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Enhanced climate resilience in the Trois-Rivières region of Haiti through integrated flood management

As a Small Island Developing State and a Least Developed Country, Haiti is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. This vulnerability is compounded by high levels of poverty and longstanding macroeconomic challenges. 
 
By implementing agroforestry systems and rehabilitating forests in priority areas in the Trois-Rivieres watershed to address the impacts of climate change-induced flooding, this 8-year project (expected to launch in late 2023) will more than halve the number of households affected by 100-year flood events by restoring the ecosystems’ capacity for water infiltration, hence reducing land degradation.  
 
Similarly, agroforestry and reforestation interventions under the project are expected to result in a 35 percent reduction in the number of households at risk to 20-year flood events in the Trois-Rivieres watershed while providing the benefit of mitigating an estimated 3,636,750 tCO2-e during the project’s total 25-year lifespan. 
 
As well as Climate Action (SDG 13), the project will contribute towards the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals, including Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Gender Equality (SDG 5); Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), and Life on Land (SDG 15).  
English
Region/Country: 
Primary beneficiaries: 
Total beneficiaries: 733,872 (292,600 direct + 441,272 indirect)
Funding source: 
Financing amount: 
US$31,290,561 ($22,427,206 GCF grant + $8,863,355 co-financing)
Co-financing total: 
US$8,863,355
Project Details: 
The Trois-Rivières watershed in the north of Haiti is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change-induced flooding. Given the near-complete absence of embankments and levees in the watershed, such flooding causes severe damage to crops and farmland, as well as agricultural infrastructure and equipment.  
 
Flooding in the region also has severe consequences for both human and livestock health, resulting in an increased risk of loss of human lives and livestock. Climate change projections simulate an increase in rainfall intensity in the region, which is expected to result in further adverse impacts on the country’s economy as well as on the most vulnerable communities and their livelihoods.  
 
Addressing the impact of climate change-induced flooding on vulnerable communities in the region, requires adopting an integrated approach to flood management that responds to the impacts of climate change. 
 
Green Climate Fund (GCF) finance will contribute to a paradigm shift towards climate-resilient sustainable development by enhancing the resilience of the watershed to the impacts of climate change-induced flooding.  
 
This shift will be achieved by implementing a transformative approach to the way in which the Government of Haiti addresses flood impacts. Specifically, direct investments from the GCF, combined with co-financing, will be used to: 
  • Implement agroforestry systems and rehabilitate ‘water towers’  through reforestation  of degraded landscapes at priority intervention sites;  
  • Enhance technical and institutional capacity for productive climate-resilient land management at the national and local levels; and to 
  • Establish the required governance framework for integrated water resources management (IWRM) to support the climate-resilient land management systems and facilitate sustainable use and management of water resources over the long term.  
 
The combined effect of project interventions will result in the adoption and implementation of a climate-resilient, integrated approach to flood management that can be readily scaled up and replicated nationally and across the Caribbean region.  
Expected Key Results and Outputs: 
Output 1. Ecosystem-based flood management solutions implemented in 25,440 hectares of the Trois-Rivières watershed 
 
Activity 1.1. Strengthen the capacity of community groups, including farmer and women’s associations, for climate-resilient land-use planning in seven target communes in the Trois-Rivières watershed 
 
Activity 1.2. Implement ecosystem-based flood management solutions in the Trois-Rivières watershed 
 
Output 2.  Climate-resilient agricultural practices, optimised value chains and social safety nets established to promote sustainable land management (SLM) and reduce degradation in the Trois-Rivières watershed
 
Activity 2.1. Strengthen institutional capacity at the commune, inter-commune and department levels in Haiti’s Trois-Rivières watershed for productive and sustainable land-use management 
 
Activity 2.2. Enhance the technical capacity and access to finance of national and local representatives involved in agriculture in the Trois-Rivières watershed for adopting climate-resilient sustainable land-use practices 
 
Output 3. Strengthened governance and capacity for climate-resilient integrated water resources management (IWRM) 
 
Activity 3.1 Strengthen national capacities for the implementation of the Water Act 
 
Activity 3.2. Develop an integrated, climate-resilient water management governance framework targeting the catchment and sub-catchment levels in the Trois-Rivières watershed 
 
Activity 3.3. Implement regular monitoring and evaluation of water resources at the catchment and sub-catchment levels to support the implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM) plans 
Monitoring & Evaluation: 
Project-level monitoring and evaluation will be undertaken in compliance with the UNDP POPP and the UNDP Evaluation Policy and will be undertaken on an annual basis. Reports will include annual progress reports (APR), an independent interim evaulation (mid-term review), and final evaluation. 
 
A full-time Monitoring and Gender Officer will be employed to conduct and coordinate on-the-ground monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the project and ensure that gender targets are met.   
 
All evaluation reports, including responses to feedback received from the public, will be uploaded in English to the UNDP Evaluation Resource Centre.  
 
The UNDP Country Office will retain all M&E records for this project for up to eight years after project financial closure to support ex-post evaluations. 
Contacts: 
UNDP
Montserrat Xilotl
Regional Technical Specialist, Climate Change Adaptation
Location: 
Project status: 
News and Updates: 

*

Display Photo: 
Expected Key Results and Outputs (Summary): 
Output 1. Ecosystem-based flood management solutions implemented in 25,440 hectares of the Trois-Rivières watershed 
 
Activity 1.1. Strengthen the capacity of community groups, including farmer and women’s associations, for climate-resilient land-use planning in seven target communes in the Trois-Rivières watershed 
 
Activity 1.2. Implement ecosystem-based flood management solutions in the Trois-Rivières watershed 
 
Output 2.  Climate-resilient agricultural practices, optimised value chains and social safety nets established to promote sustainable land management (SLM) and reduce degradation in the Trois-Rivières watershed
 
Activity 2.1. Strengthen institutional capacity at the commune, inter-commune and department levels in Haiti’s Trois-Rivières watershed for productive and sustainable land-use management 
 
Activity 2.2. Enhance the technical capacity and access to finance of national and local representatives involved in agriculture in the Trois-Rivières watershed for adopting climate-resilient sustainable land-use practices 
 
Output 3. Strengthened governance and capacity for climate-resilient integrated water resources management (IWRM) 
 
Activity 3.1 Strengthen national capacities for the implementation of the Water Act 
 
Activity 3.2. Develop an integrated, climate-resilient water management governance framework targeting the catchment and sub-catchment levels in the Trois-Rivières watershed 
 
Activity 3.3. Implement regular monitoring and evaluation of water resources at the catchment and sub-catchment levels to support the implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM) plans 
Project Dates: 
2023 to 2031
Timeline: 
Month-Year: 
Jul 2023
Description: 
GCF Board Approval
Month-Year: 
Dec 2023
Description: 
FAA Signing
Proj_PIMS_id: 
5996
SDGs: 
SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
SDG 5 - Gender Equality
SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 13 - Climate Action
SDG 15 - Life On Land
Photo Caption: 
UNDP

Ecosystem-Based Adaptation at Communities of the Central Forest Corridor in Tegucigalpa

Honduras has historically experienced the effects of climate variability, particularly the El Niño/La Niña phenomenon which has a significant impact on the distribution of rainfall and the national economy.
 
The impacts can be severe. In 2015, the government declared a national emergency when an episode of El Niño saw the country experience intense droughts, especially in the dry corridor area, with more than 817,000 people affected. At the same time, the country faced one of the largest outbreak episodes of bark weevil in the last fifty years, affecting more than 800,000ha of pine forest (more than a third of the country's total pine forest cover). 
 
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report, there is high confidence that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) will continue to be the dominant mode of natural climate variability in the 21st century, along with global influences, and that the regional rainfall variability it causes is likely to intensify. 
 
With finance from the Adaptation Fund, the main objective of the project 'Ecosystem-Based Adaptation at Communities of the Central Forest Corridor in Tegucigalpa' is to increase the climate resilience of the most vulnerable communities of the Central Forest Corridor and the adaptation capacity of its municipalities with an emphasis on ensuring livelihoods and the continuity of the provision of ecosystem goods and services for the city of Tegucigalpa and its surroundings.
 
To achieve this objective, the UNDP-supported project (2018-2023) is focused on three interrelated components:
 
(1) Strengthening of local and community governance under scenarios of climate change and climate variability; 
(2) Ecosystem-based adaptation measures and technologies for building resilience in the Central Forest Corridor; and 
(3) Strengthening of knowledge management systems, information and monitoring of adaptive capacity.
 
English
Region/Country: 
Level of intervention: 
Funding source: 
Financing amount: 
US$4,036,590
Co-financing total: 
N/A
Project Details: 
Surrounded by mountains with large extensions of forest, the Central Forest Corridor (CBC) surrounds the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa in the department of Francisco Morazán, providing different ecosystem services and livelihoods to the population, with an important emphasis on the supply of water for communities within the corridor and also for the capital (Central District). 
 
The approximate population in the 14 municipalities of the CBC is estimated at 1,427,699 inhabitants (more than 16% of the total population of the country). In three CBC municipalities (Ojojona, Santa Ana and Lepaterique) there are residents who belong to the Lenca indigenous people.
 
According to data from the 2014 forest map of the Forest Conservation Institute (ICF), the CBC has an extension of approximately 186,525 ha, with 102,786 ha of forest cover, which is equivalent to 55% of the total area of the corridor. Of this extension of forest cover, approximately 56% (57,547 ha) is pine forest and the rest is broadleaf, mixed and deciduous (dry) forest. This percentage of forest is constantly subjected to natural and anthropogenic pressures that prevent its natural development, and jeopardizes the ability to provide ecosystem benefits to the entire population that lives around and within them. The impacts of climate change only aggravate this situation.
 
Considering that almost half of the territory of the CBC belongs to sub-basins that provide more than two thirds of the total water in the capital, the need to work on ecosystem-based adaptation through integrated water resource management is evident, recognizing the role of hydrographic basins, forests and vegetation in the regulation of water flows and its supply for the construction of resilience in the face of climate change. 
 
Therefore, the importance of being able to address schemes of compensation mechanisms in water resources (eg payments for ecosystem services, etc.), to help land users, producers or ranchers to conserve forests in basins that supply water to the capital, protect biodiversity and provide livelihoods for the population.
 
With this, the main objective of the project is to increase the climate resilience of the most vulnerable communities of the CBC and the adaptation capacity of its municipalities with an emphasis on ensuring livelihoods and the continuity of the provision of ecosystem goods and services for the city. from Tegucigalpa and surroundings.
Expected Key Results and Outputs: 
Result 1: Strengthen the CBC Platform to implement ecosystem-based adaptation processes through territorial planning
 
1.1 Strengthened coordination and decision-making spaces for the sustainable management of the natural resources of the CBC, including measures for the effective participation of women and indigenous peoples
1.2 Regulations related to the management of natural resources applied in the CBC
1.3 Municipal Climate Change Adaptation Plans prepared and validated
1.4 Operational proposal of a financing scheme for adaptation measures to Climate Change in the CBC prepared and validated
 
Result 2: Ecosystem-based adaptation measures and technologies designed and implemented to increase community resilience and their livelihoods in the CBC, promoting gender equity and active participation of young people
 
2.1 Pine forest areas affected by pests and fires in the CBC restored to safeguard ecosystem goods and services and the livelihoods of communities
2.2 Strategic forest areas restored by natural regeneration through effective protection mechanisms against fires, pests, and land use change
2.3 Climate change adaptation measures and technologies implemented to optimize the use of water and forest resources
 
Result 3: Generation, systematization, and use of climate change knowledge and information to contribute to research, capacity-building, monitoring, and informed decision-making
 
3.1 Applied research carried out on the links between climate change, pests, fires and adaptation measures in the CBC
3.2 ONCCDS strengthened for the management of information and knowledge on adaptation to climate change
3.3 Monitoring system against pests and forest fires operating with community participation schemes and articulated to an early warning system in the CBC
3.4 Knowledge and experiences of the project systematized and communicated
 
Monitoring & Evaluation: 

Monitoring and evaluation at the project level will be carried out in accordance with UNDP requirements contained in the UNDP Operations and Programs Policies and Procedures. and in the UNDP Evaluation Policy . Additional specific monitoring and evaluation requirements of the Adaptation Fund will also be implemented in accordance with its Monitoring and Evaluation Policy and other relevant policies. In addition, the project will engage in other monitoring and evaluation activities deemed necessary to support adaptive management of the project.

The project results indicated in the project results framework of the Project Document will be monitored annually and periodically evaluated during the execution of the project to ensure that the project achieves those results.

Supported by Component 3, the monitoring plan will facilitate learning and ensure that knowledge is widely shared and disseminated to support scaling up and replication of project results.

*The UNDP country office will retain all monitoring and evaluation records for this project – including annual Project Implementation Reports (PPR), the project’s Mid-term Review, and Final Evaluation – for up to seven years after the project's economic closure to support ex post evaluations conducted by the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office and the Office of Independent Evaluation of the Adaptation Fund.

Inception Report (2019)

Mid-Term Review (2021)

Contacts: 
UNDP
Montserrat Xilotl
Regional Technical Specialist, Climate Change Adaptation
Location: 
Project status: 
Display Photo: 
Expected Key Results and Outputs (Summary): 
Result 1: Strengthen the CBC Platform to implement ecosystem-based adaptation processes through territorial planning
 
1.1 Strengthened coordination and decision-making spaces for the sustainable management of the natural resources of the CBC, including measures for the effective participation of women and indigenous peoples
1.2 Regulations related to the management of natural resources applied in the CBC
1.3 Municipal Climate Change Adaptation Plans prepared and validated
1.4 Operational proposal of a financing scheme for adaptation measures to Climate Change in the CBC prepared and validated
 
Result 2: Ecosystem-based adaptation measures and technologies designed and implemented to increase community resilience and their livelihoods in the CBC, promoting gender equity and active participation of young people
 
2.1 Pine forest areas affected by pests and fires in the CBC restored to safeguard ecosystem goods and services and the livelihoods of communities
2.2 Strategic forest areas restored by natural regeneration through effective protection mechanisms against fires, pests, and land use change
2.3 Climate change adaptation measures and technologies implemented to optimize the use of water and forest resources
 
Result 3: Generation, systematization, and use of climate change knowledge and information to contribute to research, capacity-building, monitoring, and informed decision-making
 
3.1 Applied research carried out on the links between climate change, pests, fires and adaptation measures in the CBC
3.2 ONCCDS strengthened for the management of information and knowledge on adaptation to climate change
3.3 Monitoring system against pests and forest fires operating with community participation schemes and articulated to an early warning system in the CBC
3.4 Knowledge and experiences of the project systematized and communicated
 
Project Dates: 
2018 to 2023
Timeline: 
Month-Year: 
Mar 2017
Description: 
AF Board Approval
Month-Year: 
Dec 2018
Description: 
ProDoc Signature
Month-Year: 
Mar 2019
Description: 
Inception Workshop
Month-Year: 
Nov 2021
Description: 
Mid-Term Review
Month-Year: 
Dec 2023
Description: 
Expected Date of Terminal Evaluation
Proj_PIMS_id: 
5839
SDGs: 
SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 13 - Climate Action
SDG 15 - Life On Land
Facebook URL: 
https://www.facebook.com/sernaHN
Photo Caption: 
PNUD Honduras

Strengthening the climatic resilience of the drinking water sector in the South of Haiti

The Republic of Haiti is extremely vulnerable to climate change, particularly to the impacts of recurrent floods and droughts. 

Reductions in freshwater availability in the country have been attributed to observed increases in the duration and intensity of drought periods, resulting in reduced water yield in springs, wells, and rivers. Reductions in groundwater resources are further compounded by an increase in the intensity of rainfall events, which, when coupled with extensive ecosystem degradation in critical recharge zones, reduce rainwater infiltration and subsequent aquifer recharge.

This project (2022 - 2027) will strengthen the resilience of vulnerable rural and peri-urban communities in the South-East (Sud-Est) Department of Haiti against projected impacts of climate change on drinking water availability and access, through three interrelated components:

1.      Improved understanding and awareness of the water sector's vulnerability to climate change; 

2.     Strengthened regulatory and policy frameworks, as well as institutional capacities at national, regional and local levels for the improved management of drinking water under climate change conditions; and 

3.     Identification and promotion of practices for the conservation, management and supply of drinking water adapted to climate change conditions.

