GENERAL

FCCC/SBI/2000/INF.4

7 June 2000

ENGLISH ONLY

SUBSIDIARY BODY FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Twelfth session

Bonn, 12-16 June 2000

Item 8 (a) of the provisional agenda

national communications from non-Annex I Parties of the Latin America

1. Pursuant to decision 8/CP.5, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat convened the first regional workshop of the Consultative Group of Experts on national communications from non-Annex I Parties of the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. The workshop was held in Mexico City, Mexico, from 8 to 12 May 2000. The decision mandated the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) to hold three regional workshops annually one each in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, with the aim of improving national communications from non-Annex I Parties to the UNFCCC.

2. According to the terms of reference of the CGE contained in the annex to decision 8/CP.5, the group is mandated to:

BNJ.00-00533

(a) Exchange experience and information on the preparation of national communications, including consideration of subregional experience, through meetings, on the basis of agendas to be decided by consultation among the participants at each level of meetings;

(b) Consider, as appropriate, the needs for and availability of financial resources and technical support, and the identification of barriers to and gaps in this support;

(c) Consider, as appropriate, information in national communications from non-Annex I Parties in accordance with the guidelines for the preparation of initial national communications by Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention contained in the annex to decision 10/CP.2;

(d) Review existing activities and programmes to facilitate and support the preparation of national communications by non-Annex I Parties with a view to identifying gaps and making recommendations to better coordinate these activities and programmes in order to enhance the preparation of national communications;

(e) Identify the difficulties encountered by non-Annex I Parties in the use of the guidelines contained in the annex to decision 10/CP.2 and in the use of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodologies and other models, and make recommendations for improvement where appropriate;

(f) Identify the analytical and methodological issues, including technical problems in the preparation and reporting of greenhouse gas inventories, in particular with respect to the improvement of data collection, the development of local and regional emission factors and activity data, and the development of methodologies, where appropriate, with a view to enhancing the quality of future inventories;

(g) Examine national communications, in particular greenhouse gas inventories, submitted by non-Annex I Parties, with a view to arriving at recommendations on ways of overcoming difficulties in the use of the IPCC methodologies and the UNFCCC guidelines relating to inventories contained in the annex to decision 10/CP.2, and on possible innovations, and produce reports thereon;

(h) Encourage interaction among experts from all Parties.

3. This report briefly describes the objectives and activities of the workshop and provides a summary of main findings, problems and recommendations discussed in three working groups - greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, vulnerability and adaptation, and financial and technical needs.

4. Working papers providing more details of the discussions of each of the working groups will be made available separately. The agenda of the workshop and the list of participants are reproduced in annexes I and II below.

5. The workshop conducted by the five representatives of the LAC region to the CGE was facilitated by the Chairperson of the LAC group. Twenty-eight experts from 20 countries from the LAC region as well as experts from Annex I Parties (Germany and the United States of America) and from the IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories attended the meeting. The agenda of the workshop, which had previously been circulated among the participants in the workshop, was adopted unanimously.

6. The workshop was conducted through three working groups - GHG inventories; vulnerability and adaptation; and financial and technical needs. The working group reports were then referred to plenary for review and adoption and are incorporated in this report.

7. Technical presentations on experience relating to the preparation of initial national communications by countries of the region were made under the various topics addressed at the workshop. This material is available through the UNFCCC secretariat. A list of supporting material available to the workshop participants is included in the reports of the working groups.

8. The workshop had for its consideration national communications submitted to date by five countries of the region,⁽¹⁾ a GHG inventory submitted by a sixth country,⁽²⁾ as well as a compilation of information provided in these national communications prepared by the secretariat.⁽³⁾

9. The results of the analysis and recommendations emerging from the workshop should not be considered exhaustive due to the limited number of national communications considered. Findings and recommendations may be more comprehensive as additional national communications and other technical reports (GHG inventories, vulnerability and adaptation assessments, and mitigation assessments) are submitted by Parties from the region. Due to insufficient time the workshop was unable to consider mitigation options, and this area will need to receive attention in the future.

10. These limitations notwithstanding, the workshop constituted a significant effort on the part of the countries of the LAC region participating in the meeting to, inter alia, foster the exchange of experience and information; review technical and financial resource needs; identify methodological, institutional and other barriers relating to the preparation of national communications; and make recommendations for the improvement of national communications in accordance with decision 8/CP.5.

