Day 2 of the NAP Expo 2026 focused on the practical challenges of designing resilient food systems, costing adaptation priorities, strengthening monitoring systems, and preparing adaptation projects for financing and implementation.
Opening the day, Mr. Jean Paul Ndagijimana, AGRA Rwanda Country Director, presented a keynote on transforming food systems from climate risks into resilience assets. The session emphasized that more than 80% of National Adaptation Plans identify agriculture and food security as priorities, but that adaptation efforts must move beyond protecting crops alone and instead safeguard entire food systems, including warehouses, cold chains, transport systems and consumers. A key message from the session was that countries must be able to demonstrate that food systems are becoming more resilient, not simply more active, supported by stronger Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) systems.
The second keynote presentation, delivered by Dr. Anna Taylor of the University of Cape Town, examined South Africa’s experience in prioritizing and costing national adaptation measures. The presentation highlighted the political and technical complexity of adaptation planning, noting that countries face numerous adaptation needs, limited budgets and competing priorities. Dr. Taylor emphasized the importance of avoiding “black-box costing” approaches by making costing assumptions transparent and easy to revise over time. South Africa’s methodology included clearly documenting eight key costing assumptions and conducting horizon-scanning exercises to compare adaptation finance trends in countries with similar economic and demographic profiles. The session also underscored the importance of building political ownership by involving multiple stakeholders in reviewing and challenging subjective assumptions throughout the costing process.
The morning then shifted into the first round of project pitching sessions, where countries from the Red and Yellow groups presented their adaptation project ideas from Day 1 to funders and financing partners. Discussions focused on helping countries better define project scale, align proposals with appropriate funding instruments, identify opportunities for blended finance, and strengthen assessments of environmental, economic and social risks. The exchanges gave country teams direct feedback on how to improve the bankability and implementation readiness of their project concepts.
At the same time, clinics explored practical approaches to adaptation monitoring and implementation. The PEG M&E Pathways clinic introduced the Progress, Effectiveness and Gaps framework as a tool to help countries monitor whether adaptation measures are continuing to function within safe operating limits. Participants discussed the importance of identifying thresholds before adaptation strategies fail and planning transitions early, particularly in areas such as managed retreat, water security and food systems. The session emphasized that adaptation monitoring should focus not only on current impacts, but also on measuring the distance to critical risk thresholds and determining when stronger or transformational adaptation measures become necessary. The clinic also demonstrated how the framework can align with the NAPX data model to support machine-readable and Biennial Transparency Report-ready monitoring systems.
Parallel sessions under the workstream on the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience provided countries with hands-on exercises to assess progress towards the Global Goal on Adaptation in their national contexts. Participants worked through practical examples using country-selected targets while technical organizations shared available support for implementation, capacity-building and reporting.
Another clinic also provided a platform for country practitioners to exchange experiences on developing national MEL systems and to identify priorities for future guidance, including strengthening coherence across adaptation reporting processes under the Paris Agreement. Participants also discussed persistent challenges in operationalizing national MEL systems, including inconsistent data standards, limited availability of disaggregated data, and difficulties linking national and subnational reporting systems. The session emphasized the importance of building one coherent MEL system capable of serving multiple reporting needs simultaneously — including BTRs, adaptation communications and the emerging Belém Adaptation Indicators — while avoiding fragmented and parallel reporting processes.
Specialized clinics provided additional technical training on adaptation finance and monitoring systems. One clinic led by McKinsey and UNDP guided participants through illustrative costing exercises on coastal flood protection and drought-resilient irrigation systems. Participants worked through practical calculations related to calculating capital expenditure (CAPEX), operational expenditure (OPEX) of adaptation interventions. Another clinic focused on strengthening Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning systems for adaptation implementation.
In the afternoon, the Green, Blue and Orange groups continued developing adaptation project concepts and financing profiles with support from partner organizations including UNEP, FAO, GGGI, SPC, SN, UNCDF and GWP. Sessions focused on translating national priorities into clearer investment propositions and refining project concepts in preparation for engagement with funders.
The day concluded with a second round of pitching sessions, where countries from the Green, Blue and Orange groups presented refined project concepts to funders and technical experts. Additional clinics explored scientific writing for National Adaptation Plans and practical approaches to addressing adaptation reporting challenges through the NAP process.
Across the day, discussions consistently returned to the need for adaptation planning processes that are measurable, transparent, finance-ready and capable of delivering long-term resilience outcomes across sectors and systems.
All photos are courtesy of REMA and can be viewed on their online album here