Climate Change Uncertainty & Co-creating Transformative Adaptation Knowledge and Action in Sundarbans

From 9:00-10:00 AM (GMT) on 10th November

The aim of this event is to share insights from recent and ongoing work both in the Indian and Bangladesh Sundarbans. The presenters will share views from their work on the nature and extent of boundaries; and how transboundary research can lead to transformative knowledge and action around gender, livelihoods, and natural resource management. The event will seek to generate insights on how transformative and transboundary knowledge helps unearth relations—social and economic and ecological—that are otherwise frozen in time between boundaries.

by ICCCAD

Mr. Saleemul Huq

Mr. Saleemul Huq

Director, International Center for Climate Change and Development

Prof. Saleemul Huq is the Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) and Professor at the Independent University Bangladesh (IUB) as well as Associate of the International Institute on Environment and Development (IIED) in the United Kingdom as well as the Chair of the Expert Advisory Group for the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and also Senior Adviser on Locally Led Adaptation with Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) headquartered in the Netherlands. He is an expert in adaptation to climate change in the most Vulnerable developing countries and has been a lead author of the third , fourth and fifth assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and he also advises the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Ms. Sumaiya Binte Anwar

Ms. Sumaiya Binte Anwar

Research Officer, International center for Climate Change and Development.

Sumaiya is an Engineer-turned-Climate enthusiast passionate about research in climate change issues and their effects. She has around 2 years of working experience in the climate change research sectors of Bangladesh. Currently she is a research Officer in International center for Climate Change and Development. She nurtures a keen interest on integrated water resource management, security implications of climate change, and landside vulnerability.

Prof. Lyla Mehta

Prof. Lyla Mehta

Professor at the Institute of Development Studies, UK, and a Visiting Professor at Noragric, Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

She trained as a sociologist (University of Vienna) and has a Ph.d. in Development Studies (University of Sussex). She uses the case of climate, water and sanitation to focus on the politics of scarcity, gender, human rights and access to resources , resource grabbing, power and policy processes in rural, peri urban and urban contexts,. Her work also focusses on climate change and uncertainty and forced displacement. She has extensive research and field experience in India and southern Africa and is currently leading a Belmont/ Norface/ EU/ ISC project on ‘Transformations as praxis’ in South Asia. Her most recent book is Water, Food Security, Nutrition and Social Justice (Routledge, 2020).

Dr. Upasona Ghosh

Dr. Upasona Ghosh

Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Public Health, Odisha, India.

Dr. Upasona Ghosh is an Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Public Health, Odisha, India. In her long ethnographic research she focused on the linkage between climate, society and health in environmentally marginalized hotspots of India. Presently, she has close connection with several Government Departments related to disadvantageous regions, Climate change and Disaster and also with various local, National and International Civil Society organizations in order to promote climate and environmental sustainability and community resilience through grass root policy making.

Ms. Mahmuda Akter

Ms. Mahmuda Akter

Senior Research Officer, Climate Change and Disaster Unit, SAJIDA Foundation

Ms. Mahmuda has around five years of working experience in the research sectors of Bangladesh. Currently she is Senior Research Officer, Climate Change and Disaster Unit, SAJIDA Foundation. Also, she is a Research Consultant, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD). She has knowledge of Climate Change Adaptation, Migration, Capacity-building, Disaster Management, and Urban Development.

Dr. Pallab De

Dr. Pallab De

Research COordinator Tapestry Program

Dr. Pallab De completed his doctorate in Soil sciences and Agriculture Chemistry in 1993 from University of Allahabad. His research topic was to understand the efficacy of soil enzymes in alkaline soils having presence of heavy metals. He has worked nearly 24 years in the social development sector particularly in the field of natural resources management, sustainable livelihood, climate change adaptation, farmer producer organization. In the TAPESTRY program his contribution will be to co-ordinate the field research part around salinity in soil and water and exploring means of co-production through convergence of key stakeholders.

Mr. Sanjib Kumar Mondal

Mr. Sanjib Kumar Mondal

Technical Consultant - TAPESTRY Project

Sanjib Kumar Mondal works with Caritas Bangladesh since 1999 as technical person for consultation on sustainable agricultural activities, program designing, evaluation and monitoring. He earned MS in Agriculture from Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh. He also expert on coastal agriculture and have a long experience to work with indigenous people and sundarbans dependent community.