11. The workshop recognized the complexities of the LAC region, its varying national circumstances and special characteristics as reflected in Articles 4.8 and 4.9 of the Convention. It also took note of the efforts by countries in the region to comply with the requirements of the Convention, including the preparation of their national communications.

12. The present section summarizes the main findings and conclusions of the reports of the working groups.

Emission factors, activity data and methodological issues

13. Reporting Parties provided the best available inventory information, and in all cases the information was more comprehensive than that explicitly requested by the UNFCCC guidelines (annex to decision 10/CP.2).

14. All countries have used the IPCC default emission factors; in some cases national emission factors were developed and used. The activity data relating to land-use change and forestry (LUCF) were considered as not reliable. Parties in the region that have submitted an initial national communication used the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

15. Key problems identified related to specific emission factors and activity data in the energy and LUCF sectors and methodological issues. These findings were similar to the conclusions of the Havana and Accra UNFCCC workshops on emission factors and activity data for the improvement of greenhouse gas emission inventories (see documents FCCC/CP/1998/CRP.1 and FCCC/SBI/1999/INF.6). The report of the working group on inventories has also addressed some inconsistencies identified in methods for estimating GHG emissions.

16. The IPCC seldom takes into consideration the peer-reviewed literature on emission factors and activity data available in the region in languages other than English. In particular, the existing literature on the energy and LUCF sectors, not available in English, for example on ethanol and the Amazonian forest, have not yet been reviewed by the IPCC.

Strengthening of national capacities in the preparation of national inventories

17. The IPCC and UNFCCC documents do not always reach the experts responsible for the preparation of national inventories in the region. In order to allow proper analysis and exchange of information among regional experts, there is a need to establish an official process for distributing the various national inventories submitted to the UNFCCC secretariat among the countries of the region.

18. Currently, the continuity of inventory updating at the national level is affected in some countries by changes in institutional arrangements and movement of technical staff. In some cases, the process has been interrupted because of lack funds and/or changes in government. As a result, when inventories are to be updated, the process of training, identification of available data, etc. has to be repeated.

19. Continuity in the process of preparation of initial national communications is therefore needed in order to motivate and facilitate the work of experts on climate change issues, particularly as they relate to the preparation of national inventories.

20. The institutional linkages among those responsible for the preparation of sectoral inventories and the institution responsible for the preparation of the national communication need to be established and/or further developed in some countries of the region.

National arrangements⁽⁴⁾ for archiving and updating inventories, and information networking

21. There is a need to develop or enhance national arrangements for archiving and updating inventory information, in most countries of the region. These arrangements would encompass not only information on emission factors and activity data, but also supporting information such as scientific literature, basic documentation on methods, and information on experts involved in the preparation of inventories.

22. Countries identified the Internet as an important resource for sharing information regarding inventories and noted that there is still very limited use of the Internet for that purpose.

23. A regional network for making sectoral information available to the experts involved in the preparation of inventories needs to be created.

Guidelines for the preparation of initial national communications (decision 10/CP.2, annex)

24. The guidelines do not provide the necessary framework for the assessment of climate change impacts. They also do not provide sufficient guidance for identifying adaptation measures or response strategies in order to integrate climate change impacts information in the national planning processes to the extent possible.

25. Section 15 (b) and (c) of the guidelines needs revision for subsequent preparation of national communications. There is also a need to standardize the basic methodologies and models to improve the quality and comparability of the national communications.

Experience

26. A comparison of climate change impacts reported in initial national communications submitted to date, facilitates integrated vulnerability assessments and the identification of adaptation options.

27. Important experience regarding vulnerability and adaptation assessments has been gained at the national and regional levels. Sharing these insights would help to improve the quality of future work on vulnerability and adaptation assessments and capacity-building initiatives, and thus avoid duplication of effort.

Sectors

28. In general, the working group analysing vulnerability and adaptation issues agreed that the main sectors to be assessed should correspond to those listed in the "UNEP Handbook".⁽⁵⁾ However due to differences in national circumstances and economies, it is obvious that other sectors, such as tourism, may also be important.

