A two-member team from the Korea Environment Institute (KEI) were on a field mission in Bhutan from the 17^th to the 25^th of August, 2016, as a part of the collaboration with UNCDF’s Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) programme to develop science-based climate change country frameworks for Bhutan and Cambodia, which can be used as a key reference for investments to improve climate change resilience and adaptive capacity at the local level. The KEI team members were Ms. Myung Joo Lee, Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Researcher, and Ms. Ji Won Moon, Climate Change Risk Assessment Researcher.

As a part of the mission, the Department of Local Governance with support from the UNCDF-LoCAL programme organized an experts’ group consultation workshop on the 22^nd of August, 2016, for the KEI team to introduce the purpose, approach and process of carrying out assessments for climate change vulnerabilities and risks, and to collect views on the selection of the main sectors and sub-sectors for the assessments. At the outset of the workshop, a short presentation was also delivered to provide an overview of the LoCAL programme, especially with reference to its strategic components, logical model and implementation approach. The workshop was opened by Mr. Lungten Dorji, Director General of the Department of Local Governance. Altogether, there were 35 participants from various agencies in government, civil society, the consulting field, academia and the UN.

Besides the workshop, the KEI team had bilateral meetings with key people in the UNDP Country Office, National Environment Commission, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Gross National Happiness Commission, Department of Hydromet Services, College of Natural Resources, Geo Hazard International and the WWF Bhutan Programme. The KEI team also visited Phangyuel gewog (Wangduephodrang dzongkhag, 3 hours’ drive from Thimphu) on the 19^th of August to see LoCAL activities in the field. On the final day of the mission, a team debriefing was held with the Department of Local Governance.

The LoCAL programme of the UN Capital Development Fund serves as a mechanism to integrate climate change adaption into local governments’ planning and budgeting systems, increase awareness of and response to climate change at the local level, and increase the amount of finance available to local governments for climate change adaption.