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In this issue:

National advocacy strategies

Interviews with project coordinators

Regional project review

Regional team meeting in Belgrade

Video contest and quiz

CSO networks in SEE

News

Funding possibilities

Publications

Newsletter

Dear reader,

The latest issue of the Newsletter of the South East

European Forum on Climate Change Adaptation brings

you reviews of the recent events related to this project,

as well as news about climate change from the region.

Discover what the advocacy strategies of national

networks in Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and

Serbia have in store. Read about the impressions of

network coordinators about their work up until now, as

well as their plans for the future. We present you the

results of our case study, and a review of the regional

video contest. As always, we share with you the latest

publication and funding possibilities in our area.

In the past few months, national networks on climate

change adaptation have been active in the development

of advocacy strategies. With the support of these

concepts and trainings held in advocacy and

communication, networks will be in the position to

enter into a coordinated and sustainable dialogue on

climate change with their governments and engage in

policy debate.

Introducing CCA into Legislation

Macedonian advocacy strategy identifies the priority

interests of the Climate Reaction network (CRN) and

guides the communication of key messages to target

audiences coordinated by the Macedonian Red Cross.

Its main goal is the recognition of the need for the

establishment of a CCA system and incorporation of the

CCA concept in already existing relevant climate change

legislations. The strategy will build relationships and

links between public authorities, academic institutions

and civil society to enable multi-stakeholder

consultation and joint action on CCA. It will also work on

the public promotion of the CCA concept in order to

raise awareness about climate change related risks. In

line with the advocacy strategy, the CRN will set

concrete actions to influence legislation on CCA in

Macedonia, which shall further foster their positioning

towards the government. Finally, the public will be

aware of climate change related risks and be familiar

with the adaptation measures on certain priority

sectors.

NATIONAL ADVOCACY

STRATEGIES

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An Operational Platform for CCA The advocacy strategy in Croatia tries to tackle to major

issues. First, there are a great number of scientific

papers on climate change in Croatia in almost all

relevant sectors (tourism, agriculture, health etc) but

they are difficult to get a hold of or to have a

comprehensive analysis of all papers. There is no

database that would be composed solely of scientific

paper dealing with climate change regardless of

scientist background. The Croatian network will

advocate for initiating the process of transformation of

Croatian National platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

from just academic platform to more operational one.

Secondly, the network will raise public awareness about

climate change. The goal is to implement fact-based

public discussions to educate the general public of all

ages on the effects and economic costs of climate

change, government strategies and future plans to

tackle climate change.

Improving Communication about CCA Key areas covered by the Montenegrin advocacy

strategy are the impacts of climate change on water

resources, energy, agriculture and public health in

Montenegro. A set of priorities has been defined for

each area, so that the network can more easily

cooperate with the public authorities and decision-

makers. Apart from these crucial issues, special

attention has been paid to the communication with key

stakeholders in climate change adaptation activities. A

comprehensive analysis has shown that one of the

fundamental challenges is the lack of communication

between all interested parties on finding the solution

and raising awareness about climate change

consequences, so Climate Response will advocate on

those issues.

Marinko Metlicic

Coordinator of

the Croatian

network for

Climate Change

Adaptation

What are the most important results of your network’s

participation in this project?

There is more than one important result of the

participation in the project. Trough the project process

we all learned about networking and networking

coordination and functioning and we all better

positioned our organizations in both the CSO world and

stakeholder world. In our hands we have a very useful

document on a national and regional level and we also

developed some new things for Croatia based on

regional experiences (Macedonian Heath Wave Early

warning).

What are your network’s plans for the future?

We will first of all continue with meetings and activities

on a national level and try to continue with coordination

on a regional level. We will go on to develop new

activities based on CVA recommendations. We aim to

look for different funding possibilities in the country and

regionally, for the continuation of the networking.

INTERVIEWS WITH

NETWORK

COORDINATORS

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Vaska Cvetanoska Panova

Coordinator of

the Macedonian

network

“Climate

Reaction”

What do you think is the most important result of your

network’s participation in this project?

Apart from the regular project activities, such as

regional and national trainings on different topics

(relevant EU acquis, advocacy and lobbying,

communication, EU funding trainings), the development

of the national CVA report, development of the

advocacy strategy and much more, the Network

managed to achieve several results which bring added

value of the Climate Reaction Network.

