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Climate Change Roundtables

The EAC Secretariat has been playing a key role in the international Climate Change policy discourse through providing leadership on regional Climate Change policy and mainstreaming of climate change adaptation and mitigation in regional integration programmes.

Since 2009, the EAC Secretariat has been facilitating National Climate Change Roundtables in the Partner States of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda. The roundtables play a critical role in identifying Climate Change priorities at the national level towards the development of national Climate Change positions, which feed into building up of the African Common Position on Climate Change.

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EAC Climate Change Projects

Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA-EAC-SADC) Region

The Programme on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Eastern and Southern Africa is a five-year initiative of COMESA, EAC and SADC with the purpose of enabling COMESA-EAC-SADC Member States to increase investments in climate resilient and carbon efficient agriculture and its linkages to forestry, land use and energy practices by 2016.

The overall objective of the Programme is to address the impacts of Climate Change in the COMESA-EAC-SADC region through successful adaptation and mitigation actions, which also build economic and social resilience for present and future generations.

The programme is currently being financed through a multi-donor arrangement involving the following development partners: Government of Norway, the European Union and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development through COMESA.

The initiative that started in 2010 aims to inject Africa’s Unified Position on Climate Change into the post-2012 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change global agreement so as to unlock resources for promoting strategic interventions that sustain productivity and livelihood improvements for millions of climate-vulnerable people in the region.

The programme stems from the recognition of the seriousness of the challenge posed by Climate Change, which was re-iterated by the African Heads of State and Government at the African Union Summit in January 2007. The African Heads of State and Government agreed that the countries in Africa should mainstream Climate Change adaptation and mitigation into their developmental plans. Further, the African Heads of State and Government Summit held in 2009, in Sirte, Libya endorsed the African common position on Climate Change, which advocates for inclusion of Agriculture and Forestry in the Climate Change regime.

 

Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research, and Economic Development (PREPARED)

This is a proposed six year programme with the overall goal of strengthening the resiliency and sustainability of East African economies, trans-boundary freshwater ecosystems, and communities. PREPARED targets three key priority development challenges of East Africa and of the US Government: biodiversity conservation / natural resource management (NRM) and sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene, and Climate Change. The programme seeks to:

  • Improve Climate Change adaptation technical capacity, policy leadership and action readiness of regional institutions.
  • Strengthen resilient and sustainable management of biologically significant transboundary freshwater ecosystems in the East African Community region.
  • Enhance resilient and sustainable drinking water supply, sanitation, and wastewater treatment services in the Lake Victoria Basin.

 

Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Actions in the EAC region

Supported by Intra-ACP GCCA+, the overall objective of the project is to increase resilience to the adverse impacts of climate change and contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals in the EAC region.

An initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, the Intra-ACP Global Climate Change Alliance+ (GCCA+) Programme supports ACP countries’ efforts to address climate change. The EAC 4-year prject has 3 key targets:

  • To enhance the capacity of the EAC region on climate change;
  • To strengthen the implementation of climate change actions and the Paris Agreement; and
  • To strengthen regional capacity to access climate change funding

At regional level, the project is exptected to strengthen the capacity of the regional Climate Change Technical Working Group (CCTWG) to implement identified climate change actions as well as review and update the EAC Climate Change Policy and the EAC Climate Change Strategy. In addition, the project will support the development and enactment of the EAC Climate Change Bill and identify relevant national best practices, success stories and lessons on management of climate change and share them among partner states.

At national level, the project will support Partner States in reviewing and updating their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in line with the Paris Agreement.

In strengthening regional capacity to access climate chage funding, the project aims to develop 3 community-based climate change adaptation projects and submit them to the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund.

 The project will also support the development and implementation of a Regional Climate Change Communication and Advocacy Plan.

EAC Climate Change Policy Framework

The Heads of State of the East African Community (EAC) directed the EAC Secretariat to develop a Climate Change Policy and strategies to address the adverse impacts of Climate Change in the region and harness any potential opportunities posed by Climate Change in the context of the principle of sustainable development.

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Climate Change

The adverse impacts of climate change in the EAC region are a huge threat to the region’s socio-economic development, negatively affecting livelihoods and economies. These are evidenced through extreme weather phenomena (droughts and floods) that are occurring with greater frequency and intensity and result in:

  • food insecurity,
  • energy insecurity,
  • land degradation,
  • loss of biodiversity,
  • reduced revenue from tourism,
  • increase in pests and diseases,
  • rise in sea level,
  • water scarcity,
  • natural resource-based conflict, and
  • severe damage to infrastructure among others.

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East African Community
EAC Close
Afrika Mashariki Road
P.O. Box 1096
Arusha
United Republic of Tanzania

Tel: +255 (0)27 216 2100
Fax: +255 (0)27 216 2190
Email: eac@eachq.org  |  sgoffice@eachq.org