The multi-stakeholder workshop organized by GWP-Cameroon in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED) brought together stakeholders from the Ministries of Water, planning and territorial administration, forestry, urban development, social affairs, fishing, women empowerment and the family,local NGOs like Water for Life, RECOJAC, Green Horizon, USFE, SAILD and other technical partners.
Over the course of the workshop, the participants were briefed on the Water, Climate, Development, and Gender (WACDEP-G) program which is being implemented in Cameroon by GWP-Cmr before engaging in presentations and group work on the NAP ; to analyze what has been done so far and make propositions to be taken into consideration in the updated NAP. The Sub-Director of Ecological and Climate Monitoring at the Ministry of Environment,Mr. KAGONBE Timothée presented the NAP to the participants by first explaining the climate change context in Cameroon before highlighting the rationale for the design of any NAP; to maintain the temperature increase at 1.5°C to sustain life on earth.
To be more specific, he defined the NAP as "a mechanism within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) designed to help countries identify medium and long-term adaptation options/needs". He concluded by indicating that climate adaptation remains a necessity which requires citizens and governments to rethink cities landscape, to modify agricultural methods in depth, and to learn how to manage and settle disputes over the use of resources - especially water, among other solutions.
After discussions, participants engaged in group work to evaluate the following points in the NAP: the seven priority actions, governance, financing mechanisms and gender mainstreaming. They analyzed what had been achieved so far within the NAP, what could have been better and solutions that worked well. To provide guidelines for updating the NAP, some recommendations were made;
- Carry out a regular follow up of the different programs and put in place a commission in charge of implementing this;
- Broaden the sectors involved in the national consultation to elaborate the updated NAP;
- Ensure that the concepts of gender, gender and inclusion, and vulnerable populations are well defined in the updated NAP, so that all social categories can be considered according to the socio-cultural and environmental realities of the country.
- Create a virtual platform to facilitate knowledge and information sharing with the different sectors involved in the implementation of the NAP
Background
GWP-Central Africa has been an active international partner of Cameroon’s NAP supporting its elaboration and implementation since 2014. The document was approved in 2015 with a strategic intervention plan from 2016-2025. The first five-year action plan (2016-2020) has been completed and an end of phase evaluation is in conformity with the Annual Budget Workplan to enable better planning in the next five-year action plan. Under the WACDEP-G program, GWP-Cameroon is supporting the Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED) in the process of reviewing the NAP to ensure it is gender transformative.