The NAP Process and Peacebuilding

For states struggling to prevent, mitigate or recover from conflict and fragility, the road to stability and sustainability is fraught with challenges. There are immediate needs that must be urgently addressed: ensuring security, relieving suffering, delivering clean water, and restoring energy, health, education and other public services. For governments, addressing these priorities is difficult at the best of times; doing so with limited resources, weakened capacities and under the threat of violence is exponentially harder.

In these countries, it can be difficult to prioritize action to respond to climate change. However, it would be a mistake to neglect the medium- and long-term adaptation needs in these contexts. The NAP process offers an important opportunity to align and integrate adaptation planning and peacebuilding processes.

This briefing note explores the importance and difficulties of bringing these two agendas together in contexts of fragility and instability. It will also highlight some of the countries that have already begun to integrate conflict considerations into their adaptation planning processes. Addressing and integrating these agendas will be especially vital for the sustainable development of fragile states and regions that are seeking to prevent, stop or recover from conflict.

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