Finance funding a major component for effective CBA9 sustainability

By Milcah Rajula and Bob Aston

On the second day of the 9th International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation (CBA9): Measuring and enhancing effective adaptation taking place at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, the more than 400 participants from 90 countries were spoilt for choice. During the course of the day participants had a choice of attending 7 sessions, each lasting one and a half hours or more.

CBA9 participants viewing exhibition stands

Parallel sessions during the day meant that participants could attend as much as four (4) sessions, but that was enough for them to discuss and share best practice on how to measure and enhance effective adaptation to climate change.

The Government of Kenya is hosting the conference which has been organized by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS).

Some of the key note speakers during the day included; Stephen King’uyu, Climate Change Secretariat, Ministry of Environment, Kenya; Saverio Krnatli, IIED;  Thomas Loster, Munich Re Foundation; Suresh Patel, Kenya Private Sector Alliance; Charles Nyandiga, UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme;

Participants are reporting on the latest research and their project work from across different sectors and countries, enhancing CBA through future agreements through the Kenyan perspective and exploring different ways of measuring the success of CBA.

Participants were able to choose from seven different sessions which included: Enhancing CBA through future agreements-the Kenyan perspective; harnessing climatic variability to enhance adaptation in the drylands; government monitoring and evaluation of CBA; principles and radical options for adaptation-issues for assessing effectiveness; monitoring and scaling up climate-smart agriculture practices for enhanced food security and CBA; role of the private sector in enhancing CBA; learning through game playing; poster market place.

Participants with posters persuading conference participants to visit their posters

A session on the poster market place was initiated as participants with posters had two minutes to try and persuade conference participants to visit their poster and inquire more on organization’s individual projects.

The learning through game playing session provided participants with an opportunity to play ‘Roses and Thorns’; a game about managing, monitoring and evaluating investment decisions in a changing environment.

Developed for the World Bank’s review of Self-Evaluation systems (ROSES) initiative, the game triggers a lively, candid conversation to help understand and address issues in Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and learning systems to support adaptation and development.

In the evening participants were able to engage in participatory analysis of films which included: Guardians of diversity; adaptation fund direct access-by Adaptation Fund Secretariat; Kenya’s Mau Forest-More than trees; Turning Slaughterhouse waste into biogas-Keekonyoike slaughterhouse.

When the day folded, a fun adaptation finance night transpired with quiz questions, sharing of experience and discussions; all about adaptation finance. Participants were able to learn about tracking adaptation finance tracking to advocate for more and better funding, to hear from different organizations how they are tracking adaptation finance and how one can get involved.

IIED and partners: BCAS, created the CBA conferences to highlight that effective adaptation to climate change takes place at community level. Past CBA conferences have focused on scaling up best practices, ensuring a scientific basis to action, communicating and mainstreaming CBA and ensuring adaptation funding reaches community level.

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