Coordination Mechanism | Coordination Mechanism

Background and context

Under the framework of the Moldovan Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change and of the UNFCCC, the government of Moldova is in the process of developing its National Adaptation Plan.

Moldova's approach to this process is to first establish a framework for adaptation decision-making (national adaptation framework or NAF), which will be supported by periodical implementation instruments, called National Adaptation Plans and Sector Adaptation Plans. In this context, Plans are conceived as "action plans", meaning a time-bound list of activities.

The policy mandate for creating the Adaptation Framework and its NAPs and SAPs originates from the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and its supporting Action Plan, which is to be approved in 2014. The NCCAS aims to "ensure that the Republic of Moldova's social and economic development is resilient to the impacts of climate change, by establishing a strong enabling environment and clear direction for an effective and coherent climate change adaptation process to take place across all relevant sectors", while exploring the social and gender dimensions of climate change. Many of the actions under the Action Plan of the CCAS contribute to the development of a comprehensive national adaptation framework, for example action point 1.2.7 which calls for the "Development of the National Adaptation Plan for Climate Change in accordance with country's commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change".

As set forth in the "Concept Note and Guidance for a National Adaptation Framework for Moldova", the national adaptation framework (NAF) is first and foremost an institutional and policy framework for decision-making, reporting and monitoring, and for facilitating integration of climate issues into sectoral programmes and plans. It is:

Formalized through a legal mandate
Institutionalized through a multi-sectoral coordinating mechanism headed by high-level authorities.
Implemented through a series of periodical National Adaptation Plans (5 years) and Sectoral Action Plans (4 years).
Supported by a long-term financial strategy that includes national sources and international support.
Accompanied by a strong communication strategy designed to foster long-term behavioral change among sectors, consumers and the general public.
Sensitive to the social and gender aspects of climate change and adaptation.

The Concept Note and Guidance for a National Adaptation Framework foresees that each ministry responsible for a sector would be charged to develop either a Sectoral Adaptation Plan every four years (in line with regular planning cycles), or to integrate adaptation options into their existing Sector Plans (Mainstreamed Adaptation Plans, or MAPs). Each ministry, regardless of the approach taken, would identify a set of priority adaptation actions to be implemented on a rolling basis. Actions included in these plans should be developed in response to the different impact that climate change may have on various social groups, (e.g. women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities). At the end of the planning period, each ministry would report on its actions, through a multisectoral adaptation platform. The plans would have to be implemented from existing resources or from newly identified resources.

In addition to the Sectoral Adaptation Plans, a national adaptation coordinating mechanism would develop a National Adaptation Plan that would include activities common to all sectors and designed to facilitate sectoral and local adaptation: for example, assessments, capacity development, technology, research, publications, consultations, reporting etc. These activities would be considered as enabling/supporting activities for the sectoral plans. At the higher level, the NAP would also be developed in a socially and gender-sensitive manner. The NAP would be updated every 5 years, based on progress in implementation.

The purpose of this note is therefore to propose a way forward regarding the proposed multi-sectoral coordinating mechanism. It should be considered as a companion piece to the NAF Concept and Guidance note, which sets out the overall elements of the NAF. It is proposed that this paper serve as a basis for undertaking inter-sectoral discussions, leading to an agreement, which would be formalized through the highest level of government. It is proposed that, until its official designation, this coordination mechanism could be designated as the "multi-stakeholder adaptation platform, or MSAP".

Policy mandate for a coordination mechanism

The mandate for creating an adaptation coordinating mechanism stems from the CCAS, under its second objective to "Ensure that climate change adaptation is a national and local priority with a strong institutional basis", which includes actions to strengthen/create appropriate institutional mechanisms. For example, under Strategic Objective 1, the CCAS foresees "strong institutional structure and an environment that would allow to facilitate adaptation to climate change in all sectors and at all levels of implementation", the establishment of working groups, as well as the revision of existing institutional mechanisms for climate change, including the possibility of setting up climate change divisions within various ministries.

