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Project Title: United Nations Joint Programme - MDG-F 1680 Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change
Project Website: www.iklimmdgf-tr.org, www.iklim.cob.gov.tr
Project Number: 00058944
Budget: USD 7,000,000 (USD 4,954,700 UNDP Budget)
Project Funding:
This joint programme is funded by the Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund (MDG-F) entrusted to United Nations by Government of Spain. On 18 December 2006, UNDP Administrator Kemal Derviş and Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Leire Pajin, signed a landmark agreement to allocate through UNDP, a total amount of €528 million over the next four years, towards the achievement of key Millennium Development Goals and related development goals in the selected countries. Turkey, as one of the 57 eligible countries worldwide, was awarded USD 7,000,000 through the funding window; enhancing capacity to adapt to the climate change. UN Joint Programme, titled “Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change”, was prepared in close collaboration with the relevant ministries, academia and relevant UN agencies.
Delivery in previous fiscal years: 280,452.42 USD as of 31 December 2011
Timeline: June 2008 – February 2012
Location: Nationwide, special focus on Seyhan River Basin (Kayseri, Niğde, Adana)
Status of the Project: Ongoing
Corporate Thematic/Related Cross-Cutting Areas: Environment and Sustainable Development
UN/National Executing Agencies: Ministry of Environment and Urbanization
UN/National/NGO Implementing Partners: The Joint Programme is being implemented by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Other relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs and the Ministry of Development will provide technical support for the implementation of the programme.
Short Summary of the Project:
In order to establish the necessary strategies and enhance institutional capacity for Turkey to combat and manage the effects of climate change, under the coordination of Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, a United Nations Joint Programme titled “Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change” was initiated. The Joint Programme aims to integrate the climate change adaptation into national, regional and local policies within the framework of future development targets of Turkey in terms of sustainability. The goal of the Joint Programme is to enhance capacity in order to manage climate change risks that threaten Turkey’s rural and coastal area development. The project aims to achieve its goal through mainstreaming climate change adaptation in Turkey’s national plans and developing a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy; developing national and regional institutional capacity in order to predict and manage risks induced by uncertainties caused by climate change and climatic conditions; implementing community-based pilot projects in the Seyhan River Basin; mainstreaming climate change adaptation into UN programming framework in Turkey. The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization acts as the executing agency of the Joint Programme and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) are the implementing agencies of the programme.
What has been the situation?
As part of the southern belt of Mediterranean Europe, Turkey is highly vulnerable to anticipated climate change impacts. Turkey’s First National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2007 reports that present climate change effects include rising summer temperatures, reduced winter precipitation in the western provinces, loss of surface waters, greater frequency of droughts, land degradation, coastal erosion, and flooding. This is having a major negative effect on water availability for food production and rural development. The severity of these impacts is predicted to increase.
What is our mission?
The United Nations Joint Programme on “Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change” aims to integrate the climate change adaptation into national, regional and local policies within the framework of future development targets of Turkey in terms of sustainability. The goal of the Joint Programme is to enhance capacity in order to manage climate change risks that threaten Turkey’s rural and coastal area development. The project aims to achieve its goal through:
• Mainstreaming climate change adaptation in Turkey’s national plans and developing a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
• Developing national and regional institutional capacity in order to predict and manage risks induced by uncertainties caused by climate change and climatic conditions
• Implementing community-based pilot projects in the Seyhan River Basin
• Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into UN programming framework in Turkey
How are we doing this?
UNDP is the main implementing organization of the joint programme. The key requirements for climate change adaptation in Turkey are stipulated in Turkey’s Ninth Development Plan 2007-2013 (paragraph 461) and in rural development strategies such as The Regional Development Plan for the Eastern Black Sea Region (2002). These requirements will be addressed by developing a National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy which will complement the existing development plans and procedures. In addition, legislative changes will be proposed to mainstream climate change risks into development and regional planning.
The capacity of national and regional institutions to respond to disasters induced by climate change will be enhanced. In particular, capacity will be developed in the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization (MEU), the Ministry of Forestry and Water Works (MFWW), the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MFAL), the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology (MSIT), Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MENR), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of National Education (MONE), NGOs and universities to ensure that appropriate climatic data are systematically collected and disseminated to relevant end-users via early warning systems.
Present initiatives in the Seyhan River Basin to increase the resilience of communities to climate change and climate variability will be further developed. The approach will be multi-faceted and will aim to e.g. maintain agricultural productivity, ecosystem goods and services, and the natural resource base in the context of a changing climate. It will also focus on improving preparedness for an increase in the frequency of droughts and floods. Public private partnerships will be a key component of this outcome.
The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) will be revised and used for mainstreaming climate change adaptation within MDG-based UN programming in Turkey. UN resources for responding climate change risks will be mobilized. The focus will be on areas where the UN has a comparative advantage and can develop long-lasting in-country capacities at individual, institutional and societal levels. Adaptation to climate change will be integrated into all multi-agency projects targeted at achieving the MDGs.
How will Turkey benefit?
The Joint Programme will support Turkey’s efforts to introduce adaptive and long-term strategies into the legislative framework, policy making and implementation structures to address sustainable development issues.
Without cognizance of climate change induced threats, Turkey’s progress toward achieving the MDGs will be seriously jeopardized. For example, a major lacuna in national policy in Turkey is the insufficiency of climate change considerations in long-term water resource planning, particularly in the vulnerable and sensitive zones such as wetlands and aquatic ecosystems; based on legislation on energy efficiency and renewable energy which has indirect effect on water resources as well. This threatens economic development as well as the appropriate conservation of Turkey’s natural resources.
The Joint Programme will serve as a catalyst through pilot local actions to introduce and implement community-based adaptation principles and approaches; build capacity in the vulnerable rural regions and develop public-private partnerships to mobilize resources in addressing climate change risks. Building on preliminary studies carried out under the First National Communication of Turkey to the UNFCCC (2007), the programme will focus on the Seyhan River Basin, as it has been identified as an extremely vulnerable region in terms of climate change.
Finally, the proposed programme will help align the efforts of the UNCT on the emerging climate change issues. The programme thus provides an unprecedented opportunity for the UNCT in Turkey to demonstrate its capacity to function as “One UN”.
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