The Network signed the Memorandum of Understanding

with National Rural Development Network. Also, we

placed the climate change issue in the extracurricular

educational program under the subject “Risk

assessment, vulnerability of climate change and

standard operating procedures (SOP)“. This subject is a

part of the study program “Crisis Management,

Protection and Rescue” in department of Safety, Crisis

Management, Protection and Rescue under the Military

Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski” – Skopje, which

is the part of the University of Goce Delcev, Stip. The

Macedonian network is a part of the National

Committee of Climate Change for the development of

the Third National Communication on Climate Change

towards the UNFCCC. On top of that, Climate Reaction

(CRN) has developed an action plan.

What are your network’s plans for the upcoming

period?

According to the advocacy strategy, the Network will

proceed with the work on CCA. CRN developed an action

plan and defined activities that go in line with the

recommendations from the CVA. Therefore, in the next

period the network will work on fund-raising in order to

implement the activities stated in the advocacy strategy.

In the next period the network will be engaged in the

development and submission of projects and CCA

initiatives according to open funding opportunities. The

projects and initiatives that shall be developed will go in

line with the CRN’s advocacy strategy. We are planning

to settle the Network management and implement the

action plan according the projects granted.

Ranko Andrijasevic

Coordinator of

the Montenegrin

network “Climate

Response”

In your opinion, what is the most important result of

your network’s participation in this project?

Bringing CCA into focus of CSOs and other involved

stakeholders is one of the most important achievements

of Climate Response. We established connections and

communication with different CSOs and stakeholders

within Montenegro and from the region, and also

produced the CVA as a platform for our future work.

Besides project activities focusing on building up

capacities of CSOs, we had a couple of successful

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awareness-raising activities which indicated that there is

a lot of room to cooperate with different institutions,

organizations and the private sector in Montenegro. It is

also important to mention that the Ministry of

Sustainable Development and Tourism recognized the

added value of civil sector in preparation of the Second

National Communication on Climate Change and

therefore invited members of the Network to contribute

to the development of this document.

What are the plans of Climate Response for the

upcoming period?

The focus of our work in the forthcoming period will be

on implementing findings from National CVA report. As

defined in this document, there are several sectors

which we will address through the implementation of

our Advocacy Strategy and through awareness-raising

activities. Also, an important task for us is to provide

financial sustainability for our future work and to

continue mainstreaming climate change topic

throughout all sectors and official policies.

The main challenge for our Network will come from the

fact that climate change adaptation is not at the

moment a major priority for the Montenegro

Institutions. Current efforts are dedicated to mitigation

measures due to expected international obligations

which, along with the current financial crisis, may

postpone governmental action regarding adoption of

strategies, plans and concrete measures for climate

change adaptation.

Vladan Scekic

Coordinator of the

Serbian network

“Climate Forum”

What do you think is the most important result of your

network’s participation in this project?

The most important result is the awareness raising that

has been done in last two years, as well as cooperation

and communication with relevant stakeholders, media

and schools. We have managed to create the need for

knowledge on CCA issues, and have created a future

need for this network in Serbia.

Serbian network "Climate Forum" has done several

activities which attracted attention of the general public

and stakeholders. National Climate Vulnerability

Assessment is the first document of a kind in Serbia and

it was very well accepted by the decision makers and

interested parties. We have also created a first heat-

wave TV ad in Serbia, and it was broadcasted in

cooperation with MTV Adria and local TV stations. For

the first time, we have Climate change quiz on mobile

phones platform, bringing new technology in to the

project.

The public event that was conducted on the main

Belgrade square, Trg Republike, was very successful,

people were keen to learn on climate change and

climate change adaptation, and the turnout was great.

We also did events in Vrsac, Subotica and Zajecar in

cooperation with Goethe Institute, where we had film

screenings and panel discussions on climate change

issues on local level. The last presentation of "Climate

Forum" has been held on International Green Culture

Festival - Green Fest in Belgrade.

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An important role of the Serbian network was in the

field of nature conservation, since only we have a

biodiversity section in the National Climate Vulnerability

Assessment. This emphasizes the need for civil society

organizations to lead and create the projects like this

and to put additional efforts in promoting the values

that their organizations stand for.

What are your network’s plans for the upcoming

period?

In the future period, the network will focus on

application of the advocacy strategy, workgroup

participation, with bilateral and multilateral talks (2nd

National Communication and Programme for

environmental Protection – City of Belgrade) and further

development of the cooperation framework in order to

create several projects in the field of climate change

adaptation and to continue to mainstream this topic in

all relevant fields.

