South Africa: National climate change adaptation strategy (2018)

The National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS) provides a common vision of climate change adaptation and resilience for the country, and outlines priority areas for achieving this vision.

The NCCAS is an important step forward for South Africa, as it:

• -Acts as a common reference point for adaptation efforts in the short- to medium-term, providing guidance across all levels of government, sectors, and stakeholders affected by climate variability and change.
• -Provides a policy instrument through which national adaptation objectives can be articulated to provide overarching guidance to all sectors of the economy.
• -Facilitates the degree to which development initiatives at different levels of government and business integrate and reflect critical adaptation priorities, thus informing resource allocation by the various stakeholders towards climate change resilience.
• -Guides stronger coherence and coordination on adaptation activities between different institutions and levels of government.
• -Supports South Africa in meeting its international obligations by defining the country’s vulnerabilities and plans to reduce such vulnerabilities and leverage opportunities, outlining the required resources for such action, whilst demonstrating progress on adaptation.

The NCCAS serves as South Africa’s National Adaptation Plan and fulfils the country’s commitment to its international obligations as outlined in the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The NCCAS will be used as the basis for meeting South Africa’s obligations in terms of the adaptation commitments outlined in the Nationally Determined Contributions. The NCCAS is a ten-year plan that will be reviewed every five years.

The NCCAS is divided into sets of strategic objectives, strategic interventions and strategic outcomes with associated actions. The document is directed not only at national government departments, but speaks to South African society as a whole, including the key relevant sectoral institutions, provincial and local governments, and non-governmental entities, including the private sector, the research community and civil society.