Abstract

The increasing importance of and spending on climate change adaptation has led to a growing interest in its monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Decision-makers want to be sure that investments in adaptation are justified, effective and sustainable, answering the question: ‘are adaptation activities leading to expected outcomes?’ 

This repository of adaptation indicators, which draws from some of the latest experiences in adaptation M&E, is intended to illustrate possible adaptation indicators and their application context, thereby supporting the selection and context-specific formulation of indicators. 

Specifically, this repository seeks to provide support to adaptation, development as well as M&E experts who are involved in developing and implementing adaptation M&E systems at regional, national and subnational levels. It systematically presents various indicators from a range of sectors that track different aspects of the adaptation context, process and results to determine if adaptation strategies or investments are meeting their objectives. Since indicators utilised for adaptation M&E may draw upon established sector-based indicators or data sources, the repository offers details on a given indicator’s specific relevance to adaptation. It also describes their calculation, limitations, and the information needed to use it. 

The indicators presented in this repository are based on regional, national and sub-national M&E systems currently being piloted or implemented which have been reviewed in the study “Monitoring and Evaluating Adaptation at Aggregated Levels: A Comparative Analysis of Ten Systems”. 

Progress in adaptation can be interpreted in different ways, cover a range of sectors, and focus on different types of activities. As such, the indicators selected for inclusion in this repository attempt to showcase this diversity. It strives to be representative rather than exhaustive. Moreover, because relatively few adaptation M&E systems are fully established and operational, experience with the application of these indicators is limited.

Finally, the repository is not intended to be prescriptive or trying to provide a basis for standardizing adaptation metrics. Rather, its contents should serve as a prompt or a reference point for practitioners who are involved in the formulation of adaptation indicators and M&E systems that best serve their own country-specific and decision-making contexts. Indeed, the level of functionality and detail contained in the repository is one of its biggest assets, as it strives to move beyond static and simplified indicator lists.