Baimass Taal, Executive Secretary of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), presented the framework for water security and the climate resilient development tool that will serve as reference document for developing countries in Africa. He described the deliverables of the framework: technical background document which includes methodologies, protocols and decision support tools; strategic framework and policy briefs that will provide strategic guidance to policymakers; and the Capacity Building Strategy.

Pervaiz Amir, Global Water Partnership (GWP) South Asia, noted Pakistan’s costly floods in 2010 and 2011, which were a wake-up call for his country, setting priorities for investments for water security. He said the Pakistan case demonstrates both a challenge as well as an opportunity towards developing strategies and priorities for climate change adaptations and mitigations. He pointed out challenges that can be warning signals, inter alia: donor fatigue when his country needed funding the most; weak infrastructure can disguise political corruption and weak governance; and conflict around the issue of water insecurity.

Cameron Ironside, IHA, urged for prioritization of low-carbon investments in sustainable water infrastructure and explained the application of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol provides a framework to assess the sustainability of hydropower projects. He warned of the: risk of not combining adaptation and mitigation strategies; need for development of infrastructure, which fall exactly within the world’s most water-stressed areas; and the move from agrarian societies to urban societies, which will require large-scale solutions.

Diana McQueen, Minister of Environment and Water, Government of Alberta, Canada, spoke about the challenges her province faces in protecting the quality of water, particularly in the area of the Athabasca oil sands. She stressed the need for a robust monitoring system that would inform the decision-making knowledge base and talked of Alberta’s Water for Life-strategies that focus on: education of users; attraction of funding; understanding of groundwater systems; and mapping of groundwater systems.

Ania Grobicki, GWP, called for a focus on the side benefits to ensure that hydropower is realized as a cross-cutting issue in mitigation and adaptation.

Anders Berntell, Stockholm International Water Institute, emphasized the: need for a comprehensive assessment of the portfolio of options; potential to use scenarios to predict future outcomes; and assessment of impacts for sustainable programs. He spoke about the components for collaboration in existing water resource management.

Stef Raubenheimer, SouthSouthNorth, mentioned mitigation as a co-benefit in the adaptation process, and warned of the potential for conflict in water scarce regions.

Minister Xie Zhenhua, Vice Chair of National Center for Climate Strategy Research and International Cooperation of China (NDRC), highlighted the importance to promote South-South cooperation among developing countries for addressing climate change since they are more vulnerable to its impacts. He said that the Chinese government has planned climate change initiatives with developing countries, including: adaptation infrastructure; early warning systems; adaptation technologies; and demonstration centers.

Karl Hood, Grenada's Foreign Minister, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), congratulated China for initiating South-South cooperation on climate change. He said that small island developing States (SIDS) need technology transfer especially for ecosystem management, and food production and security. Hood underscored the importance of the China-AOSIS climate change programme, which is a key mechanism to assist SIDS in their adaptation efforts.

Hasan Mahmud, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Bangladesh, informed the need for technology transfer and financial mechanisms for developing countries to follow a different path of development.

Li Xin, Ministry of Science and Technology, China, explained that South-South cooperation is a mechanism to promote dialogue among developing countries to exchange expertise and identify technologies to address climate change. He summarized challenges in South-South cooperation, including: unknown demand and supply of cost-effective technologies; inappropriate assessment of developing countries' technology needs; shortage of local capacities on adaptation; and lack of effective mechanism for knowledge diffusion, technology transfer, and information sharing.

Wang Yuwu, Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection, China, outlined Chinese activities abroad, especially in Africa where China: established overseas branches; and conducted projects with local governments and financial institutions.

Cleveland Thomas, USAID/Southern Africa, said his organization's approach to climate change is part of a broader programme to: provide clean and reliable energy; promote renewable energy; and support monitoring, reporting and verification activities.