English
Region/Country: 
Level of intervention: 
Coordinates: 
POINT (-72.773437501337 18.769814819818)
Primary beneficiaries: 
86 target communities in the country’s South-East Department, specifically the catchment areas, recharge zones and springs of the Cresson, Bodarie, Préchet, Cascade Pichon and K-Royer Drinking Water Supply Systems (SAEPs), with approximately 338,728 individual beneficiaries National institutions (DINEPA, Ministry of Envionment, MARNDR)
Financing amount: 
Total finance: $US35,074,563 (GEF-LDCF $4,504,563 + co-finance)
Co-financing total: 
Co-financing: US$30,470,000 (UNDP TRAC: $100,000 | Government of Haiti (MoE): $350,000 | Interamerican Development Bank: $30,000,000 | Helvetas :$120,000)
Project Details: 

Climate change is exacerbating existing pressures on drinking water resources in Haiti, negatively affecting the lives and wellbeing of vulnerable communities. 

The preferred solution is to increase water availability in target watersheds in the country’s South-East Department by conserving critical water recharge zones and aquifers, while enhancing the climate resilience of water distribution and storage infrastructure to ensure reliable access to water resources for target communities. These interventions will be supported by strengthened institutional and regulatory systems to promote the sustainable management of water resources and infrastructure.

This project will achieve the preferred solution through three interrelated components — specifically:

  • Component 1 — Improved understanding and awareness of the water sector's vulnerability to climate change; 
  • Component 2 — Strengthened regulatory and policy frameworks, as well as institutional capacities at national, regional and local levels for the improved management of drinking water under climate change conditions; and
  • Component 3 — Identification and promotion of practices for the conservation, management and supply of drinking water adapted to climate change conditions.

 

Under these three components, the proposed project’s climate change adaptation strategy will include: 

i) Implementing on-the-ground interventions to improve aquifer recharge and climate-proof drinking water supply (such as agroforestry, the protection of water sources and aquifer recharge areas, percolation tanks and rainwater harvesting systems); 

ii) Strengthening local capacities for climate-resilient water resource management through awareness raising and knowledge generation; and 

iii) Developing support tools and strengthening technical/institutional capacities of decision-makers at the national and regional level to promote the mainstreaming of climate change into the planning and management of drinking water and associated natural resources in Haiti. 

The project will target vulnerable areas of the country’s South-East Department, specifically the catchment areas, recharge zones and springs of the Cresson, Bodarie, Préchet, Cascade Pichon and K-Royer  Drinking Water Supply Systems (SAEPs).  These five target SAEPs were selected according to a methodology defined and developed collaboratively between the Government of Haiti (GoH), UNDP Haiti and consultants on the PPG Team. 

Adaptation interventions to be implemented under the project components will positively impact local communities in these areas by reducing their vulnerability and increasing their resilience to droughts and floods. 

By providing tools and developing capacities for the improved management of drinking water resources, project interventions will enable ~ 130,000 direct beneficiaries — reliant on the abovementioned drinking water sources — to benefit from more reliably available drinking water throughout the year under the context of increasingly long and intense drought periods that are expected to result from climate change.

The components and related interventions form part of the project’s Theory of Change outlined in the Project Document, which maps out the project’s baseline problem, assumptions, barriers, risks, components, outputs, outcomes, and objectives. 

Expected Key Results and Outputs: 

Component 1: Improved understanding and awareness of the water sector vulnerability to climate change

Outcome 1.1: Improved awareness raising and knowledge and information management systems for the water sector to plan and respond to the impacts of climate change.

Output 1.1.1: Assessments, with gender-specific criteria, carried out at the national level to demonstrate the implications of different climate change scenarios on the availability of water.

Output 1.1.2: A continuous information- and knowledge-generation and dissemination system implemented to inform communities and the GoH on water management adaptation strategies and climate-resilient water supply.

Output 1.1.3: Cost-benefit analyses of different adaptation strategies developed as per the predicted climate change scenarios identified under Output 1.1.1.

Output 1.1.4: Training programmes implemented for regional and national institutions on the extent of climate change impacts on freshwater availability — including methodologies and application of vulnerability assessments (as developed under Output 1.2.1 below) and adaptation solutions.

Output 1.1.5: Inventory and quality characterisation of groundwater aquifers in the target area carried out by OREPA Sud.

Output 1.1.6: Scientific and technical studies on the impacts of climate change and options for adaptation management in the target area conducted, informing local decision-making on climate-resilient water supply.

Outcome 1.2: Target communities prepared to effectively plan responses to climate change impacts on their access to drinking water.

Output 1.2.1: Methodologies and instruments developed for community-level vulnerability assessments (VAs) of drinking water supply.

Output 1.2.2: Participatory climate change vulnerability assessments (VAs) carried out in the project’s target communities.

Output 1.2.3: Integrated water resource modelling conducted to demonstrate the projected long-term impacts of climate change on biodiversity, ecosystems, and urban systems, as well as the relationships between these aspects and drinking water availability at the landscape level.

Component 2: Strengthening of the regulatory, policy and institutional capacity framework at national, regional, and local levels for the effective management of drinking water under climate change conditions 

Outcome 2.1: Key regulatory and policy instruments adjusted to consider the implications of climate change for drinking water supply and promote adaptive community-based management, knowledge generation and dissemination

Output 2.1.1: Two regulatory instruments adjusted to account for the evolving contextual needs and conditions resulting from climate change.

Output 2.1.2: Strategic plans revised by sub-national regulatory institutions to prioritise adaptation interventions based on evaluations of climate change impacts on water supply vulnerability.

Output 2.1.3: Frameworks and instruments developed and applied for planning and coordination between national, regional, private and community-based organisations.

Outcome 2.2: Increased capacities in priority institutional stakeholders (DINEPA, OREPA Sud, CAEPAs and CTEs) with regards to the technical aspects of water resource management, territorial land-use planning, as well as management and application of information on water resources and climate change threats.

Output 2.2.1: Targeted programmes implemented to strengthen technical capacity of relevant institutions to incorporate climate change data into planning and management.

Output 2.2.2: Equipment provided to support the efficient application of technical capacity developed by training workshops.

Outcome 2.3: Target communities equipped with instruments and mechanisms that ensure the sustainable management of water resources and associated infrastructure, as well as specific strategies to target female-headed households.

Output 2.3.1: Community-based strategic and operational plans, with gender-specific criteria, developed to ensure the climate resilience of drinking water access.

Output 2.3.2: Consultative and consensus-based community-level engagement on land-use planning conducted, and training programmes developed, for sustainable land uses in drainage and recharge zones to ensure the climate resilience of drinking water recharge.

Output 2.3.3: Programmes implemented to strengthen organisational capacities and awareness of community-level stakeholders and organisations — reflecting gender-specific differences and promoting the equitable management of water resources and supply infrastructure under climate change conditions.

Component 3. Identification and promotion of practices for the conservation, management and supply of drinking water adapted to predicted climate change scenarios

Outcome 3.1: Reliable access to drinking water ensured for target communities and households as a result of the implementation of climate change adaptation measures.

Output 3.1.1: 4,540 ha of aquifer recharge zones rehabilitated within the five target SAEPs[2] — of which 700 ha is restored through agroforestry.

Output 3.1.2: Gabions , percolation tanks , contour bunds  and, septic tanks constructed to promote aquifer recharge and to reinforce the protection of the five target Drinking Water Supply Systems (SAEPs).

Output 3.1.3: Rooftop water harvesting systems and household cisterns installed in 350 households in target communities.

Output 3.1.4: Framework for financial plans for O&M of the five target SAEPs to improve water-use efficiency and distribution, accompanied by awareness-raising and advocacy programmes.

Output 3.1.5: Programmes for treating water supplies with sodium hypochlorite implemented to reduce water pollution-related health risks.

Monitoring & Evaluation: 

Project results, indicators and targets will be monitored annually and evaluated periodically during implementation. Monitoring and evaluation will be undertaken in compliance with UNDP requirements as outlined in the UNDP POPP and UNDP Evaluation Policy. Additional GEF-specific M&E requirements will be undertaken in accordance with the GEF M&E policy and other relevant GEF policies.  

In addition to these mandatory UNDP and GEF M&E requirements, other M&E activities deemed necessary to support project-level adaptive management will be agreed – including during the project’s Inception Workshop (to be held within 2 months from the date of First Disbursement) and will be detailed in the Inception Report. 

The GEF Core indicators included as Annex of the project document will be used to monitor global environmental benefits and will be updated for reporting to the GEF prior to MTR and TE. The project team is responsible for updating the indicator status. 

Key monitoring and reporting requirements:

·       Inception Workshop and Report

·       Annual GEF Project Implementation Reports 

·       Independent Mid-term Review  

·       Terminal Evaluation (to be made publicly available in English on UNDP’s Evaluation Resource Centre)

·       Final Report Package: Final Project Implementation Report, along with the Terminal Evaluation and corresponding management response 

Contacts: 
UNDP
Montserrat Xilotl
Regional Technical Specialist – Climate Change Adaptation
UNDP
Dorine Jn Paul
Head of Resilience Unit, UNDP Haiti
Location: 
Project status: 
Display Photo: 
Project Dates: 
2022 to 2027
Timeline: 
Month-Year: 
Sep 2022
Description: 
GEF CEO Endorsement
Month-Year: 
Nov 2022
Description: 
ProDoc signed
Proj_PIMS_id: 
5628
SDGs: 
SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
SDG 5 - Gender Equality
SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 13 - Climate Action
SDG 15 - Life On Land

Enhancing Climate Resilience in Thailand through Effective Water Management and Sustainable Agriculture

While Thailand has made remarkable progress in social and economic development over the last four decades, rising temperatures and more frequent and extreme droughts and floods driven by climate change pose an increasing threat to the country’s economy. Water management has emerged as a leading concern.  

This project will help build the resilience of farmers in the Yom and Nan river basins (Sukhothai, Phitsanulok and Uttaradit provinces) through improved climate information and forecasts, the introduction of more climate-resilient agricultural practices, and expanded access to markets and finance.    

At the same time, it will work with subnational and national agencies to improve risk-informed planning and decision-making, promote cross-sectoral coordination, and upgrade critical infrastructure such as irrigation canals and floodgates, taking advantage of ecosystem-based adaptation approaches.  

 

 

 

 

 

English
Region/Country: 
Coordinates: 
POINT (100.54687496761 13.768731166253)
Primary beneficiaries: 
This project will directly benefit 62,000 people in the provinces of Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, and Uttaradit in the northern region of Thailand of the Greater Chao Phraya River Basin, at the confluence of the Yom and Nan Rivers. Approximately 471,561 people in the project districts are also expected to indirectly benefit, with wider benefits for 25,000,000 people living in the Greater Chao Phraya River Basin.
Funding source: 
Financing amount: 
US$17,533,500 GCF grant
Co-financing total: 
US$16.264 million from the Royal Thai Government through the Royal Irrigation Department | $113,000 Krungsri Bank | Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives $16 million line of credit to help farmers invest in adaptation measures
Project Details: 

Thailand’s extreme vulnerability to climate change is shaped by an extensive coastline, a large rural population highly dependent on agriculture, and extensive populous urban areas located on flood prone plains.

Severe rain, flood and drought events are expected to increase in the near and longer-term future. The country’s agricultural sector will be particularly impacted by changing patterns of precipitation, with implications for agricultural livelihoods and local and national economies. Between 2040 and 2049, the projected negative impacts on agriculture are estimated to induce losses of between $24 billion and $94 billion.

In 2011, 66 out of the country’s 77 provinces were affected by flooding, with over 20,000 square kilometres of agricultural land damaged, and nearly 900 lives lost.  The following year, Thailand suffered $46.5 billion in damages and loss, and required an estimated $14 billion in loans for rehabilitation and reconstruction as a result. 

The recent drought in 2015-2016 is estimated to have resulted in losses of $3.4 billion. 

Poor households will suffer disproportionately from the impacts of climate change. Poverty in Thailand has a predominately rural profile, which fluctuates according to vulnerabilities in the agricultural sector, such as faltering economic growth, falling agricultural prices, and droughts. 

Proportionally, the Central and Northern Regions of Thailand have the highest levels of poverty. Sukhothai, Phitsanulok, and Uttaradit provinces – those covered by the project – have higher poverty levels compared with other parts of the country.   

Climate-informed water management and climate-resilient water infrastructure are critical to Thailand’s preparedness and response to climate change. Thailand’s National Adaptation Plan 2018, highlighted flood control and drought management as key priorities, with a focus on Chao Phraya River Basin. 

Given the cost of upgrading existing water infrastructure across the country, the Royal Thai Government is seeking to complement its grey infrastructure with ecosystems-based adaptation measures. As agriculture households are the most vulnerable to changing climatic conditions, an integrated solution which brings together water management and agriculture is key. 

This project therefore focuses on adapting water management and agricultural livelihoods in the Yom and Nan river basins to climate change induced extreme weather events (droughts and floods), through interventions across three outputs: 

·       Output 1:  Enhancing climate and risk informed planning in the water and agricultural sectors through improved climate information and cross sectoral coordination

·       Output 2:  Improving water management through strengthened infrastructure complemented by EbA measures, for greater resilience to climate change impacts

·       Output 3:  Reducing volatility of agriculture livelihoods in drought and flood prone areas through strengthened extension support and local planning, investment in on-farm adaptation measures and greater access to finance and markets

Better integration of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) measures will have environmental benefits, while capacity-building interventions will support cost-efficient and effective water and agriculture planning. 

The project design – which includes artificial intelligence to support climate-informed planning, precision agriculture for efficient water use and applies the internet of things (IoT) concept for sharing and applying data – has been guided by Thailand 4.0, which aims to shift Thailand’s agriculture sector towards an innovation-driven and interconnected sector. 

At the same time, the project also supports low-tech interventions to help farmers respond to changing rainfall patterns.  These include on-farm ecosystem-based adaptation measures (for example, farm ponds), small-scale equipment to support water saving farming practices (for example, system for rice intensification) and community nurseries.  

Training will be provided to ensure that extension services can support farmers with adaptation measures, and the project will provide support to market access for products resulting from climate resilient practices.   

The project builds on existing initiatives, including work by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to enhance Thailand’s agriculture sector adaptation planning (supported by UNDP and FAO through a BMU funded project) and work by the Ministry to implement the Agricultural Strategic Plan on Climate Change 2017-2021 whereby the Royal Irrigation Department takes the lead for the Strategy 2 (Adaptation Actions). 

The Office of National Water Resources – which functions as the regulating agency in proposing policies, formulating master plan on water resources management, responsible for management and supervision as well as integration on the implementation plan of water related-agencies in accordance with the Water Resource Management Act (2018) – has developed the 20-year Master Plan on Water Management (2018-2037), aimed at solving Thailand’s chronic drought, flood and wastewater problems. The Master Plan also stresses the importance of the need to bring in new ideas and technologies to address water related challenges which are exacerbated by climate change.

Expected Key Results and Outputs: 

Output 1:  Enhance climate and risk informed planning in the water and agricultural sectors through improved climate information and cross sectoral coordination

Activity 1.1 Strengthen capacity to generate tailored climate information to inform water management and agriculture planning

Activity 1.2. Facilitate inter-ministerial coordination for climate-informed and integrated planning

Activity 1.3. Expand access to climate information for application at the household level

Output 2: Improve water management through strengthened infrastructure complemented by EbA measures, for greater resilience to climate change impacts

Activity 2.1.   Climate-informed engineering designs for the 13 schemes of the Yom-Nan river basin, and upgrade of 2 water infrastructure 

Activity 2.2.  Complementing of grey infrastructure with EbA measures and integration of EbA approaches into water management policy and planning

Output 3:  Reduce volatility of agriculture livelihoods in drought and flood prone areas through strengthened extension support and local planning, investment in on-farm adaptation measures and greater access to finance and markets

Activity 3.1. Application of climate information in household agriculture planning and strengthening related support through extension services

Activity 3.2.  Implementation of on-farm climate resilient measures to improve drought and flood resilience and improved access to finance for sustainable agriculture

Activity 3.3.  Capacity building for farmers to support market access for climate resilient agriculture products

Monitoring & Evaluation: 

UNDP will perform monitoring, evaluation and reporting throughout the reporting period, in compliance with the UNDP POPP, the UNDP Evaluation Policy.  

The primary responsibility for day-today project monitoring and implementation rests with the Project Manager.  UNDP’s Country Office will support the Project Manager as needed, including through annual supervision missions.

Key reports include annual performance reports (APR) for each year of project implementation; an independent mid-term review (MTR); and an independent terminal evaluation (TE) no later than three months prior to operational closure of the project.

