Financing Climate Change Adaptation in Transboundary Basins

4 Financing Climate Change Adaptation in Transboundary Basins In basins where droughts throughout can affect the navigability of rivers and eventually prevent access of goods (e.g., food or fuel) to upstream communities in a different country, measures to ensure navigability or provide alternative routes can be essential to many countries’ economic stability. Actions to protect the upstream basin not only prevent impacts downstream but can also have positive resource and cost implications for downstream responses—and vice versa. Projects to protect or recuperate forest cover upstream can serve as a natural reservoir for water throughout the basin. These projects can help prevent rapid runoff and loss of topsoil, as well as avoid the need for more expensive infrastructure investments for flood protection. Coordination among countries that share transboundary river basins (e.g., through payment for ecosystem services) can lead to signifi- cant cost savings and benefit optimization by taking advantage of positive cross-border impacts and pool- ing of resources (Blumstein, 2016). Because of the additional benefits of transboundary approaches, there can be greater return on investments in trans- boundary projects than in single country ones. Acting within a basin unit, countries can collectively direct the savings from larger scale investments to preventa- tive adaptation and resilience building. Building resilience at the transboundary level hedges against financial risks because it spreads risks over a greater financing landscape, and because risks can be managed by multiple actors. Market failure or financial weakness in one country can potentially be covered by neighboring markets or through international partnerships. Given the transboundary nature of both climate change and water resources, river basin approaches are critical to effectively and sustainably addressing climate change while maintaining sustainable development. As climate change impacts increase, transboundary cooperation offers an effective process to use established political, economic, and technical resources, institutions, and capacity to address a wide array of cross-border devel- opment challenges and provide increased benefits to the greatest number of people (World Bank 2017a). In basins where transboundary agreements and basin organiza- tions exist, these can provide robust institutional frame- works from which to develop and implement effective climate adaptation and resilience building projects. Global framework agreements—such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes serviced by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and the 1997 United Nations Convention on the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses—provide useful intergov- ernmental frameworks and guidelines for climate change adaptation in transboundary basins. For exam- ple, the Secretariat for the 1992 Water Convention housed by the UNEC E 1 supports countries and basins in developing transboundary adaptation vulnerability assessments, adaptation strategies, and implementa- tion though guidance, projects on the ground, and annual global workshops. In addition, UNECE and the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO) have created a global network of basins working on cli- mate change adaptation that supports transboundary basins in jointly adressing climate change. 1.2 Role of Transboundary RBOs RBOs can support countries’ adaptation and resilience building beyond what each individual country could achieve on its own. RBOs can help coordinate policies and planning, support effective implementation, and avoid the pitfalls of maladaptation, in which good intentions result in unwanted or unpredicted results. For example, engaging RBOs in the process of develop- ing regional or national investment plans can provide a broader regional perspective and thereby help to miti- gate risks and capitalize on broader opportunities. In this vein, numerous countries are currently in the pro- cess of developing sector plans (SPs) and national or