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FAO Regional Office for Near East and North Africa

Climate change adaptation and mitigation

Climate change adaptation and mitigation
Climate projections indicate that the Near East and North Africa Region is expected to experience increased heat, reduced precipitation, and more extreme events, leading to heightened vulnerability. Coastal areas in countries like Egypt, Kuwait, and the UAE face risks from rising sea levels and saltwater intrusion, threatening agriculture. Agriculture, a significant contributor to the region's GDP and employment, is projected to decline due to climate change, jeopardizing food security and exacerbating water scarcity and land degradation. Adaptation strategies include soil conservation, deploying resilient crop varieties, and improving smallholder resilience. Mitigation efforts focus on agricultural practices, reducing food loss and waste and implementing water-energy-food nexus solutions. Actions across the agrifood system, including minimizing food loss and waste, are vital, considering the region's high food imports. Climate-smart agriculture and sustainable land and water management practices are crucial for adaptation, while enhancing carbon sinks and implementing integrated strategies are key mitigation measures.

Facts & Figures

Facts and Figures new-02
FAO’s objectives and strategies

Based on the latest FAO nationally determined contributions (NDCs) NENA analysis, NENA countries are prioritizing adaptation strategies such as land and soil conservation, deploying drought- and heat-resistant crop and livestock varieties, and enhancing the resilience of smallholder and vulnerable populations. Mitigation efforts focus on agricultural practices like improved feeding and breeding, reducing food loss and waste, and implementing water-energy-food (WEF) nexus solutions across agrifood chains.

Addressing climate change requires comprehensive action across the agrifood system, including minimizing food loss and waste in a region heavily reliant on food imports. Considering virtual water use in food and agricultural imports is crucial to accurately reflect water costs. Climate-smart agriculture and sustainable land and water management are essential for adaptation. Key mitigation measures include enhancing carbon sinks through afforestation, reforestation, sustainable forest management, and integrated crop-livestock-fisheries & aquaculture strategies

Relevant Programmes & Projects
FAO and Green Climate Fund partnering for climate action

Since 2016, FAO and GCF have collaborated to scale up investment in high-impact projects aimed at transitioning agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors towards low-emission, climate-resilient food systems, thereby improving the livelihoods of rural communities reliant on natural resources.

Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans (SCALA)

The SCALA Programme aids 12 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America in bolstering adaptive capacity, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and achieving targets outlined in their NAPs, NDCs, and SDGs, addressing the pressing need for heightened climate action in agriculture and land-use sectors.

FAO works to combat climate change and its impacts in the NENA region

icons-01FAO provides technical guidance, data, and tools to implement adaptation and mitigation actions for the agriculture sectors and create synergies between the two, towards countries’ achievement of national climate goals.

 

icons-02 FAO provides technical and implementation support to climate finance projects, including Green Climate Fund (GCF), readiness, and Global Environment Facility (GEF) projects.

 

icons-03These projects support the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, climate-resilient, low emissions and sustainable agrifood systems to achieve the (SDGs), in particular, SDG2 and SDG13.