Laamu Climate Change Forum highlights local perspective on challenges of climate change

Held under the theme ‘Climate Resilience and Laamu’, the Forum was attended by 61 council representatives from all communities of Laamu Atoll along with technical experts from UN agencies in Maldives and relevant Government Agencies including Ministry of Environment and Energy, Health Protection Agency, Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, Local Government Authority, National Bureau of Statistics and National Disaster Management Centre.

The Forum was jointly organized by UN Maldives, Laamu Atoll Council and the Government of the Maldives. It is a key milestone of the UN Maldives’ ground-breaking Low Emission Climate Resilient Development (LECReD) Programme which aims to address the challenges of climate change in Maldives through the integration of low emission climate-resilient development into local planning and governance frameworks.

Discussions were held on the areas of energy security and efficiency, waste management and water security which yielded ‘locally-informed’ guidance on how these sectors could be further developed within the LECReD programme. The Forum also assisted in bringing more focus to the programme’s activities in Laamu Atoll and their intended impact on communities.

The US$9.2 million LECReD programme will be implemented as a collaborative effort by UNDP, UNICEF, UNOPS, UNFPA, UN Women, WHO and FAO. It is the first joint implementation programme undertaken by the UN in Maldives and signals the adoption of a new holistic approach to address localized impacts of climate change in the Maldives.

The 3-year-long UN Joint Programme seeks to contribute to the United Nations Development Assistance Framework by enhancing capacities at national and local levels to support low carbon lifestyles, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in Maldives.