The inaugural meeting of the Central America Peer Learning Cohort took place on June 16 and 17 in Bonn, Germany. Scientists and researchers came together with government representatives from the environment and finance ministries of Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Panama to exchange knowledge and advance the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process in the region.
This was just the start of a 3-year process that will seek to foster an exchange of experiences and lessons learned in order to address climate change adaptation issues of common interest in the region. One issue of regional interest that has been identified is greater coordination with key actors in adaptation processes, including the science community, civil society, and the private sector.
Under the theme Multi-stakeholder Partnerships with Academia and Researchers for National Adaptation Plan Processes in the Central American Region, the Bonn meeting focused on an exchange of experiences on how data and science can strengthen the “climate rationale” of adaptation project proposals, as these need to be developed with a strong scientific basis if they are to access different sources of funding.
Organized by the NAP Global Network, the general objectives of the Peer Learning Cohort are to:
- address issues of common interest on the climate adaptation agendas of the region’s countries;
- incorporate the technical, relational, reflective and experiential elements of peer learning; and
- promote the new transformative approaches that could emerge from a space of trust and mutual learning.
“Many of the knowledge generation processes for climate change adaptation in the region tend to be based around one-off projects. The formulation of National Adaptation Plans helps to generate a national consensus around the formulation and implementation of medium- to long-term policies that go beyond specific projects.”
Mauricio Luna Rodríguez, Policy Advisor and Climate Change Adaptation Governance Expert at the NAP Global Network Secretariat