The Adaptation Fund Board concluded its 45th meeting recently with the clearance of over $125 million in new adaptation projects for the most vulnerable countries, strengthening its global adaptation portfolio.
The Board also made strides toward readying the Fund to transition its operations exclusively under the Paris Agreement.
The Board significantly advanced the Fund’s adaptation work for the most vulnerable, technically clearing $125.6 million in new projects and programmes, nearly matching the Board’s previous record high of $137 million in new project funding approved at its previous meeting in April 2025.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Government of Zimbabwe, is impressed with progress made towards the implementation of the Climate Resilient Livelihoods (CRL) programme across the country.
The CRL Project works with Government, private sector and communities to climate-proof irrigation, scale farmer field schools and innovation platforms, strengthen inclusive governance, and deliver actionable climate information—helping smallholders secure food, incomes and resilience in the face of climate change.
The initiative is being funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and has projects running in Manicaland, Masvingo, and Matabeleland South—advancing climate-smart agriculture, inclusive irrigation governance, and last-mile climate information services.
The second season of the acclaimed series ‘An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet’, hosted by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador and ‘Game of Thrones’ star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, premiered on Wednesday. It features the mangrove restoration work under the Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities (ECRICC) initiative in Odisha. ECRICC is a collaborative effort of the Green Climate Fund, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, and the Department of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Government of Odisha, with implementation support from UNDP.
The opening episode, titled ‘Protect’, follows Coster-Waldau’s visit to Bagapatia village in Kendrapara district, where communities displaced by rising sea levels and coastal erosion are rebuilding their lives through climate-resilient practices. The episode captures how local women and men are restoring mangroves and safeguarding their coastline as part of the ECRICC project.
THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the government of Zimbabwe — co-ordinated by the Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion ministry, with participation of the Office of the President and Cabinet (M&E Directorate) and the Lands, Environment, Women Affairs, and Energy ministries — visited Makoholi Research Institute in Masvingo to track progress at one of the project’s innovation platforms, supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
Makoholi is one of five GCF-supported innovation platforms nationwide, and one of two in Masvingo province. Together with an estimated 230 farmer field schools linked to the programme, the station has reached about 1 500 follower farmers — 64% women and 36% men — showing broad, community-driven uptake of climate-smart production.
Ozurgeti, Georgia — Investing in disaster prevention and climate resilience pays off significantly, with every lari spent generating more than tenfold benefits over a ten-year period, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
As part of efforts to reduce flood risks and strengthen climate resilience in Georgia’s western regions, UNDP and the Government of Sweden are implementing a series of protective infrastructure projects in Ozurgeti Municipality, Guria region.
Brazil’s Ambassador to Lebanon Tarcísio Costa participated as a guest speaker at the launch of Lebanon’s Climate Policy Package at the Grand Serail, held under the patronage of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The package consolidates three national strategies—the National Adaptation Plan (NAP 2025–2035), the updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0), and the Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS)—marking Lebanon’s most comprehensive climate roadmap to date. The event brought together senior government officials, international partners, and civil society representatives, including Prime Minister Salam, Environment Minister Tamara Elzein, and the Ministers of Energy, Justice, Health, Agriculture, Economy, and Industry. In his address, Ambassador Costa underscored the objectives of COP30, scheduled for November in Belém, Brazil. He also highlighted Brazil’s priorities as COP30 president and congratulated Lebanon for aligning its climate strategy with the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, first endorsed at the 1992 Rio Conference.
In Bản Liên Commune, Lào Cai Province, families are planting 10 hectares of seedlings to replace old-growth trees lost to recent storms. Backed by nationwide contributions, their effort is more than reforestation. It is protection: the trees, stronger than concrete, will shield land, homes and lives from the next storm.
This resilience reflects a national truth: Việt Nam is deeply vulnerable to climate change yet determined to innovate and adapt. As leaders gather in New York for Climate Week (NYCW) 2025, ahead of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) thirtieth annual Conference of the Parties (COP30) this November, Việt Nam has an opportunity to show how inclusive leadership, rooted in local solutions and nature protection, can drive progress for all.
