20 September 2011
World Bank, GEF Fund Kiribati’s Adaptation Programme
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The World Bank approved a Global Environment Facility (GEF) Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF) project to enhance the resilience of the low-lying island of Kiribati to the effects of climate change, through the improvement of water resources and infrastructure management and governance.

The project will also focus on increasing community freshwater quality and storage capacity, and better protecting targeted coastal areas from storm waves and flooding.

15 September 2011: The World Bank has approved the third phase of the Kiribati Adaptation Program (KAP III), a project that will invest US$10.8 million to improve the resilience of Kiribati to the impacts of climate change on freshwater supply and coastal infrastructure.

The project, financed by AusAID, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF), the Japan Policy and Human Resources Development Fund, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, and the Government of Kiribati, will help the low-lying island of Kiribati to address the effects of climate change, such as sea-level rise, and climate-related hazards, such as drought. The KAP III Project will help improve climate resilience by both strengthening the Government and community’s capacity to manage climate change effects and improving the management and governance of water resources and infrastructure. The project will also focus on increasing community freshwater quality and storage capacity, and better protecting targeted coastal areas from storm waves and flooding.

This project builds on the second phase of the Kiribati Adaptation Program, which included the planting of 37,000 mangroves, construction of seawalls to increase coastal protection against the effects of storms and flooding, rain water harvesting and improvements in water supply in selected priority areas. [World Bank Press Release] [Kiribati Adaptation Phase III (LDCF) Website]

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