15 December 2010: The Adaptation Fund Board concluded its 12th session in Cancun, Mexico, back-to-back with the Cancun Climate Change Conference. Board members approved funding for projects in Nicaragua and Pakistan, and for five concepts, from the Cook Islands, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia and the Maldives, for financing at its next session.

The project in Nicaragua is aimed at reducing risk from floods and droughts, by introducing agro-ecological practices and participatory watershed management in highly vulnerable rural communities. The project in Pakistan addresses the risks of glacial lake outburst floods through the building of technical capacity building and awareness-raising. The two projects total US$9.4 million.

This session was the first at which the Board engaged in a dialogue with civil society. Additionally, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) joined the six other multilateral agencies accredited by the Board to implement projects. The Board also appointed new Chairs and Vice-Chairs to take effect at the 13th Adaptation Fund Board to be held in Bonn, Germany. Assuming their new roles in March 2011, the new Chair and Vice-Chair of the Adaptation Fund Board are Ana Fornells de Frutos (Spain) and Luis Santos (Uruguay), respectively. The new Chair and Vice-Chair of the Ethics and Finance Committee are Shawkat Ali Mirza (Bangladesh) and Iryna Trofimova (Ukraine), respectively. And the new Chair and Vice-Chair of the Project and Program Review Committee are Hans Olav Ibrekk (Norway) and Jeffrey Spooner (Jamaica), respectively. [Adaptation Fund Press Release]