Outlook on Climate Change Adaptation in the South Caucasus Mountains

Prominence of climate change adaptation in national policy

Climate adaptation in national laws All three South Caucasus countries, as parties to the UNFCCC, formally recognise the provisions and principles of the Convention and therefore their national legal frameworks should comply with the requirements of the convention. In addition to the UNFCCC, the counties are party to number of other international treaties that also view climate change adaptation as a priority area for action – such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) (UNCCD 2012). The national constitutions of all three countries state that everyone has a right to live in a healthy and favourable environment, to have free access to environmental information and that the state guaranties implementation of those basic rights (NARA 1995; President of Azerbaijan 1995; Parliament of Georgia 2013a). In addition, the Georgian Constitution considers mountain regions separately, Article 31 states that: “Special privileges to ensure the socioeconomic progress of high mountain regions shall be established by law” (Parliament of Georgia 2013a). Another similarity across the three countries in relation to both climate change adaptation and mitigation, is the lack of national laws specifically addressing climate change. However, this should

The countries of the South Caucasus are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and referred to as Non-Annex I countries (UNFCCC 2014). Armenia ratified the Convention in 1993 and the Kyoto Protocol in 2003, Azerbaijan ratified the Convention in 1995 and the Kyoto Protocol in 2000, while Georgia ratified the Convention in 1994 and Kyoto Protocol in 1999. During the last decade these countries have been mostly reliant on donor support for their climate related actions. As mitigation activities have become increasingly important for its international partners, the focus on actions related to mitigation in the South Caucasus countries has also increased in prominence. This has led to a number of initiatives at the national and local level including the Covenant of Mayors (EU 2014a), to which almost all Georgian self-governing cities are signatories (13 cities so far), with a further 10 city signatories inArmenia, and one city inAzerbaijan. The shift of focus to climate change adaptation is a fairly new phenomenon even for European countries; the EU itself only formalised its adaptation strategy in 2013 (EU 2015). Similarly in the South Caucasus countries, attention is gradually shifting to adaptation through international processes and negotiations. However, none of these countries have yet to establish specific adaptation plans or strategies. In the case of Georgia, since signing its Association Agreement with the EU, emphasis has been placed on

the elaboration of a National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) which is a mandatory component of the EU Agreement under article 310, which states: “Based on mutual interests, the cooperation [of the parties] shall cover, inter alia , the development and implementation of: (a) NAPA” (EU 2014b). Armenia and Azerbaijan are also making progress and have committed to develop national adaptation strategies through different government decisions and policy documents. However, through analysis of existing policy papers it is clear that climate change adaptation is still at an early stage: studies and actions are yet fragmented and insufficient, while coordination of actions is scarce. The prospects for possible cooperation in the South Caucasus region are very limited. Due to the geopolitical situation in the region, countries in the region can’t take full advantage of the opportunities and benefits of regional cooperation. Joint regional approaches are therefore lacking, in particular at the regional policy development level. The only non- binding policy document, that is recognised by all of the three countries and which refers to climate change adaptation in a regional context, is the Ecoregional Conservation Plan (WWF/CBC 2012). The focus of this assessment is to provide an overview and analysis of national policy frameworks and institutional set-ups related to climate adaptation in the South Caucasus countries.

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