The final project APR along with the terminal evaluation report and corresponding management response will serve as the final project report package and will be made available to the public on UNDP’s Evaluation Resource Centre.

The UNDP Country Office will retain all M&E records for this project for up to seven years after project financial closure in order to support ex-post evaluations.

Contacts: 
UNDP
Charles Yu
Regional Technical Advisor - Climate Change Adaptation
Climate-related hazards addressed: 
Location: 
Project status: 
Display Photo: 
Expected Key Results and Outputs (Summary): 

Output 1:  Enhance climate and risk informed planning in the water and agricultural sectors through improved climate information and cross sectoral coordination

Activity 1.1 Strengthen capacity to generate tailored climate information to inform water management and agriculture planning

Activity 1.2. Facilitate inter-ministerial coordination for climate-informed and integrated planning

Activity 1.3. Expand access to climate information for application at the household level

Output 2: Improve water management through strengthened infrastructure complemented by EbA measures, for greater resilience to climate change impacts

Activity 2.1.   Climate-informed engineering designs for the 13 schemes of the Yom-Nan river basin, and upgrade of 2 water infrastructure 

Activity 2.2.  Complementing of grey infrastructure with EbA measures and integration of EbA approaches into water management policy and planning

Output 3:  Reduce volatility of agriculture livelihoods in drought and flood prone areas through strengthened extension support and local planning, investment in on-farm adaptation measures and greater access to finance and markets

Activity 3.1. Application of climate information in household agriculture planning and strengthening related support through extension services

Activity 3.2.  Implementation of on-farm climate resilient measures to improve drought and flood resilience and improved access to finance for sustainable agriculture

Activity 3.3.  Capacity building for farmers to support market access for climate resilient agriculture products

Project Dates: 
2022 to 2027
Timeline: 
Month-Year: 
October 2021
Description: 
GCF Board Approval
Month-Year: 
January 2022
Description: 
FAA Effectiveness
Month-Year: 
May 2023
Description: 
Inception workshop
Proj_PIMS_id: 
5923
SDGs: 
SDG 1 - No Poverty
SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
SDG 5 - Gender Equality
SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
SDG 10 - Reduce Inequalities
SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 13 - Climate Action
SDG 15 - Life On Land
SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals
Photo Caption: 
UNDP

Advancing Climate Resilience of Water Sector in Bhutan (ACREWAS)

Bhutan is highly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. This landlocked least developed country has a fragile mountainous environment and is highly dependent on agriculture. Hydropower plays a significant role in the country’s economic development, placing increased challenges for the management and use of water. The country also faces increasing threats from climate hazards and extremes events such as flash floods, glacial lake outburst floods, windstorms, forest fires, landslides, and the drying-up of streams and rivulets.

As a result of climate change, summer months are predicted to become wetter and warmer while winter months are expected to be drier. These result in the abundant availability of water in warmer months but decreased accessibility during winter months. Despite being endowed with the highest per capita water availabilities, Bhutan suffers from chronic water shortages, and access to water is a key determinant of people’s vulnerability. Given the mountainous terrain, climate-induced hazards like flashfloods and dry spells during winter, are likely to deteriorate the quality and quantity of water required to meet hygiene and sanitation needs. Inability to meet the demand is likely to further accentuate the impacts of climate change on the local communities.  The COVID-19 pandemic reinforces the need for access to adequate and clean water for health as well as food and nutrition security.

In the face of water scarcity there are opportunities to enable adequate, clean, and assured water supply to the population and increase climate resilience for rural and urban communities. The Royal Government of Bhutan has prepared a water flagship programme to provide assured drinking and irrigation water for the country in the face of climate change.

The proposed “Advancing Climate Resilience of Water Sector in Bhutan (ACREWAS)” project will form a core part of the national plan to provide integrated water supply for four Dzongkhags (districts) in Bhutan that comprise the major parts of the upper catchments of the Punatsangchhu River Basin management unit. The project interventions will increase the climate resilience of rural and urban communities. Considering the spatial interlinkages and dependencies between land use, ecosystem health, and underlying causes of vulnerability to climate change, this approach will ensure that targeted catchment watersheds are managed to protect and restore their capacity to provide sustainable ecosystem services and bring about efficiency, effectiveness and climate resilience within the drinking and irrigation water infrastructure network. The project will support critical catchment protection by adopting climate-resilient watershed management principles. Such practices are anticipated to reduce threats from climate-induced hazards such as floods, landslides and dry spells, while at the same time improving the overall adaptive capacity of project beneficiaries. Additionally, these measures will also ensure that downstream climate-resilient infrastructure development works are managed in tandem with upstream initiatives.

English
Region/Country: 
Level of intervention: 
Coordinates: 
POINT (90.560302667852 27.451739763379)
Primary beneficiaries: 
34,029 direct beneficiaries, 38,660 ha of land managed for climate resilience
Financing amount: 
US$8.9 million

Climate Resilient Irrigation Channels

In water-rich Bhutan, some communtiies are suffering chronic water shortages, with severe impacts on agricultural livelihoods. With a government-led project supported by UNDP and the Global Environment Facility, farmers now have ample water to irrigate their fields, and are seeing crop yields increase as a result. The new system - based on pressurized piped irrigation channels - is more efficient and easy to maintain, producing uninterrupted flow, and zero loss of water. 

Co-financing total: 
US$25.1 million
Project Details: 

Country profile

Bhutan is a small, landlocked country with an area of 38,394 km2 in the Eastern Himalayas located between China in the north and India in the south, east, and west. The dominant topographic features consist of the high Himalayas in the north with snowcapped peaks and alpine pastures; deep north-south valleys and hills created by fast-flowing rivers forming watersheds with temperate forests in the mid-range; and foothills alluvial plains with broad river valleys and sub-tropical forests in the southern part. With about 50% of the geographical area under slopes greater than 50% and about 52.45% of the land area lying above 2600 meters above mean sea level (RNR Statistics, 2019), Bhutan’s topography is almost entirely mountainous and rugged. The mountainous landscape also makes the delivery of infrastructure and services difficult and expensive. Due to its fragile mountainous ecosystem, the country is highly vulnerable to impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. The situation is further worsened by the country’s low adaptative capacity, poor economic status constrained by limited financial, technical, and human capacity.

It is one of the least populated countries in mainland Asia with a total population of 727,145 with a growth rate of 1.3% out of which 47.7% and 56.71% of the population under the age of 29 (PHCB, 2017). About70.77 % of the total land area is under forest cover and 51.44% of the total area is designated as protected areas comprising of national parks, four wildlife sanctuaries, a strict nature reserve, biological Corridors, and a botanical park (FRMD 2017). The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan (2008) mandates 60% of the country to remain under forest cover for all times to come. Some of the rarest flora and fauna on earth flourish within its high forest cover and pristine environment supported by strong conservation efforts and a good network of Protected Areas. The country’s biodiversity includes 15 vulnerable, 20 endangered, and 13 critically endangered seed plants; 13 vulnerable, 11 endangered, and two critically endangered mammal species; 22 vulnerable, four endangered, and four critically endangered bird species; eight vulnerable and three endangered fish species; 11 vulnerable, five endangered and two critically endangered amphibians, and one vulnerable butterfly (MoAF, 2018).

Agriculture is a very important economic activity for Bhutan. The agriculture sector comprises of farming, livestock, and forestry which continues to be a major player in the country’s economy. With only 2.75% of the total land area used for agriculture, the sector accounted for 15.89% of GDP in 2018 and employs about 48.63% of the total economically active population. With the majority of the population relying on agriculture, the sector is highly vulnerable to climate change. Also, characterized by remoteness and inaccessibility, marketing and large-scale commercialization are significant challenges for Bhutan. About 56% of the economically active population engaged in agriculture are female rendering women more vulnerable to impacts of water shortages in agriculture (RNR Statistics, 2019). Hydropower and tourism are the other key economic drivers.

The proposed project will intervene in four Dzongkhags (districts) that form a major part of Punatsangchhu river basin, one of the five main river basin management units in Bhutan as well as the largest in terms of geographical area and among the most climate-vulnerable watersheds in the country. The project area covering 883,080 Hectares comprising 23  percent of the total land cover of Bhutan, and 22 percent of all water bodies in the country. The project area covers 16,693 hectares or 16 percent of cultivated area in Bhutan (Agriculture Statistics, 2019). The majority of the population within the project Dzongkhags are engaged in agriculture. Overall, the agriculture sector has engaged 47 percent of the total employed population in the project area comprising 67.71 percent of the female population and 34.34 percent of the male population. Other major sectors of employment include construction which engages 13 percent of the population and electricity/gas/water which engages 10.72 percent of the population. These two sectors employ only 2.5 percent of the female population and 19.4 percent and 15.7 percent of the male population respectively. Agriculture, the main sector of employment in the project area is dominated by women. The project areas have a total population of 97,254 comprising 45.5 percent females. The population of the project area constitutes 13.4 percent of the national population (PHCB, 2017). The Dzongkhags in the project areas include Gasa, Punakha, Wangduephodrang and Tsirang.

Gasa Dzongkhag is spread from elevations between 1,500 and 4,500 meters above sea level. The Dzongkhag experiences extremely long and hard winters and short summers. The Dzongkhag has four Gewogs namely Goenkhatoe, Goenkhamae, Laya and Lunana. The people of Laya and Lunana are mostly nomads. Over a hundred glacial lakes in the Dzongkhag feed some of the major river systems in the country, including the Phochhu and the Mochhu rivers which join further downstream to form the Punatsangchhu river basin. The whole Dzongkhag falls under the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Park. Dzongkhag is popular for its hot springs and series of other springs which are considered for their medicinal properties (Menchus). The region’s high altitude and extreme climate make it difficult to practice agriculture but livestock is a mainstay, particularly the rearing of yaks.

Punakha Dzongkhag is located south of Gasa and is bordered with Wangduephodrang to the east and south and is part of the Punatsangchhu river basin. The Dzongkhag has eleven gewogs, namely Baarp, Chhubu, Dzomi, Goenshari, Guma, Kabjisa, Lingmukha, Shengana, Talo, Toepisa and Toedwang ranging from 1100 - 2500 m above sea level. Punakha is well known for rice, vegetables and fruits.

Wangdue Phodrang is one of the largest dzongkhags in Bhutan and has fifteen Gewogs which are Athang, Bjena, Daga, Dangchu, Gangtey, Gasetshogom, Gasetshowom, Kazhi, Nahi, Nysho, Phangyuel, Phobjkha, Ruebisa, Sephu, and Thedsho. The Dzongkhag ranges from 800 - 5800 m above sea level and has varied climatic conditions ranging from subtropical forests in the south to cool and snowy regions in the north. The Dzongkhag forms parts of Wangchuck Centennial Park in the north, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Park in northwestern pockets, and Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park in the southeastern end. One of the most notable sites in the district is Phobjikha Valley which is the habitat of the rare and endangered black-necked cranes during winters. The Gewogs of Phangyuel & Ruebisa are included as part of the project area.

Tsirang is noted for its gentle slopes and mild climates suitable  and well-known for agriculture as well as livestock products. It is one of the few dzongkhags without a protected area. The Dzongkhag has twelve gewogs which are Barshong, Dunglagang, Gosarling, Kikhorthang, Mendrelgang, Patshaling, Phuentenchu, Rangthaling, Semjong, Sergithang, Tsholingkhar and Tsirangtoe.

The problem

As a result of climate change, summer months are predicted to become wetter and warmer while winter months are expected to be drier (See para 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17). These result in abundant availability of water in warmer months but decreased accessibility due to flooding and erosions exacerbated by the hostile terrain (See para 18, 19, and 21) and scarce availability and accessibility of water in winter months due to drying of water sources (See para 18). Therefore, despite being endowed with the highest per capita water availabilities, Bhutan suffers from chronic water shortages as follows. Water is a key determinant of people’s vulnerability. Given the terrain climate-induced hazards like flashfloods, dry spells during winter, are likely to deteriorate the quality and quantity of water required to meet hygiene and sanitation needs. Inability to meet the demand is likely to further accentuate the impacts of climate change on the local communities.  The COVID-19 pandemic reinforces the need for access to adequate and clean water for health as well as food and nutrition security. Frequent handwashing is widely recommended by WHO to stop the spread of COVID-19. Reliable water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities are essential to containing the spread of the virus.  The stocktaking for National Adaptation Plan (NAP) formulation process in Bhutan carried out in 2020 clearly recommends instituting indicators, among others, such as number of people permanently displaced from homes as a result of  floods, dry spell or other climate events, number of surface water areas/ springs subject to declining water quality/quantity due to extreme temperatures. In an agrarian and predominantly rural nature of the Bhutanese communities, inadequate access to water can further accentuate the vulnerability  to climate change. Climate-smart and resilient agriculture is particularly  dependent on adequate water. The project, by instituting and ensuring climate-resilient practices in the whole supply chain of water (sourcing, supply, maintenance, governance, and ownership), will address the current problems caused as results of climate change.

Drinking water shortages and Degrading water quality: A 2014 inventory of rural households carried out by the health ministry found that 17% of rural households (13,732) across the country faced drinking water problems and 18% of regular households (29,340) in Bhutan reported that the source of drinking water is unreliable[1]. According to the National Environment Commission’s 2018 Water Security Index, more than 77.5% of households in the urban areas of Thimphu have resorted to portable water supply as the taps are running dry. Most of the urban areas have access to only intermittent water supply. The duration of supply generally ranges from 4 to 12 hours daily. More than 46% of the urban population have 8 to 12 hours and 11% have less than 8 hours of water supply. According to the National Water Flagship Program, 58 rural communities comprising 751 households in the country have no water source, and 49 villages comprising 1,051 households have inadequate water source. These households depend on water harvested during rainy days. Dried up sources have also been reported in 29 communities, comprising 527 households where the Rural Water Supply Schemes have been implemented. Drying up of water sources is attributed to the extended period of the drier winter season with high evaporative demand. The Water Act of Bhutan, 2011 and as well as the Bhutan Water Policy, 2003 consider water for drinking and sanitation for human survival as the first order of priority in water allocation.

Water contamination is considered to occur at water sources due to seepage from agriculture and household effluents as well as due to lack of standard water treatment and quality assurance leading to poor water quality levels across the country, particularly in urban areas. As agriculture expands upstream, farm runoff could become a consideration for water quality downstream.

About 50% of the geographical area of Bhutan is under slopes greater than 50% (RNR Statistics, 2019). The predominant mountainous and rugged topographic features render the country highly vulnerable to climate change-induced disasters, mainly in the form of landslides, erosions, and siltation which also seriously impact on water availability and quality. Climate change, through erratic rainfall and flooding in steep slopes, exacerbates water quality as running streams and rivulets tend to become muddy affecting drinking water quality. A rapid assessment of rural drinking water quality in 2012 indicates that 17% of the stream water sources and 28% of the spring water sources are safe for consumption (RCDC, 2012). The test is conducted through the assessment of microbiological parameters. Domestic sewage and improper disposal of waste oil and other vehicle effluents from workshops located close to rivers are also a serious environmental concern, especially in places like Thimphu and Phuentsholing. While the use of pesticides and herbicides is also a potential source of water pollution, RGOB has a dedicated program on organic agriculture which is expected to address this in the long run while also improving agro-ecosystems. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic reinforces the need for access to adequate and clean water for health as well as food and nutrition security. Frequent handwash is widely recommended by WHO to stop the spread of COVID-19. Reliable WASH facilities are essential to containing the spread of the virus.

Irrigation water shortages: Of the 900 schemes surveyed at the national level, only 372 schemes have an abundance of water, 272 schemes got adequate irrigation water. About 27% of the total schemes suffer from either “inadequate” or “acute shortage” of irrigation water[2]. Assessment has shown that water shortages for agriculture, and hence even for drinking, is likely to become critical, as historical data clearly demonstrate that the evaporative demand of the atmosphere has been significantly increasing, decreasing the amount of rainfall available for growing crops during both in the months of December to February (DJF) and March to April (MAM). The assessment also shows that it will likely no longer be feasible to plant rice, a staple crop, without supplemental irrigation during DJF. The findings reinforce and validate the reported water shortages noted by farmers during the dry season. These climatic changes during the dry season are expected to continue and are consistent with climate change projections, reinforcing that it will become increasingly difficult for farmers to grow crops without suitable adaptation measures.

