Durban Forum on Capacity-building - Making of
The Durban Forum has been designed as a place where representatives from Parties, UN organizations,
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, research, academia and the private sector can share ideas,
experiences, lessons learned and good practices on implementing capacity-building activities in developing
countries. More information on the negotiations leading to its establishment and on its inaugural meeting is
summarized below.
Panama Climate Change Conference - October 2011
The cradle of the Durban Forum was built in Panama. During the Panama Climate Change Conference in 2011, Parties
engaged in a three-hour in-depth discussion on capacity-building with representatives of relevant bodies
established under the Convention, with the Global Environment Facility and with other delegates involved in
negotiating mitigation, adaptation, and technology and finance.
The Panama in-depth discussion, hailed as a success by Parties, paved the way for the careful crafting of the
decision text on the Durban Forum a few months later, during the Durban Climate Change Conference – the city
from which the Forum takes its name.
Durban Climate Change Conference - November/December 2011
Under the Ad hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA), Parties agreed to a
decision that requests
the SBI to continue working on ways to further enhance the monitoring and review of the effectiveness of
capacity-building, including through the newly created Durban Forum on capacity-building. The COP decided that the
Durban Forum would take the form of an annual, in-session event open to the participation of Parties and other
stakeholders involved in the implementation of capacity-building activities in developing countries. The meetings
of the Durban Forum would give all of them the opportunity to exchange ideas and share experiences, lessons learned
and good practices, and seek ways to work together in a more coordinated way.
Bonn Climate Change Conference - May 2012
The inaugural meeting of the Durban Forum
on Capacity-building was one of the highlights of the Bonn Climate Change Conference in May 2012. It gave voice
to more than 200 participants from diverse backgrounds come together to share experiences and good practices in
building the capacity of developing countries to respond to climate change.
Held during two afternoon sessions, the Durban Forum shed light on the work that has been happening on the ground
and the challenges that lay ahead. People from governments, youth groups, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations, the private sector, the United Nations and academia took to the stage to tell their stories,
signalling a shift to a more holistic way of tackling capacity-building. In the spirit of inclusiveness, the
meeting was webcast so that anyone, anywhere, could join in.
here.