South Africa: National climate change adaptation strategy (2019)

The National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS) of South Africa provides a common vision of climate change adaptation and climate 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 climate change adaptation efforts in South Africa in the short to medium-term2, providing guidance across all levels of government, sectors, and stakeholders affected by climate variability and change.
• Provides a policy instrument in which national climate change adaptation objectives for the country 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 climate change adaptation priorities, and thus inform resource allocation by the various stakeholders towards climate change resilience.
• Guides stronger coherence and coordination on climate change adaptation activities between different institutions and levels of government.
• Supports South Africa in meeting its international obligations by defining the country’s vulnerabilities, plans to reduce such vulnerabilities and leverage opportunities, outlining the required resources for such action, whilst demonstrating progress on climate change adaptation.

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 governments and municipalities, and non-governmental entities including the private sector, the research community and civil society.