According to RNR Statistics (2019), of the 976 irrigation schemes across the nation, 88% are functional, 2% are semi-functional and 10% are non-functional. This is largely attributed to damage to the infrastructure due to landslides and flooding due to extreme weather events. A study in Punakha, Wangdue, Tzirang, Paro, Sarpang, and Samtse carried out from March-May in 2019 indicated that the most important consequence of climate change impacts on crop production was the drying of irrigation water sources[3]. The farming communities reported on experiencing significant frequency and severity of extreme weather events in the form of untimely rain and drought. The farmers in the study districts felt that the irrigation sources were affected the most as a consequence of climate change impacts. The study also documents data over last over the last 20 years (1996–2017) in the study area which shows a decreasing rainfall and an increase in temperature.

The COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic has affected Bhutan like any other country. The science-based response measures and early recognition of its impact have managed to contain without major health impact on the Bhutanese. However, the economic repercussion continues to be severe. For a country, that relies heavily on the importation of essential goods such as food items and fuels, prices have risen by manifolds. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously constrained food imports. (Imported food accounts for 16.0 percent of total imported value amounting to Nu. 66.92 billion in the year 2017[4]). It disrupted  supply chains due to higher transport costs caused by the reduced volume of imports and establishment of additional safety protocols through supply chains. COVID-19 has also triggered reverse urban-rural migration, where urban dwellers have started to move to rural homesteads to pursue agriculture resulting in further pressure on irrigation water needs in rural agriculture areas. The pandemic reinforces the need for access to adequate and clean water for health as well as food and nutrition security. Frequent handwash is widely recommended by WHO to stop the spread of COVID-19. Reliable, WASH facilities are essential to containing the spread of the virus. Further, the challenge posed by the pandemic has underscored the need to build a resilient domestic and local agriculture system with a shorter supply chain, efficient water management and irrigation system, etc to adapt to the impending crisis of climate change.

The proposed alternative

In the face of water scarcity there are opportunities to enable adequate, clean, and assured water supply to the population and increase climate resilience of rural and urban communities. The RGOB has prepared a water flagship program to provide assured drinking and irrigation water for the country in the face of changing climate. This proposed intervention will form a core part of the national plan to provide integrated water supply for four Dzongkhags. The project interventions will enable adequate, clean, and assured water supply to the population of four Dzongkhags of Gasa, Punakha, Wangduephodrang (two gewogs of Phangyuel and Rupisa), and Tsirang. These four Dzongkhags from major parts of the upper catchments of Punatsangchhu river basin management unit. The project interventions will increase the climate resilience of rural and urban communities in these Dzongkhags. Considering the spatial interlinkages and dependencies between land use, ecosystem health, and underlying causes of vulnerability to climate change, this approach will ensure that targeted catchment watersheds are managed to protect and restore their capacity to provide sustainable ecosystem services and bring about efficiency and effectiveness and climate resilience of infrastructure network for drinking and irrigation water supplies. The Project will support critical catchment protection by adopting climate-resilient watershed management principles. Such practices are anticipated to reduce threats from climate-induced hazards such as floods, landslides, and dry spells and overall improvement of the adaptive capacity of the project beneficiaries. Additionally, these measures will also mean the downstream climate-resilient infrastructure development works are in tandem with upstream catchment protection.


[1] Population and Housing Census of Bhutan (PHCB), 2017

[2] Report on the National Irrigation Database and Canal Alignment Mapping, 2013,  DoA, MoAF.

[3] Ngawang Chhogyel,  Lalit Kumar and Yadunath Bajgai; Consequences of Climate Change Impacts and Incidences of Extreme Weather Events in Relation to Crop Production in Bhutan, Sustainability, 25 May 2020 (

[4] Imported food control in Bhutan, National Situational Report, FAO, 2019


 

 

Expected Key Results and Outputs: 

Outcome 1: Strengthened water governance, institutions, and financing mechanism in support of climate-resilient water management.

In order to address the issues related to institutional and governance structure on water resource management, services and its associated barriers, the project will aim to strengthen climate resilient water governance and coordination systems including the establishment of an agency for water utilities and one that will pursue integrated water sector development, management and provision of water related utility services. Based on an Institutional and analysis including feasibility assessment of the proposed national agency during PPG phase, the establishment of such an agency will be proposed with clear mandates, organizational structure and clarified linkages with the NECS, competent authorities and local governments.

Further, the component will also support institutional arrangements to enable establishment of River Basin Management Committees (RBMCs), Dzongkhag Water Management Committees (DWMCs) and Water User Associations (WUAs).

Through this, the project will support clarifying on policies, regulations & planning processes as well as on financing of operations of RBMCs and DWMCs as it relates to water sector planning, development and management, promoting community participation, monitoring and reporting and resolving cross-sectoral issues to fully embed climate risk considerations. The project support will include review of the Water Act of 2011 to incorporate the changes in the mandate and institutional setup within the water sector that will enable climate risk management policies and functions across mandated institutions. It will support integration of Key Results Areas (KRAs) for water security and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) based on national Integrated Water Resources Management Plan (IWRMP) in the national and local planning guidelines with appropriate responsibility and accountability frameworks so that NIWRMP and RBMPs can be mainstreamed into sectoral and local development plans. Through this, the project will support enabling appropriate institutions and clarify on policies, regulations & planning processes as well as on financing of operations of RBMCs and DWMCs as it relates to water sector development and management, promoting community participation, monitoring and reporting and resolving cross-sectoral and cross- administrative boundary issues.

The lack of capacity for climate-smart operation and maintenance of water supply systems, water conservation/efficiency technologies, and adoption of IWRM approaches have been bottlenecks in building resilience in the water sector. To overcome the barriers related to limited capacity on climate-resilient water/watershed management this component will support effective capacity for climate-resilient water and watershed management as well as for taking forward the concept of IWRM at various levels including institutional & community level capacity.

The project will also test and demonstrate financing instruments or models engaging private sector through PPP and PES to embed sustainability dimensions in watershed and water infrastructure management. To promote water conservation as an adaptation mechanism and reduce overconsumption and water, a water pricing policy will be supported.

The main deliverables under this outcome will include:

Support to the Government’s priority to establish an autonomous national government agency for water to provide access to adequate, safe, affordable and sustainable water for drinking, sanitation, waste water and irrigation services considering climate change impacts on hydrological systems. The agency will operate and function on a corporate mode and will sustain its operations on service fee/tariff on water utilities and services in the long term on Government budgetary support in the short term. The project support in this will include the design of the organizational setup and capacity building to ensure that the new agency has  organizational profile and human resources competency to consider climate change impacts on hydrological systems. Clear mandates, organizational structure and clarified linkages with the NECS, competent authorities and local governments for planning, development, coordination and management of water utilities and services. The water agency will be a corporate entity owned by the government, sustaining on government grant initially and on service fee/tariff on water utilities and services in the longer term. The Government contribution in this will include establishment of the agency and provide operational mandate, resources, and legitimacy.

Entities that represent the stakeholders to be engaged actively in the development of watershed management plans through RBCs, DWMCs and WUAs.

Adequate and gender-balanced human capacity and skills available for climate-resilient water resources and water management at central, local, community levels including the private sector.

A revised water act, water policy and regulations supported and policy environment for sustainable and climate-resilient water management

While climate change clearly impacts the supply-side affecting availability of water resources. Human demands for water also interact with climate change to exacerbate the pressures on the water supply. In order to rationalize water use and reduce the demand-side pressures on water, the project will promote water thrifting as an adaptation mechanism through a water pricing policy. The policy will consider better access to water, improved quality of water, reduce over consumption and reflect the actual cost of production including ecological costs. It will also consider appropriate pricing for rural households and lower-income households in urban areas.

Conducive environment for corporate and private sector engagement, enterprise development, and public-private partnerships demonstrated. Private sector participation in drinking water and irrigation management initiated in at least 4 water infrastructure operations and maintenance. Green Bhutan Corporation Limited (GBCL) engaged in plantation and agroforestry activities with support from the project establishing a modality for  GBCL to collaborate with the Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC). Post project, the DGPC will support plantation activities of GBCL for watershed restorations.

Beneficiaries/users of ecosystem services pay to the provider of services contributing to sustainable watershed management and sustenance of ecosystem services. The project results will include establishment of PES schemes contributing to sustainable watershed management in water catchment areas.

Outcome 2: Vulnerable natural water catchments in the target river basin (Punatsangchu River Basin) restored, sustainably managed, protected and their ecosystem conditions improved.

This outcome will support participatory assessment, identification & declaration of critical water sheds/catchment areas/spring recharge areas. The project will support soil & water conservation interventions, bio-corridors/setbacks and wetlands/spring augmentation activities for water catchment /spring recharge areas including soil/moisture retaining agro-practices and climate-resilient crops in settlements near catchments. These interventions will aim to restore and improve ecosystem conditions of vulnerable natural water catchments.

Further, implementation of afforestation, reforestation and agroforestry interventions will improve forest and/or ground cover and enhance water infiltration in catchments. Overall, this component will address the problem related to drying up upstream water sources and reduced/erratic downstream water availability by improving the catchment watershed conditions and enabling sustainable and resilient watersheds yielding stable spring/stream flows.

 The main deliverables under this outcome will include:

Improved water security as and biodiversity/ecosystems safeguards with additional co-benefits in carbon sequestration and storage, improved soil fertility, biodiversity conservation, and improved community livelihoods. Catchment watersheds restored with vegetation to enhance infiltration, reduce run-off and peak flows, and stabilize slopes, soil fertility improved over 37,530 hectares of forest land/watersheds

Improved ecosystem conditions of 42 watershed areas as well as 147 spring sources to improve water availability and quality at source.

Local sites for nature-based solutions identified and at least 12 start-up enterprises on based solutions promoted to incentivize and enhance watershed conservation such as fodder development, catch and release fishing, water sports, tourism, hot stone bath, etc. These enterprises can operate as per the framework developed through the GEF ecotourism project and provide concessions for these nature-based enterprises (private sector) to participate in watershed management activities.

Outcome 3: Enhanced adaptive capacity of water infrastructure to climate-induced water shortages and quality deterioration through climate-proofing, private sector engagement, and technology deployment.

This outcome will address barriers related to inefficient and inadequate surface water storage and distribution, breakage and leakage of water pipelines and tank overflows, illegal tapping of waterlines and breakdown of pumps and blackout of electricity during summer, lack of standard water treatment and quality assurance in drinking water supply systems and water contamination are major issues leading to irrigation and drinking water shortages as well as poor water quality. The component will focus on establishment and demonstration of adequate climate-smart and efficient water infrastructure. The water tapping, storage, and distribution system under this component will integrate multi-purpose water storage and distribution to the extent possible. In order to improve monitoring of infrastructure failures for both volume and quality of water supplies, the project will support on boarding of new/improved technologies to be deployed so that vulnerability of the infrastructure to failures due to climate-induced hazards or through man-made disturbances on the system are detected and solutions provided in a timely manner. The project support under this component will include supporting startups to install and manage efficient technologies in the operation and management of the infrastructure. The collaboration with the DRIVE center of the InnoTech Department of the Druk Holding & Investments Ltd (DHI[1]) will be leveraged to promote private start-up enterprises with IT-based solutions for water management (See box below). Overall, the outcome through this output will enable efficient, adequate, and sustainable supply and distribution of water.

Flooding and erosion due to hostile terrain exacerbated by climate change in the form of landslides, erosions and siltation seriously impact on water availability and quality. For drinking water, the project will aim to improve water quality as affected by water pollution through flooding and siltation and enable meetin Bhutan Drinking Water Quality Standard, 2016 and WHO guidelines for drinking water quality.

 The main deliverables under this outcome will include:

Community resilience improved covering 2,567 households with access to adequate irrigation water and be able to bring about additional area of 559.9 Hectares of agriculture land under sustainable agriculture production.

Source of water supply would have extended beyond surface water to include ground water and rainwater enhancing resilience of water sources and human hygiene and sanitation improved covering 7,435 households with access to 24x7 drinking water of quality that meet Bhutan Drinking Water Quality Standard, 2016 and WHO guidelines for drinking water quality.

Outcome 4: Strengthened awareness and knowledge sharing mechanism established.

The limitations in public awareness on the impacts of climate change on water resources, communities and on overall on climate-resilient water/watershed management practices are a concern. To overcome the barriers related to limited awareness programs and lack of data on climate-resilient water/watershed management practices, the project support under this component will include documentation and sharing of knowledge and practices as well as effective capacity for climate-resilient water and watershed management. A Communication strategy developed and implemented on water conservation and sustainable management developed and implemented which will lead to publication of a State of the Basin Report (SOBR) for the Punatsangchu River Basin. This component will enable meeting the requirements of the National Environment Protection Act and the Water Act of Bhutan to regularly publish information on the environment, including periodic state of the environment reports and to provide access to water and watershed-related information. The publication of a State of the Basin report (SOBR) for the five river basins at the national level. The SOBR will include;

Overall situation of river basin in terms of its ecological health and the social and economic circumstances including water security index and impact of climate change on water sector in Bhutan

Highlight of key issues faced in establishment and functioning of  the agency for water utilities  at national level, River Basin Management Committees (RBMCs), Dzongkhag Water Management Committees (DWMCs) and Water User Associations (WUAs)

Establish gaps and needs for the development of relevant River Basin Management plans and its effective implementing.


[1] DHI is the commercial arm of the Royal Government of Bhutan established to hold and manage the existing and future investments of the Royal Government for the long-term benefit of the people of Bhutan. DHI, the largest and only government-owned holding company in Bhutan. Its InnoTech Department is responsible for strategizing technology and innovation pathways to enhance access and diffusion of the technologies across DHI. To address the national socio-economic challenges, the department is also undertaking applied and fundamental research and development in the field of science and technology to create ventures and start-ups, build national intellectual property and establish a platform for innovation, creativity and jobs for the next generation. The Department’s division called DHI Research and Innovation Venture Excellence Center (DRIVE), has  developed a prototype on IT based solution for water management. The PIF process has consulted with the management of the InnoTech Department based on which it has been agreed to test, validate and upscale the technology in the proposed project. Youth based enterprises can be engaged to on-board of this technology into the project area so that these youth-based enterprises can be engaged as private entities to handle the monitoring and providing advisory on maintenance of the infrastructure.


 

 

Contacts: 
UNDP
Manas Moghe
Regional Technical Specialist
UNDP Bhutan
Mr. Chimi Rinzin
Portfolio Manager
UNDP Bhutan
Nawaraj Chhetri
Programme Analyst
Climate-related hazards addressed: 
Location: 
Display Photo: 
Expected Key Results and Outputs (Summary): 

Outcome 1: Strengthened water governance, institutions, and financing mechanism in support of climate-resilient water management.

Outcome 2: Vulnerable natural water catchments in the target river basin (Punatsangchu River Basin) restored, sustainably managed, protected and their ecosystem conditions improved.

Outcome 3: Enhanced adaptive capacity of water infrastructure to climate-induced water shortages and quality deterioration through climate-proofing, private sector engagement, and technology deployment.

Outcome 4: Strengthened awareness and knowledge sharing mechanism established.

Project Dates: 
2023 to 2028
Timeline: 
Month-Year: 
June 2021
Description: 
Project Approval
Month-Year: 
April 2023
Description: 
GEF CEO Endorsement
SDGs: 
SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
SDG 13 - Climate Action

Coastal Resilience to Climate Change in Cuba through Ecosystem Based Adaptation – ‘MI COSTA’

The Green Climate Fund-financed project 'Coastal Resilience to Climate Change in Cuba through Ecosystem Based Adaptation (‘MI COSTA')’ responds to the coastal adaptation needs of Cuba due to climate-change related slow onset events such as sea level rise and flooding arising from extreme weather events. Impacts from these climate drivers are a matter of national security for the people of this small-island state and pose an existential threat to coastal settlements and communities. Projections show that if no intervention is made by 2100, up to 21 coastal communities will disappear with a further 98 being severely affected by climate related threats (flooding, coastal erosion and saline intrusion).

Cuba’s Southern Coast has been selected due its high vulnerability to climate change particularly in the form of coastal flooding and saline intrusion. 1,300 km of coastline, 24 communities, and 1.3 million people will directly benefit from the project. In protecting life on land and below the water, 11,427 ha of mangroves, 3,088 ha of swamp forest and 928 ha of grass swamp will be restored, which in turn will improve the health of 9,287 ha of seagrass beds and 134 km or coral reef crests.

