The NAP Expo 2025, held from 12-15 August in Lusaka, Zambia, marked a significant milestone in strengthening climate adaptation efforts in developing countries. Organized by the UNFCCC´s Least Developed Countries Expert Groups (LEG), this year´s NAP Expo focused on “Innovation in the NAP Process”. It featured the launch of the updated National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Technical Guideline for the processes to formulate and implement NAPs to strengthen adaptation planning by integrating the latest scientific insights and promoting innovation, data-driven approaches to building resilience.
During the Expo, the Climate Risk Analytics Team hosted a session titled “Scaling Innovation in NAPs: Insights from African LDCs on Integrating Local Knowledge and Advanced Technologies,” addressing the critical capacity-building gaps that limit investment readiness for NAP implementation in developing countries. The session highlighted how integrating local adaptation knowledge with innovative tools, notably CLIMADA, can generate robust, data-driven adaptation strategies. By placing African LDCs at the center of the dialogue, the session emphasized innovative approaches that ensure innovations are both scalable and actionable within national adaptation planning processes. The session engaged approximately 30 participants in interactive workshops and synthesis discussions, guided by three central questions:
- What specific actions can help scale locally-led adaptation solutions, such as those in Ethiopia, Zambia, and Somalia, into national adaptation plans and policies?
- How can indigenous knowledge and advanced technologies be combined more effectively to strengthen adaptation outcomes in African Least Developed Countries (LDCs)?
- What types of partnerships, financing mechanisms, and capacity-building initiatives are most needed to sustain and expand local innovations through the NAP process?
Following the discussion, the session identified key insights for advancing adaptation in LDCs. Local knowledge and community-led innovations emerged as foundational elements, highlighting the need to systematically document and embed them into early warning systems and NAP processes. When thoughtfully combined with these local practices, technology can close critical data gaps and amplify the reach of adaptation efforts, with tools such as CLIMADA and UNDRR’s DTS providing actionable pathways. Equally, adaptation financing must be gender-responsive and sustainable, recognizing the complementary roles of men and women and supporting leadership across communities. The conversation concluded with a call to co-create mechanisms that integrate local knowledge, strengthen digital and technical capacities, and mobilize climate finance to scale solutions that are both community-driven and technology-enabled.
