30 September 2017: During the month of September, Caribbean countries received financial assistance in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Cambodia secured funds for strengthening rural disaster risk management (DRM), and Iraq will be receiving multilateral support for agricultural resilience and productivity. A number of Green Climate Fund (GCF)-supported climate adaptation and resilience projects also got underway.
Post-hurricane Assistance to the Caribbean
Climate change is known to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including hurricanes. In September, three devastating hurricanes swept through the Americas, with the Caribbean region being particularly affected. The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) announced emergency relief grants of US$200,000 each, and concessional loans to a number of its member countries affected by Hurricane Irma. The CDB also offered similar support to Dominica in the wake of Hurricane Maria. [CDB Press Release on Hurricane Irma] [CDB Press Release on Hurricane Maria]
DRM Efforts Pay Off
The CDB also supported efforts to prepare farmers and residents of Jamaican communities to be disaster ready and build community resilience as part of a DRM training course. A broader initiative kicked off in five island states in Asia-Pacific, which will be working with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) to enhance their resilience to weather events. Funded by the GCF, the project aims to improve the participating countries’ early warning systems that seek to: detect, monitor and forecast hazards; analyze related risks; disseminate timely warnings; and activate emergency response plans. [CDB Press Release on Jamaica] [GCF Press Release on WMO EWS Project]
A final evaluation of a DRR project targeting 50,000 people living in vulnerable rural areas in Nicaragua found that the project both increased awareness about climate change and allowed farmers to address its impacts by implementing new agricultural practices.
Cambodian communities of the Tonle Sap Basin will receive US$50 million in additional financing for an ongoing US$51.15 million project that is working to improve agricultural productivity and improve smallholder farmers’ access to markets. Agriculture, which employs 70% of Cambodian households, has seen lower growth rates due to deteriorating natural resources and high vulnerability to climate change, among other factors. Additional funding will expand the programme to further communities and add a DRM element to the irrigation systems and rural roads being built as part of the project. [ADB Press Release on Cambodia]
A final evaluation of a disaster risk reduction (DRR) project targeting 50,000 people living in vulnerable rural areas in Nicaragua, supported by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), found that the project both increased awareness about climate change and allowed farmers to address its impacts by implementing new agricultural practices, resulting in an 18% increase in production. [NDF Press Release on Nicaragua]
The GCF approved US$31.4 million for a project to enhance climate change adaptation in the North Coast and Nile Delta regions in Egypt over the period of seven years. Supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the project, inter alia, aims to protect the densely populated low-lying lands in the Nile Delta, home to 25% of the Egyptian population, which have been identified as highly vulnerable to climate change induced sea-level rise. [UNDP Egypt Press Release]
Climate-resilient Infrastructure Supports Development
In news on multilaterally-funded climate-resilient infrastructure projects, the UNDP and Tuvalu launched the ‘Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project,’ which will focus on building roads, schools, hospitals and government buildings, as well as related human capacity. The seven-year project is being financed by US$36 million from the GCF and US$2.9 million from the Government of Tuvalu. [UNDP Press Release on Tuvalu]
The World Bank reported on its efforts in Tajikistan, initiated in July 2017, to strengthen critical infrastructure in the country’s vulnerable regions. The US$50 million project, which is expected to benefit 650,000 people, will target bridges, other transportation networks and river embankments, and will enable the modernisation of Tajikistan’s crisis management systems and the development of a national disaster risk financing strategy. [World Bank Story on Tajikistan]
In Guyana, a CDB-hosted workshop drew attention to the role of climate-resilient public road infrastructure in support of the country’s development. The event was part of an ongoing initiative aimed at integrating climate resilience into the CDB borrowing members’ road transport sector through the development of policies and investment plans. [CDB Press Release on Guyana]
Agricultural and Water Resilience: Iraq to Partner with IFAD
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) reported on its first post-war agricultural investment project in Iraq. The project, which will target 20,000 households, will aim to enhance climate resilience and improve the productivity of small-scale farmers by providing access to finance, technologies and markets. [IFAD Press Release on Iraq]
The GCF reported on progress in three projects it is funding in the area of rural climate resilience. In Namibia, work has started on projects that seek to create resilient livelihoods through community-based natural resource management and by scaling up the uptake of adaptive measures. In Morocco, the country’s Agency for Agricultural Development is gearing up to design projects aimed at increasing agricultural climate resilience through integrated water management. [GCF Press Release on Namibia] [GCF Press Release on Morocco]
In the area of water resilience, the World Bank reported on a mid-term review of a US$200 million project aimed at increasing irrigation water availability, and enhancing water security and climate resilience in Kenya through 2022. The review showed that the project and its objectives remain highly relevant and demonstrated “early positive signs of progress.” However, it also revealed that the set targets were “overly ambitious,” owing to delays in procurement of major contracts, inefficient project management and a very centralized implementation structure. As a result, a restructuring is being proposed to align a number of indicators and costs and to speed up implementation. [World Bank Report on Kenya]
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The SDG Knowledge Hub publishes monthly climate finance updates, which largely focus on multilateral financing and cover, inter alia, mitigation and adaptation project financing news and lessons, institutional events and news, and latest developments in carbon markets and pricing. Past IISD climate finance updates can be found under the tags: Finance Update: Climate Change; and Finance Update: Sustainable Energy.