UNDP and the Government of Georgia, with funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Switzerland and Sweden, are implementing a seven-year, $74 million program to reduce climate-driven disaster risks across the country.
The Government of Georgia is co-financing the program with $38 million. Its goal is to protect communities, infrastructure and livelihoods from climate-induced hazards by establishing a nationwide multi-hazard early warning system and promoting risk-informed local action.
The program works closely with multiple national agencies, including the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, National Environmental Agency, National Food Agency, Emergency Management Service, Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure.
Vanuatu, a collection of 83 islands separated by around 1,300 km deep in the South Pacific Ocean, is among a group of ocean states widely regarded as uniquely exposed to climate change. The World Risk Index, created by German academics and NGOs, has consistently ranked Vanuatu as the world’s most vulnerable country to climate risks and natural disasters.
Despite these limitations, the country is finding new and innovative ways to protect its population against climate threats and regain its economic competitiveness. An ongoing project on the country’s largest island, Espiritu Santo, is trialling techniques to support communities adapt. The project grant – funded by the Adaptation Fund and managed by UNDP through the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) – focuses on a number of areas that can benefit these isolated communities. Key components include ecosystem restoration, disaster preparedness, improving food security and strengthening institutions.
Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Department (RID), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has launched a special project funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to address recurring floods and droughts. The initiative integrates Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) strategies and emphasizes community participation to enhance long-term water management and agricultural resilience through data, technology and participatory infrastructure development.
To support better agricultural planning, the project will provide reliable weather and water data. This will help farmers adjust their planting cycles and reduce risks from extreme weather events. Training sessions will be also held to ensure effective use of this information for improved productivity and sustainability. The project will construct new floodgates and upgrade existing infrastructure to improve water management and reduce flood and drought risks. Additionally, EbA approaches, such as wetland restoration and natural water retention systems, will be integrated to enhance resilience and sustainability.
Monrovia – The Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA), in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has concluded a field mission to Sinoe County as part of preparations for the implementation of a major coastal climate resilience initiative. The mission, led by EPA Executive Director Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo and UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Louis Kuukpen, included visits to Seebeh, Bannah, and Downtown Mississippi.
The delegation met with local leaders and residents to assess coastal erosion impacts and engage stakeholders ahead of the full rollout of the Enhancing the Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Communities Project. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with a total budget of USD 8.9 million, the project aims to protect vulnerable coastal populations from the effects of climate change while supporting sustainable livelihoods.
Malawi has secured $8.9 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to strengthen community resilience to climate change.The grant for the new adaptation project is part of GEF’s Least Developed Countries Fund.
Under the project, code-named Clap for Resilience, the Department of Environmental Affairs, with technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will champion local adaptation for productive ecosystems and enhanced resilience. The six-year initiative focuses on the Bua River Basin in Mchinji, Kasungu and Nkhotakota.
It will benefit 28 vulnerable rural communities, which heavily rely on rain-fed agriculture and natural ecosystems endangered by climate change, deforestation, land degradation and biodiversity loss.
Uzbekistan adopted its first national standard establishing unified technical requirements for systems that alert and inform the population about potential or occurring emergencies, press service of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Tashkent told Gazeta. The document will serve as an important tool for improving the civil protection system and strengthening national resilience to natural disasters.
One of the key elements of the reliable functioning of the MHEWS is ensuring that all technical means and warning systems used comply with national standards. To support this effort, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, with assistance from the UNDP and financial support from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), has developed the national standard O‘zMSt 520:2025 “Civil protection. Early warning and information system for the population. General technical requirements”.
UN Climate Change News, 15 August 2025 – The largest annual adaptation event concluded today in Lusaka, Zambia, with an urgent call for scaled up investment in adaptation finance and resilience, to save lives, lift living standards and boost economic growth.
NAP Expo 2025 focused on strengthening countries’ capacity to advance National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) ahead of COP30 in Brazil, meet the 2025 submission target, and closing the financing gaps that threaten effective adaptation.
