Supporting the implementation of the National Adaptation Plan in Algeria

ContextClimate change is having an ever greater impact on Algeria. Most of the population, as well as major areas of agricultural production and industry, are concentrated along a narrow strip of coastline in the north of the country. The country is experiencing a rise in average temperature and in the number of extreme weather events such as droughts, heavy rainfall and storms. Algeria has adopted several climate-related strategies and programmes. However, in individual sectors such as agriculture, climate change is still not taken adequately into account at policy level.ResultsThe significance of climate change is reflected in relevant sector policies and development plans at national and local levels in Algeria. Staff at the Ministry of Water Resources and the Environment are better qualified to perform their duties related to climate change, and the general public is more aware of necessary climate change mitigation measures.ApproachThe project offers advisory services, training, study trips and information events covering topics such as international climate policy, climate financing mechanisms and general climate governance, all with a view to facilitating integration of climate change as a topic in Algerian policy-making and development-planning processes. It also conducts vulnerability analyses for sectors affected by climate change and develops pilot initiatives for climate change adaptation at local level. In order to strengthen civil society, the project uses educational approaches and methods to raise public awareness of climate change in the pilot region.ResultsThe expertise and skills of the members of the National Climate Committee, the National Climate Change Agency, and the Ministry of Water Resources and the Environment have been improved, particularly in relation to international financing.The National Adaptation Plan has been updated in a participatory process involving all key sectors.Inter-ministerial partnerships have been developed in areas such as water management, agriculture and industry in order to address and integrate the climate change issues mentioned in Algeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions at the different ministries.Institutional and civil society actors are now more aware of the issue of climate change following the adaptation of methodological approaches to the Algerian context and the implementation of information and awareness-raising campaigns by local non-governmental organisations.

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