The project will enhance adaptive capacity by holistically rehabilitating coastal land-seascapes, their interlinked ecosystems and hydrology. This will be achieved by rehabilitating ecosystem functions and connections within mangroves and swamp forests and reducing anthropic pressures to marine coastal ecosystems, thus enhancing the services supplied by integrated coastal ecosystems (particularly protection from saline flooding and erosion, and channelling freshwater to coastal areas and aquifers). It will also strengthen the adaptive capabilities of coastal governments and communities´ by building their capacity to utilize and understand the benefits of ecosystem-based adaptation, enhancing information flow between stakeholders and strengthening the regulatory framework for territorial management in coastal areas.

English
Region/Country: 
Level of intervention: 
Coordinates: 
POINT (-78.594726920422 20.988793500139)
Funding source: 
Financing amount: 
US$23,927,294

MI COSTA JÚCARO | January 2023

1,300 km of coastline, 24 communities, and 1.3 million people will directly benefit from the GCF-funded 'Mi Costa' project. In protecting life on land and below the water, 11,427 ha of mangroves, 3,088 ha of swamp forest and 928 ha of grass swamp will be restored, which in turn will improve the health of 9,287 ha of seagrass beds and 134 km or coral reef crests.

Mi Costa Impactos | January 2023

Coastal municipalities and their respective settlements are also extremely vulnerable to climate change (CC) due to increased storms and rising sea levels, resulting in increased coastal flooding caused by extreme meteorological phenomena such as tropical cyclones, extratropical lows, and strong winds from surges. The 'Mi Costa' project will focus on actions along Cuba’s Southern Coast that has been selected due its high vulnerability to climate change.

 

Mi Costa Oficial | January 2023

The 'Mi Costa' project in Cuba will enhance adaptive capacity by holistically rehabilitating coastal land-seascapes, their interlinked ecosystems and hydrology. This will be achieved by rehabilitating ecosystem functions and connections within mangroves and swamp forests and reducing anthropic pressures to marine coastal ecosystems, thus enhancing the services supplied by integrated coastal ecosystems (particularly protection from saline flooding and erosion, and channelling freshwater to coastal areas and aquifers).

MiCosta Manzanillo Mangle | January 2023

The Green Climate Fund-financed project 'Coastal Resilience to Climate Change in Cuba through Ecosystem Based Adaptation (‘MI COSTA')’ responds to the coastal adaptation needs of Cuba due to climate-change related slow onset events such as sea level rise and flooding arising from extreme weather events. Impacts from these climate drivers are a matter of national security for the people of this small-island state and pose an existential threat to coastal settlements and communities.

Mi Costa por la educación ambiental | February 2023

La educación ambiental es una de las prioridades del proyecto Mi Costa en Pinar del Río, como parte de sus acciones para la adaptación al cambio climático. 

 

Co-financing total: 
US$20,371,935 (US$16,242,488 MINAG, US$2,696,376 CITMA, US$1,435,071 INRH)
Project Details: 

Climate change impacts and threats

The Cuban archipelago’s location in the Caribbean, places it in the path of frequent tropical storms, and the long, narrow configuration of the country is such that no part of the country is very far from the sea (over 57% of the population lives in coastal municipalities).*

Coastal municipalities and their respective settlements are also extremely vulnerable to climate change (CC) due to increased storms and rising sea levels, resulting in increased coastal flooding caused by extreme meteorological phenomena such as tropical cyclones, extratropical lows, and strong winds from surges. From 2001 to 2017, the country has been affected by 12 hurricanes 10 which have been intense (category 4 or 5), the highest rate in a single decade since 1791. In the past 10 years the percentage of intense hurricanes affecting the country has risen from a historical average of 26% to 78% with accompanying acute losses. These intense hurricanes impacting Cuba since 2001 coincide with very high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropical Atlantic recorded since 1998.

The coasts of Cuba in the past three decades have also seen an increase in the occurrence of moderate and strong floods as a result of tropical cyclones and of extratropical systems; with extratropical cyclones being associated with the highest rates of flooding in the country.  Furthermore, warm Pacific El Niño events lead to an increase in extra-tropical storms which increase the risks of flooding along the coastline.

CC induced Sea Level Rise (SLR) will aggravate coastal flooding affecting in particular low-lying coastal areas. It is expected that through SLR, mean sea level will increase by 0.29 m by the year 2050 and between 0.22m and 0.95m by the year 2100 impacting 119 coastal settlements in Cuba. Combining increased storm surge and projected SLR, flooding of up to 19,935 km² (CC + Category 5 hurricane) and 2,445 km² (CC + normal conditions) can be expected by the year 2050.

These estimates could be higher when compounded by the impact of surface water warming on the speed of storms, and new research that links it to increased wave heights in the Caribbean. Under this scenario, storms could be more frequent and move at a slower pace thus increasing the impact on island states such as Cuba.

CMIP5 projections indicate that by 2050, mean annual temperature in Cuba will rise by a median estimate of 1.6°C; total annual extremely hot days (temperature >35°C) will rise by a median estimate of 20 days (RCP 4.5) and 20.8 days (RCP 8.5). Associated increases in potential evapotranspiration will further lead to more frequent severe droughts, as already observable in eastern Cuba.

Cuban coastal seascapes and landscapes are a succession of ecosystems that have coevolved under current climatic conditions, including current distributions of extreme events. The progression of coral reefs, seagrass meadows, beaches, coastal mangroves and forest or grassland swamps represents an equilibrium that confers resilience to each ecosystem separately but also to the coast as a whole. The current resilience of Cuban coastal ecosystems to extreme events and SLR, is being undermined by both climate change effects (increased extreme events) and other anthropogenic pressures, tempering their capacity to provide their protective services. Mangroves have further suffered high levels of degradation affecting their ability to colonize new areas, reduce wave impacts, accrete sediments and stabilize shorelines. Additionally, coral reefs have shown signs of bleaching and degradation that have been attributed to mangrove and sea grass degradation (including the alteration of hydrological natural flows, presence of invasive species, water contamination, and habitat destruction), climate-related increases in surface water temperature and to increased impacts of hurricanes.

SLR will further increase current vulnerabilities and stresses on ecosystems due to increases in water depth and wave energy which will increase coastal erosion, coastal flooding and saline intrusion risks.

Coastal erosion

Current coastal erosion rates are attributed to a combination of natural dynamics (waves, currents, extreme events, hurricanes, etc.) and human interventions (natural resources extraction, wetlands filling, coastal infrastructure construction excluding natural dynamics, habitat loss, water diversion, etc). An increase in the magnitude of extreme events and increasing SLR will accelerate erosion related to natural processes, which currently averages 1.2 m/year (calculated between 1956-2002). This erosion rate poses a danger to communities, infrastructure and natural habitats that are not tolerant to saline intrusion and provide services to landward communities.

Flooding

Coastal flooding as a combination of high rainfall, high sea levels and storm surges has been identified as one of the primary climate change related threats to Cuba. Trends in the frequency of coastal floods during the period 1901-2011 have been observed in Cuba with the past three decades seeing an increase in the occurrence of moderate and strong floods, regardless of the meteorological events that generate them. Specific impacts and the extent of resulting damages depend on local bathymetry and topography, seabed roughness and coastal vegetation coverage and conditions, with the coastal regions of La Coloma- Surgidero de Batabano and Jucaro-Manzanillo being particularly vulnerable.

Hurricanes have also extensively damaged infrastructure. Hurricane Matthew, which crossed the eastern end of Cuba in October 2016, caused USD 97.2 million of damages (approximately 2.66% of GDP), making it the third most devastating hurricane to hit the island in the last decade, only behind Ike (2008) and Sandy (2012), with equivalent costs of USD 293 million (12.05% of GDP) and USD 278 million (9.53 % of GDP) respectively.

Saline intrusion

Saline intrusion into aquifers is the most common and extensive cause of freshwater degradation in Cuba’s coastal zones. Most of these aquifers, located near and beneath the northern and southern coasts, are open to the sea, making them very susceptible and exposed to saline intrusion as a result of SLR, and potentially leading to water that is too saline for human consumption and increasing the salinization of agricultural fields.  It is estimated that approximately 544,300 ha in the area of proposed interventions are already affected by saline intrusion.

Drought

Drought has been identified among the most important climate risks for all Caribbean islands, including Cuba. There has been an increase in drought events in the period 1961-1990 when compared to 1931-1960.  Severe droughts have been increasing in eastern Cuba and are projected to increase in the future. Future projections indicate a general reduction in rainfall by 2070 (particularly along the Eastern Coastline), along with an average reduction in relative humidity between 2% and 6% between 2030 and 2070, respectively. Reduced rainfall occurring mostly during the summer rainy season, with relatively smaller increases in winter and dry season rainfall. This situation adds an increase pressure on the aquifers, which cannot be filled by just one tropical storm, or during the rainy season.

Vulnerability Southern Coast of Cuba, project target site 

Cuba’s coastal ecosystems have been extensively studied through extensive research led by The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA), the Environmental Agency (AMA) and the Scientific Institute for the Sea (ICIMAR). ICIMAR’s research on coastal dynamics and vulnerability is the foundation for Cuba’s National Environmental Strategy (NES) and its State Plan for Facing Climate Change (“Tarea Vida”, 2017) which outlined coastal areas in eminent danger as national priority.

A research-based CC vulnerability ranking (high, medium, and low) was designed considering a combination of factors: geological, geomorphological and ecosystem degradation highlighting that vulnerability to sea-level rise and associated events is higher in the country’s low-lying coasts. Settlements in these areas are more vulnerable to SLR and more likely to be affected by extreme weather events (hurricanes, tropical storms) because of their low elevation, largely flat topography, extensive coastal plains and the highly permeable karstic geology that underlies it; hence more exposed and susceptible to flooding and saline intrusion. These areas have been targeted as the project’s area of intervention, prioritized within “Tarea Vida,” with attention being paid to two coastal "stretches" totaling approximately 1,300 km of coastline and 24 municipalities covering 27,320 km2.

Main localities for direct intervention of EBA include settlements with high vulnerability to coastal flooding, facing saline intrusion and with a contribution to economic life including those with major fishing ports for shrimp and lobster. Settlements with coastal wetlands that represent a protective barrier for important agricultural production areas to reduce the effects of saline intrusion on the underground aquifers and agricultural soils where also considered.

Southern Coastal Ecosystems

Coastal ecosystems in the targeted coastal stretches are characterized mainly by low, swampy and mangrove-lined shores surrounded by an extensive, shallow submarine platform, bordered by numerous keys and coral reefs. In these areas mangroves and marshes could potentially act as protective barriers against storm surges, winds and waves and therefore reduce coastal erosion, flooding and salt intrusion associated risks. These ecosystems can keep pace with rising seas depending on sediment budgets, frequency of disturbances, colonization space, and ecosystem health.

There are numerous reported functional relationships between coastal and marine ecosystems, including sediment binding and nutrient absorption, which combined with water retention, create equilibrium dynamics and coastal stability. Freshwater infiltration is favored by swamp forests reducing saline intrusion risk and organic matter exchange facilitates favorable conditions for healthy seagrass beds and coral reefs. Restoration of these fluxes and connections is required to increase these ecosystems resilience to a changing climate and strengthening their protective role.

Coastal ecosystems and their complex interconnections provide a variety of services to communities, including coastal protection and disaster risk reduction. These services can be enhanced with healthy ecosystems, functional connections and when adequately integrated into land/marine planning policies.

Project focus

The project will focus on actions along Cuba’s Southern Coast that has been selected due its high vulnerability to climate change (open aquifers, low lying coastal plain, degraded ecosystems and concentration of settlements), particularly to storms, drought and sea level rise, which result in coastal flooding and saline intrusion.

Targeted shores cover approximately 89,520 hectares of mangroves (representing 16.81% of the country's mangroves) followed by 60,101 hectares of swamp grasslands and 28,146 hectares of swamp forests. These in turn will contribute to improving 9,287 ha of seagrass and 134 km of coral reefs and their respective protective services.

There is evidence of reef crests degradation which in turn could cause significant wave damage in both mangroves and sea grasses reducing further their ability to offer protection against the effects of CC on the coast of Cuba.

Restoration of degraded red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) strips along the coastal edges, in stretches 1 and 2, is crucial. During wind, storms and hurricane seasons, the sea has penetrated more than 150 meters inland in these areas, exposing areas dominated by black or white mangroves, which are less tolerant to hyper-saline conditions, potentially becoming more degraded. During stakeholder consultations, communities highlighted the consequent loss of infrastructure and reduced livelihood opportunities (both fisheries and agriculture).

Coastal Stretch 1: La Coloma – Surgidero de Batabanó (271 km – 13,220 km2)

This stretch is made up of  3 provinces (Pinar del Rio, Artemisa and MAyabeque) and 13 municipalities (San Juan y Martinez, San Luis, Pinar del Rio, Consolacion del Sur, Los Palacios, San Cristobal, Candelaria, Artemisa, Alquizar, Guira de Melena, Batabano, Melena del Sur and Guines). The main localities along this stretch are: (1) La Coloma in Pinar del Rio Province; (2) Beach Cajío in Artemisa province; and, (3) Surgidero Batabanó in Mayabeque Province.  

The vulnerability assessment concluded that, by 2100, 5 communities in this stretch could disappeared due to SLR. Extreme events, waves’ strength and salinity have also been identified in this area; hence appropriate adaptation measures need to be in place to reduce the impact.

These risks are being exacerbated by the impacts of ecosystem degradation related to changes in land use, pollution past logging, grey infrastructure and inappropriate measures of coastal protection in the past, urbanization, and the reduction of water and sediments flows.

The impact of saline intrusion into the karstic aquifer is particularly troubling along this coastal stretch with important implications at a national level, as the main aquifer, in the southern basin which supplies water to the targeted coastal communities and agriculture, is also an important source of fresh water to the capital, Havana. To address the issue of saline intrusion in this area, the GoC has experimented with grey infrastructure (The Southern Dike), a 51.7 km levee built in 1991 aiming to accumulate runoff fresh water to halt the infiltration of saline water in the interior of the southern aquifer. The USD 51.3 million investment, with maintenance costs of USD 1.5 million every 3 years and a once-off USD 15 million (20 years after it was built), had a positive effect in partially containing the progress of the saline wedge. However, the impact of the dike resulted in the degradation of mangroves in its northern shore reducing the mangroves function to protect the coastline.

Coastal Stretch 2: Jucaro- Manzanillo (1029 km – 14,660 km2)

This stretch is comprised by 4 provinces (Ciego de Avila, Camaguey, Las Tunas and Granma) and 11 muncipalities (Venezuela, Baragua, Florida, Vertientes, Santa Cruz del Sur, Amancio Rodriguez, Colombia, Jobabo, Rio Cauto, Yara and Manzanillo).The main localities to intervene along this stretch include (1) Júcaro in Ciego de Avila Province; (2) Santa Cruz del Sur in Camagüey Province; (3) Manzanillo in Gramma Province (4) Playa Florida.

The communities in this coastal area are located within extensive coastal wetlands dominated by mangroves, swamp grasslands and swamp forest.

Water reservoirs for irrigation have reduced the water flow towards natural ecosystems, it has also been directed towards agricultural lands altering the natural flow indispensable for ecosystems.

Mangroves have been highly impacted by degradation and fragmentation, which has undermined their role in protecting the beach and human populations from extreme hydro-meteorological events, saline intrusion and coastal erosion. Only 6% of mangroves are in good condition, while 91% are in a fair state, and 3% are highly degraded. Wetlands in the prairie marshes have begun to dry due to a combination of climate drivers and land use management with a direct impact in reducing their water retention and infiltration capacity.

Coral crests of the area’s broad insular platform, have been classified as very deteriorated or extremely deteriorated and it is predicted that if no intervention on the sources of degradation from the island, is made, they will disappear by 2100. Reef elimination will increase communities’ flood risk to potentially settlements disappearing.

Saline intrusion is becoming increasingly significant in this area due to a combination of CC-related SLR and the overexploitation of aquifers.

Climate change vulnerability is exacerbated by construction practices (such as people building small shops and walkways) along the shoreline where fully exposed infrastructure can be found within flood zones, between the coast and the coastal marsh. This situation is aggravated by the limited knowledge of local actors and a false sense of security that was perceived during community consultations.

Baseline investment projects

Traditionally, Cuba´s tropical storms response and management strategies have focused on emergency preparation and attendance rather than on planning for disaster risk reduction. The GoC has successfully introduced early warning mechanisms and clear emergency protocols to reduce the impact of storms in the loss of lives. The development of Centres for Risk Reduction Management (CGRR) has also been successful in mobilizing local actors when storms are predicted to hit ensuring that emergency resources are available to address storms’ immediate impacts. While these are important steps in the face of an immediate emergency, they are insufficient to manage multiple ongoing threats (some of slow consequence of climate change).

