Supporting North Macedonia to advance their NAP process

Country background, Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement

North Macedonia, a small, landlocked country in southern Europe of 25,713 km2, is located in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula on an elevated plateau that is bisected and surrounded by hill and mountainous terrain, which covers 79 percent of North Macedonia’s territory. Despite the country’s small size, the climate ranges from alpine in the west and northwest of the country, to Mediterranean in the southern districts of the Vardar river valley, and is characterized by cold winters, hot summers and a highly variable precipitation regime with high levels of biodiversity. Climate change impacts are already evident in North Macedonia. Six of the ten warmest years on record since 1951 have occurred between 2007 and 2012 and a heat wave has been recorded in almost every year since 1987. The North Macedonian economy is relatively diverse though highly reliant on industrial manufacturing and energy production, and agricultural land uses and forests, which cover almost 80% of the country. Forty percent of the population is rural and 21.7 percent of the population is employed in the agricultural sector. Poverty is exacerbated by a high unemployment rate of 23 percent. Agriculture has significant importance to North Macedonia in terms of employment, rural livelihoods, food security and exports.

Energy sector and resilience to climate change are identified as one of the main contributors towards national sustainable development. Recognizing the important steps forward in the institutionalization of climate change issues and the mainstreaming of climate change considerations into the national and sectorial development policies, the development of three National Communications to the UNFCCC, the First Biennial Update Report and the 2015 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) have contributed to the strengthening of climate mainstreaming processes. As part of North Macedonia’s Third National Communication, analysis of impacts, vulnerability and adaptive capacity was undertaken for eight sectors (agriculture and livestock, biodiversity, forestry, human health, tourism, cultural heritage, water resources and socio-economic development) with a special focus on the Southeast Region, which had been identified as being especially vulnerable to climate change. The development of the Forth National Communication is underway and should be completed by the end of 2021. In January 2018, North Macedonia ratified the Paris Agreement.

The Government of the Republic of North Macedonia requested support for the development of its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process and was one of the first countries requesting the Green Climate Fund (GCF) readiness financing for this purpose. With support from the joint UNDP-UNEP NAP Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP), a preliminary mission was undertaken in March 2017 to identify, in consultation with stakeholders, North Macedonia’s needs regarding the NAP process. The mission allowed for a preliminary assessment of relevant initiatives on climate mainstreaming and of the institutional framework and capacities relevant to the NAP process, through qualitative interviews and an extensive desk review.

How has the NAP-GSP supported to date?