Key principles

Bearing in mind the general principles of the NAF and the proposed make-up of the national adaptation planning process in Moldova, the following key principles are proposed in order to shape the coordinating mechanism, whether it is based on an existing body or it is created afresh:

1- It should build on what is already in existence and effective in the country, as well as on lessons learned from past coordination initiatives;

2- It should have sufficient authority to be able to leverage cooperation, implementation and compliance;

3- It should be broad-based and inclusive of all sectors, as well as include representation from non governmental entities and special interest groups;

4- It should be well tied into macro-level planning processes in the country in order to ensure that adaptation does not remain ad hoc;

5- It should ensure adequate representation from women and men, and allow for the expression of needs and interests from all social groups.

Proposed coordination mechanism

The following are the key elements of the proposed platform for adaptation. The coordination mechanism is foreseen as an inter-departmental policy group, chaired by a central governmental entity. It is envisaged that non-governmental entities, including NGOs, special interest groups, the private sector and academia would be invited or required to participate. The coordination mechanism would be supported by technical task forces, which would be enabled to discuss concrete adaptation issues on a regular basis. The platform would be accountable to the government and would report through its chairing ministry.

1. Mandate and mission: The mandate of the platform is to coordinate adaptation planning and action among all government entities, to monitor progress on adaptation, to facilitate the implementation of enabling activities for capacity development and to oversee the distribution of resources for adaptation. Its overall mission should be to facilitate long-term integration of adaptation into development, taking into consideration gender and social dimensions, as specified in the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. The legal mandate for the creation of this coordinating body will be formalized through a decision/law.

2. Purpose and scope: The purpose of the multi-stakeholder adaptation platform would be to coordinate, leverage and report on planning and actions by all stakeholders related to climate change adaptation in the country. The platform would intervene during the policy and program formulation stages, and would also have a role to play in monitoring the implementation of adaptation activities sectorally.

3. Tasks, duties and responsibilities: In order to deliver its mandate, the platform would be tasked with:

Coordination of actions to implement the CCAS
Coordination of sectoral plans on adaptation
Monitoring of sectoral efforts to integrate adaptation into planning (mainstreaming);
Integration of gender issues into adaptation plans, strategies and policies
The development/revision/update and implementation of regular NAPs
The monitoring of adaptation action at sub-national level, through regional decentralization
The development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation frameworks for adaptation
The creation of partnerships for adaptation nationally and internationally
The mobilization of resources and/or the monitoring of (national and international) resource allocations for adaptation
Giving of accounts to the Government of Moldova on adaptation progress.

4. Composition: The proposed platform would be chaired by the Prime Minister, to ensure appropriate legal mandate, authority and integration. The Ministry of Environment would co-chair the group and, through the Climate Change Office, would serve as Secretariat. Members would include:

Ministry of Regional Development and Construction*
Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family
Ministry of Economy
Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Internal Affairs
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry
Ministry of Transports and Road Infrastructure
Ministry of Education
Ministry of Culture
Ministry of Health
Ministry of Youth and Sport
Ministry of Information and Communication Technology
Academy of Sciences
2 representatives from universities (designated by the Universities)
3 representatives from environmental NGOs (designated by the NGOs)
1 Representative of Women / gender NGO
3 representatives from the private sector (designated by the Moldovan Chamber of Industry and Commerce)

*The Ministry of Regional Development would play a key role in the platform, by serving as a relay between the decentralized administrations and the central level. Reporting from the local level to the central level would be coordinated through the MRD.

Representation on the overarching coordination mechanism would be at the highest level, or at least Deputy Minister level. In addition to the high-level body, the coordination mechanism would be able to sub-divide into technical or thematic task-forces, where members could discuss specific technical areas of cooperation. These task-forces could invite representatives of regions if and when required. Participation in the task forces could be deployed at the Director level. Examples of task forces could include:

Task force on adaptation in the wine sub-sector
Task force on adaptation in the water sector
Task force on adaptation in the forestry sub-sector
Task force on adaptation indicators and monitoring
Task force on adaptation finance and partnerships

The participation of women as members in the high-level platform, as well as equal participation in the various task forces, will be encouraged.

