Boosting transparency in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use sector
As countries are preparing to raise ambitions in the new round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), it is of utmost importance that they can rely on tools to capture their efforts and collect evidence-based information in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector. Under the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), 13 pilot countries are participating in FAO’s CBIT-AFOLU project, receiving support to create solid institutional arrangements (IA) and to enhance their Measuring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems to meet the requirements of the enhanced transparency framework (ETF). Countries have the opportunity to review and provide feedback on enhanced IA, MRV, and M&E tools, and benefit from capacity-building activities tailored to their needs. Furthermore, these pilot countries will have an active role in the establishment of a network of AFOLU transparency practitioners to share their experiences and best practices, and learn from each other through a virtual exchange.
In order to receive tailored support, countries participated in a survey to identify the main gaps in their IA, MRV and M&E systems. For each component, the survey provided an understanding of which areas need the most support, and which tools are the most used.
With regards to the IA component, the survey results show a strong need for support on methodologies and tools for tracking progress in NDC implementation. In parallel, a certain degree of familiarity has been detected with UNFCCC guidance, such as the IA for national adaptation planning and implementation, and the one for setting up and enhancing national technical teams for GHG inventories.
In the MRV component, the survey highlighted a high demand for support on the GHG Inventory and its related National Inventory Report, including key category analysis, time-series consistency, uncertainty assessment, QA/QC. Currently, the IPCC Software is the most used tool, while interest is high towards a guidance for practitioners in the MRV process in the AFOLU sector.
Finally, in the M&E component, countries show interest in FAO tools and methodologies aimed at assessing adaptation actions and processes, collecting information on climate related hazards, impacts and vulnerabilities. Examples of such tools are the Modelling System for Agricultural Impacts of Climate Change and M&E Guidance Note on Strengthening M&E for adaptation planning in the agriculture sector.
Based on the results of the survey and on countries’ preferences, national correspondents were involved in the development of country-specific work plans. As the project activities unroll, countries will be asked to review and provide feedback on transparency-enhanced tools, while raising their capacity to fulfil their reporting obligations.
While pilot countries will have a crucial role during the testing phase of the newly enhanced tools, the tools will be disseminated to a wider audience of countries and transparency practitioners. Mapping countries’ needs, aligning tools to country requests, and identifying the best modalities to deliver an effective and sustainable capacity development are the major achievements in this phase of the project, that are already being put in practice in an effort to replicate the process to a wider audience.
Related resources:
GEF CBIT: https://www.thegef.org/topics/capacity-building-initiative-transparency-cbit
CBIT Global Coordination platform: https://www.cbitplatform.org