11 November 2010: The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) will provide US$50 million grants to the Governments of Bangladesh, Tajikistan and Niger to pilot climate resilience strategies and integrate climate risk into their economic plans.

The CIF meetings took place from 6-12 November 2010, in Washington DC, US, and adopted several grants and concessional loans, adding up to US$270 million for country-wide plans for resilience against climate impacts. In Bangladesh, the PPCR funds will be used to leverage larger investments to shore up the coastal embankment to be higher and better constructed to withstand cyclones and storm surges. The programme, to be managed by the World Bank, will also develop a long-term plan for the country’s coastal embankment. It will also supplement US$215 million in financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a water supply and sanitation project in the coastal area, and includes funding for farmers in the coastal area to plant crops that are resilient to changes in weather.

In Tajikistan, the CIF grants will boost six proposed projects aimed at improving the country’s disaster preparedness and ability to respond to climate change. The projects are backed by the World Bank, ADB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and will tackle gaps in climate data collection and weather forecasting, while bolstering the capability of key sectors to respond to projected climate change. The project is expected to: develop early warning systems; provide protection against climate impacts for existing energy services, including renewables such as hydropower and water management; develop land management practices that promote sustainable agriculture; and build resilience in vulnerable ecosystems such as in the Pyanj River Basin.

In Niger, the US$50 million grant and an additional US$60 million in concessional financing will support projects and programmes to improve climate resilience and food security, with a special focus on gender and the most vulnerable groups. The strategy calls for: mainstreaming climate resilience into development strategies; expanding sustainable land management initiatives and integrating them into planning and budgeting processes; updating the quality of weather and climate information and making it publicly available; and improving monitoring and evaluation methodologies. [World Bank Press Release] [CIF Meetings Website]