National Adaptation Plan (NAP) 2019 - 2030.

This National Adaptation Plan is a nationwide sectoral document developed by the Government, represented by the Environment Public Authority (EPA) in partnership with other governmental and non-governmental institutions, and represents guidelines of the national actions needed to adapt to climate change in Kuwait. The overall objective of the NAP is to (i) provide an integrated development plan and subsequent programs targeting local communities and environmental components in areas under the threat of climate change; and (ii) reduce the vulnerability of social and biological systems and adapting to the change of climate. The NAP is prepared under the UNFCCC directives and its programs and projects are to be initiated in the both short and long term to adapt to climate change in the country. To achieve the overall goal of the NAP, the identified main objectives are (i) build an adaptive plan with capacity and resilience that can reduce vulnerability to the climate change impacts; and (ii) facilitate and integrate the adaptation of climate change into policies, programs, and activities, in specific development planning strategies and processes, within all national relevant sector. Strategic actions will be directed to (i) increase the resilience of the fisheries and marine sector to climate change; (ii) improve the resilience of systems for the water sector; (iii) enhance the resilience of coastal zones to face Sea Level Rise (SLR) risks; and (iv) enhance and build the capacity of the health sector to be prepared for increased health risks due to climate change.
To make agriculture and fisheries more productive and sustainable, it will be necessary to (i) adapt efficient irrigation methods to reduce water losses; and (ii) improve irrigation systems to help utilize and conserve water in a more sustainable way, like bio-diverse planting, hydro-zoning, and PO irrigation; (iii) develop monitoring capacity to prevent overfishing; and (iv) enhance awareness by involving the local community in the protection and sustainable consumption of marine life.
In order to increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, the NAP aims to (i) provide financial and technical support to institutions and sectors responsible for marine life protection; (ii) increase awareness about the Marine Ecosystem and the impact of climate change on it; (iii) enhance technical (individual and institutional) capacities on the impact of climate change on fisheries; (iv) design new marine protected areas; (v) develop a crisis plan and management to confront climate change effects; (v) utilize water conservation technologies; (vi) develop risk assessment on water resources depletion in the face of climate change; (vii) utilize technologies to reduce water consumption; (viii) involve more sustainable methods of water treatment; (ix) provide financial aid for preventative and protective actions for coastal damage; (x) establish a specialized center for coastal management and organize information and tools for climate risk modeling; (xi) protect coastlines from SLR by constructing protection barriers; (xii) increase public awareness of climate changes effects and impacts on general health; (xiii) develop warning systems for extreme weather conditions combined with a communication strategy for alerts; and (xiv) increase drought-proof vegetation to reduce dust fallout from dust storms.
As for Governance, the implementation of the NAP is not the responsibility of EPA alone since adaptation to climate change requires the work of all stakeholders and integration in the design and implementation of initiatives in several sectors. Therefore, EPA will seek technical assistance from international organizations and other stakeholders to implement the proposed programs to adapt to climate change and reduce the side effects associated with socio-economic problems. Monitoring and evaluation of the Plan and subsequent impacts of interventions from the different programs are future objectives and tasks of the Kuwait Environment Public Authority to provide a feedback mechanism for modification of programs, setting priorities, and implementation of activities based on the needs and requirements of local communities in most affected areas.