Climate Adaptation Finance Update: Making Maritime Infrastructure Climate-Resilient
15th February 2018 by CMIA
January 2018: Projects in agricultural resilience moved ahead in India and Gambia, where multilateral funds are supporting nature-based approaches. Development banks reporting on project lessons highlighted the importance of working at the local level and engaging community stakeholders.
Climate-proofing Nauru Port with Multilateral Support
In January 2018, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a US$21.3 million grant that will help transform a “largely inoperable boat harbour” in Nauru into an “efficient, reliable, and climate-resilient” international port. The Nauru Sustainable and Climate Resilient Connectivity Project also will receive US$58.29 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Governments of Australia and Nauru. [ADB Press Release]
Agricultural Resilience Aligned with Nature-based Solutions
The Government of India and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) signed a financing agreement on a six-year project aimed at improving the incomes and food security of 201,500 rural households in two north-eastern states of India. IFAD will provide a US$75.5 million loan and US$1 million grant to the US$168.46 million project. A changing climate and increasing demand for food are placing stress on the local cultivation system, which the project will seek to address by promoting climate-resilience and livelihoods, by aligning traditional practices with the natural regeneration cycle of forests. [IFAD Press Release]
A US$25.5 million adaptation project in The Gambia funded by the GCF was also launched in January. Implemented by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the project will restore agricultural landscapes and ecosystems through ecosystem-based adaptation techniques, including climate-resilient tree and shrub species, in a country that has seen severe droughts in recent years. [GCF Press Release]
January Project Lessons
In Northeastern Brazil where changing seasonal and weather patterns are negatively impacting agriculture, an IFAD-supported project has been working to support rural farming communities’ livelihoods and resilience. IFAD reported on the development of drought-tolerant indigenous crops in partnership with a state government, local farmers’ organizations and technical assistance providers, which it says has rendered positive results, such as increased participation by women. [IFAD Stories]
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a workshop by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) on involving community members in disaster risk resilience (DRR) and climate action provided an opportunity for sharing lessons from other Caribbean countries. In Jamaica, for example, stakeholder engagement has enabled authorities to identify and tackle social and economic factors that affect the level of interest and ability of community members to participate in such programmes. [CDB News]