Course: Mastering National Adaptation Plans: from Start to Finish

Climate change

Self-paced course

3 hours

English

Welcome!

The adverse impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly more acute, particularly for developing countries. This further exacerbates the wellbeing of the poorest and most vulnerable, meaning adaptation is now crucial to their survival and protection. Successful national adaptation planning requires detailed knowledge and practical skills in order to effectively and efficiently tackle current and future threats.

The National Adaptation Plan (NAPs) process was established under the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010) in order to prepare countries for addressing climate risk in the medium term. The main objectives of the NAPs are to reduce vulnerability to climate change, and to mainstream climate change adaptation in all levels of planning. NAPs require building a stronger evidence base, improving skills and capacity. Additionally need to be country-driven, gender-sensitive, participatory, and use transparent approaches.

This course Mastering National Adaptation Plans: from Start to Finish course will introduce learners to several important aspects of the NAP process. It is aimed at enhancing knowledge of the NAP process elements, relevant issues such as gender and climate information in NAP Formulation and Implementation; and financing NAP processes. This interactive self-paced course will guide learners through various aspects of the NAP journey.

If you encounter any difficulty or if you have any questions, please consult our help page.

What will you learn?

By completing the course, participants will be able to:

Discuss the importance of inclusion of various stakeholders and institutions in the NAP process.
List some examples of important climate data and information necessary for the NAP process, as well as discuss their possible sources locally and internationally.
Explain how climate change adaptation planning could be integrated across different climate-sensitive socio-economic sectors.
Discuss common national and international sources of climate adaptation finance relevant for the NAPs.

Course at a glance

The course consists of three interlinked modules each taking an average of 1 hour to complete:

Module 1: Exploring and Developing a NAP

Module 2: Implementing and Reviewing a NAP

Module 3: Financing the NAP process

Who should take this course?

The course will provide clear, concise, and up-to-date information for anybody interested in exploring the important aspects of the NAP process. It should be of particular interest to the following audiences:

Policymakers and government officials from LDCs and other developing countries working on NAPs wanting to increase their understanding on the steps involved in national adaptation planning, and the challenges that may arise along the way

Technical experts in climate-sensitive sectors with an interest in better understanding the cross-sectoral linkages between climate change and their sectors

Policymakers and technical specialists with an interest in understanding climate adaptation finance

Academic and wider public stakeholders interested in enhancing their knowledge on the process of adaptation

Methodology

The course is self-paced and not moderated. It has been divided into three modules. We recommend that you view the modules sequentially for the best learning experience, starting with Module 1 which focuses on the formulation and planning phases of the NAP process; Module 2 focuses on the implementation and review phases of the NAP process and ends with Module 3 which focuses on financing the NAP process.

Each module contains interactive content and a non-summative assessment to check your understanding. Each module takes around 1 hour to complete. The modules also contain a wealth of links to other resources on issues discussed, but these are meant for extra reading if of interest. This extra reading will not be part of the final quiz at the end of each Module.

Each module has a final quiz that aims to assess the achievement of the learning objectives. The assessment contains 10 multiple-choice questions. After passing each module's final assessment with at least 70% of correct answers within 3 attempts, the participant automatically unlocks a badge per module. After obtaining all 3 badges for each module, the participant can automatically download a UN Certificate of Completion from the Certification tab.

Participants can provide feedback on the course by filling a feedback form, which can be accessed in the Certification tab on the course page.

Get a certificate

Each Module has a final quiz that aims to assess the achievement of the learning objectives. The assessment contains 10 multiple-choice questions. After passing each Module's final assessment with at least 70% of correct answers within 3 attempts, the participant automatically unlocks a badge per module. After obtaining all 3 badges for each module, the participant can automatically download a UN Certificate of Completion from the Certification tab.

Partners and Contributors

This self-paced course is a learning initiative of the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)and part of the National Adaptation Plan Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP). The NAP-GSP is a joint programme, implemented by UNDP and UN Environment, in collaboration with other UN Agencies to assist countries with their NAP processes. The programme is funded through the Global Environment Facility (GEF).