Closing Knowledge Gaps to Scale-Up Adaptation: The Lima Adaptation Knowledge Initiative

At the Bonn Climate Change Conference scheduled from 8–18 May 2017 at the World Conference Centre, Bonn, Germany, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat, the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) will organize a side event to bring together country delegates, representatives of regional centres and networks, academia, research institutions, United Nations agencies, multilateral and bilateral donors, and knowledge brokers attending the Subsidiary Body of Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA).

The side event will contribute towards catalyzing action to close priority knowledge gaps through the Lima Adaptation Knowledge Initiative (LAKI) . The LAKI aims to address knowledge barriers that impede the implementation and scaling up of adaptation action in the context of various subregions and areas of vulnerabilities.

The LAKI is a collaborative initiative between the secretariat of the UNFCCC and the UN Environment. In each subregion, a subregional coordination entity plays a unique role in supervising the implementation of the LAKI.  ICIMOD serves as the subregional coordination entity for the Hindu Kush Himalaya.

The objectives of the side event are to:

• Highlight the progress of the LAKI in prioritizing and closing adaptation knowledge gaps in subregions, showcasing the outcomes for the Hindu Kush Himalaya, in collaboration with ICIMOD.
• Offer an opportunity for dialogue on the modalities, challenges, and opportunities to close adaptation knowledge gaps in different regions of the world.
• Trigger expressions of interest to close priority knowledge gaps identified through the LAKI for the Hindu Kush Himalaya and foster interest to collaborate in implementing the LAKI in other subregions.