Japan and UNDP highlight need to build on adaptation achievements in Africa

UNDP News Centre: Efforts to protect development from the impacts of climate change must be supported in Africa. This was the rationale behind the creation of UNDP’s Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP), and it was a sentiment voiced by senior officials from Africa, Japan and the UN at a TICAD V side-event on the AAP’s achievements.

In their opening addresses at the event, Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré, Japan’s Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Masaji Matsuyama and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said they would like to see progress made under the AAP expanded and built on.

The Tokyo International Conference on African Development is the world’s largest forum on African development issues. Under the "Japan-UNDP Joint Framework for Building Partnerships to Address Climate Change in Africa," which was established at TICAD IV in 2008, the Government of Japan provided $92.1 million to implement the AAP.

The side-event attracted a standing-room-only audience, with international viewers following the webcast and tweeting questions and comments. It received coverage in mainstream Japanese media, including a story on the nightly news of Japan’s national TV station NHK.

...In his opening address, President Compaoré called for adaptation-related achievements of the AAP to be built on. "African countries at this moment are confronting serious development challenges. And for each country, the measures that they take to address climate change risks will become increasingly important for their future. But we need to have the tools available and strategic plans in place to effectively adapt to climate change," said President Compaoré....