Oton Iskarpatyoti, Africa Infrastructure Programme (AIP) Deputy Director, focused on identifying projects, removing obstacles, and providing capacity building. He explained the programme provides capacity building and transaction advisory assistance to advanced-stage- viable projects that face barriers to financial closure. He summarized financial barriers, including: diverging interests, complexity of project finance, and an uneven playing field. Iskarpatyoti said AIP funds are used to, inter alia: hire power sector specialists with project finance experience; assist shaping the enabling environment at par with international standards; and mitigate project risks structuring deals based on development finance community criteria. He summarized a variety of USAID AIP project and assistance in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana, South Africa and many other African countries.

Phindile Nzimande, National Energy Regulator, South Africa, said Regional Electricity Regulators Association of Southern Africa (RERA) objectives include: promotion of capacity building and information sharing among its 15 country members; facilitation of policy legislation and regulations; and activities on regional regulatory cooperation and synergies. She underscored RERA´s three main areas: improving regional investment in the power sector; developing an enabling regulatory environment for access to and operation of a viable regulatory electricity market; and enhancing RERA's capacity image and credibility. Nzimande said funding from USAID/AIP was used for a variety of clean energy activities, such as: 2011 regional workshop; production of the Renewable Energy Handbook; and promotion of training course for regulators.

Pieter van Midwoud, CarbonFix, presented the potential of afforestation and reforestation projects to contribute to reducing global climate change. He identified the distinguishing features of the CarbonFix framework to: ensure social and ecological standards; include ex-post carbon savings; and accept smaller land size so that smaller projects and communities can benefit. He shared the vision to join strengths with FSC to increase applicability of standards globally.

Stefan Salvador, FSC, introduced the release of the Strategic Framework for an FSC Climate Change Engagement, highlighting the role of FSC as an instrument to safeguard the themes of stewardship, monitoring, accounting, and rewards. He reviewed the goal to link with REDD+ programmes and standards.

Jeffrey Hayward, Rainforest Alliance, reiterated that emission reduction from halting deforestation could contribute greatly to reducing global climate change, highlighting the importance of sustainable forest management and need for REDD+ financing. He framed recommendations to increase the area of forest that is sustainably managed, such as: view landscapes as a mosaic that can be productive; harvest responsibly from forests; drive domestic demand for forest products from certified forests; reform barriers for communities to manage forests; and create an investment for long-term forest management.

Adrian Enright, Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), provided two case studies from Viet Nam that studied the feasibility of developing forest carbon projects. He explained how the projects explored FSC certification with smallholders, and carried out analysis through estimating carbon sequestration, carbon credit generation and cost benefit analysis. He shared outcomes: carbon credits are not always worth pursuing; financial viability can improve if the funding gap can be bridged at the start of the project; data is key; and financial viability could improve if bundled with other ecosystem services.

Eduard Merger, UNIQUE, explained how his experiences in afforestation, reforestation, REDD+ programmes, agricultural soil carbon projects and certified forest management help to develop a policy framework for government to design their national REDD+ mechanisms. He identified opportunities not yet realized, such as sustainable agricultural intensification to reduce pressure on forests. He described three factors for success: multiple revenue streams; local implementation capacity; and complementarity of voluntary standards with national REDD+ programmes.

Over lunch today, the Philippine and Swiss governments hosted a side event entitled “Towards Building a Governance Framework for REDD+ Financing”, with the assistance of the Ateneo School of Government, the Climate Markets & Investment Association, and Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation. The event was a culmination of months of engagement with more than 100 party representatives and stakeholders on developing a governance framework for REDD+ that lays the foundation for securing financial commitments for the full implementation of REDD+ while addressing drivers of deforestation and adhering to social, environmental and governance safeguards. The findings of the initiative were captured in a report and presented at the side event.

Key findings are: the international community should catalyze adequate financing for REDD+ in all phases of implementation; unlocking private finance requires demand for REDD+ credits and incentives for sustainable investments; planning for REDD+ financing should be part of a broader policy approach, which directs investments towards specific country strategies and objectives; REDD+ payments should cover implementation and monitoring of environmental, social and governance safeguards; and governments in REDD+ countries should ensure balanced investments within and outside the forest sector in order to address all drivers of deforestation and forest degradation.