In 2017, GoC approved its State Plan to Face Climate Change (“Tarea Vida”) in which identified and prioritized the impacts of saline intrusion, flooding and extreme events to the country coastal zones, focusing strategic actions for the protection of vulnerable populations and of key resources including protective ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs. The GoC has begun to look into various strategies to mainstream local adaptation initiatives using existing successful national mechanisms for capacity building and knowledge transfer and international cooperation best practices.

Initial investments made by the GoC have identified the country´s climate vulnerability, including drought and SLR vulnerability and hazard risk assessment maps. The development of the “Macro-project on Coastal Hazards and Vulnerability (2050-2100)”, focused on these areas´ adaptation challenges including oceanographic, geophysical, ecological and infrastructure features, together with potential risks such as floods, saline intrusion and ocean acidification. Cross-sectoral information integration was a key tool to identify climate risks and potential resources (existing instruments, institutions, knowledge, etc) to manage it. While this is an important foundation it has yet to be translated into concrete actions often as a result of lack of technical equipment.

International cooperation has financed projects that have further allowed the GoC to innovate on various institutional mechanisms such as the Capacity Building Centres (CBSCs) and Integrated Coastline Management Zones through active capacity building incorporating municipal and sectoral needs. Table 1 summarizes the most relevant baseline projects and highlights key results, lessons learned, and gaps identified. The proposed project aims to address such gaps, and incremental GCF financing is required to efficiently achieve efficient climate resilience in the target coastal sites.

* Footnotes and citations are made available in the project documents.

Expected Key Results and Outputs: 

Output 1: Rehabilitated coastal ecosystems for enhanced coping capacity to manage climate impacts.

1.1 Assess and restore coastal wetland functions in target sites by reestablishing hydrological processes  

1.2 Mangrove and swamp forest rehabilitation through natural and assisted regeneration for enhanced coastal protection

1.3 Record and asses coastal and marine ecosystems‘ natural regeneration and protective functions based on conditions provided through restored coastal wetlands

1.4 Enhance water conduction systems along targeted watersheds to restore freshwater drainage in coastal ecosystems and aquifers to reduce and monitor saline intrusion in target sites

Output 2: Increased technical and institutional capacity to climate change adaptation in coastal communities, governments and economic sectors.

2.1 Develop a climate adaptation technical capacity building program for coastal communities and local stakeholders to enable adaptation actions and capacities

2.2 Integrate project derived information,  from EWS  and national datasets into a Knowledge Management Platform, to provide climate information products to monitor, evaluate and inform coastal communities on local capacity to manage climate change impacts.

2.3 Mainstream EBA approaches into regulatory and planning frameworks at the territorial and national levels for long term sustainability of EBA conditions and investments for coastal protection

Output 3: Project Management

3..1 Project Management

Contacts: 
UNDP
Montserrat Xilotl
Regional Technical Advisor
Location: 
Signature programmes: 
Project status: 
News and Updates: 

Manglar Vivo, trabajo en conjunto entre hombre y naturaleza (+Fotos)' (15 Feb 2021) (English translation here)

'This village needed this project, and it arrived in the right moment'  - Restoring natural habitats and protecting coastal communities in Cuba, UNDP (26 July 2020) 

Cuba - Building coastal resilience to climate change through ecosystem-based adaptation - 'Mi Costa' (GCF)

Display Photo: 
Expected Key Results and Outputs (Summary): 

Output 1: Rehabilitated coastal ecosystems for enhanced coping capacity to manage climate impacts.

Output 2: Increased technical and institutional capacity to climate change adaptation in coastal communities, governments and economic sectors.

Output 3: Project management.

Project Dates: 
2021 to 2028
Timeline: 
Month-Year: 
March 2021
Description: 
Project Approval
Proj_PIMS_id: 
5994
SDGs: 
SDG 13 - Climate Action
SDG 14 - Life Below Water
SDG 15 - Life On Land
Facebook URL: 
https://www.facebook.com/proyectomicosta
Twitter Url: 
https://twitter.com/proyectomicosta/

Climate security and sustainable management of natural resources in the central regions of Mali for peacebuilding

The "Climate security and sustainable management of natural resources in the central regions of Mali for peacebuilding" project tackles Mali’s interlinked challenges of land degradation and climate change that together threaten the long-term sustainability of vulnerable productive landscapes in the country’s central regions. The project will restore 21,000 hectares of land, implement improved practices in 15,000 hectares, offest 900,000 metric tons of CO2, and reach 150,000 direct beneficiaries (80,000 women and 70,000 men).

The Republic of Mali is committed to achieving Land Degradation Neutrality, defined by the UNCCD as “a state whereby the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems.” Currently this global challenge is not being met, since the area of Mali over which productivity has been lost in the past two decades far exceeds the small pockets where productivity has been restored, and these trends continue. Evidence is already seen of how climate change and increased climate variability contribute to the desertification and the degradation of ecosystems on which societies depend for food and water security, and projections are that these impacts will worsen over the decades ahead. As anthropogenic and climate impacts shrink the productive natural resource base, so conflicts over land and water intensify, particularly between farming and herding communities, feeding into the ongoing conflict between jihadists and civilian militia.

The project involves strategies that will simultaneously combat land degradation and restore land productivity, help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change, and promote peace-building, with the overarching goal of developing resilient rural communities in Mopti region. The main emphasis of the project is focused on activities on the ground involving communities and their structures, local government, and private sector actors.

English
Region/Country: 
Level of intervention: 
Coordinates: 
POINT (-1.4267581770588 18.471272480165)
Primary beneficiaries: 
150,000 (80,000 women and 70,000 men) approximately
Financing amount: 
US$7.5 million
Co-financing total: 
US$28 million
Project Details: 

Overview

The project tackles Mali’s interlinked challenges of land degradation and climate change that together threaten the long-term sustainability of vulnerable productive landscapes in the country’s central regions. The Republic of Mali is committed to achieving Land Degradation Neutrality, defined by the UNCCD as “a state whereby the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems”. Currently this global challenge is not being met, since the area of Mali over which productivity has been lost in the past two decades far exceeds the small pockets where productivity has been restored, and these trends continue. Evidence is already seen of how climate change and increased climate variability contribute to the desertification and the degradation of ecosystems on which societies depend for food and water security, and projections are that these impacts will worsen over the decades ahead. As anthropogenic and climate impacts shrink the productive natural resource base, so conflicts over land and water intensify, particularly between farming and herding communities, feeding into the ongoing conflict between jihadists and civilian militias.

Addressing interconnected challenges

Demographic pressures and conflict, exacerbated by COVID-19: Mali’s population has been growing at a rate of about 3% per year for the last 15 years, and the current population is estimated at over 20 million. The fertility rate of 5.92 births per woman is one of  highest in the world, and the population is very young, with a median age of 16.3 years. Conflict in the North and Central regions since 2012 has caused significant internal migration, with over 800,000 Malian citizens estimated to be internally displaced, in neighbouring countries, or recently returned in March 2020. Conflict also restricts movement and prevents cultivation of fields located further from the village, worsening the vulnerability of households to food insecurity. Mopti Region saw a rise in conflict in 2019, with the presence of armed groups and self-defence militias, increasing criminality and intercommunal tensions triggering a spiral of violence, reflected in a 25% decline in the area under cultivation compared with the previous year. Before the recent 8 years of conflict, Mopti’s poverty rate at 79% was already much higher than the national average of 43%. A UN report in 2011 highlighted that 59.5% of the population was living on degraded land and only 29.2% had satisfactory water quality, and the conflict years have worsened this situation, as a growing population tries to eke out a living on a shrinking area of productive land, without significant technological investment. Competition over scarce resources further fuels conflict, in a vicious cycle. In this context, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mali might have a devastating impact for the population. As of late September 2020, Mali had just over 3,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, with 129 deaths recorded as being due to the virus. These figures are likely an under-reflection of the real situation, given the poor spread of healthcare facilities across large parts of the country, the low level of testing capacity available, the unavailabilty of “excess deaths” data and analysis, and the unreliable system for recording of deaths generally. The Government of Mali has designed a National Action Plan for the prevention and response to COVID-19. Among the measures taken so far, the Mali government has introduced restrictions on travels to and from Mali, suspended public gatherings, requested the closure of all schools, and, on 25 March, a curfew from 21:00 to 5:00 has been decreed, along with the closure of land borders.

Impacts of climate change

Already observed changes in increased temperatures and diminished rainfall are reducing the absolute area of land suitable for food production nationally. During the most humid month of July, the maximum temperature recorded for the period 1961-1990 was 30.5°C, and this is projected to be 32, 5°C by 2050 and 34.5°C by 2100. Data from Mali’s meteorological services demonstrates a southward encroachment of the Sahelian and Saharan climatic and vegetation zones over the past 40 years, as rainfall has decreased. This is in line with recent studies showing that the Sahara Desert has expanded by 10% over the past century, affecting regional food and water security, and also influencing global weather patterns and human health, as huge seasonal dust clouds are carried across the Atlantic as far as Central America. Analysis of Mali’s rainfall patterns over the past 50 years shows a decrease in total rainfall of 19% in the South and 26% in the North, and communities widely report increased inter-annual variability and a more unpredictable monsoon. Studies indicate that historical climate change across West Africa in the period 2000–2009, relative to a non-warming counterfactual condition (that is, pre-industrial climate), accounted for average annual yield reductions of 10–20% for millet (loss of 2.33–4.02 billion USD in value) and 5–15% for sorghum (loss of 0.73–2.17 billion USD). There is significant uncertainty in climate scientists’ rainfall projections for West Africa over the coming decades, but inter-annual variability, which is already high because of the effect of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, is likely to grow, and increased temperatures will enhance evapotranspiration. The recently submitted Mali Climate Risk profile confirms the increase in evapotranspiration (according to RCP6.0, evapotranspiration will increase by 2.4% by 2030, 3.7% by 2050 and 7% by 2070), as well as the decrease in soil moisture (-3.7% by 2080 according to RCP6.0). According to the Mali’s third Communication on Climate Change in Mali (2015), the most plausible climate scenarios for 2100 predict a decrease in rainfall in all localities. The Mali Climate Risk profile report also identifies the risks climate change poses on water resources and agriculture sectors. The report projects an expected reduction in water availability per capita of 77% by 2080 (RCP2.6 and RCP6.0), taking into account the projected population growth. In addition, harvests of important crops such as Maize (-13%), Millet and Sorghum (-12%) and peanuts (-7%) are expected to decrease by 2080 (RCP6.0).

The unreliability of rainfall during the rainy season (June-September) is also projected to increase by 2080-2099, with projected changes between -51mm to +37mm in July, -38mm to +88mm in August and -25 to +88mm in August, significantly impacting the risks of flood. Between 1980 and 2012, Mali already experienced six major droughts and two major floods, and the country is likely to see an increase in these disaster types, as well as stronger winds, sand and dust storms, and bush fires, and larger and more frequent locust swarms. More intense rainfall events are predict to increase flash floods in the inland Niger Delta and along river floodplains. Without effective adaptation strategies, many models predict significant decreases in central and northern Mali in both water availability and yields of staple crops rice, millet and sorghum; for example, the Mali NAPA analysis predicts significant losses in staple crops as early as 2025. The central / Sahelian region is most sensitive to changes in rainfall, and households derive over 70% of their income from the land, making them highly vulnerable. A vulnerability mapping study showed over 90% of the Mopti Region as high or very high vulnerability, as defined by a combination of high biophysical exposure to climate impacts, high socio-economic sensitivity and low adaptive capacity.

Poor land management: Mopti Region, where the project focuses, is in the Sahel zone and contains arid and semi-arid ecosystems, as well as the fertile inland delta of the Niger River. Outside of the delta, the natural vegetation is mostly steppe grassland or tree and shrub steppe with Acacia species dominant and other trees like Combretum and Boscia. Mopti is characterised by widespread degradation of natural ecosystems because of unsustainable practices – including overgrazing by livestock, over-extraction of woody vegetation for fuel, removal of natural vegetation to expand crops, and uncontrolled bushfires (sometimes accidentally spread when using fire to clear land). Loss of vegetation allows valuable topsoil to be eroded by wind and rain, resulting in serious sand encroachment in the northern Sahel, and siltation of waterways in the Delta zone. Extreme temperatures and overgrazing cause hardening of the top layers of soil, preventing infiltration of rainwater, furthering the loss of vegetation, and worsening unexpected floods. The area covered by woodland, estimated at 10.1% of the country in 2008, is continually declining. Recent estimates from the National Directorate of Water and Forests show the disappearance of 450,000 to 500,000 ha of woodland per year.The Sahelian zone is identified in Mali’s LDN Country Report as a hotspot of land degradation. Rainfed cropland productivity is also declining – with intermittent localized droughts, and declining soil fertility from shorter fallow periods combined with low use of inputs. Land degradation can also influence local and regional micro-climates, through the albedo effect and alterations in moisture transfer between land surface and the atmosphere.

Poor water management: With increased variability in rainfall and localized droughts, villages in the north and centre of Mali need adaptation strategies to maximize water availability for drinking, sanitation, livestock and crop irrigation. At present, there are parts of Mopti in and around the inland Niger Delta where significant groundwater potential exists, but is not sustainably exploited. There is also inadequate capture of surface water through small dams and rainwater harvesting. In recent years with changing rainfall patterns, Mali’s southern regions have experienced flooding, including flash floods in Bamako in 2013 causing loss of life and displacement of 20,000 people. In the Delta, unexpected high floods have also caused damage, but the opposite problem of insufficient expected, manageable flooding also exists. Seasonal flooding of the massive delta area (comparable only with Okavango) is the basis for irrigated rice, fishing and grazing (as well as a Ramsar Site and important global site for migratory birds), but the inundated area has shrunk from over 35,000 km2 each year to sometimes as small as 10,000 km2 under drought conditions. Underlying this is a decline in the Niger’s average flow – which fell from 1,300 m3/second in 1978 to 895 m3/second in 2002.  Irrigated cropland is subject to problems of leaching and alkalization of soils, and the spread of invasive plants, as well as ineffective management to combat siltation. As vegetation is lost in upstream watersheds, erosion of banks is causing massive siltation of rivers, channels and ponds, especially in the Niger downstream from Bamako and the Delta.

Addressing these root causes of land degradation and likely impacts of climate change and variability requires a coordinated and scaled up effort across Mali. But this is difficult to undertake at a time when government is still battling to stabilize the country, to decentralize and deliver services throughout the fragile central and northern regions, made even more challenging since the political instability at national level in 2020. Since 2012, Mali has faced ongoing conflict, at times caused or worsened by competition over scarce land, water and grazing resources, particularly in the Mopti Region. The government signed a peace accord with northern separatist rebels in 2015, but armed groups continue to assert territorial control in much of the vast desert north. At the same time, Islamist insurgent groups have expanded from the north into previously stable central Mali, allegedly leveraging interethnic tensions and local resentment toward state actors to recruit supporters and foment conflict.

In 2019 Mopti faced a dramatic deterioration of its security situation, with hundreds of recorded violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The presence of armed groups and self-defence militias, increasing criminality and intercommunal tensions triggered a spiral of violence, leading to a loss of livelihoods for displaced populations, and difficulties in cultivating fields and accessing markets for those who have remained in their villages. A perceived inability to curtail massacres of civilians is one of the issues highlighted in anti-government protests in recent months in Bamako, leading to the forced resignation of President Ibrahim Keita on 18 August 2020. Conflict analysis of Mopti Region shows that rising levels of insecurity led to approximately 1,300 fatalities and tens of thousands of internally displaced people across the region in 2019 only. According to the World Food Programme analysis of the Mopti security situation up to April 2020, in a context already made fragile at many levels – an economy marked by mounting demographic pressures, youth unemployment, soil degradation or scarcity of natural resources, exacerbated by repeated droughts intensified by climate change, the impact of violence on food security is highly threatening: displaced communities lose their livelihoods and those remaining in their villages experience difficulties in cultivating fields and accessing markets.

The project aims to ensure the long-term sustainability of vulnerable productive landscapes in Mali’s central region of Mopti, through nature-based solutions that reverse land degradation, strengthen communities’ resilience to climate change impacts and to conflict that is worsened by climate change. These nature-based solutions will follow the principles of conflict-sensitive adaptation –  critical in areas where there is high dependence on natural resources and in already fragile (politically, socially, economically, environmentally) contexts. International literature on the Sahel shows that the region is both very vulnerable to the physical effects of climate variability and to communal conflicts, the dynamics of which in turn seem to be sensitive to climate variability.