Mr. Mihir R. Bhatt

Mr. Mihir R. Bhatt

Leading All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI)

Mr. Mihir R. Bhatt leads All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) which working on disaster, climate, and conflict risks at community level through agenda shaping; co-creating knowledge; building capacity; and piloting at district and city level. While adapting to the impacts of climate change and environment, he is working with family farmers, heatwave protection for vendors, and communities facing cascading risks in environmentally marginal and transboundary locations such as deserts, coastal areas, and delta.

What is needed to enable locally led adaptation?

From 11:00-12:00 PM (GMT) on 10th November

Experiences, and reflections about locally led adaptation will be shared and discussed between DCA (international NGO) and a local partner. The event will thus provide views from both a donor perspective and a local perspective.

by ACT Alliance

Scaling up innovative financing solutions and mechanisms for locally led adaptation that builds climate-resilient communities by working with local governments in Africa, particularly in the LDCs: Experiences on high-level leadership from West African countries

From 1:00-2:30 PM (GMT) on 10th November

@the LLA HUB

The aim of this LLA Talk is to provide political guidance and high level leadership to sustain the efforts for locally led adaptation for the most vulnerable communities, particularly those in the Least Developed Countries, in Small island and Developing States and African countries. The event will also provide the opportunity to share experiences on the LoCAL mechanism being deployed in 17 LDCs and to discuss the channeling of climate funds at sub-national levels in West Africa.

by the LoCAL Facility UNCDF

Speakers:

Ms. Preeti Sinha

Ms. Preeti Sinha

Executive Secretary UNCDF

As Executive Secretary, Sinha oversees UNCDF’s last mile’ finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. She has three decades of global experience across investment and development finance during which she managed institutional public and private development capital. She served as CEO and President of FFD Financing for Development LLC, a specialist development finance firm in Geneva, focusing on resource mobilization, donor relations, innovative capital markets, partnerships, strategy, business development, and impact investment advisory to finance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Previously, she managed the YES Global Institute, a practicing private sector think-tank for socio-economic development in New Delhi, building the impact investment ecosystem in India, the agency said, adding that she also served in senior resource mobilization roles at the African Development Bank. Sinha graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Education program in Public Financial Management. She holds a Master’s in Global Leadership from the World Economic Forum and a Master’s in Public and Private Management (MPPM)/MBA from the Yale School of Management. She is an alumnus of Dartmouth College, where she completed her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Computer Science.

Ms. Sophie De Coninck

Ms. Sophie De Coninck

LoCAL Global Facility Manager, UNCDF

Sophie De Coninck brings over 20 years of international development, environment and climate change experience to her role as Global Manager for the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility, or LoCAL. Prior to joining LoCAL, Sophie worked on climate issues for the European Union. Her responsibilities included overseeing the “Global Climate Change Alliance”, with a focus was on LDCs and SIDS in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and Caribbean regions. Sophie previously worked for the United Nations Environment Programme in Kenya and with the UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative. Sophie also has government experience, working in various ministries in her native Belgium as well as in the private sector. Sophie holds two master’s degrees, one in engineering and another in applied economics.

H.E. Mr.Kone Modibo

H.E. Mr.Kone Modibo

Ministre de l’Environnement, de l’Assainissement et du Développement Durable, Mali

H.E. Mr.Kone Modibo is a key speaker for this event.

H.E. Mme Louopou Lamah

H.E. Mme Louopou Lamah

Ministre de l'Environnement et du Développement Durable, Guinée

H.E. Mme Louopou Lamah is a key speaker in this event

H.E. M. Jean Luc Assi

H.E. M. Jean Luc Assi

Ministre de l'Environnement et du Développement Durable, Cote d’Ivoire

H.E. M. Jean Luc Assi will be a keyspeaker for this talk

H.E. Mr. Augustin Kabore

H.E. Mr. Augustin Kabore

DG du Ministère de l’Environnement, Economie Verte et Changement Climatique, Burkina Faso

H.E. Mr. Augustin Kabore is a key speaker for this event.

H.E. Mr. Souley Aboubacar

H.E. Mr. Souley Aboubacar

DG Ministère de l'Environnement et de la Lutte Contre la Désertification, Niger

H.E. Mr. Souley Aboubacar is a key speaker for this event

Mobilizing resources for locally led adaptation through the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism

From 3:30-4:30 PM (GMT) on 10th November

In response to the need for adaptation finance for the African continent, the African Development Bank has launched the pilot phase of the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism (ABM) in the period 2019-2023, with the objective of creating a results-based non-market financing mechanism for adaptation. The ABM certifies the benefits of adaptation action, delivering largely quantified and verified information for transparency and reporting on progress towards resilience and climate finance.

