16 April 2011: At its 17th meeting, the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) accredited new National Implementing Entities (NIE) from Kenya, Mexico and Argentina, and approved a collection of project concepts and a proposal.

The AFB also approved new instructions for preparing a request for a project or programme. On new projects, the AFB approved the project concept from an NIE in Benin on adaptation of Cotonou lagoon ecosystems and human communities to sea level rise and extreme weather events impacts. The Board also approved project concepts from Multilateral Implementing Entities (MIEs) in: Belize on marine conservation and climate adaptation; Cambodia on enhancing climate resilience of rural communities living in protected areas; and Lebanon on climate-smart agriculture.

On fully developed proposals, the AFB approved proposals from Papua New Guinea on enhancing adaptive capacity of communities to climate change-related floods, for approximately $6.5 million; and did not approve projects from Colombia and Ghana. The Board decided to maintain a cap of 50% of funding for projects implemented by MIEs and agreed on criteria for prioritizing projects in the pipeline.

On financing, the AFB set a target for raising $100 million by the end of 2013. The AFB decided to pursue collection of donations to the Adaptation Fund, potentially through the UN Foundation (UNF) and expressed the hope to launch a partnership with UNF at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). The meeting was held in Bonn, Germany, from 15-16 March 2012. [Publication: 17th AFB Meeting Report]