Adaptation Fund Doubles Direct Access Climate Financing, Approves South-South Grants

(Bonn, Germany, Oct. 10, 2014) The Adaptation Fund Board doubled direct access financing of climate resilience initiatives in developing countries by approving six projects in Costa Rica, India, Kenya and South Africa, totaling US$ 33 million.

“The approval of these six climate adaptation projects clearly shows that the direct access modality of the Fund is effective, and is gaining momentum,” said Mamadou Honadia, Chair of the AFB. “The Fund’s role continues in pioneering direct access that shows results on the ground and increases climate finance capacities at the national and local levels.”

The approved projects include resilience activities in agriculture, coastal zone management, disaster risk reduction, food security, and water management. An initiative approved in South Africa will also promote “enhanced” direct access to climate adaptation funding through small grants to local organizations that will undertake adaptation actions at the local level. All projects were proposed by and will be implemented by national implementing entities that have been accredited through the Fund’s rigorous accreditation process.

The Fund’s total commitments to climate adaptation now total US$ 330 million in 57 countries.

The project in Costa Rica aims to reduce climate vulnerability by focusing on critical sectors (agriculture, water resources, and coastal zones) and working directly with local stakeholders and anticipated beneficiaries through activities such as investment in interventions, technical assistance, and training related to the program. Project was financed for US$ 9.97 million, and was proposed and will be implemented by the Fundecooperación para el Desarrollo Sostenible.

In India, two projects were approved, for climate resilience measures, the first including mangrove restoration and aquaculture as coastal protection measures (US$ 689,264), and the second addressing resilience of small and marginal farmers in West Bengal (US$ 2,510,854). The projects were proposed and will be implemented by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

Climate adaptation activities approved in the Kenya project will be implemented in vulnerable communities in fourteen counties, and address building resilience in multiple ways, from strengthening climate-resilient agricultural, agro-forestry, pastoral and agro-pastoral production, and water management systems, to developing an integrated shoreline and mangrove ecosystem management in Kenya’s coastal region. Disaster risk reduction activities are also part of the US$ 9.98 million project. The project was proposed by and will be implemented by Kenya’s National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA).

In South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal Province, one approved project (US$ 7,495,055) aims to increase resilience of vulnerable communities through interventions such as early warning systems, ecological and engineering infrastructure solutions, integrating climate-resilient crops and climate-smart techniques into new and existing farming systems. A second approved project (US$ 2,442,682) in South Africa will develop and implement a small grant finance mechanism in the context of climate finance, to deliver direct and tangible adaptation benefits with a view to scaling up and replicating this model. These projects were proposed by and will be implemented by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).

Additional financing of US$ 30,000 was approved to fund the Agencia de Cooperación Internacional de Chile’s development of a proposal to address climate resilience in Chile’s O’Higgins region.

The AFB also approved south-south grants totaling nearly US$ 150,000, for Senegal’s Centre de Suivi Ecologique to assist national entities in Chad, Niger and Cabo Verde strengthen their capacities to succeed at the Fund’s accreditation process, so that they too might be able to directly access the Fund’s climate financing.

The AFB also decided to develop a pilot programme on regional projects for up to US$ 30 M, to help countries jointly address transboundary adaptation challenges, and to enable greater partnerships among RIEs, MIEs, NIEs, and other national institutions, including engaging other bodies under the Convention.

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The Adaptation Fund finances projects and programmes that help vulnerable communities in developing countries build resilience and adapt to climate change. It has committed US$ 330 million in 57 countries since 2010. Initiatives are based on the country needs, views and priorities. The Adaptation Fund was established under the Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Fund is financed in part by government and private donors, and also from a two percent share of proceeds of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) issued under the Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism projects.