While decision-makers and negotiators at relevant forums, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, acknowledge the necessity of integrated approaches, there are not yet enough practical examples to show how to make the best use of the synergies and avoid the trade-offs with respect to both policy design and implementation.
Strengthening domestic policy coherence between effective climate change adaptation and biodiversity actions provides many opportunities to increase integration, reduce duplication, and make the best use of limited resources for planning, implementation, monitoring, and finance. This technical brief reviews the interconnections between biodiversity and climate change adaptation and explores the potential to foster synergies between the processes to formulate and implement National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs). It provides an overview of the two processes’ common elements—(a) assessment of needs and priorities; (b) planning; (c) implementation and financing; and (d) monitoring, evaluation, and learning—along with specific opportunities for promoting synergies between the two processes.
This is followed by highlighting practical entry points and lessons learned from four country case studies on effective coordination and joint implementation of climate change adaptation and biodiversity policies at the national level. The case studies illustrate important lessons learned and good practices that could be applied to and inspire the revision, formulation, and implementation of the NAPs and NBSAPs to promote synergy and efficient allocation of resources. To further strengthen the synergistic implementation of climate change adaptation and biodiversity policies and strategies, the technical brief also points to feasible next steps for countries to consider, including the promotion of coordination processes, active mapping of synergies between existing government policies, joint analyses of financial requirements, and enhancement of joint multistakeholder engagement and multi-governance processes.