29. Priority sectors, not ranked by importance, are listed below:

(a) Water resources

(b) Agriculture

(c) Coastal zones

(d) Fisheries

(e) Health and human settlement

(f) Land-use, land-use change and forestry, and ecosystems

(g) Desertification and land degradation

(h) Industry and energy

30. A comparative analysis of integrated impacts was considered as an important tool for socio-economic assessments.

Extreme events

31. The occurrence of extreme events has provided valuable data for impact assessment. In some cases, there have been evaluations of the cost of adaptation measures. Some work has also been carried out on the socio-economic impacts of future climate scenarios, which have proven to be a valuable tool in forecasting future sectoral impacts.

Methodologies and models

32. There is a need for standardization of methodologies and models for assessing different vulnerability and adaptation sectors to improve the quality of national communications and comparability of data among countries.

33. Climate scenarios are important tools for the assessment of vulnerability. Nevertheless, due to the fact that there are technical, human and financial constraints to the generation of these scenarios, it is necessary to consider other approaches for vulnerability assessment not linked to, or other than, the use of general circulation models (e.g. use of expert judgement).

Assistance

34. Countries of the region, particularly those that started the preparation of national communications much later, acknowledged the assistance provided by the National Communications Support Programme

35. The availability of adequate financial resources is an overarching requirement for the comprehensive strengthening of national capacity for the preparation of national communications and institutional sustainability. Taking this as the basic need, a number of priority requirements were identified for improving national communications.

Guidelines for the preparation of initial national communications (decision 10/CP.2, annex)

36. The funds allocated to the preparation of national communications did not allow Parties to address all the components included in the current guidelines. This problem will be exacerbated if revised guidelines are expanded to include a more comprehensive range of issues.

Strengthening of national capacity

37. The lack of support for activities subsequent to the submission of initial national communications has seriously disrupted the implementation of the Convention at the national level. Therefore, the sustainability of the national communications process is a main concern for the Parties of the region.

Networking

38. There is a need to strengthen the regional technical information exchange related to the preparation of national communications to address climate change issues in order to optimize the usage of the limited resources available.

39. The distribution of information through networks related to climate change in general, and national communications in particular, is not a common practice in the region.

Education, awareness and training

40. Implementation of education, awareness and training programmes on climate change is needed. So far, they are either weak or non-existent.

41. Public awareness is an important means to disseminate information related to climate change issues and this has not been adequately addressed, especially in ongoing enabling activity projects.

Methodologies and models

42. There is a need to improve the methodologies and models for assessing vulnerability and adaptation and mitigation in the non-energy sectors.

43. The workshop identified a number of problems, barriers and constraints which LAC countries are presently encountering in preparing their national communications.

Emission factors, activity data and methodological issues

44. The IPCC methodology provides default emission factors which can be used by a country where there is no specific information available at the national level. While the IPCC default values were appropriate in most cases, there are sectors, such as LUCF, where these default emission factors do not correspond to national circumstances.

45. The most important problems that the region faces in the use of the IPCC Guidelines are related to the energy, agriculture and LUCF sectors. These problems affect the quality and reliability of the inventories of the region, and can lead to either under- or overestimation of national GHG emissions.

46. The lack of emission factors developed in other regions and the need to translate materials (including the IPCC GHG inventory software, good practice guidelines, etc.), can also lead to unreliable emission estimates in LAC countries.

Strengthening of national capacities in the preparation of national GHG inventories

47. The workshop noted that at the national level the agencies and organizations involved in the preparation of the national communications, in most cases, did not have access to the most recent guidelines, e.g. the IPCC good practice guidelines, and were therefore unable to take such guidelines into account in their work.

48. Additionally, in many instances these agencies and organizations did not have access to or did not receive samples of national communications from other countries.

49. Another problem was the lack of institutional continuity by such agencies and organizations in preparing national GHG inventories. Among the difficulties arising from this were the loss of experience acquired from conducting the earlier inventory, the movement of staff to other agencies, and the inability to access national information for the preparation of subsequent inventories.

National arrangements to archive and update inventories and networking

50. The lack of appropriate information management systems for archiving and updating data can affect the quality of the inventory of the second national communications, as well as delaying its completion. Additionally, this has the potential to create inconsistencies between the inventories of the first and subsequent national communications.

51. Ineffective networking at national level creates problems for training and capacity-building. This also reduces opportunities for contacts among experts at the regional level.