Because of this fragile context, the project preparation phase and final site selection process will involve using consultants with in-depth local cultural as well as agro-ecological knowledge to undertake a detailed scoping of conditions on the ground and consultations with a wide range of stakeholders at local level (following COVID-19 protocols), and particular attention will be paid during the PPG to: (i) the design and resourcing of measures to mitigate security-related risks likely to be faced during project implementation (ii) measures to ensure that the root causes of conflict relating to competition over access to scarce (and declining with climate change) natural resources: and (iii) use the Environmental and Social Management Framework to ensure that conflicts are not inadvertently sparked by project interventions. The vulnerability assessment and mapping process planned for Component 1 will include the application of a security sensitivity framework. The interventions are also built on an analysis of the interdependencies of these challenges  that builds on the RAPTA (Resilience, Adaptation Pathways and Transformation Assessment) methodology developed through the STAP, which highlights a systems view of food security, as dependent on availability of adequate and nutritious food to households in the district, access to adequate and nutritious food, utilization of this food by individuals in a house-hold , and the stability/resilience of the availability, access and utilization of food in the face of shocks and stresses, over time.  The first, second and last of these factors are severely affected by the conflict situation in the Mopti Region, and are further compounded by increasingly erratic rainfall and creeping desertification. Specific barriers to achieving the project’s objective are as follows:

Barriers

Barrier 1: Lack of coordination and capacity for implementing and monitoring environmental agreements

Mali has a fairly comprehensive set of national policies, laws and strategies for achieving its international environmental commitments (including UNFCCC, UNCCD and CBD) . Some interministerial cooperation has been achieved around climate change adaptation through the AEDD, but the mainstreaming of resilience principles into sectors like agriculture, water and forestry, as envisaged in the 2007 NAPA, has not been effectively achieved. This is partly because of the ongoing security situation, the uneven presence of state institutions across the country, and the challenges of decentralization – which has built capacity at regional and cercle (district) levels, but has also caused confusing overlaps between local government and traditional authorities over natural resource management. In addition, Mali’s Land Degradation Neutrality country report to the UNCCD identifies a number of weaknesses that constrain effective implementation of policy, including: institutional conflicts between national directorates and specialized agencies of MEADD and other ministries; difficulty in inter-ministerial coordination around LDN and low-emission climate-resilient development, with significant overlaps in mandates; weak consultation between the focal points of the Rio Conventions, and a lack of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for consultations upstream of major national and international forums. These challenges are compounded by a high turnover of officials in AEDD and other key agencies. Mali has recently set overall targets for achieving LDN by 2030, through actions to reduce forest loss, regreen woodland and grassland areas, restore soil fertility, and protect wetlands. Still missing is the identification of key indicators (in most countries these are: (i) land cover and land cover change, (ii) land productivity and (iii) soil organic carbon), agreement how these will be measured and monitored, setting of baselines and targets, and then a detailed implementation plan for the actions required. Although climate vulnerability mapping has featured in some donor-funded projects, there is no long-term system for regular assessment and mapping nationwide, or for ongoing analysis of the links between security and climate change risks. Challenges identified in the 2019-2021 budget framework for MEADD include “the establishment of a monitoring system and continuous surveillance of the environment and the dynamics of forest and wildlife resources”.  Much data and monitoring capacity exists in Mali, scattered between different government departments and agencies, research institutes and universities, but there has been little coordination, and reporting on Mali’s progress to the MEAs is not done in a coherent and integrated fashion.

Barrier 2: Lack of a systemic approach to enhancing resilience of degraded production landscapes

There is a need for landscape restoration interventions to be piloted, adapted for local context and scaled up across the country, utilizing existing processes for cross-sectoral climate change adaptation planning for economic sectors, wherever possible. Mali,  and particularly the Mopti Region, has complex, interlinked socio-ecological systems built around grazing, farming and fishing that are increasingly vulnerable to climate impacts[6]. A number of donor-funded projects and programmes have tackled the challenges of restoring the productivity of land and water systems, and helping communities develop their capacity to adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. What is missing, however, is a systemic approach that aligns such interventions within an overall strategy (see Barrier 1 above). Sectors of government, such as agriculture, economic development, livestock, fisheries, water and forestry, have limited budgets and little presence on the ground in the central regions. Where they are engaged in development activities, this tends to be sporadic and isolated, and interventions are not based on a systemic understanding of climate and other risks across the landscape, and how these can be managed in an integrated fashion. For example, a new pond may be dug, but no effort made to stabilize the river banks upstream, leading to the pond quickly silting up. In the central regions, with limited government presence, land use decisions are taken by local actors such as village chiefs, and there is no systematic land use policy or planning. There is a need to work with the resources that do exist on the ground and strengthen local governance of natural resources in a manner which enhances climate resilience, promotes peace, and allows for social inclusion and equity. Community NRM structures need to cooperate with customary mechanisms and committees to negotiate agreements between herding, farming and fishing communities on boundaries for grazing and farmland, access to pasture and water, timing and regulated migration. They also need to feed into local government land use and development planning, through the Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plans of target cercles and communes. Technical training and support in accessing inputs is also needed for farming households (including women-headed households) to adapt farming practices to climate change, and restore land productivity through regeneration of tree cover in farmlands, and sustainable land and water management techniques, building on traditional knowledge and local preferences. Although donor-funded projects have led to some communal rehabilitation works to restore land and water resources (e.g. desilting water infrastructure, stabilizing dunes to prevent sand encroachment) and develop new water sources in a sustainable basis, there is a need for this work to be better coordinated, and scaled up, with work opportunities created especially for youth and internally displaced people.

Barrier 3: Insufficient support for households and communities wishing to diversify their production activities

As the changing climate puts increasing pressure on the natural ecosystems on which traditional livelihoods such as fishing, livestock-keeping and cereal-crop farming depend, there is a need to (i) adapt these practices to changing conditions, (ii) diversify into other activities which are less directly dependent on these fragile ecosystems, and (iii) generate cash income so households can buy the food and materials needed for enhanced resilience. This is particularly true in the central and northern regions, and it is here that government agencies have the least presence on the ground, which makes achieving effective agricultural extension support a challenge. In this context, there is a need for projects and programmes funded by government’s technical and financial partners to fill some of the gaps in the short term, and to help build government extension capacity for the longer term. At present, agricultural extension services are limited, and concentrated in the cotton-producing regions of the south, not in the mostly subsistence-oriented farmers in the central regions, whose agricultural yields are highly vulnerable to climate change, and who have little opportunity for diversification. Although there is potential for value-add activities e.g. processed products from fish grown in aquaculture ponds, or processed millet with a longer shelf, communities lack training on new opportunities, micro-finance and access to markets. There is also a lack of access to electricity for processing agri-products, and for cold storage, and while solar water heating is widespread, photovoltaic technology is more expensive and complex, and communities lack skills to install and maintain equipment. Although government has a number of programmes to support youth entrepreneurs, in practice access to opportunities has tended to be limited to young people in urban areas whose families have government connections. Such initiatives have generally focused on individuals involved in trading, and have not facilitated real entrepreneurial growth and job creation. There is a need to learn from the more successful initiatives (e.g. TETILITSO and DoniLab) and create links to these for emerging entrepreneurs in rural areas, including women, young people and internally displaced people, all of whom may have limited direct access to productive assets, but can get involved in value addition and new value chains. There is a particular need to support organizations for widowed women, who sometimes receive local government support, but are often left without access to land or productive assets because of discriminatory legislation and customary practices. Access to regular commercial loan finance is near-impossible for many rural entrepreneurs, especially youth and married women, but progressive microfinance opportunities do exist (e.g. APPIM, PMR) and even loan guarantees for promising projects (FGSPSA, ANPE’s FARE Fund), and need to be made accessible.

Barrier 4: Few opportunities for sharing learning across initiatives for evaluation and national scale-up

Although there is a large number of recent and current initiatives (see Section 2 below), and these initiatives do  monitor their own progress, there is little systematic effort to share learning between initiatives. (These include initiatives that address stabilization and peace-building, planning for climate change adaptation, early warning systems and flood protection, resilience of rural communities, integrated water resource management, biodiversity conservation, sustainable land and water management, and entrepreneurship and economic development.) There is also a tendency for pilot or demonstration activities carried out in a particular area to remain limited to that area. Regional platforms which were established to promote climate change adaptation across sectors have been successful while project funding lasts, but have not managed to sustain themselves thereafter. There is a need to harmonize and rationalize the knowledge management activities of a set of related initiatives that are important for achieving LDN and climate security. Related to Barrier 1, there is a need for agreement on ways to measure progress, so that the efforts of disparate initiatives can all be matched up against national targets. There is also much untapped potential for sharing the lessons of Mali’s Sahel zone with those of other countries – northern Senegal, southern Mauritania, northern Burkina Faso, southern Algeria, southwestern Niger, northern Nigeria, central Chad, central Sudan and northern Eritrea. There are a number of international initiatives under the umbrellas of the African Forest Landscapes Restoration Initiative (AFR-100) and the Great Green Wall which are generating learning about best practice, and effective and cost-effective ways of combating desertification in this region. In recent years, with the difficult security situation in Mali, lessons from Mali are not being shared optimally with the rest of the region and in international fora, and there is a need to create such opportunities. There are also barriers to effective monitoring and evaluation of donor-funded projects in Mali – because of the constraints under which many project management teams operate, evaluation is often limited to measuring the outputs of a project, and not finding creative ways to assess its overall impact; what really worked and what didn’t, and why; and how the positive impacts can be sustained and scaled up. Project monitoring is also rarely linked in to long term development of monitoring capacity at regional and national levels for purposes of MEA reporting.

Project overview

The project involves strategies that will simultaneously combat land degradation / restore land productivity, help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change, and promote peace-building, with the overarching goal of developing resilient rural communities in Mopti region. The main emphasis of the project, and the bulk of the resources, are focused on activities on the ground involving communities and their structures, local government, and private sector actors – through Components 2 and 3. The project interventions in Component 1 support the on-the-ground efforts of Components 2 and 3, through creating an enabling environment that supports strategies for restoration of land productivity and climate change adaptation, and sets a baseline for and tracks changes in communities’ climate change vulnerability and adaptive capacity. The project is very timely because the country has recently developed its programme for defining national targets for Land Degradation Neutrality, and is ready to enhance coordination for implementation of adaptation and re-greening strategies, and for tracking progress towards achievement of land degradation neutrality and climate security. In this alternative scenario, an LDN action plan is developed across all economic sectors for achieving the targets, and a monitoring system is set up – building on existing data to review and agree on baselines, targets, indicators and means of measurement. The project activities in Component 4 enable knowledge platforms for replication and scale-up, facilitating learning within and beyond Mopti Region, and sharing of lessons learnt with other countries of the Sahel zone. They also equip youths in Mopti to support on agroecological monitoring of project results and impacts, which can be fed back through the IER into the national action plan as a pilot for monitoring.

In this alternative scenario, significant resources are invested through the project in building resilience of highly vulnerable communities of Mopti to the impacts of climate change, in particular drought – expected to become more frequent and serious as a result of climate change, on top of human-induced degradation of agro-ecosystems. Since the nett result of these climate and anthropogenic effects is a shrinking of productive capacity, the focus in the alternative scenario is on project interventions that restore and enhance productive capacity – in the process also reducing competition over natural resources and enabling adaptation to climate change. In Component 2, there is an improvement in local governance through developing capacity of community natural resource management committees. This improved governance enables better decision-making on land use, including access to pastures and water – so that conflicts are avoided and natural regeneration of productive capacity is enabled. The component also involves intervening on the ground to: (i) restore crop / agroforestry productive capacity through equipping small-scale farmers to regreen their farmlands; (ii) maximize crop / agroforestry land productive capacity though supporting farmers on climate-smart agriculture and aquaculture; and (iii) restore pastureland productive capacity and water resources through communal restoration by the village-level committees.

As part of the alternative scenario there is a need to provide inputs on a sustainable basis to climate-smart agriculture, and to enable market access for its products. Selling climate-smart agricultural produce and value-added products will bring new income streams into households, and provide cash that can be used to improve nutritional status and strengthen homes against disaster. Such enhanced and diversified household incomes are important for building resilience against external shocks and stresses of all kinds – including civil conflict and climate hazards. In Component 3, technical assistance is provided for establishing cooperatives businesses involving youth and women. Some businesses may develop inputs for climate-smart agriculture, such as liquid fertilizer or agroforestry seedlings. Other businesses may enhance the economic sustainability of the climate-smart agri- and aquaculture by adding value to its products, e.g. primary processing of drought-resistant millet, or fish drying and smoking, and selling these products on local markets. Component 3 will also facilitate the incubation of sustainable youth-led businesses that can enable the productivity-enhancing adaptation strategies of Component 2, for example, businesses that enhance the supply of water for dry season vegetable irrigation, or energy for primary agri-processing activities at village level. Some youth might develop business concepts for more sophisticated levels of processing, for example, turning millet into snack foods, porridge, wine, nutrition powder or poultry feed. Scholarships will also be provided for local youth to obtain the skills for manufacture and maintenance of these technologies, where appropriate.

As part of the alternative scenario, climate change adaptation co-finance from financial and technical partners of the Government of Mali will contribute to enhancing resilience of degraded production landscapes through rehabilitation efforts, including a GCF program on climate change adaptation in the Niger basin (including Mopti) and two partnerships with the government of Canada through FAO on climate-resilient agriculture for food security. A project also funded by Canada, through IFAD, on access to finance for agricultural value chains, including in the central regions, will support the GEFTF/LDCF project’s Component 3, which aims to develop capacity of farm households to innovate and adopt resilient and sustainable livelihoods. Pression with private sector partners agreed business incubation hub is for Output 3.2, supporting youth on climate-smart agri business incubation and technology for adaptation. An investment by the government of Monaco on women’s livelihoods will support Output 3.1 on building household adaptive capacity through supporting value chains for climate-resilient crops and products.

Activities in Components 2 and 3 of the project will be focused in three target landscapes in Mopti Region. These landscapes, to be made up of clusters of Communes (rural municipalities), for example across a micro-watershed, may be focused in any of the 8 Cercles (districts) of Mopti Region, and the exact target landscapes will be selected during the PPG phase. At that time, a security analysis will be conducted to understand the extent to which the security situation in specific Cercles enables or prevents the carrying out of project activities. Depending on the security situation, a case could be made for focusing on the three Cercles of Youwarou, Douentza and Koro. These three cercles are the districts of Mopti where studies show that communities are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This includes studies by GIZ undertaken in 2019, confirming the findings as indicated on the map below – from a detailed climate vulnerability analysis conducted through USAID in 2014 (northern part of country not included due to low population density). This map shows cumulative results for vulnerability, using various indicators for (i) biophysical exposure to climate hazards, (ii) socio-economic sensitivity, and (iii) adaptive capacity. The three cercles also include two of the five natural regions of the Sahel identified as hotspots of land degradation in Mali’s 2020 Land Degradation Neutrality Report – the Gourma hotspot, and the Gondo-Mondoro hotspot. The Youwarou Cercle also includes a portion of the inland Niger Delta which is flooded annually and provides critical seasonal resources for hundreds of fishing, farming and pastoralist communities. The delta zone is highly vulnerable to climate change and human-induced degradation, and simultaneously forms the poses an enormous asset for the Mopti Region in building resilience. The precise clusters of communes (target landscapes) to be involved will be decided during the project preparation phase, since travel has not been possible during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strategy and action framework for response to the COVID-19 pandemic: In the alternative scenario, the project contributes to the Government’s response to the pandemic, supported by the United Nations (UN) and other financial and technical partners. According to a rapid analysis by the UN Country Team of the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 in Mali, the indirect socio-economic impacts are likely to be even more devastating than the direct health effects. The study, conducted in May 2020, observed a sharp loss of jobs in the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy, and reported that 4 million children were estimated to be out of school. The study’s projections for the country as a result of global economic slowdown include: a decline of 0.9% in GDP for 2020 (as against 5% growth in 2019), an increase of the number of people living in extreme poverty by 800,000, an increase in the need for food assistance by 70%, and loss of state revenue causing the debt burden to increase from 39% to 45% of GDP.

