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Background

The Santiago network for averting, minimising and addressing loss and damage (SNLD) was established at COP 25 in 2019 in Madrid, as part of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (WIM) which serves both the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC/Convention) and its Paris Agreement. The mandate of the SNLD is to catalyse technical assistance of relevant organisations, bodies, networks and experts (OBNEs), for the implementation of relevant approaches for averting, minimising and addressing loss and damage at the local, national and regional levels, in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The SNLD was a key outcome of the second review of the WIM during which developing countries called for more focus on the third function of the WIM: enhancing action and support including finance, technology and capacity-building. It was agreed the WIM Executive Committee (WIM ExCom) had not been delivering on this function, and the SNLD, together with a new expert group on action and support under the WIM ExCom, would help to address this critical gap.

The SNLD has since developed incrementally over the course of COP 26 in Glasgow where its functions were agreed and there was a commitment that the Santiago network will be provided with funds to support technical assistance in support of those functions. At COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, its institutional arrangements were set out in a terms of reference. With agreement on the structure, including a hosted secretariat and Advisory Board, the network was on its way to full operationalisation. The decision at COP 28 in Dubai resolved key final elements such as the selection of the host consortium and election of Advisory Board members to enable the SNLD to begin to fully operate in accordance with the decisions in Glasgow and Sharm el-Sheikh.

In the ongoing efforts to fully operationalise the SNLD, meetings of the Advisory Board in 2024 have continued to move the work forward. You can read our debrief and expectations for  the third meeting and beyond here, as well as our earlier debrief on the COP 28 decision and first meeting here. One key agenda item at the second meeting was the effective engagement of a wide range of OBNEs as members of the network. The Advisory Board approved the guidelines for the designation of OBNEs as members of the SNLD, and instructed the interim secretariat to initiate the process of designating OBNEs as members which is to be carried out over the coming months. The OBNEs are a key element of the SNLD and it is envisaged they will be diverse coming from all geographic regions covering a wide range of topics relevant to averting, minimising and addressing loss and damage.

Objective of the webinar

The primary objective of this webinar was to focus on the capacity building of OBNEs and explore their role and engagement as the SNLD advances towards full operationalisation.

The webinar explored a range of topics, including:

• Understanding the loss and damage landscape and where the SNLD fits - who the key stakeholders are, the direction of travel and where OBNEs can hook up and drive progress;
• Unpacking the meetings of the Advisory Board in 2024 and looking ahead to the third meeting in September and beyond;
• What is technical assistance? We will hear from  Vanuatu on their request for technical assistance and what other countries can learn from them;
• An explanation of the OBNE guidelines which were recently agreed by the Advisory Board;
• The nature of OBNEs - CSO connection with local and community;
• Connection between OBNEs and national governments to support making technical assistance requests;
• Identifying ways of strengthening the CSO engagement during the third review of the WIM which will take place in November at COP 29;
• Update about other Advisory Board discussions - e.g., caps on the quantum of technical assistance provided and possible percentages for local communities; and
• Delve into financing for Loss and Damage and the relationship between the SNLD and the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (Fund), addressing considerations such as fund allocation, mobilisation, and effective utilisation.

The webinar will benefit any potential OBNEs and other stakeholders interested in building their knowledge and understanding of the SNLD.

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You can read a summary of the webinar here.

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The slides prepared and shared during the webinar can be viewed here.

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Find the full length video recording below:

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