National capacity

52. The capacity of national institutions to conduct multisectoral and multidisciplinary evaluation of vulnerability and adaptation options was recognized as being inadequate in many instances. These institutions lack the resources, training and experience needed for the preparation of their initial national communications.

Approach

53. Inadequacies in existing systematic observation networks and in other information obtained from hydrometeorological data sources often compound the methodological and technical problems facing the countries of the region. Further, multisectoral and multidisciplinary approaches were often not adequately utilized in the preparation of the initial national communication.

54. In many instances, important linkages among systematic observations, research, and vulnerability and adaptation analysis were not developed, even where national research centres were involved in the initial national communication process. These capacity-building gaps have made it difficult to generate sectoral indicators of vulnerability and adaptation. Such indicators would constitute a useful tool for evaluating information in the initial national communications and appraising Parties' efforts at the regional level. Important regional considerations such as human health and settlements, public education and awareness, and adaptation technologies and costs, as well as the review of traditional knowledge and coping strategies, were often not considered in the initial national communications.

55. In this regard, there was agreement that subsequent national communications should focus on the areas of research and systematic observation; adaptation technologies and costs; technology transfer; and the sustainability of the national process in order to encourage improvement in the quality of the information presented in the communications.

Constraints

56. The main constraints identified in the analysis of vulnerability and adaptation assessments in the region included separating climate change from other global change processes; isolating natural climatic variability from climate change; and separating climate change impacts from other processes such as socio-economic conditions, for example the impacts of ongoing changes in health and human settlements due to poverty.

Financial resources

57. The lack of financial and technological resources for the initial national communications process has reinforced the existing weaknesses in the national communications submitted to date, which reflects the deficiencies identified in the current guidelines.

Capacity-building issues and constraints

58. The workshop identified a number of critical capacity-building issues and constraints. These included the financial and technical weakness of national institutions responsible for the preparation of the national communications; the inadequacy of available methodologies and models; the inadequacy of programmes relating to climate change education; the difficulties associated with the dissemination of data, reports and other technical information to the relevant agencies; the need for strengthening of, and support to, regional climate change centres; and the problem of inadequate regional exchange of information and expertise among the countries of the region.

59. The workshop further identified certain specific endogenous and exogenous barriers to accessing the resources offered through the main financial and technical support programmes currently available to the region.

60. Among the principal endogenous barriers were the lack of national expertise for preparing proposals in the formats requested by international climate change support agencies; as well as to co-ordinate the studies and to carry them out. There was also the need for greater political will/priority in relation to climate change issues at the national level.

61. Exogenous barriers identified included the long response time from some funding agencies; the fact that information on the availability of support from some international climate change support agencies is not easily accessible in some countries; and the complicated formats and guidelines for submission of proposals often required for accessing financial and technical resources for climate change programmes and projects.

Emission factors, activity data and methodological issues

62. Three different approaches are proposed to overcome the problems identified above, namely:

(a) Specific financial support for using the appropriate emission factors and activity data in those emission estimates that constitute a significant share of the total GHG emissions of a given Party should be reinforced in the context of funding the second national communications;

(b) GHG emission factors developed in developing countries that are relevant to countries of the region should be included in the future update of the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines; and

(c) GEF support should be sought for funding two proposed regional projects (one in the LUCF and one in the energy sector). It was suggested that a country from the region take the lead in preparing and coordinating the projects, on the understanding that other countries should also participate.

63. Financial support for the translation, dissemination and training in the use of the IPCC good practice guidance is necessary. It is recommended that implementing agencies, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), play an important role in achieving this task. Priority should be given to training in and dissemination of good practices. Good practice guidance should be applied in accordance with the specific national conditions.

64. Support the future work of the IPCC National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Programme related to the database on emission factors and suggest that the relevant issues discussed at the workshop and included in this report should be considered when the IPCC database on emission factors is established. The suggestions aim to facilitate the preparation of national GHG inventories.

65. Request the IPCC, when updating the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines and developing the emission factors database, to consider all relevant literature, not only in English, particularly when the literature of a given country (non-English speaking country) is relevant to a specific inventory issue.

Strengthening national capacities for preparing GHG inventories

66. Create technical national focal points for national communications in the context of the Convention process.

67. Enhance linkages among institutions responsible for the inventory preparation and those responsible for the coordination and preparation of the national communication.

