National Adaptation Plan (NAP) to Climate Change.

This National Adaptation Plan (NAP) is a nationwide sectoral document aiming at providing (i) an assessment of historic trends in climate in relation to the State of Palestine; (ii) an identification and prioritization of vulnerabilities; (iii) future climate-scenarios for the State of Palestine; (iv) identification and prioritization of adaptation options, including related costs; (v) future developments required for the State of Palestine’s institutions to be able to participate in climate-modelling research; and (vi) an outline of the process for future monitoring and evaluation. The process for assessing vulnerabilities and identifying adaptation options has been built on the UNFCCC’s guidelines for least developed countries. The adaptation measures are provided based on three different future-climate scenarios from the most optimistic (a global average temperature increase not exceeding 2°C) to a mid-range scenario (some reductions from historic levels but breaching the 2°C target) until, finally, at the most pessimistic, assuming that emissions continue unabated.
To help eliminate hunger and food insecurity, the NAP proposes to (i) enhance agricultural value chain and improve infrastructure for livestock production; (ii) construct large-scale steel silos for grain to enable import and storage during periods when prices on the international markets are low; and (iii) encourage women to use their house gardens to produce food.
In order to make agriculture and forestry more productive and sustainable, adaptation measures provided are (i) development of climate-smart agriculture; (ii) improvement of water-use efficiency and utilization of alternatives water resources; (iii) greening, afforestation, and range land development; (iv) increasing of the availability of animal feed (including plant and organic residues) at an affordable price; (v) rain-water harvesting; and (vi) introduction of new saline tolerant crops.
More inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems will be enabled through (i) enhancement of sustainable community-level irrigation schemes and infrastructure; (ii) establishment of farmers' support, such as subsidies, awareness training programs; (iii) increasing the awareness of people, particularly women, in water-poor areas of measures they can take to help prevent major diseases related to water, sanitation, and food; (iv) supporting improvements in efficient use of water in women's private small-scale agricultural projects; and (v) improvement of handling, fumigation, packaging, and storage techniques for raw materials intended for export.
To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, the document suggests (i) development of agricultural disaster risk reduction and management; (ii) construction of breakwaters and rehabilitation of resilient road infrastructure; (iii) energy efficiency measures to reduce consumption together with use of renewable energy, such as solar, to reduce imported energy; and (iv) promotion of green buildings.
As for the Governance, each of the adaptation options in the NAP is uniquely ascribed to a particular vulnerability within a sector and will be the responsibility of the concerned Palestinian Government’s Ministry. However, many of the adaptation options provide co-benefits for multiple issues and their competence will concern other Ministries and related stakeholders. The Environment Quality Authority will maintain oversight and ensure coordination across all sectors.