Network members are very interested in developing

these projects and finding financing, due to the fact that

they have recognized the needs and benefits that society

can have from appropriate climate change adaptation

measures and well-timed decision making processes in

situations when that is essential.

The South East European Forum on Climate

Change Adaptation 2011 and 2012:

a Review

On the occasion of the end of the initial funding period

the SEEFCCA is reviewing the work done in the last 2

years.

The case study

To do so, a case study was produced and can be found

on our website. The study does not only summarize

activities done by the SEEFCCA but should also functions

as a guide for other organizations working in the field of

CCA and therefore highlights the different working areas

as well as organisational development.

The start

2009

A conference in Montenegro gave the first spark for the

Forum when it identified the need of increased

awareness-raising and cooperation on CCA in the SEE

region. To address the missing regional dialogue in this

area, the SEEFCCA was initiated in 2010. New and

unique was the partnership of CSOs from different fields

(humanitarian, environmental, education …), public

authorities, researchers and also international

institutions. This was true for the implementing

partners as well as for the national networks that were

formed within the project. Later it turned out that this

approach was successful in producing valuable

outcomes for the organizations involved and, of course,

for a better cooperation in CCA. You can find some

examples also in this newsletter.

Floods in Croatia, 2010

REGIONAL PROJECT REVIEW

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2011

The first year, 2011, was dominated by an ambitious

plan of forming four national networks and

strengthening the capacities in the field of CCA. Also,

the climate vulnerability assessment process started in

autumn of 2011. From June the process was

accompanied by regional communication tools: the

website and the newsletter. This gave the opportunity

to strengthen the visibility of the involved CSOs,

distribute documents or connect between the different

project countries.

Tree planting action, Montenegro 2011

2012

The cold wave in the winter of 2012 showed again

dramatically the need for CCA measures. Still, trainings

were offered to network members and project staff

until summer 2012. But besides that, the networks

already worked on improving CCA measures. As a

general result CSOs could show their expertise in the

field and cooperate more closely with public authorities.

Regional cooperation

The regional conferences in Sutomore and Zagreb

added a regional character to the SEEFCCA. Naturally,

the networks before had been mostly engaged with

advocacy and activities in their own countries. In the

conferences they found time to consider cross-border

cooperation and to exchange knowledge and best

practices from their countries. The participants also

represented the character of the Forum:

representatives of public authorities (e.g. ministries)

teamed up with CSO members with different

backgrounds and researchers to draft a joint action plan

on how to improve CCA policies. In Zagreb it was also

clear that the regional outreach and visibility of the

SEEFCCA was quite successful: by promoting the idea of

the multisectoral approach and by setting quality

standards in their work and products, other institutions

like the Regional Cooperation Council or the European

Environment Agency strengthened their cooperation

with the SEEFCCA through assisting in promoting the

Forum.

SEEFCCA conference in Sutomore, Montenegro 2012

Work done

Now, in the autumn of 2012, the Forum and the

national networks can present a number of results and

implemented activities, while on the other hand

campaigns are already being prepared for this winter.

Finally, after only 2 years some numbers can also

illustrate what was achieved in that time:

4 national networks work on CCA in their countries

Over 10 regional trainings and meetings held

Over 20 national trainings and meetings held

5 awareness-raising campaigns including TV spots

5 CVA reports published

awareness-raising material produced

online collection of over 200 relevant documents on CCA

involvement of about 110 organizations in the SEEFCCA

5 web based communication channels

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Please visit our website to get access to the case study

“The South East European Forum on Climate Change

Adaptation”. The publishing will also be announced on

our Facebook page.

The case study is available as E-book as well as Audio-

Book .

The project team of the South East European Forum on

Climate Change Adaptation had the final meeting of this

year in Belgrade on 26 – 28 November 2012. The first

working day was dedicated to improving the

communication skills of the participants, with the

trainer Ms Marija Grujic.

Regional project team meeting in Belgrade

Ms Grujic presented the basics of NLP (neuro-linguistic

programming) and gave the participants the chance to

practice the rapport and learn about meta-programmes.

After the capacity-building, the project team focused

on assessing the last two years in terms of the results

achieved but also analysing ways to shape its future.

The meeting was the opportunity to present the final

evaluation of the initial funding period and the

sustainability concept.

“The Climate has changed … Have you?”

