Accelerating the Implementation of the Paris Agreement at the local level by Building the Climate Resilience of the Urban Poor Evidence of the Andean Region

Cobija in Bolivia and Pasto in Colombia are small cities that are suffering the harsh effects of climate change and environmental hazards. Both of them are part of the project Accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement by Building for Climate Resilience of the Urban Poor which aims to accelerate action in support of urban poor communities and informal settlements by improving the policy environment (including NDCs, NDC implementation plans, NAPs and other national and local policies and strategies on climate change, as well as the development of bankable projects in support of the most vulnerable urban communities). These cities represent the Andean region´s efforts to tackle vulnerability.
The project is linked to the Resilient Settlements for Vulnerable People in Urban Contexts (RISE UP) program, one of UN-Habitat's five global flagship programs. The RISE UP flagship supports the Strategic Plan 2020-2025 by mobilizing large-scale investments in resilience where needed, for the benefit of the most vulnerable people in cities. By focusing on the resilience of urban systems, RISE UP provides national and local governments and communities with resources and knowledge, as well as enhances institutional capacities, and supports the improvement of the policy environment needed to accelerate climate resilient actions that enable vulnerable communities to transition to resilient futures, green and just urban futures.
The project is being implemented in the cities of Charagua and Cobija, in Bolivia; Pasto, Colombia; Debre Birhan, Ethiopia; Kerkennah, Tunisia; and Sahan, in Jordan.
Then Cobija and Pasto want to share the results of the activities done in the year 2024, showing other small and medium cities of the Global South, that triangular cooperation based in south-south global exchange is a best practice and a fruitful approach to be more resilient to climate change impacts. In this framework, this event aims to open a dialogue regarding practical actions of what is being done in the two countries of the Andean Region, so that other cities can learn of this experience and us this project as study case that can be replicated in their own context. Thus, the event aims to present the voices of the authorities of Cobija and Pasto, both are visible leaders in their countries and a good example of administration. In the case of the Cobija´s Major, Ana Lucia Reis, she is a very active politician that has managed to be recognize of being the only female major of a department´s capital in Bolivia, it is the second time she has been elected as Cobija´s Major. She is the president of the Bolivian Municipal Association (AMB), Vice President of the Pan-Amazonian Cities Forum (FCPA), and Co-President of the Union of Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The majors of Cobija and Pasto would be the panelists of the event, that would have the presence of a moderations of experts in urban planning and governance with gender perspective.