68. Develop and strengthen the institutional capacity of the national agencies responsible for the coordination of research activities in the country and establish a climate change programme under their responsibility.

69. Promote the technical and financial support of activities related to GHG inventories through the GEF, bilateral donors, international organizations, and through collaboration between countries of the region.

National arrangements to archive and update inventories and networking

70. Develop and enhance national arrangements to archive and update inventories in accordance with the objectives and key features identified in the workshop for such systems.

71. Request technical and financial support from the GEF or bilateral donors for the creation of these arrangements in all countries of the region. It is recommended that implementing agencies, such as UNDP and UNEP, play an important role in achieving this task. Financial and technical assistance should ensure that non-Annex I Parties receive equipment and training for the implementation of these national arrangements.

72. Efficient and comprehensive networking through Internet should be created among the different countries of the region, and among the regions. This should include networking of experts and should play an important role in future training activities. In order to implement such a framework, a regional project (taking into account national circumstances) could be funded, for instance, by the GEF or bilateral donors.

73. Request the UNFCCC secretariat to disseminate among LAC countries information for preparing inventories, such as officially submitted national communications, and national inventories of other countries, as well as analysis of the inventories of the region.

74. Request the UNFCCC secretariat, the IPCC and other relevant international organizations to keep the national focal points, specifically the technical ones, informed of activities related to GHG inventories (including those of other organizations).

75. With a view to improving inventory quality, encourage Parties to develop a technical review process of inventories prior to the submission of their national communications, if deemed necessary. Findings could then be included in national communications. This technical consideration may be done by third parties, such as international organizations or experts from the region.

Use of the UNFCCC guidelines

76. The analysis of ways to improve the current guidelines for reporting inventories should be continued, taking into account the experience of the countries of the region. This analysis would serve as an input to the review of the UNFCCC guidelines for the preparation of national communications by non-Annex I Parties, initiated under decision 8/CP.5, para. 1 (c).

77. The provision of adequate financial and technical support is a prerequisite to the implementation of the activities described below.

National level

78. In order to build national support for vulnerability assessment and the implementation of adaptation strategies on a continuous basis, it is important to focus national strategy in vulnerability and adaptation on key sectors and to encourage the participation of main stakeholders in civil society. It is also recommended that plans be prepared in the areas of public awareness, education and training.

79. The establishment of mechanisms such as national committees on climate change helps to guarantee sustainability and is important to ensure continuity of work on vulnerability assessments and the implementation of adaptation strategies. These committees provide valuable support to the training process and to the establishment of the teams needed to elaborate new assessments of vulnerability, and policies and measures for adaptation, on an ongoing basis. Additionally, these committees can play a role in supporting the development of horizontal cooperation in the region.

80. Request assistance for training in the preparation of project proposals and for negotiating for funds from the GEF for vulnerability and adaptation, in the context of the preparation of the subsequent national communication under part II of the enabling activities process.

81. The reviews of hydro-meteorology data sources, provided that a long time series is available, constitute a valuable data source on observed climate signals and can be used to augment, verify and validate the output of GCM at the national level.

Consultative group of experts

82. Existing vulnerability and adaptation guidelines are not clear and there is a need to improve the guidelines for subsequent national communications. Improvements to the guidelines should consider the following key issues:

(a) The possible application of MAGICC-SCENGEN to the vulnerability and adaptation process. The model requires refinement after consultation with users before it can be recommended as a tool to be used for generating regional climate change scenarios;

(b) Encourage national institutions to develop downscaling schemes for climate change scenarios at the national level;

(c) Request IPCC to assist in separating impacts related to natural variability from climate change. Request technical and financial assistance from United Nations organizations related to education in vulnerability and adaptation issues. Request the cooperation of organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) for health issues;

(d) In revising the guidelines, the integration of climate change issues in national planning should play a more important role.

83. The development, introduction and use of good practices in the area of vulnerability and adaptation could enhance this process. Good practices should consider, in the context of vulnerability and adaptation, the selection of methodologies and models by sector capable of generating vulnerability and adaptation indicators to be used for comparative analysis. They should also provide a process of further refinement and review of vulnerability and adaptation options, opportunities and results in the implementation of those measures.

84. Consider the production of a matrix of inputs required as input to the vulnerability and adaptation models in order to assist Parties in the selection of models used to evaluate key sectors.

