This session looked at key findings of 10 case studies commissioned by the REAP Mapping Working Group in 2021 to explore which national, regional and global legislative frameworks, initiatives and financing and delivery mechanisms are enablers and potential entry points to take early action (EA) to scale in ten countries. Facilitators presented recommendations of the paper and led a dialogue around the role of REAP in supporting EA scale-up and next priority actions in the 10 countries, a full list of which can be found here.
At a practical level, Quaraishia Merzouk (FAO) and Toni Jokinen (Finnish Red Cross) highlighted the need to increase technical capacities on the ground. As Quaraishia put it, "without tackling these challenges, we will not have the necessary tools and data to generate the right evidence to advocate for why Anticipatory Action is important, and why it should be the new norm."
Two of the case study countries were compared in more detail: the Philippines and Mozambique. Emma Flaherty (REAP) explained that in the Philippines, EA is proceeding more successfully than in many other countries because it is included in policy and legislation, which is not surprising given how climate-vulnerable it is. An interesting aspect she mentioned was the delocalisation of EA as “at the local level there is the capacity for local administrators to program some anticipatory money”. However, in Mozambique, the existing frameworks for climate change and adaptation, disaster risk financing, and collaboration between different stakeholders remain limited.
In this interactive session, participants had the chance to ask questions posed by the speakers and share their opinions on the proposed recommendations. They also asked questions, particularly linked to the purpose of the research and next steps. The speakers emphasized that these case studies are meant to provide widely accessible documents to facilitate discussions on how to improve Anticipatory Action. Another objective is to encourage similar research in other countries, so that conversations about EA in different contexts can take place in the future. Moreover, REAP wants to hand the information to partners and, as a secretariat, engage with governments to find solutions based on this research. To start with, conversations will be facilitated in January 2022 in specific countries. REAP welcomes feedback!