Let’s imagine that you are building a ship. We won’t call it Titanic because we know how that ended. But you know there are increasingly heavy seas ahead, icebergs and peril aplenty. Your ship has the finest architects, engineers and crew and the best wishes of the whole world. Let’s call it the good ship Adaptation and you are the parties talking about her first voyage. Here are ECO’s tips for a successful trip:
Leave no one behind. This means putting the most vulnerable at the head of the queue. Others more able will follow.
Listen of the forecasts to inform your route, including those local and Indigenous people who know the seas best, and have sailed many times before
Have the same wise people pilot the ship when in their waters
Make sure you have an ample and fairly-sourced supply for your whole journey, including reserve to respond to unpredictable events. Spread your resources equally across the ship so as not to tip it over,
Make sure you know where you are bound and that you will know when you get there
Chart your progress, check your bearings, and be prepared to alter course when needed.
Of course, the Global Goal on Adaptation is not a ship, nor a GlaSS bottomed boat. But the Parties so embroiled in negotiations this week seem to be endlessly repeating themselves. They need to make sure they are not paddling around in circles. Standing on the crumbling shoreline, ECO can perhaps see better than those aboard that you need help.
As we move from negotiation to implementation – the old tools need to be replaced, but there is no time to dither anymore. The IPCC is ready with scientific and academic support, the Sendai Framework models the means for preparation, and please don’t forget that adaptation is about contributing to sustainable development and the goals for that are well elaborated and understood.
And there is help at hand. There’s a draft proposed framework that could reset the GlaSS work programme! It is not perfect, it needs changes, but it is worth pursuing. There is a concept note to take the workshops out of the doldrums: change towards transformation, inclusion of Indigenous Peoples’ wisdom, values and knowledge, along with the potential for non-Party stakeholders, such as local communities to enhance action and support, and assess progress locally and sub-nationally.
Let’s all work together to get the good boat Adaptation launched and underway.