Bridging Biodiversity and Climate Change: Three ways the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process can help
The National Adaptation Plan is a strategic process that aims to make people, ecosystems and economies more resilient.
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The urgency for action to address climate change and biodiversity loss requires coherent policy approaches that support transformative changes. Developing countries have already recognized the vital role that protecting ecosystems can play in helping people and systems adapt to climate change by including measures such as ecosystem-based adaptation in their National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).
The NAP is a strategic process that aims to make people, ecosystems and economies more resilient. It starts by analyzing current and future climatic change and assessing vulnerability to its impacts. This allows countries to then identify the most effective adaptation measures, mainstream adaptation into planning and budgeting processes at the national level, track progress and results and evaluate areas for improvement.
There are many benefits of utilizing the NAP process to bridge biodiversity protection and climate adaptation, including:
- Linking the NAP and the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan helps countries coordinate and explore the synergies between adaptation and biodiversity protection.
- Ecosystem resilience and vulnerability assessment are clear mandates of the NAP.
- Using ecosystem-based adaptation as a central response in NAPs will help meet the objectives of multiple international agreements.
To learn more about the NAP process and its benefits, watch the attached video and read more on the NAP Global Network's website.