Support Programme on Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through NDCs and National Adaptation Plans (SCALA)

With climate change threatening the agriculture sectors, livelihoods and food security, there is an urgent need for scaled action to cope with climate-related impacts. In response to that, SCALA supports 12 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to both build adaptive capacity and to implement low emission priorities in agriculture and land use. The programme uses a multi-stakeholder approach, harnessing strong engagement from the private sector and key national institutions. National activities focus on strengthening policies, appraising and adopting innovative approaches, as well as removing key barriers related to information gaps, governance, finance, gender mainstreaming and integrated monitoring and reporting. The ultimate goal is for countries to turn agricultural related priorities laid out in their National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) into action.

Project data

Countries: Argentina, Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Nepal, Senegal, Thailand, Uganda
IKI funding: 20,000,000.00 €
Duration: 11/2019 till 12/2025
Status: open
Implementing organisation: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Political Partner: Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Equipement - Senegal

Ministries of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry - Mongolia

Ministry for Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) - Senegal

Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries - Uganda

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries - Cambodia

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MAGyP) - Argentina

Ministry of Agriculture & Land Reclamation - Egypt

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives - Thailand

Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock - Costa Rica

Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development - Nepal

Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources - Ethiopia

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - Colombia

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - Cote d 'Ivoire

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MEFCC) – Ethiopia*

Ministry of Environment (MoE) - Cambodia

Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) - Costa Rica

Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MinAmbiente) - Colombia

Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development - Argentina*

Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development - Côte d’Ivoire

Ministry of Environment and Tourism – Mongolia; Ministry of Environment MoE - Egypt; Ministry of Forests and Environment - Nepal; Ministry of Water and Environment - Uganda; Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning - ONEP - Thailand
Implementing Partner: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Online: http://www.fao.org/in-action/scala/en

https://www.adaptation-undp.org/scala

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State of implementation/results

SCALA is supporting countries to identify, prioritize and unpack transformative climate options in national plans and strengthening capacities to produce and apply information for evidence-based decision-making. All countries are undertaking systems-level assessments (SLAs) to fill information gaps to be able to implement their agriculture-related climate priorities and lay the foundation to leverage investment in transformative climate action. Examples include:
- Colombia: 32 risk and vulnerability assessments were completed and validated, including tools and indicators to support the management and monitoring of climate risks in agricultural sub-sectors at the local level.
- Mongolia: an assessment on the implications of a new livestock tax law was conducted to identify evidence-based climate solutions to address livestock management, pastureland degradation and increasing carbon emissions from animal husbandry in support of national development and climate goals.
- Uganda: a holistic systems assessment was finalized in the cattle corridor to measure household resilience amongst smallholder farmers and pastoralists and identify value chains that can strengthen livelihoods. The results of the assessment will be used to inform the development of gender-responsive district development and adaptation plans in 6 districts (Isingiro, Nakasongola, Katakwi, Amolatar, Napak and Kamuli) in Uganda’s Cattle corridor.
Outcome 2: Enhancing governance and integration of agriculture and land-use priorities:
SCALA is enhancing governance mechanisms by reinforcing multistakeholder participation and capacitating the institutions in charge of implementing NDCs and NAPs to mainstream agriculture and land use priorities in planning, budgeting and monitoring. Examples includes:
- Technical and financial assistance was provided to draft and validate of the Climate Change Priority Action Plan (CCPAP) for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Sector (2023-2030) (Cambodia); finalize and validate the NAP (Cote d’Ivoire); identify barriers for Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA), a key priority for the NDC, NAP and Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) (Ethiopia); formulate and endorse the revised Climate Change Action Plan on Agriculture (CCAPA) (Thailand).
- Efforts to improve capacities and M&E and MRV frameworks in line with UNFCCC reporting requirements included: capacity needs assessment for ETF reporting requirements and a training session on GHG accounting (Cambodia); an evaluation of existing M&E and MRV frameworks and improvement plan for the establishment of a national MRV and M&E system (Côte d’Ivoire); technical support on a proposal to submit Biennial Transparency Reports and National Communications in line with ETF requirements (Ethiopia); enhancing data management systems and accessibility of GHG information (Mongolia); capacity needs assessment of the AFOLU MRV system (Nepal); capacity building on NDC implementation tracking and data collection (Senegal) and the implementation of an action plan to operationalize the integrated MRV tool for transparency reporting (Uganda).
In collaboration with UNDP’s Food and Agricultural Commodities System team, SCALA is adapting the Effective Collaborative Action (ECA) methodology to operationalize a coordination mechanism for climate action between the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment (Costa Rica). Through collaboration with a national university in (Colombia), SCALA contributed to the design of a Diploma in “Food Sustainability for Climate Action” which provided scholarships and training to leaders from farmers’ organizations. 17 community representatives have graduated from the program.

Outcome 3: Promoting private sector engagement in climate action:

SCALA is supporting countries to enhance private sector engagement in agriculture and land use and building new alliances for the implementation of priority climate actions. Examples include:
- a private sector mapping (part of the SLA) to inform the design of bankable concept notes in cassava and dairy production (Uganda); the development of market-based instruments to reduce livestock emissions (Mongolia); the documentation of the impact of private investment and digital innovation (Cote d’Ivoire); piloting a certification scheme for deforestation-free beef production in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and with regional livestock associations (Costa Rica); developing a framework for voluntary agreements between the government and the private sector to implement adaptation and mitigation actions in three prioritized sub-sectors of the PIGGCS (Colombia).
Under the SCALA Private Sector Engagement Facility (PSE Facility), a market study assessing the commercial viability of bio-inputs for the production of organic vegetables and commodities was completed and published in Sao Tome and Principe. In Somalia a private sector and ecosystem mapping, and analysis of agricultural value chains was conducted. Opportunities to incorporate the assessments into broader national initiatives are being explored.

Latest events organized by SCALA:

October: co-organized a webinar on Engaging the Private Sector for Adaptation with the Adaptation Pipeline Accelerator (APA). www.adaptation-undp.org/…
November: organized a side event on Planning for adaptation and resilience: Scaling up climate ambition for resilience of land use and agriculture systems at the Asia-Pacific Climate Week 2023.
November: co-organized a webinar on Building Effective Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Systems for Climate Resilience with the Adaptation Pipeline Accelerator (APA). www.adaptation-undp.org/…
December: organized a side event on Scaling up inclusive climate action through private sector engagement in agriculture and land use at the NDC Partnership Pavilion at COP28 with representatives of BMUV, Cambodia, Nepal and Senegal. www.fao.org/…
February: Participated in the LDC Expert Group meeting in Bujumbura.
March: Participated in the UNFCCC Interagency Meeting on NDC 3.0 - Supporting the 2025 Nationally Determined Contributions.

Latest Update:
08/2024