Strengthening marine and coastal EbA in climate policies in Southern Africa

In recent years there has been progress in strengthening marine and coastal ecosystembased adaptation (EbA) in climate policy debates in Africa, along with a surge in ocean research globally. Much national effort has been put into drafting the latest versions of countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), submitted by parties to the Paris Agreement and aiming to communicate countries’ climate plans to achieve its 1.5°C goals. However, there is agreement that rising concerns over terrestrial issues in climate policy have overshadowed marine and coastal EbA concerns. Moreover, many question to what extent these high-level discussions at the global level have translated into effective EbA action at the local level. In SADC, there remains a need to have a more nuanced understanding of phenomena that impact effective EbA implementation. The aims of this paper are to (1) review current NDCs and other national climate and blue economy policies and processes; (2) analyse national and regional gaps; and (3) identify windows of opportunity to integrate EbA with a coastal and marine focus. The scope of this analysis is the 10 member states of SADC situated along the coast of Southern and Eastern Africa. The target audience is the SADC Secretariat and its constituents at local, subnational and national levels.