Adaptation Fund talks Climate Finance Readiness

THE ADAPTATION Fund yesterday kicked off its third annual Global Climate Finance Readiness Seminar at the World Bank in Washington, DC, bringing together its accredited implementing entities for adaptation projects from across the developing world.

The event - organised as part of the fund's Climate Finance Readiness Programme - welcomed participants from its newest national implementing entities (NIEs) in the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Antigua and Barbuda.

Representatives from the Cook Islands - currently being considered by the Adaptation Fund Board for NIE accreditation - are also present.

In all, the seminar, which will run until tomorrow, features representatives from at least 19 of the fund's 23 current NIEs that are serving climate-vulnerable countries across Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and the Pacific.

NIEs benefit from the fund's pioneering direct-access modality, which provides developing countries with the opportunity to strengthen their local capacity to adapt and build resilience to climate change through direct financing, as well as self-identification and management of projects.

Of the fund's currently accredited NIEs, 40 per cent are in least developed countries and small-island developing states, including Jamaica.

 

18 APPROVED PROJECTS

 

To date, the fund has 18 approved NIE projects in 13 countries, through direct access, that are expected to benefit more than 510,000 people.

"This is an exciting time for the Adaptation Fund," said board Chair Naresh Sharma. "With momentum gained from last December's Paris Climate Agreement, the fund remains in high demand through the effective delivery of its country-driven, concrete, localised community-based projects and programmes that are on the international cutting edge."

The Paris Agreement incorporated adaptation as a crucial component in the global response to climate change and accompanying language recognising that the Adaptation Fund may serve the agreement, subject to a process already underway.

There is, additionally, a new sustainable development mechanism included in the agreement that provides a further potential opportunity to utilise the fund's experience and expertise with monetising carbon assets.

The fund underwent an independent evaluation last year that validated its projects and programmes as relevant, efficient and effective, while also crediting it as a learning institution that continues to innovate and respond to country needs through groundbreaking programmes like direct access and environmental and social policies that promote human rights and biodiversity.

 

GENDER POLICY

 

The fund has also adopted a gender policy and action plan that ensure equal access to project resources for women and men, even as it received record numbers of project proposals last year.

Over the next two days, the seminar is to see presentations from fund staff on the full cycle of adaptation projects, and incorporating gender, social and environmental safeguards into projects.

Countries will be given an overview of the fund's Readiness Programme and its outreach workshops, webinars, technical assistance and South-South cooperation grants.

Other topics will include the accreditation and re-accreditation processes, results-based management tools, and the project review process.

"We are especially excited for this year's readiness seminar, as we welcome several new NIEs, and hope that presenters and participants will share their experiences, best practices and replicability potential of projects in an interactive way to maximise the tremendous opportunity of having so many of our entities from around the world in one place," said Adaptation Fund manager Marcia Levaggi.

An added attraction at this year's seminar is an exhibit featuring the 12 winning photos of the fund's 2016 Global Photo Contest promoting coastal and inland watershed adaptation to climate change.