At its 19th meeting, the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) underscored that the collapse in carbon prices has raised concern over the Funds ability to provide sustainable financing for adaptation activities, and that it could not approve four projects in Guatemala, Cuba, Seychelles and Myanmar, due to insufficient funds.
14 December 2012: At its 19th meeting, the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) accredited its 15th National Implementing Entity (NIE), the International Cooperation Agency of Chile; and approved $12.3 million in grants to fund projects in Argentina and Sri Lanka.
The direct access facility of the fund allows NIE’s to implement activities without going through multilateral development banks. The Argentinian project will be implemented by the World Bank and will reduce vulnerability of agro-ecosystems in the Buenos Aires Province. The Sri Lanka project will seek to reduce vulnerability of communities and ecosystems in the Mahaweli River Basin, and will be implemented by the World Food Programme (WFP).
The AFB notes that due to demand for grants outstripping available funds, four projects in Guatemala, Cuba, Seychelles and Myanmar could not be approved. The AFB underscores that the collapse in carbon prices has raised concern over the Fund’s ability to provide sustainable financing for adaptation activities. In this context, the Board members discussed a strategy to meet the goal of raising $100 million by the close of 2013. At the meeting, new appointments were also made to Ethics and Finance Committee, the Project and Programme Review Committee, and the Accreditation Panel of the Adaptation Fund. [Adaptation Fund Press Release]