85. Encourage regional outreach by the UNFCCC through regional integration unit meetings in order to strengthen the work of the UNFCCC in the area of vulnerability and adaptation and the development of adaptation policies and measures.

86. In the context of experience in the region, the CGE is requested to consider as far as is practicable, efforts to further enhance the sustainability of the National Communications Support Programme (NCSP).

87. Include, in the next sessions, the consideration of issues that have not been included yet, such as low-lying coastal States, countries with economies dependent on fossil fuel production and/or exports and other vulnerable sectors.

Capacity-building needs and financial and technical support

88. Organize workshops as appropriate, to analyse the experience gained, the data requirements of different models, and the application of different methodologies and models, in order to further the dissemination of information and provide training in vulnerability and adaptation.

89. Support the development of databases, including the human resources capacity to deal with it. Enhance integrated national and regional databases, including information on population, socio-economics, geomorphology, risk areas, human health and settlements and other topics.

90. Include short-term planning in building capacities.

Conference of the Parties

91. The Conference should assign a higher priority to adaptation technologies, including coastal adaptation, in the technology transfer consultative process.

92. The Conference should clarify further the scope of stages I and II of adaptation

(decision 11/CP.1) and provide guidance to the GEF.

Institutional strengthening

93. Effective financial support by bilateral and multilateral organizations is needed to ensure the continuous improvement and sustainability of the national communications process, strengthening of national structures and mechanisms, and the effective implementation of the Convention in the LAC countries.

94. Support the implementation of research and systematic observation stations in all countries of the region, and strengthen research on climate sciences. Also, provide the regional information network in climate change data.

95. Building on the CGE, establish a regional process for exchanging information and experience in the preparation of national communications in order to identify common problems, areas for improvement, and the means to achieve these improvements.

96. Establish or strengthen access to the Internet and the UNFCCC, IPCC, and other web sites in order to facilitate the receipt, provision and updating of information on climate change, including national communications.

97. Request funding agencies to assist LAC countries in the identification of regional capacity-building needs, including the transfer of technology.

98. Greater effort should be made to promote synergies among programmes and activities related to the UNFCCC, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention to Combat Desertification and the Montreal Protocol.

Methodologies and models

99. Request international support for enhancing knowledge transfer related to assessments in vulnerability and adaptation and mitigation in non-energy sectors.

100. Develop and disseminate regional climate models and scenarios that reflect the regional climatic pattern.

Education and dissemination of information

101. Strengthen support to LAC countries in the preparation of national action plans in education that encourage the introduction of climate change topics in the formal and informal education systems.

102. Strengthen national institutions through provision of equipment, technical support training, and information systems.

103. Encourage support to public awareness efforts outside the framework of the enabling activities.

104. Encourage the inclusion of components on public awareness in national communications for LAC.

Regional climate change centres

105. Identify the regional training needs, elaborate a programme, and implement it.

106. In the mid-term, and with international financial support, a network of regional climate change centres should be implemented, based on the existing institutions, subregional organizations and national expertise.

107. Support the identification, strengthening and establishment of regional climate change centres.

Regional exchange

108. Strengthen the coordinating mechanisms to improve the exchange of information among scientific and technical institutions.

109. Improve coordination among the existing programmes providing support to the national communication process.

110. Create a directory of national communication country coordinators.

111. Implement regional hotlines and teleconferences to address technical issues.

112. Establish continuous communication with existing support programmes (for example, NCSP and CC:TRAIN).

09:30 Registration

10:00 Welcome, opening and introduction

Welcome Address

Lic. Dámaso Luna, Director General de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales,

Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores, México.

Lic. Francisco Giner, Technical Secretary of the Intersecretarial Committee on Climate Change, Director General of Environmental Regulation, National Institute of Ecology, Mexico.

10:20 Introduction to Workshop: Adoption of the agenda and administrative matters.

Julia Martínez, Mexico, Workshop coordinator, CGE representative.

10:30 Self-introduction of participants and resource persons.

10:40 Consultative Group of Experts: an analysis of decision 8/CP.5, and guidelines for the preparation of initial national communications of non-Annex I Parties.

Martha Perdomo (UNFCCC secretariat)

11.00 National GHG Inventories of non-Annex I Parties from Latin America and the Caribbean: Preliminary synthesis. Methodological issues.