We asked people through our networks and online

channels what comes to their mind when thinking about

CCA and to record short videos. To foster motivation

this has been done in the framework of a contest. A

criterion was that the video would be made using

amateur devices (simple cameras or even mobile

phones), otherwise no limits in age or creativity were

given. The videos that we received contained personal

messages (e.g. on energy efficiency) or an animated

story on effects of climate change. The winner will be

Video contest Regional project

team meeting

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awarded a digital camera and selected videos will be

used for awareness raising.

Find the chosen videos on

www.youtube.com/SeeForumOnCCA.

Debate on climate change in Radovis In September 2012, the Macedonian Red Cross and the

“Climate Reaction” network started an awareness

raising initiative with the main aim to inform the wider

public about the necessity of climate change

adaptation. The final event of this initiative was a

debate on the topic “Response to climate challenge on

local and national level.” The workshop took place on 27

October 2012 and was conducted by the NGO DECERE

from Radovis. Several representatives from local

governments participated in this discussion and

expressed their interest to cooperate with network

members from that particular region and to support the

network in future activities.

Climate change debate in Radovis

The local expert from the civil society organization

CELOR, Mr. Stole Georgiev gave an overview of the

situation in Radovis and the natural disasters that

constantly affect this particular region. Mr. Georgiev

highlighted the climate related floods, in particular the

big flood that happened in December 2008, causing

human and material damage.

Final IPA Civil Society Facility Conference

and Western Balkan CSO Forum Zagreb, 26-28 November 2012

The IPA Civil Society Facility Final Conference took place

in Zagreb, from 27-28 November 2012. On this occasion

project leaders and partners of the multi-beneficiary IPA

Socio-Economic Partnership Programme 2010

presented their project results and outputs. Additionally

conclusions towards possible future steps were

discussed, such as for example the importance of

uniting with similar partners.

The IPA final conference was held back to back with the

4th Western Balkan Civil Society Forum, organized by the

European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The

regional forum gathered over 150 participants from

Western Balkan CSOs, EESC members and

representatives from EU institutions, as well as

governmental representatives. Mr. Stefan Füle,

CSO NETWORKS IN SEE NEWS

Picture: www.eesc.europa.eu

Picture: www.eesc.europa.eu

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Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood

Policy, as well as Ms. Vesna Pusic, Minister of Foreign

and European Affairs of Croatia gave an opening speech

highlighting achievements and challenges in the EU

enlargement process. Subsequently discussions focused

on the inclusion of civil society organisations in the EU

enlargement process and on challenges as regards

freedom of media, rural development and employment.

Even though the current economic crisis cast a pall over

the enlargement process, the committee agreed that

the upcoming EU accession of Croatia and the progress

made by the countries of the region is encouraging.

Climate Change Conference in Doha The UN Climate Change Conference will take place from

26 November – 7 December 2012 in Doha, Qatar. In

Doha the European Union will be seeking to keep the

package of decisions agreed in Durban intact. The EU

wants significant progress made in terms of planning

the two streams of work being done under the Durban

Platform for Enhanced Action. These are the drafting

and adoption by 2015 of a new global climate

agreement applying to all countries, and the

identification of ways to raise the ambition of global

greenhouse gas emission cuts between now and the

end of this decade. Doha should also deliver on a

second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol

starting on 1 January 2013, including the rules needed

for its implementation. Back to back, the Red Cross/Red

Crescent Climate Centre, the International Institute for

Environment and Development (IIED) and the Climate

and Development Network (CDN) will organize the

“Development and Climate Days” on 1-2 December. This

year the topic is “innovative approaches, incisive

dialogue on climate-smart development”. The focus will

be on learning-by-doing, featuring innovative dialogues

between negotiators and policy makers, knowledge

centres and practitioners.

CIRCLE2 event in Madrid, Spain On 22 and 23 November 2012, the Ministerio de

Economia y Competitividad, CIRCLE-2 and the Faculdade

Ciencias Universidade Lisboa organized the workshop

“Responses to Extreme Water related Events” in

Madrid, Spain. International experts and participants

from different sectors (decision-makers, researchers,

and practitioners) shared knowledge on good practice

examples and challenges and opportunities in adapting

to water-related extreme events, such as droughts and

floods. The output of the conference shall contribute to

the European Adaptation Strategy. For more

information, please check the website: www.circle-

era.eu/np4/home.html.