5. Authority: The coordination mechanism should have the authority to request regular reports from sectoral ministries on the evolution of their adaptation planning and their adaptation actions. The mechanism should also have sufficient decision-making power to be able to compel ministries and other partners to undertake adaptation planning. This authority should be formalized in the government mandate establishing the coordination mechanism.

6. Accountability and reporting: The platform should be accountable to the government of Moldova, and should, through the Prime Minister, report periodically to the Parliament. The coordination platform should have more decision-making authority than the usual Commissions under Moldovan law in order to be able to leverage action by various ministries, governmental and non-governmental entities.

7. Frequency of meetings: Whereas the overarching body should meet no more than once a year, task forces could meet as frequently as quarterly or biannually, depending on their responsibilities and tasks.

8. Resources: The budget for the coordination mechanism should be set out in the first NAP and should be mobilized, as a matter of priority, from available national resources, for sustainability. Additional resources may be mobilized for the meetings and operations of the Coordination mechanism form external sources, in an ad hoc manner.

Establishing the multi-sectoral adaptation platform

While it may be tempting to create a new coordinating body, the first step should be to determine whether an existing mechanism could be used, modified or improved to fulfill the purpose of the adaptation platform. Using an existing body would assist in reducing administrative burden for participants, reduce the potential for duplication and build on existing collaborative arrangements. Cost savings could also be achieved.

Three existing mechanisms have emerged from assessments as potential candidates to serve as a basis for the MSAP: The national Commission for implementing the commitments under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol (National Climate Change Commission), the Interministerial Working group on Climate Change (IWGCC) and the Interministerial Committee for Strategic Planning (ICSP). The National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy foresees the broadening of the NCCC, which was initially focused on mitigation actions, to encompass adaptation as well. This would provide a definite starting point towards the creation of a multi-sectoral adaptation platform.

A summary analysis of the three bodies' strengths and weaknesses in relation to the principles and elements related above can be found in the Annex.

Way forward to create the MSAP

A number of key details should be discussed and agreed by all stakeholders before the government officially convenes the MSAP, as summarized below.

Element	Key questions
1. Mandate and mission	A formal statement of mandate and mission should be agreed.
2. Purpose and scope	Should the MSAP be tasked with examining and facilitating adaptation at local level, and if so, what can be the role of the MRD in this regard?
3. Tasks, duties and responsibilities	Should the tasks of the MSAP be entrusted to an existing body or a new one? Are the tasks enumerated sufficient to ensure adequate coordination and implementation of adaptation?
4. Composition	How should chairmanship of the MSAP be decided? Should high-level representatives be replaced by designated alternates at non- ministerial level? What should be the difference in hierarchy between the MSAP and its task forces? How cangender balanced participation be ensured?
5. Authority	What level of authority can the MSAP have and what status should its decisions or recommendations have? Should it have authority to command actions be taken by its members and if so, what should be the rules of procedure? Should there be a system of sanctions or incentives to encourage adaptation implementation?
6. Accountability and reporting	What should be the frequency of the reports? Should the reports be submitted to parliament only and what would be the process of examination? Should individual ministries include the activities related to adaptation into their own annual reports? What would be the consultative process to develop the reports?
7. Frequency of meetings	How frequently should the high-level platform meet? How frequently should the task-forces meet? Should the mandate, composition, tasks and functions of the MSAP be subject of regular review, and if so, by what entity?
8. Resources	What would be the costs of operating the MSAP and its task forces? Should the MSAP have its own resources for adaptation and if so, how would these be allocated? How should decisions about resource allocations be made?
9. Other issues	Which existing body would be the best candidate to act as a basis for the MSAP, and what should be the formal process to expand its mandate, functions and resources to accommodate new tasks for adaptation?