Roberto Acosta (UNFCCC secretariat)

11:30 Coffee break

11:45 Discussion on GHG inventory presentation

12:00 Countries' experiences

Selected experts will present experience in the preparation of the GHG inventories, including where appropriate, development of emission factors:

Nicolas Di Sbroiavacca, Argentina (energy sector)

Rodrigo Chaparro, Colombia (land-use change and forestry sector, LUCF)

Sergio González, Chile (LUCF)

12:30 Questions and answers

12:50 Lunch break

14:50 Discussion on V&A presentation.

15:00 Countries' experiences

In this session, some experts will present experience in the V&A assessment in different sectors

Abel Centella, Cuba (generation of climatic scenarios)

Abel Centella, Cuba (use of climatic scenarios in the V&A assessment)

Cecilia Conde, México (agriculture)

Mirna Marin, Honduras (climatic variability)

16:00 Questions and answers

16:20 Coffee break

16:35 Countries' experiences (cont.)

Philip Weech, Bahamas (water resources)

Philip Weech, Bahamas (experiences with hurricanes Andrew (1992) and Floyd (1999))

17:10 Questions and answers

17:30 Close

09:30 Problems related to the mitigation of GHG emissions in developing countries: countries' experience in specific sectors.

Nora Pereira, Venezuela (energy sector)

Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico (energy sector and LUCF)

Yvette Aguilar, El Salvador (transport sector)

10:00 Questions and answers

10:20 Problems identified in the region regarding financial and technical support: capacity-building needs

Dominique Revet (UNFCCC secretariat)

10:40 Questions and answers

11:00 Coffee break

11:15 Plenary I

Chairperson: Julia Martínez (Mexico)

Rapporteur: Brian Challenger (Antigua and Barbuda)

Working Group I (GHG inventories):

Chair: Jose Domingos Miguez (Brazil

Rapporteur: Nicolas Di Sbroiavacca (Argentina)

Working Group II (Vulnerability and adaptation assessment)

Chair: Philip Weech (Bahamas)

Rapporteur: Luis Rodrigo Chaparro (Colombia)

Working Group III (Financial and technical needs)

Chair: Luis Caceres (Ecuador)

Rapporteur: Emilio Sempris (Panama)

The Plenary will meet to consider a draft outline of the activities for three working groups (WGs) to be established during the session. The WGs will conduct their deliberations in parallel. They will consider the types of needs and concern of the region in the specific areas. Specific tasks of the working groups would include the following:

1. Identify analytical and methodological issues, including technical problems in the preparation and reporting of the GHG inventories. Make specific recommendations for improvement of data collection and the development of local and regional emission factors and activity data, particularly in the energy and land-use change and forestry sectors;

2. Identify difficulties encountered by the countries of the region in the use of the guidelines contained in the annex to decision 10/CP.2, particularly for the V&A assessment, and in the use of the IPCC or UNEP methodologies. Make recommendations for improvement, where appropriate;

3. Identify the needs for and availability of financial resources and technical support for the region, identification of barriers to and gaps in this support. Review of existing activities and programmes to facilitate and support the preparation of national communications by the countries of the region. Make recommendations to better coordinate these activities and programmes in order to enhance the preparation of national communications;

4. Identify the capacity-building needs of the region, including technology transfer.

Afternoon of Tuesday (starting at 14:30), Wednesday and morning session of Thursday, 9-11 May 2000.

Working group sessions

14:30 Plenary II

Presentation and discussion of conclusions and recommendations by the co-chairs of the Working Groups.

09:30 A drafting group, comprising the five regional members of the CGE, the rapporteurs, and staff of the UNFCCC secretariat, will draft the workshop report based on the inputs of the working groups and the recommendations from Plenary II.

14:30 Plenary III

Distribution of draft workshop report.

15:00 Consideration and adoption of the workshop report

18:00 Closure.

1. National communications of Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, Mexico and Uruguay.

2. Paraguay.

3. Working paper No. 8 and some draft tables on vulnerability and adaptation.

4. The wording used during the workshop was "national systems". The secretariat has changed this wording in order to avoid confusion with "national systems" defined in the Kyoto Protocol.

5. Handbook on Methods for Climate Change Impact Assessment and Adaptation Strategies, UNEP/IVM, 1998.