Egypt: Preparing the Lake Nasser Region in southern Egypt as a Climate Adaptation Hub

(WFP) (EGY/MIE/Food/2011/1, US $8,575,892)

Having considered the comments and recommendations of the Project and Programme Review Committee, the Adaptation Fund Board decided to:

(a) Not endorse the project concept, as supplemented by the clarification response provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) to the request made by the technical review;

(b) Request that the WFP reformulates the proposal taking into account the  following issues:

(i) The motivation and underlying reason for which these individuals and communities are relocating is particularly important. The proposal should provide an analysis of other contributing factors for their willingness to migrate as the risk-analysis seems to underestimate some of the challenges, including the extent to which climate change is the driving force behind the migration. For the concept to qualify as an adaptation project, it must demonstrate the direct link to climate change impacts and the lack of any viable alternatives;

(ii) The Board has reservations supporting migration as an adaptation response and encourages the proponent to emphasize the adaptation pilot activities and as well as those that strengthen institutional capacity to address adaptation on the national scale;

(iii) The use of funds from the  Adaptation Fund for the design of a financing mechanism as the primary scale-up strategy for the project poses uncertainty for the long-term sustainability of the project;

(iv) The alternatives that are given in comparison with the proposed interventions are still not within the target or scope of the project and are far-fetched.  When calculating cost alternatives, these calculations assume forced migration, whereas the situation seems to be less critical at the present time and some of the project activities appear to be designed for economic incentives. Alternative options should be seriously considered within the design of the project;

(v) On the understanding that the WFP, as the implementing entity, must take the lead in initiating activities, the proposal should still specify how the proposal is country or community-driven, thereby leveraging expertise or existing institutional infrastructure to enhance project outcomes;

(vi) While the generation of adaptation strategies in the creation of new assets is an important approach to adaptation, expecting communities, who have newly relocated to pilot activities that have not always been tested, adds another layer of risk onto the project. Most importantly, it is not clear from the proposal how the pilots of the proposed project  are generating sufficient income to sustain livelihoods; and 

(vii) The proposal should consider that non-autonomous migration is, under any circumstances, politically risky. The project proposal should also address the lack of trust from the general population as part of the political risk under the current circumstances in Egypt.

(c) Further request WFP to transmit the observations referred to under item (b) above to the Government of Egypt, on the understanding that a revised concept might be submitted at a later date.