Regional Conference: Improving

Cooperation with Public Institutions Took

Place in Skopje Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations

(TACSO) organised a regional conference on improving

civil society cooperation with public institutions and the

donor community in the Western Balkans and Turkey in

Skopje on 7 and 8 November 2012. With over 100

representatives of public institutions, civil society, the

media and donor community, this conference created a

forum for the presentation of the current regional and

European initiatives to improve civil society cooperation

with public institutions. At the same time, the

Conference gave participants the opportunity to identify

the next steps they would take to improve civil society

cooperation with public institutions during the next

year.

Picture: TACSO

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PUBLICATIONS

Open Regional Fund for South East Europe In the Western Balkans GIZ support started with

reconstruction and reconciliation measures, but soon

shifted to the development of a sustainable economic

development and support to EU approximation in the

spheres of public administration, private sector and civil

society. Through the Open Regional Fund for SEE, GIZ

supports transnational cooperation among committed

individuals and groups (public, private and CSO sector)

from all over the Western Balkan region. Thematic areas

include legal reform, foreign trade promotion,

modernization of municipal services and energy

efficiency.

Updated Report on Regional CSO Networks

in the IPA Region This report was elaborated as an exercise to gain an

overview of existing networks in the IPA region and

their collaboration methods, drawing conclusions on

their influences and impact on CSO development and

sustainability. The objective of the report is to inform

TACSO and the EU as well as other interested

stakeholders of the added value regional networks have

in building sustainable CSOs in the region, what

challenges they face and ways to support these

networks so as to enhance their effectiveness. Among

recommendations to regional networks, it is mentioned

that they should explore the possibility of a more

structured exchange of service delivery among

themselves as there are, for example, specialized

networks offering focused services or trainings; develop

more comprehensive mid- and long-term fundraising

strategies beyond the project level jointly with member

organisations to avoid competition for funding sources,

as well as a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation

system with indicators measuring progress against

objectives. The whole updated report is available on the

TACSO website.

World Disasters Report 2012 - Focus on

Forced Migration and Displacement The International Federation of Red Cross and Red

Crescent Societies has published the 2012 World

Disasters Report, focusing particularly on forced

migration and displacement. Migration is a

phenomenon constantly on the increase and it affects

every country. Many migrants move voluntarily –

looking for economic opportunities, or for different

lifestyles. But for many, migration is not a choice.

Disasters and climate change are among the many

factors which are forcing more and more people to

leave their homes and communities, calling for

humanitarian and developmental action. Exactly this is

the focus of the 2012 World Disasters Report.

COP 18 Key IFRC Messages The International Federation of Red Cross and Red

Crescent Societies (IFRC) has been a significant actor in

addressing the humanitarian consequences of climate

change. The IFRC’s work focuses on adaptation and

mitigation efforts to assist those vulnerable to climate

change in building safer and more resilient

communities. The latest publications offer official Red

Cross key messages for the UNFCCC conference in

Qatar/Doha, stating that climate change is increasing

disaster risk for the most vulnerable population and that

the current humanitarian system is barely coping with

the increasing demand. IFRC recommends early and

local action to improve safety and resilience, by

empowering communities with knowledge. Key

principles of the IFRC’s work on climate change are

taking a holistic approach, building on existing risk

reduction interventions, and establishing and

FUNDING POSSIBILITIES

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strengthening partnerships. The IFRC adopts gender

sensitive-approaches, recognizes the relevance of

traditional and indigenous knowledge while supporting

participatory and inclusive approaches.

Climate Vulnerability Monitor 2011: a

Guide to the Cold Calculus of a Hot Planet This document expands the existing evidence base in

order to shift policy and practice within the climate

change domain. The climate section on environmental

disasters, using various natural indicators, raises the

following questions: is the humanitarian system

prepared for such rapid

increases in the scale of

emergencies; and are

more capacities,

resources and

institutional

coordination needed to

ensure the international

community is

prepared? Read the full

document by clicking on

the image.

Environmental Campaigning in South

East Europe This publication is a result of the project Capacity

building and networking among environmental NGOs

and youth in South Eastern Europe with FOEI experience

implemented by Friends of the Earth International and

Zelena akcija / FoE Croatia and supported by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of

Netherlands. This project underlines that there still is a

need to strengthen environmental activism in SEE. The

region still needs more civil society activism in

environmental public advocacy and support to the

efforts of local communities to protect their

environment and influence on national and local

environmental public policy making. There is a need to

mobilize citizens to exercise and defend their right to a

healthy and sustainable environment. Read more here.

Stay informed about climate change adaptation in

South East Europe by visiting our website,

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.