A number of institutions have been proposed to manage the Adaptation Fund, which will assist developing countries to adapt to the effects of climate change. This two-page brief sets out a number of necessary characteristics of those institutions. Key messages from the brief are:significant funding is needed to cover the costs of adaptation to climate change in developing countriesthe governance structure of the Adaptation Fund should be agreed before deciding on the institutional management of the Fundthe governance of the Adaptation Fund should be directly under the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP)there should be an Executive Body for the Adaptation Fund with regional representation (as with other UNFCCC Bodies such as the CDM Executive Board) with extra representation for the Least Developed Countries.