In the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), CARE Palestine (West Bank and Gaza) is recognized for its commitment to humanitarian protection and action, women and youth empowerment, and to ensure that rights are secured and human potential is fulfilled for all. CARE International established a presence in the oPt in 1948, created in the wake of the Palestinian refugee crises. Over seventy years later, CARE’s scope of work has evolved through support activities that promote resilience and economic opportunity, and address humanitarian needs.

One of the key focus areas of CARE Palestine’s work is in food security and early recovery and strengthening the resilience of livelihoods, including climate change adaptation, so that those most affected can recover and rebuild. CARE oPt has been working on climate change as an integrated theme in the design and implementation of projects. CARE has been intensively working in the agriculture sector for many years, thus, it was a good entry point to explore what can be done in relation to climate change. Strengthening Livelihoods through Community Adaptation and Learning (SLCAL) was the flagship project in this regard and enabled CARE to work together with other actors like the Ministry of Agriculture on applied research, analysis, advocacy networks, training/education, adapted agricultural technology, promotion of water-saving technology, sustainable safe water supply, and rational use of pesticides. It has become a routine and strategic practice for CARE to consider and integrate these learnings into different project initiatives.