Bridging the Capacity Gap: Strengthening Institutions and Skills for Climate Resilience in SIDS 

Climate-Related Capacity Development is a Key Challenge for Climate Adaptation Action in SIDS  
Although access to climate finance is a major roadblock for SIDS, they also suffer from serious capacity constraints in making use of such funding. While the relatively small size of SIDS should in theory make coordination easier, in actual fact capacity constraints make coordination more challenging than in other country setups. The goals and plans identified by SIDS in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) will require greater capacity on the part of nations, organizations, and individuals. Hence, capacity development is a long-term project that can significantly impact the quality of climate-related development and policymaking in SIDS.  

The STA25 report on SIDS presents the findings of research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on capacity challenges and opportunities for SIDS, alongside good practices currently underway that have the potential to be scaled up. The capacity areas where SIDS can benefit the most include: 

• Access to finance: OECD research shows that developing countries can choose from over 1,000 instruments to finance their development. The complex, fragmented climate-finance landscape exacerbates capacity constraints in SIDS and places them at a disadvantage compared to other developing countries in accessing official development assistance (ODA). Some providers also follow a “single-project” logic, which hinders SIDS’ ability to initiate and maintain learning cultures within organizations and thus access finance independently. The complexity is also heightened because of the large overlap between finance for climate action and ocean finance, especially in the context of SIDS. Not surprisingly, finance is the most requested area of support in the NDC Partnership, an initiative which aims to co-ordinate all NDC-related work. 
• Climate-related data and information: Key climate data (e.g. historical data, observational data, slow-onset data, damage data) are not reliably collected and available in many SIDS, which undermines modeling observed impacts, understanding exposure, and assessing losses and damages, among other challenges. When available, data might not be sufficiently downscaled to capture local and specific characteristics. Importantly, capacities for ocean observation, though critical for informing and supporting climate action, remains poor in island states.
• Human capacity: SIDS often have small job markets, which undermines the attraction and retention of skilled staff. This leads to a shortage of expertise in jobs that address climate change, process climate-related data and information, or help access and understand opportunities to fund climate-related activities (e.g., preparing bankable projects, communicating in English). 
• Governance challenges: SIDS tend to have small, stretched institutions, inadequate policy frameworks, and limited coordination, which result from underdeveloped institutional setups and frequent staff turnover. SIDS can also be affected by parallel governance structures, rooted in traditional and customary practices, which require additional capacity to coordinate with and equip an array of non-governmental stakeholders.

Good Practices and Recommendations  
Some lessons and good practices that are emerging from this assessment of capacity constraints in SIDS are: 

Providers could generate a “capacity surge” and improve coordination. Development providers can fund additional domestic capacity through in-country facilitators or advisors placed in critical ministries and entities in SIDS, as do the Climate Finance Access Network (CFAN) Pacific advisors or the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CCFAH). Support could go beyond focusing on developing project proposals and to ensuring programmatic, end-to-end support mechanisms. Similarly, harmonizing standards for accessing finance (including between MDBs) can go a long way in easing the resource burden. 

Climate-related data is a precondition for successful access to climate finance in SIDS, and another area of capacity development. Providers could fill some of the data gaps, in the context of bringing capacity to national statistical systems. As many SIDS share vulnerabilities, especially at the regional level, taking regional approaches can be effective to achieve economies of scale; deliver efficiency; and share knowledge, lessons, expertise, and technology. At the global scale, joining international knowledge and innovation networks (e.g., the Commonwealth Blue Charter) can help promote knowledge transfer and collaborative capacity development.
 
SIDS also need new types of partnerships that ground capacity development locally. Investing in the capacity of non-governmental stakeholders (micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, academia, or communities) can help harness new or existing technical or local knowledge. 

Other systemic priorities can ensure sustainable and effective capacity development in SIDS. Despite attempts to integrate local context into capacity development, there is a tendency for activities to be over-rely on external experts and resources, which can diminish local self-efficacy, agency, and existing capacity. This has to change in favour of more participatory processes, greater design flexibility, and a willingness by providers to learn from failures. 

Investment in education is consistent with a broader approach to developing climate data and services in SIDS. For example, the Seychelles instituted environmental education from a very young age, creating a strong “environmental ethos”, which enables environmental protection in national strategies. In São Tomé and Príncipe, climate change mitigation and adaptation, impact reduction, and early-warning measures were introduced in school curricula. A manual was developed for secondary education, and ongoing pilots integrate these themes in higher education. 

The ideas presented in this article aim to inspire adaptation action – they are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Global Center on Adaptation.

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