Largest meeting worldwide on EbA mainstreaming

In August, about 80 practitioners from 22 countries gathered in Bangkok for the second international Community of Practice (CoP) workshop on Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA). 

The largest meeting worldwide of experts on "Adaptation to climate change by the use of natural resources - ecosystem based adaptation" took place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 21 to 24 of August 2017. 87 practitioners from 22 countries gathered for the second international Community of Practice (CoP) workshop on Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) to strengthen the role of ecosystem adaptation policies, their planning and implementation.

This workshop allowed a stocktaking of recent EbA developments and success stories related to four main topics: entry points for mainstreaming EbA, finance options, evidence of EbA measures, and monitoring and evaluation. The event was organised by the global project Mainstreaming Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) which is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Environment Ministry.
The project is being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and will present, together with partners, the soon to be published Guidance on Climate Risk Assessment in the context of EbA to gather feedback and inputs from fellow CoP members.

The four-day workshop in Bangkok was followed by two parallel three-day training sessions carried out in Hua Hin, Thailand: one on Mainstreaming EbA into development planning and the other one on Valuating the benefits, costs & impacts of ecosystem-based adaptation measures.
Both trainings included a full-day fieldtrip to the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park in Phetchaburi, which was established in 2000 to serve as a rehabilitation area for mangrove forests and as a pilot site for a variety of sustainable initiatives such as green energy and water management processes. During the second and third day of the training, different sessions on topics relevant to each training course were programmed. The main objective of the first training course was to enhance capacities among development partners in successfully tapping the potential of ecosystem services for climate change. This has been achieved through the familiarization with the latest international political and conceptual discussions on EbA, biodiversity and ecosystem services as well as their value for humans. The second training aimed at building up awareness and knowledge about why, how and in which contexts EbA assessment and valuation can be used to strengthen climate adaptation planning and implementation.

Experiences and lessons learnt from implementation will be shared to a wider community through the online resources on www.AdaptationCommunity.net , www.panorama.solutions  and the EbA CoP YouTube Channel