Outlook on climate change adaptation in the Tropical Andes mountains

Institutional and stakeholder analysis

Colombia Colombia has an intersectoral policy approach to climate change adaptation involving a variety of institutions. The responsibility rests on the competent respective sector agencies and the regional and local authorities rather than on the National Development Plan (NDP), which lays out SISCLIMA, the instrument for coordinating public offices for adaptation action. One implication of this decentralized approach is that SISCLIMA funds and proposes programmes on agriculture adaptation, whereas the competent ministry (in this case the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development – MADR) is responsible for its implementation. Nonetheless, SISCLIMA involves not only public bodies but also civil society institutions such as universities, indigenous communities’ representative institutions, research centres, as well as companies. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) considers SISCLIMA a strong policy framework for climate resilience actions, with its ambitious design and wide institutional network and linkages. It is equipped with a coordination mechanism and each involved office and unit has a specific role. For instance, the Intersectoral Commission on Climate Change (COMICC) manages SISCLIMA. It is also in charge of proposing strategic action to the Financial Committee. COMICC is assisted on sectoral issues by consultative boards, two of which are permanent: scientific- technical and technical-

The following paragraphs identify Andean countries’ formal and informal institutions that are relevant for climate change adaptation. The formal institutions are explicitly integrated in relevant policy processes through the national instrument for climate change adaptation. The informal institutions are those participating in the process but without holding a formal policy responsibility. Moreover, involved institutions are characterized as either public, international or civil society organizations. Bolivia Law 300 and the Patriotic Agenda constitute the framework for adaptation measures in Bolivia. The Plurinational Mother Earth Authority (APMT) and the Ministry of Environment and Water are the authorities responsible for climate change adaptation. However, actions to address climate change are of a multisectoral scale and implemented by the respective sectoral institutions. As of today, there is no national strategy or policy on climate change or climate change adaptation. Civil society participation in elaborating climate change adaptation policy approaches appears to have declined in recent years. In 2009, the Platform for Social Organizations for Climate Change was formally created, to include an alliance of 180 social movements, national and international NGOs and other civic organizations. The objective of this Platform was to represent the needs of the groups most vulnerable to climate change. However, this Platform shows no evidence of recent activity.

political. The Financial Committee funds the other committees’ activities, using advice received from the COMICC. Other committees, such as sectoral, territorial, international affairs, information and climate change cross-cutting research, also have working groups for designing cooperation, research and evidence collection. Colombia’s Climate Change Regional Nodes (NRCC) support the design of territorial plans, which envisage the participation of relevant stakeholders (Departamento Nacional de Planeamiento, 2010). The greatest challenge facing the successful implementation of Colombia’s adaptation policy is the lack of capacity to control and monitor the effectiveness of measures carried out to address climate change. In addition, having several institutions responsible for sectoral actions does not guarantee that capacities are at the same level. Ecuador Ecuador has also adopted an intersectoral approach to climate change adaptation. This approach allows for the participation of different public, private and civil society actors through coordination networks established between the responsible ministries and autonomous decentralized governments (GADs). These GADs are multi-level: region, province, canton and parochial. The CICC is responsible for intersectoral coordination. Moreover, this network includes ministries and GADs for the design and implementation of policies.

71