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Date: Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 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 who came 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. The meeting was structured around 17 presentations under six headings. Following each session, the floor was opened up to questions. Throughout the meeting, participants were reminded that capacity-building is a complex issue but, at its core, it is a human issue. Two often-repeated themes were ‘snowball effect’ and ‘country-driven action.’ Participants and presenters spoke about the need to create a snowball effect, whereby capacity-building action builds on itself, becoming larger and more effective as it goes. The second theme, country-driven action, referred to the importance of building the right project in the right place, led by local communities and for local communities. Overview and Presentations: |
Following opening remarks from UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres and SBI Chair Mr. Tomasz Chruszczow, representatives from Parties, NGOs, youth organizations, United Nations organizations, the private sector and academia took to the stage to share experiences and identify needs and gaps in the delivery of capacity-building for adaptation and mitigation.
The audience was eager to participate in the discussion, asking targeted questions on how to better enhance capacity-building in developing countries.
H.E. Ms. Dessima Williams (Grenada) and Mr. Maas Groote (The Netherlands), who acted as co-chairs, directed the discussion component of the Forum, fielding questions from the audience and summarizing issues in a clear and compelling way.
| Welcoming remarks Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary |
| Objectives of the first meeting of the Durban Forum Tomasz Chruszczow, Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation and Chair of the first meeting of the Durban Forum |
| Inputs to the Durban Forum and approach to the in-depth discussion UNFCCC secretariat |
| In-depth discussion on: |
| Capacity-building activities undertaken by the LEG as part of its work programme Pepetua Latasi, Chair of the Least Developed Countries Expert Group |
| Capacity-building and the climate change process: the LDC perspective Fred Onduri, Uganda |
| Mobilising knowledge and strengthening capacity under the Nairobi Work Programme Blane Harvey, Institute of Development Studies |
| Capacity-building in adaptation practices Andrea Cattaneo, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
| Capacity-building for adaptation: leadership, participation and support Notes to the presentation Graham Reeder, Youth NGO constituency (YOUNGO) |
| Briefing on: |
| Capacity-building aspects within the SBSTA 36 Research Dialogue Richard Muyungi, Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice |
| In-depth discussion on: |
| Working together for capacity-building on NAMAs in an MRV manner and for a low carbon society - practitioner's experiences Makoto Kato, Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, Japan |
| Capacity-building: global hydro, research and development centres, skills and supply chains Sarah Eastabrook, Alstom |
| Capacity for mitigation - reviewing progress, enhancing action Pat Finnegan, CAN International |
The well-received presentations of the first day continued on Wednesday with a focus on technology, financial support and the issue of monitoring and review of the effectiveness of capacity-building, the latter being mandated in decision 2/CP.17.
Two often-repeated themes during the second day were “snowball effect” and “country-driven action.” Participants and presenters spoke about the need to create a snowball effect, whereby capacity-building action builds on itself, becoming larger and more effective as it goes. The second theme, country-driven action, referred to the importance of building the right project in the right place, led by local communities, for local communities.
The session on monitoring and review was characterized by a lengthy debate on the effectiveness of quantitative vs. qualitative indicators when monitoring and reviewing capacity-building projects.
The first meeting of the Durban Forum on capacity-building concluded with closing remarks by SBI Chair Mr. Chruszczow, who hailed the Forum as a success in terms of the importance of the issues raised, the quality of the presentations and the engaged debate which followed.
| In-depth discussion on: | |
| Global technology needs assessment project: an update on capacity-building components Lawrence Agbemabiese, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); Jorge Rogat, UNEP Risoe Center, Denmark |
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Thailand climate change technology needs assessment |
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Presentation on: |
| Recently financed capacity development initiatives Rawleston Moore, Global Environment Facility Secretariat |