Do governments track the implementation of national climate change adaptation plans? An evidence-based global stocktake of monitoring and evaluation systems

Timo Leiter

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2021.08.017

Abstract

Although over 70 countries adopted a national climate change adaptation plan (NAP), little is known about the extent to which these plans are implemented. NAP monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems can play an important role in tracking implementation but have rarely been studied. Based on a systematic review including outreach to country representatives and international organizations, a comprehensive inventory of NAP M&E systems is compiled documenting government practices from over 60 countries. In contrast to previous studies, this stocktake does not rely on stated intentions of M&E but requires evidence such as monitoring and evaluation reports. The extent of NAP M&E involvement globally and countries’ respective status are determined and compared to a baseline from the 2017 Adaptation Gap Report of the United Nations Environment Programme. Results show a 40% increase in the number of countries that are developing or using NAP M&E systems and almost a doubling of published NAP evaluations. However, over 60% of countries that adopted a NAP do not systematically assess its implementation, leaving a critical gap in understanding the impacts of NAPs. These findings support calls for greater attention to the quality of adaptation planning and for assessing its implementation and effectiveness.

Highlights

Adaptation to climate change has been recognized as an important policy matter by more than 170 countries (Nachmany et al, 2019)
This study explores whether there is an overarching monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system for a country’s national climate change adaptation plan (NAP) as suggested by the NAP technical guidelines (UNFCCC, 2012)
Literature on adaptation planning has paid little attention to how implementation will be tracked. This gap is addressed through the first evidence-based global stocktake of NAP M&E systems which substan tially advances previous accounts by documenting government practices from over 60 countries

Summary

Introduction

Adaptation to climate change has been recognized as an important policy matter by more than 170 countries (Nachmany et al, 2019). Since its adoption in 2015, the Paris Agreement has provided additional mo mentum by encouraging all countries to pursue national adaptation planning (UNFCCC, 2015, Article 7.9). The 2020 progress report on national adaptation plans (NAPs) by the secretariat of the United Na tions Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) found that “125 of the 154 developing countries had undertaken activities related to the process to formulate and implement NAPs” (UNFCCC, 2020a, paragraph 16). Little is known about the extent to which these plans have been implemented and even less about their effects

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