The Expo also launched updated adaptation guidelines, and helped countries to make use of new AI tools for adaptation planning and implementation, in many countries for the first time, among many other key developments.
“Adaptation isn’t a bill we can skip. If we don’t fund it, the poorest pay in lost harvests, poorer health, and – at worst – with their lives,” said Youssef Nassef, Director of Adaptation at UN Climate Change.
“Around USD 300 billion is needed annually for climate adaptation by 2030. Governments will spend this amount and much more, whether they like it or not, in rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by climate disasters, and importing food due to ruined crops,” said Nassef.
Indigenous and traditional knowledge systems have long provided sophisticated, locally adapted solutions for monitoring and managing water. In the face of increasing climate extremes - droughts, floods, and erratic rainfall - these ancestral approaches offer powerful insights for building resilience today.
Across the world, communities have engineered water systems that are low-tech, sustainable, and deeply integrated with local ecosystems. These examples, including in Sri Lanka's Dry Zone bring together six instances of such Indigenous water wisdom - highlighting how ancient methods are being revived and reimagined as practical tools to confront modern climate and disaster risks.
Through the SCALA program (2020–2025), UNDP and FAO supported integrated implementation of Ethiopia’s NDC and National Adaptation Program (2020-2025), prioritizing community-based watershed management, climate-smart agriculture, insurance schemes, rangeland restoration, and livestock diversification.
Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy launched in 2011, mainstreamed into national planning, aiming for net-zero emission growth while maintaining economic development. The strategy includes landscape management, sustainable land program and small-scale irrigation projects In addition, Addis Ababa Action Agenda (2015) hosted the UN’s Financing for Development summit; subsequent implementation includes coordination via the Inter agency Task Force and annual ECOSOC review to mobilize resources across nations and SDGs
Collaboration between the Government, development partners and private players has successfully transformed the lives of Mwenezi people through the establishment of a fully functional irrigation scheme in the heart of one of Zimbabwe’s driest districts. A recent media tour to the area revealed that the 156-hectare Pikinini-Jawanda Irrigation Scheme — supported by the Government, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Green Climate Fund — is now a beacon of food security and economic resilience, directly benefitting over 300 households from Pikinini and Jawanda villages.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved a grant of USD 36.1 million to support Nepal in mitigating the rising threat of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs)-one of the most severe and fast-growing climate risks facing the Himalayan region. The seven-year project, jointly implemented by Nepal's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aims to shift the country's response from post-disaster relief to pre-disaster prevention. It is expected to directly benefit over 2.2 million people residing in vulnerable mountain communities.
Albania stands at a critical juncture in tackling the global climate crisis. It ranks highest among European countries for exposure and vulnerability to natural hazards and extreme weather events. These events, growing in frequency and intensity, pose serious threats to communities and ecosystems.
The National Adaptation Plan (NAP), developed with UNDP support, provides a strategic roadmap based on a detailed Climate Risk Assessment. It identifies agriculture, tourism, and urban development as the most vulnerable sectors, requiring targeted measures. Eight local governments have prepared adaptation plans with priority actions, ensuring responses address the distinct impacts on men and women, particularly rural women. Strategic investments and urgent implementation are now essential.
A high-level delegation of the Adaptation Fund is visiting Montenegro as part of a regional mission that also includes Albania and North Macedonia, with the aim of reviewing the results of the regional project for flood risk management in the Drina River Basin.
This was announced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Office in Montenegro.
The Regional Project for Flood Risk Management in the Drin River Basin is being implemented with the support of UNDP.
It is stated that the Adaptation Fund delegation, during its stay in Podgorica, visited the UNDP office, where a meeting was held with UNDP Resident Representative Ekaterina Paniklova and the team.
The UNDP Office said that the Adaptation Fund, established in 2010 under the Kyoto Protocol, plays a key role in supporting developing countries in adapting to the negative effects of climate change.
It is stated that UNDP and the Adaptation Fund collaborate on numerous projects and programs, providing support to more than 100 countries around the world in implementing measures to adapt to climate change, protect lives, property and natural resources.