Durban Forum: Background

Because of capacity-building’s cross-cutting nature, information on the issue tends to be fragmented and not readily available. The creation of the Durban Forum on Capacity-building reflects the need for a dialogue among all stakeholders involved in capacity-building. Besides filling in the information gaps, this dialogue also provides an overview of the type of capacity-building support provided and the corresponding implementation efforts by Parties. The dialogue is a tool to improve the monitoring and review of the effectiveness of capacity-building within the international climate change regime.

During the Panama Climate Change Conference in 2011, Parties engaged in a three-hour in-depth discussion on capacity-building with representatives of relevant bodies established under the Convention, with the Global Environment Facility and with other delegates involved in negotiating mitigation, adaptation, and technology and finance.

The Panama in-depth discussion, hailed as a success by Parties, paved the way for the careful crafting of the decision text on the Durban Forum a few months later, during the Durban Climate Change Conference – the city from which the Forum takes its name. Parties decided the Forum would meet once a year during the UNFCCC negotiating sessions and allow for the participation of all stakeholders in the process.

The Forum has been designed as a place where representatives from Parties, UN organizations, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, research, academia and the private sector can share ideas, experiences, lessons learned and good practices on implementing capacity-building activities in developing countries.

In order to create a more informed dialogue, a series of synthesis reports containing information on capacity-building activities provided by Parties and relevant bodies established under the Convention is published prior to the Forum. These reports, coupled with the information shared during the Forum, help Parties better monitor and review the effectiveness of capacity-building action and support.

The 2011 decision that describes the establishment and organization of the Durban Forum on Capacity-building can be found here.

Doha Climate Change Conference November-December 2012

The findings from the inaugural meeting of the Durban Forum will be discussed at the thirty-seventh session of the SBI. The meeting, which was held at the Bonn Climate Change Conference in May, shed light on the capacity-building work that has been happening on the ground and the challenges that lay ahead. The meeting gave voice to people with different perspectives from various backgrounds, including governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. Participants and presenters spoke about the need to create a snowball effect, whereby capacity-building action builds on itself, becoming larger and more effective as it goes. Some of them also highlighted the need for country-driven action, as well as for the right project in the right place. These and other matters will be up for discussion in Doha.

The audience was eager to participate in the discussion, asking targeted questions on how to better enhance capacity-building in developing countries.

H.E. Ms. Dessima Williams (Grenada) and Mr. Maas Groote (The Netherlands), who acted as co-chairs, directed the discussion component of the Forum, fielding questions from the audience and summarizing issues in a clear and compelling way.

Day 2: Wednesday, 23 May 2012 (15:00-18:00)

The well-received presentations of the first day continued on Wednesday with a focus on technology, financial support and the issue of monitoring and review of the effectiveness of capacity-building, the latter being mandated in decision 2/CP.17.

Two often-repeated themes during the second day were “snowball effect” and “country-driven action.”  Participants and presenters spoke about the need to create a snowball effect, whereby capacity-building action builds on itself, becoming larger and more effective as it goes. The second theme, country-driven action, referred to the importance of building the right project in the right place, led by local communities, for local communities.

The session on monitoring and review was characterized by a lengthy debate on the effectiveness of quantitative vs. qualitative indicators when monitoring and reviewing capacity-building projects.

agenda