At this event the African Development Bank and partners from the public and the private sector will explain the barriers for local adaptation action, how the ABM works and how it can be used to support resilience at local level.

by AfDB

Key Speakers:

Mr. Gareth Phillips, Ireland (moderator)

Ms. Rachel Boti-Douayoua, Cote d'Ivoire, represents local and community voices

Mr. Bob Natifu, Uganda, represents local and community voices

Mr. Jean-Douglas Anaman, Cote d'Ivoire, represents local and community voices

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Watch Live

Enhancing access to climate finance in LDCs, SIDs and other vulnerable commonwealth nations

From 4:30-6:00 PM (GMT) on 10th November

@Commonwealth

Globally, some 13 Commonwealth Nations are implementing or designing their Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility actions for locally led adaptation to climate change. Of these 13, all are either LDCs, SIDs or African Nations on the frontline of a climate crisis they did not create. Lacking their own resources for adaptation, it’s time to get serious about adaptation finance. Join a roundtable that includes a mixed assembly of speakers bringing together voices from Bangladesh, Ghana, Jamaica and Malawi to explore how such different countries can be united in their advocacy for using LoCAL and its focus on leveraging sub-national government for adaptation results.

by the LoCAL Facility UNCDF

H.E. Perks Ligoya

H.E. Perks Ligoya

Co-chair of the LoCAL Board and global coordinator of the Bureau for the Least Developed Country Group, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative of the Republic of Malawi to the United Nations.

H.E. Perks Ligoya is the moderator for this session

H.E. Mr. Pearnel Charles Jr.

H.E. Mr. Pearnel Charles Jr.

Minister of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment and Climate Change, Jamaica

H.E. Mr. Pearnel Charles Jr. will be the keynote speaker for this event

Rt Hon. Patricia Scotland QC

Rt Hon. Patricia Scotland QC

Secretary General of the Commonwealth

Rt Hon. Patricia Scotland QCRt Hon. Patricia Scotland QC is a key speaker for this event.

Mr. Evans Davie Njewa

Mr. Evans Davie Njewa

Chief Environmental Officer and UNFCCC Focal Point, Malawi

Evans is the Head of Climate Change Section in the Department of Environmental Affairs, Malawi. He is responsible for the development of the Malawi FMCA, Readiness Proposal and NAP Readiness Proposals to the GCF. He has been a Lead Negotiator on climate finance since 2009 for the 48 LDCs under the UNFCCC. Under this responsibility, he has negotiated the establishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and served as a member of the Transitional Committee established at CoP16 in Cancun, Mexico to design the modalities and operationalization of the Global Green Climate Change Fund on Climate Change. He also served as Advisor to the GCF Board member from Zambia representing the LDCs. Evans is an Alternate Board member of the Adaptation Fund Board representing non-Annex 1 (developing countries) for the period January 2019 – December 2020. Evans has served as a Board member of the Green Climate Fund representing 48 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for the period January 2016 – December 2017.

Mr. Samuel Seth Passah

Samuel Seth Passah

Director Local Governance and Decentralisation, Ministry of Local Government Decentralisation and Rural Development

Mr. Samuel Seth Passah will be the main speaker for this talk

Ms. Malehano Florina

Ms. Malehano Florina M.M. Letlema

Director Planning - Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship, Lesotho

Ms. Malehano Florina M.M. Letlema will be a key speaker for this event.

Mr. David Jackson

Mr. David Jackson

Local Transformative Finance Practice Director

David Jackson, a British national, has over 30 years of experience in Local Development. He started his career as an urban planner in London in 1980s and later on ran a consulting company supporting local development in over 10 African and Asian countries. The beginning of his career at UNCDF was in the 1990s in Mozambique, where he designed and piloted a national system of local government finance for capital investment that was taken to scale by government. Since 2006, he worked as Decentralisation Advisor to the Government of Indonesia and UNDP. In 2009, he became Head of UNCDF Asia and Pacific office where he designed the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility, a global mechanism that enables local governments in the least developed countries to access climate finance for resilient investments. In May 2013, he was appointed Director of UNCDF’s Local Development Finance Practice in New York. In this position he manages portfolio of local development finance programmes with a focus on fiscal decentralization, infrastructure development, climate resilience grants, municipal finance and private sector investments.