UNDP and FAO join to launch a new online course on climate change and agriculture

A six-week course in partnership with UNITAR begins November 13, features leading global experts on climate change

13 September 2017 – ‘National Adaptation Plans: Building Climate Resilience in Agriculture’ is the title of the new United Nations’ Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The course is timed to launch in parallel with the upcoming climate talks in Bonn, Germany, more formally known as the 23^rd Conference of the Parties (COP23).

The registration for the six-week “National Adaptation Plans: Building Climate Resilience in Agriculture” MOOC opens today, and the course will start on 13 November 2017. During the course, participants will have the chance to engage with global experts on climate change, and explore best practices, country examples and new approaches for building climate resilience in an interactive video-based format.

“This intensive course aims to equip participants with a better understanding of the interlinkages between climate change, agriculture, food security and the role of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs),” said Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Head of Climate Change Adaptation, UNDP. “The course is an important learning opportunity for climate change practitioners, academics, students and government representatives interested in increasing their knowledge on what it means to incorporate climate change risks into planning and budgeting processes involving the agriculture sector.” 

The course will allow participants to delve deeper into the importance of adequate adaptation planning, and to acquire tools to identify and prioritize adaptation options in agriculture sectors, ensure effective coordination and governance for climate change adaptation actions, and explore mechanisms for funding and safeguarding livelihoods.

“The MOOC also seeks to raise awareness in addressing key issues of the agricultural sectors in the formulation and implementation of NAPs,’’ said Martin Frick, Director, Climate and Environment Division. “Climate change is considered a significant ‘hunger-risk multiplier,’ and in many regions, food security is already being adversely affected by the climate change. “For this reason, FAO and UNDP jointly are working to create the transformative change we need to reach the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.”

The MOOC is part of a work-programme of the Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans (NAP-Ag) Programme, a joint effort led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to support countries to integrate and address climate change concerns as they affect agricultural sector-based livelihoods in national and sectoral planning and budgeting processes.

By the end of the MOOC, participants will be able to effectively discuss the links between climate change, agriculture and sustainable development, and the role of international agreements – including the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement – in the formulation and implementation of the National Adaptation Plans process.

MOOC Topics

Week 1: Introduction to climate change adaptation, agriculture and food security

Week 2: International Frameworks and National Adaptation Planning

Week 3: Identifying and assessing climate change impacts and risks

Week 4: Identifying and prioritizing climate adaptation options

Week 5: Governance, coordination and finance

Week 6: Communications, monitoring and evaluation

No prior knowledge is required to join the course. Upon completion of all required activities, participants will receive a certificate from FAO, UNDP and UNITAR.  To register the MOOC, please visit: napmooc.uncclearn.org. This article is available in Spanish and French.

The MOOC was developed in partnership with FAO, UNDP and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). This course was made possible by the generous funding of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) through its International Climate Initiative (IKI).

About UNDP

UNDP works in nearly 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. UNDP helps countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results. Together with partners, UNDP supports climate change risk management in the context of agriculture and food security, water resources, coastal zone development, public health, and climate change-related disaster risks. To learn more about UNDP’s climate change adaptation work, visit www.adaptation-undp.org.
 

About FAO Climate

Since 1945, FAO has been the lead agency fighting for a world without hunger . Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts to ensure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. FAO is a source of technical knowledge and information on food security and agriculture and provides a forum to its 194 Member Nations to discuss these issues.

FAO considers climate change a top-line corporate priority and focuses its work on enhancing institutional and technical capacities of Member Nations and improving integration of food security, agriculture, forestry and fisheries within the international climate agenda

Through its climate change portfolio of over 300 projects worldwide, FAO is supporting countries to both mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change as an integral part of the 2030 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

About BMUB

The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), through its International Climate Initiative (IKI), funds the NAP-Ag Programme which support 11 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Since 2008, IKI has been financing climate and biodiversity projects in developing and newly industrialising countries, as well as in countries in transition. The IKI is a key element of Germany’s climate financing and the funding commitments in the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Initiative places clear emphasis on climate change mitigation, adaption to the impacts of climate change and the protection of biological diversity.

About UNITAR

An autonomous UN body established in 1963, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a training arm of the United Nations System, UNITAR provides training and capacity development activities. UNITAR’s Green Development and Climate Change Programme (GCP) develops methodologies, executes training, supports learning strategies, and facilitates knowledge-sharing with the goal to strengthen capacities in developing countries to implement the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and to advance a green, low emission and climate resilient transition. The Programme also hosts the Secretariats of the One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership (UN CC:Learn).