Climate resilient development: Experience from an African capacity development programme

This learning brief details the outcomes and lessons from the Water, Climate and Development Programme for Africa (WACDEP) capacity development component, which ran from August 2012 to September 2015. The programme aimed to enhance the ability of government planners and technical officers in eight African countries to integrate water security and climate resilience into national development planning through the identification of 'no/low regret' investments.

• The programme focused on 'no/low regret' investments, defined as those providing benefits under both current and various future climate change scenarios, thereby increasing the likelihood of positive returns regardless of future climate conditions.
• WACDEP's capacity development component engaged approximately 140 participants and 30 lecturers/mentors across eight countries: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe. Of the 120 participants who took the final online exam administered by UNITAR, 110 passed.
• The programme demonstrated that national trainers—typically university professors, government officials, or consultants—were available and competent in all eight target countries, eliminating the need for international experts and reducing costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Decentralising programme management, budget control, and the contracting of staff to national GWP/WACDEP structures increased national ownership and allowed lecturers to adapt the curriculum to specific country contexts.
• Linking training to participants' individual action plans—such as developing national policy papers or strategic plans—enabled the programme to deliver tangible outcomes and bridge the gap between theoretical training and daily work duties.
• Specific country-level results included the integration of water security gaps into Burkina Faso's National Adaptation Planning process document, the proposal of an urban flood management project for Maputo in Mozambique, and the revision of national standard Terms of Reference for water and land planning in Tunisia.
• The programme identified a need for 'change management' in future iterations, noting that capacity development must address not only scientific knowledge but also how large institutions apply that capacity to effect change.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (n.d.). Climate resilient development: Experience from an African capacity development programme. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/WaterCapacity_Final_WEB.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Climate resilient development: Experience from an African capacity development programme. n.d. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/WaterCapacity_Final_WEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Climate resilient development: Experience from an African capacity development programme |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/WaterCapacity_Final_WEB.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetworkndclimate, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Climate resilient development: Experience from an African capacity development programme}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/WaterCapacity_Final_WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }