Advancing risk-informed development and land-use planning in Tunisia
Introduction
The project aims to integrate climate change adaptation into socio-economic and land use planning in Tunisia. It builds on prior efforts, including the existing NAP road map. The project will advance an effective and cross-sectoral national adaptation plan, with a particular focus delivering an objective of the country’s 2016-2020 Economic and Social Development Plan, which relates to territorial planning. The project operates both at the national and sub-national levels. The national level involves activities related to the development of a National Adaptation Framework and mainstreaming climate change risks into the National Economic and Social Development Plan and the Master Land-Use Plan. The sub-national level activities concentrate around local development and land-use plans in two municipalities that were chosen considering climate change risks based on available data, number of affected people, potential economic impacts, future investment plans, potential for engaging the private sector, and the willingness of local governments.
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Project details
The project “Advancing risk-informed development and land-use planning in Tunisia” is designed to integrate climate change adaptation into two dimensions of development planning in Tunisia: socio-economic planning and land-use planning, both at the national and local levels. This objective is supported through the achievement of three main outcomes: development of a national adaptation framework, informing the National Economic and Social Development Plan and the Master Land-Use Plan with climate change risks, and integration risks and adaptation into local development in two municipalities.
The expected outcomes of the project will address the barriers related to coordination mechanisms, awareness of high-level political and decision makers, building capacity of national planners, and financial sustainability. The outcomes are being implemented in a sequential manner. Establishing the adaptation coordination mechanism to develop NAP framework (outcome 1) will lead to greater efficiency in integrating climate change into development planning, across sectors both at the national level (outcome 2), and at the local level (outcome 3). Outcome 1 provides a foundation from which outcomes 2 and 3 are being built, and outcome 1 outputs will guide the implementation of outcomes 2 and 3
PROJECT RATIONALE
Situated in North Africa, Tunisia is in one of the world’s most water-scarce and dry regions and is highly dependent on climate-sensitive agriculture. In addition, a large share of its population and economic activity is in low-lying and flood-prone coastal zones. By 2050, climate change projections for Tunisia predict temperature increases between 1.6°C and 2.7°C, reduced precipitation by 10 to 30 percent, rising sea levels by 15 to 18 cm and escalating extreme weather phenomena (floods and droughts). These risks are likely to result in major environmental and socio-economic impacts and affect various sectoral activities such as health, agriculture, and tourism.
Several barriers were identified in the 2016 initial Stocktaking Report and subsequent consultations of stakeholders: the insufficient quality or absence of economic analyses and in-depth risks and vulnerability assessments in key PAG socio-economic target sectors, the limitations of climate change coordination mechanisms to facilitate mainstreaming and monitoring of CCA, the failure to align the M&E system for climate change with the National Statistical System; and the weak capacity of the National Environment and Climate Fund (FNEC) to support sustainable funding for CCA. Benin’s main challenge related to adaptation planning is the limited technical expertise to ensure integration of CCA mainstreaming into budgeting and planning processes.
PROJECT UPDATES
The project has delivered the following results under the three outcomes:
Defined proposed objectives for Tunisia's forthcoming National Adaptation Plan (NAP)
Multistakeholder collaboration for adaptation strengthened through the support to the setting up and operationalization of the Adaptation Partnership Forum
Capacity-building program on topics relevant to climate adaptation planning designed with clear objectives and implemented throughout 2023 through 5 training sessions
Assessment of climate risks conducted, covering the entire national territory
Established a comprehensive inventory of climate risks by compiling available information and studies on the impacts, socioeconomic vulnerability, and adaptation to climate change in Tunisia
National-level training sessions conducted to support climate risk vulnerability assessments
Progress made on local level climate risks integration in Tataouine and Kalâat Landlous municipalities by strengthening the evidence base, building capacities on climate risks, and setting up a tool for the visualization of climate change impacts on localities in Tatahouine to enable the identification of adaptation-related decision elements
- National
- Regional
- National Governments
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- Ministry of Environment, Coastal Protection and Planning Agency (APAL), Government of Tunisia
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Key results and output
Outcome 1: A National Adaptation Framework is developed and adopted;
Outcome 2: National Economic and Social Development Plan and Master Land-Use Plan are informed by major climate-related risks; and
Outcome 3: Climate change risks and adaptation needs are integrated in local development and land-use plans in two municipalities.