Quang Ninh, Viet Nam, September 10 – Government representatives from eight countries across the Asia-Pacific region—Viet Nam (host), Bhutan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Tonga— will convene on Tuesday in Ha Long City, Viet Nam, for a 3-day peer learning event aimed at strengthening monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems for National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes.
The NAP Global Network and the Government of Viet Nam, through funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), are bringing together adaptation experts and decision-makers to share knowledge and learn from each other’s experiences on how to develop robust MEL systems for their NAP processes, which are essential to assess the performance and improve adaptation measures.
This regional event—Developing and Strengthening MEL Systems in National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Processes—will also focus on key elements in MEL systems to track progress on adaptation efforts and develop more effective, inclusive NAP processes.
“Developing and operating MEL system is essential for effective adaptation action and national adaptation planning,” said Dr. Mai Kim Lien, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
The UN has reported that almost all developing countries that are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have a NAP process underway. However, a recent report from the International Institute for Sustainable Development — which hosts the NAP Global Network—indicates that many countries, including Viet Nam and Tonga, which are participating in this workshop, are building MEL systems for their NAP process to track and report on their adaptation actions.
The findings highlight the opportunity among countries to build robust MEL systems that capture progress and lessons learned from adaptation efforts at the national level. In turn, these can provide a critical source of evidence to inform assessments of collective progress on adaptation through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s recent UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience.
“A robust MEL system is not just about monitoring and evaluating; it’s about embedding learning as a core component of the adaptation journey, ensuring that strategies evolve as new evidence and insights emerge,” said Dr. Emilie Beauchamp, NAP Global Network’s Lead on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for Adaptation to Climate Change.
This event allows country participants to address challenges and get insights through peer-to-peer exchanges to better integrate MEL into NAP Processes. Ensuring MEL is well integrated into NAP processes means countries can continuously improve and adapt their climate change adaptation strategies to ensure they are effective, gender-responsive and socially inclusive.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Adrián Estanol
Communication Officer, NAP Global Network
aestanol@iisd.ca
About the NAP Global Network
The NAP Global Network was created in 2014 to support developing countries in advancing their NAP processes and help accelerate adaptation efforts around the world. To achieve this, the Network facilitates South–South peer learning and exchange, supports national-level action on NAP formulation and implementation, and generates, synthesizes, and shares knowledge. The Network’s members include individual participants from more than 155 countries involved in developing and implementing National Adaptation Plans. Financial support for the Network has been provided by Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Green Climate Fund. The Secretariat is hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development. For more information, visit www.napglobalnetwork.org.
Additional resources
For more information on the importance of MEL systems for NAP processes, read our blog that explores the toolkit for MEL for NAP processes.