1 November 2012
IDB Provides Climate Change Grant to Indigenous and Afro-Honduran Communities
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The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) granted US$4.4 million to help indigenous and Afro-Honduran communities address climate change, both through small-scale projects in irrigation, renewable energy, biodiversity and coastal protection, as well as training of community leaders and students in practical steps to reduce climate change vulnerability.

IDB12 October 2012: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a US$4.4 million grant to help Honduran communities of indigenous people and those of African descent respond to climate change and reduce their vulnerability to extreme weather events.

The indigenous and Afro-Honduran communities constitute about 7% of Honduras’ population, with lower human development indicators than the rest of the country. Honduras was ranked under the 2010 report on the Global Climate Risk Index as the third country worldwide most severely affected by extreme weather events linked to climate change.

The IDB grant has two components. The first, focusing on solutions to climate change adaptation and mitigation, will use US$1,957,000 of the grant to finance around 26 projects up to US$100,000 a piece identified by the affected indigenous and/or Afro-Honduran communities themselves. These will include projects involving: water; agriculture, soil and food security; forests and biodiversity; coastal and marine areas; human health; risk management systems; and renewable energy. The small-scale irrigation projects are expected to boost agricultural output in targeted communities by 70% while reducing vulnerability to climate change. The local renewable energy projects are projected to generate 250 kilowatt/hours of electricity per day.

The second component, using US$1,586,128 of the grant, focuses on strengthening human capital to address climate change and systematizing good practices. Among other things, this component will fund training workshops for 100 community leaders and 900 secondary school students from 40 communities in practical steps to reduce vulnerability to climate change in their communities.

The IDB grant is funded by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) created in 1989 by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden to finance development assistance projects. [IDB Press Release]