountains and climate change. unfccc.int/…
June: organized a webinar on ‘Integrating climate change into planning and budgeting for agriculture and land use’, highlighting country experiences from Uganda and Nepal. www.adaptation-undp.org/…
May and July: Participated in the UNFCCC workshop on the UAE-Belem Work Programme on indicators in Thimpu. Presented SCALA’s work on adaptation M&E, including specific examples from countries.
August: supported the organization of thematic sessions on agriculture and food systems at the NDCs 3.0 regional forum for Latin America.