During the PPG, the UNDP Mali Country Office will support the consultant team to conduct regular assessments of both the security situation and COVID-19 pandemic impacts in the country, and specifically in Mopti Region, and to put in place appropriate measures to ensure the safety of all stakeholders involved in project design and implementation. This will take into account (i) what impact the pandemic (or measures to contain it) has had on government capacity/resources to implement the work in the project (or other baseline initiatives), either at the enabling level or practically; (ii) how targeted project beneficiaries have been affected (e.g. disruption of supply chains, price increases etc); and (iii) how will implementation be affected if there is recurrent outbreaks of this or other diseases during implementation.

The project strategy is to contributes in two ways to assisting the Government of Mali with a “green recovery” from the pandemic, building on UNDP’s support to Government, and on the Government’s commitment of new resources for social protection, corresponding to 1.3% of GDP. This strategy responds to the guidance document “GEF’s Response to COVID-19”, and has a dual action framework including for alignment of the project goals with the response and recovery strategies: 

1. Actions to support COVID-19 response in the short-term: The project has been designed to maximize opportunities for job creation and training, local economic development, and productivity improvements, as follows:

Job creation through small business development: In Output 3.2 of the project, youth-led climate-smart agribusinesses, technologies and services are developed. This includes work to: (i) provide opportunities for local youth from target communities to receive entrepreneurship training in existing incubator programmes in Mopti city; (ii) promote access to loan finance and loan guarantees for youth with solid business plans and family/community backing – in agri-processing and climate-smart technologies. In Output 2.2, training is provided in 9-12 target communes in Mopti to develop farmers’ capacity for Assisted Natural Regeneration and other Sustainable Land and Water Management (SLWM) techniques, building on traditional knowledge and local preferences.

Productivity improvements: In Output 2.2 of the project, technical and financial support are provided to farming households (including women headed households) to adapt farming practices to climate change, and restore farm productivity. This includes work to: (i) form agro-ecological farmer’s groups / Farmer Field Schools, including women farmers, and establish demonstration plots for train-the-trainer activities; (ii) provide heads of households (male and female) with regeneration incentive package (e.g. shears, pickaxe, wheelbarrow, boots and gloves); and (iii) promote climate-smart agriculture – including new drought-resistant local crops/varieties, improved pest management, fodder and fruit trees, and dry season gardening schemes, providing training and equipment, (e.g. seeds, seedlings, polyethylene bags, watering cans and spades).

2. Actions to support COVID-19 response in the long-term: The project has been designed to maximize opportunities for strengthening supply chains, consistent with long-term decarbonization targets, and increasing natural and economic resilience and adaptive capacity, as follows:

Strengthening supply chains: In Output 3.1 of the project, new value chains for climate-resilient crops and processed products are identified and catalyzed. This includes work to: (i) empower organizations of widowed women with climate-smart business and leadership training; (ii) support / establish women producer associations and cooperatives of youth and displaced people e.g. for processing of cereal crops, fish drying and smoking, liquid fertilizer, seedling nurseries etc., conducting value chain analysis and market studies with them; and (iii) support set-up and first two years of operation of cooperative climate-smart businesses – including partnerships for land and infrastructure, technical training and business planning, market access and savings groups/micro-credit.

Supporting long-term decarbonization targets: Output 3.2 of the project involves creating scholarships for local youth to be trained in supply and maintenance of solar PV technology for adaptation activities (water pumps and agri-processing for adaptation). Solar power also support low-emissions development strategies and decarbonization targets as part of the post-COVID green recovery.  

Increasing natural and economic resilience and adaptive capacity: In Output 2.4 of the project, land and water resources (outside of family farms) are restored through communal restoration works for ecosystem-based adaptation. This includes work to: (i) train community resource management committees and community members, including youth and displaced persons, to analyze adaptation needs, and to plan, carry out and monitor rehabilitation efforts; (ii) equip commune / village-level committees and carry out plantings for rehabilitation of pastureland and protection of villages from sand encroachment; (iii) equip committees to develop and sustainably restore watercourses (channels, rivers, ponds, pools) and carry out rehabilitation works; and (iv) equip committees to construct/rehabilitate communal earth dams, and wells with solar PV-powered pumps, to increase household water supply and irrigation (for Output 2.1).

*References available in project documents.

Expected Key Results and Outputs: 

Component 1: Enhancing coordination and monitoring for land degradation neutrality and climate security. The planned outcome of this component is that capacity is improved for national coordination and monitoring, to achieve implementation of Land Degradation Neutrality targets. Given the current high level of uncertainty around the political transition in Mali, the AEDD will be supported on this component by the Mali Geographic Institute (IGM)[1] and the Institute of Rural Economy (IER)[2]. These institutes will be responsible respectively for undertaking capacity needs and gap analyses, and designing capacity development interventions on two fronts: for preparing climate risk and vulnerability assessments and maps (LDCF) and for achieving and monitoring targets for Land Degradation Neutrality (GEFTF). This will involve work at national level around LDN targets, building on existing data to review and agree on baselines, targets, indicators and means of measurement / monitoring, and enable long-term monitoring plots through unlocking research partnerships. Following global trends, indicators may focus on the three core areas of land cover and land cover change, land productivity and soil organic carbon[3]. Over the six-year project period, training will be conducted at regional levels in all of Mali’s 8 regions for climate vulnerability assessment and mapping. This component will link to Component 4, where youth monitors will be trained in the target landscapes of Mopti to pilot “bottom-up” monitoring that can feed into the “top-down” national monitoring through satellite data.

Output 1.1: Action plan for achieving and monitoring targets for Land Degradation Neutrality (GEFTF)

    Conduct survey to assess government and partner capacity for implementing strategies and actions for LDN, and enforcing relevant legislation

    Undertake review of natural resource legislation to harmonize and address gaps for effective management and restoration, including potential tree tenure reform as the basis for effective Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR)[4]

    Hold a series of workshops led by Mali’s Institute of Rural Economy (IER) with government (national, regional, cercle[5] levels represented), research and civil society partners to develop an action plan for achieving and monitoring targets for Land Degradation Neutrality

Output 1.2: Regional biennial climate risk and vulnerability assessments and maps developed, with an application of security sensitivity framework (LDCF)

    The Mali Geographic Institute (IGM) to work with Météo Mali to develop a common methodology for measuring the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of communities to climate change, building on existing initiatives[6]

    Conduct training for youth from all 8 regions to carry out assessment, with household surveys and ground-truthing of maps

    Carry out a biennial climate change vulnerability assessment and mapping across all 8 regions of Mali

    Report results to the public, analyzing links between security and climate change risks, and providing a spatial risk analysis with recommended mitigation and governance actions

Component 2: Enhancing resilience of degraded  production landscapes with communities vulnerable to climate change. The planned outcome of this component is that productivity is restored and yields increased in vulnerable grazing,  farming and fishing landscapes through effective community management in three target landscapes of Mopti Region, potentially in the highly vulnerable cercles of Youwarou, Douentza and Koro (to be finalized and specific sites to be determined in PPG). The component involves the clusters of work outlined below – strengthening natural resource management through capacitated community committees structures and agreements between herders and farmers; supporting farmers to undertake climate-smart agriculture and regreening efforts on their land; and undertaking communal restoration works for grazing land and water resources. The agriculture and agroforestry activities here will also be linked to small business development in Component 3, prioritizing opportunities for women and youth. There will be further discussions with stakeholders in local government and communities level during the project preparation phase, to achieve an understanding of communities’ adaptive capacity and needs, any underlying sources of competition or conflict, and what would work in a particular socio-ecological system, ensuring that specific project interventions are carefully designed to promote peace and reconciliation between communities in target landscapes in Mopti, and to avoid unintentionally feeding into underlying tensions or conflicts – applying a conflict-sensitive adaptation approach. 

 

Output 2.1: Community natural resource management committees are established and adaptation actions are embedded in local development plans (GEFTF)

    Undertake baseline survey and annual update with communities in 9-12 target communes in Mopti[7] on climate vulnerability, adaptive capacity, production practices and livelihood activities, and household income, using this as a pilot for national system

    Integrate community land management for adaptation and rehabilitation into the Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plans and budgetiung frameworks of Cercle Councils and Commune Councils[8]

    Build new or redynamize existing community resource management committees at village level[9], involving women and youth

    Use customary mechanisms and committees to negotiate, formalize and uphold agreements between herding, farming and fishing communities on boundaries for grazing and farmland, access to pasture and water, timing and regulated migration, and NRM[10] agreements (including pastoral corridors)

Output 2.2: Training and inputs provided to farmers in 9-12 target communes in Mopti for regreening of farmlands (GEFTF)

    Provide training to develop farmers’[11] capacity for Assisted Natural Regeneration[12] and other Sustainable Land and Water Management (SLWM)[13] techniques, building on traditional knowledge and local preferences

    Form agro-ecological farmer’s groups / Farmer Field Schools, including women farmers, and establish demonstration plots for train-the-trainer activities

    Provide heads of households (male and female) with regeneration incentive package (e.g. shears, pickaxe, wheelbarrow, boots and gloves)

Output 2.3: Capacity development programme for climate-smart agriculture delivered to farm households in target communes (LDCF)

    Provide training and inputs[14] – including new drought-resistant local crops/varieties, improved pest management, fodder and fruit trees, and dry season gardening schemes

    Advocate for climate-smart agriculture and SLWM through developing and piloting in local languages: a radio programme, a short message service for farmers, a capacitated network of traditional communicators, and materials for schools

Output 2.4: Communal restoration work undertaken over 21,000 hectares of degraded grass/shrubland and wetlands (LDCF)

    Train community resource management committees and community members, including youth and displaced persons, to analyze adaptation needs, and to plan, carry out and monitor rehabilitation efforts

    Equip commune / village-level committees and carry out plantings for rehabilitation of pastureland and protection of villages from sand encroachment

    Equip committees to develop and sustainably restore watercourses (channels, rivers, ponds, pools) and carry out rehabilitation works

    Equip committees to construct/rehabilitate communal earth dams, and wells with solar PV-powered pumps, to increase household water supply and irrigation (for Output 2.1)

Component 3: Supporting family farms, youth and women to innovate and adopt resilient and sustainable livelihoods. The planned outcome of this component is that rural households and community-based organizations enhance their resilience to conflict and climate change by restarting and diversifying productive activities and businesses that spread household risk, whilst simultaneously provide inputs to climate-smart agriculture, or adding value to climate-smart agricultural products. The component involves two clusters of work outlined below – (i) supporting the strengthening / establishment of small agri-businesses and cooperatives at village level, (based on the enhanced and diversified production stimulated in Component 2); and (ii) linking these to value chains beyond the village through targeted support to youth entrepreneurs. Further discussion will be held with stakeholders in the private sector, government and civil society during the project preparation phase, including scoping of potential in particular target landscapes, and what partnerships can be forged with agribusiness innovation hubs, and providers of micro-finance and technical training in Mopti city.

Output 3.1: New cooperative climate-smart businesses established involving women, youth and displaced people (LDCF)

    Empower organizations of widowed women with climate-smart business and leadership training

    Support / establish women producer associations and cooperatives of youth and displaced people e.g. for processing of cereal crops, fish drying and smoking, liquid fertilizer, seedling nurseries etc., conducting value chain analysis and market studies with them

    Support set-up and first two years of operation of cooperative climate-smart businesses – including partnerships for land and infrastructure, technical training and business planning, market access and savings groups/micro-credit[15]

Output 3.2: Entrepreneurship training and business incubation services provided to youth from target landscapes for adaptation-linked business ideas (LDCF)

    Provide opportunities for local youth from target communities to receive entrepreneurship training in existing incubator programmes in Mopti city

    Promote access to loan finance and loan guarantees for youth with solid business plans and family/community backing – in agri-processing and climate-smart technologies

    Create scholarships for local youth to be trained e.g. in maintenance of solar PV systems (supporting adaptation activities)[16].

Component 4: Monitoring and evaluation and knowledge management for upscaling. The planned outcome is that project impacts are monitored and learning shared for scale-up of results across Sahel regions of Mali, and beyond. This involves two outputs, with indicative activities for further discussion with stakeholders in national and regional government agencies, research institutions, development partners and civil society. The two clusters of work are outlined below – (i) creating platforms for scaling up the project learning across Mali and the Sahel; and (ii) facilitating learning exchanges and training of youth to feed into a monitoring system, both for the project, and also feeding into the implementation and monitoring of the LDN action plan in Component 1.

Output 4.1: Knowledge platform operational for coordination and lessons sharing among stakeholders at commune, cercle, region, national and international levels (GEFTF)

    Establish a knowledge platform with online and face-to-face elements, including project stakeholders and all related initiatives (peace-building, adaptation, mitigation, sustainable agriculture etc)

    Hold annual multi-stakeholder dialogues through the platform in target Cercles and Mopti Region to address interrelated challenges of SLWM, peace and climate security

    Host a national learning event[17] on Climate Security and Sustainable NRM to share learning from project, inviting participation by other conflict-affected Sahelian countries[18] to promote South-South engagement

    Produce a lessons learnt publication and series of short videos and use these as basis for participation by Mali in international forums to disseminate lessons learnt

Output 4.2: A participatory M&E and learning framework is developed and implemented for project as a whole (including sites for Component 2 and 3 activities) (LDCF)

    Develop, implement and monitor youth and gender action plans for project

    Arrange learning exchange visits to share experiences in climate change adaptation and agro-ecological restoration between target villages, communes and cercles

    Operationalize the mechanism for monitoring changes in agro-ecological ecosystem condition, adaptive capacity and resilience in the Mopti region, including training and equipping youth monitors who feed data back via the Institute for Rural Economy to the national LDN action plan

_____________________________

[1] The Mali Geographic Institute (IGM) is in charge of the production, maintenance and diffusion of geographic reference information in Mali, including on land cover, land use and land degradation.

[2] The Institute of Rural Economy (IER) is the main research institution in Mali for the implementation of the national agricultural research policy, covering all of Mali's agro-ecological zones, and addressing climate change vulnerability and adaptation strategies.

[3] UNCCD (2016) Scaling up Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting - from Lessons to Actions: 14 Pilot Countries’ Experiences

[4] Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) or la Régénération Naturelle Assistée (RNA) is the term used in Mali for Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), as the most successful proven technique for sustainable regreening in the Sahel - see https://fmnrhub.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/FMNR-Field-Manual_DIGITAL_FA.pdf or http://fmnrhub.com.au/regeneration-assistee/ or https://regreeningafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/FMNR-Booklet-French_High-Res_web.pdf

[5]A cercle is a rural district

[6] Potential exists for co-financing from the German Government, building on the 2017 Climate Change Risk Assessment in Mali by MERADD and AEDD in Partnership with GIZ, funded by BMZ.

[7] Component 1 and 4 of the project will be carried out at national scale, as well as with the regional government of Mopti Region. Components 2 and 3 of the project are to take place in three target landscapes, to be selected during the project preparation phase, according to criteria agreed by the Technical Committee under AEDD, in consultation with stakeholders. A target landscape could, for example: (i) involve 3-4 contiguous communes, in a particular cercle (or crossing cercle boundaries if this makes sense ecologically; (ii) be in an area shown on the map below as vulnerable or highly vulnerable to climate change; and (iii) have visible evidence of ecosystem degradation, for example, thinned woodland, bare soils, silted waterways, or sand-encroached dwellings.

[8] A commune is a rural municipality

[9] Potentially in all the villages of the 9-12 target communes

[10] Natural Resource Management

[11] Including farming households headed by women (including widows and divorced women)

[12] Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) or la Régénération Naturelle Assistée (RNA) is the name given in Mali to the concept sometimes known as Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration. This approach has proven highly effective in the Sahel context and has multiple benefits – it can restore land productivity, reverse desertification and enhance resilience to disaster: increasing crop yields, improving groundwater recharge, retaining soil moisture, and increasing soil organic carbon, nutrient recycling, shade, wind and dust barriers, fodder and compost production and availability of fruit and medicine.

[13] For example, soil and water conservation strategies such as digging half-moon pits, contour bunds with stone, banquets etc.

[14] e.g. seeds, seedlings, polyethylene bags, watering cans and spades

[15] Potentially in partnership with the National Agency for Youth Employment, and with entrepreneurship support providers such as TETELISO and Doni-Labs

[16] Potentially in partnership with the Renewable Energy Agency

[17] Potentially through a partnership with the UN Peacebuilding Forum

[18] Particularly through existing GEF projects in these countries with related goals, which may have resources to enable such participation

Contacts: 
UNDP
Clotilde Goeman
Regional Technical Specialist, Climate Change Adaptation
Location: 
Signature programmes: 
Project status: 
Display Photo: 
Expected Key Results and Outputs (Summary): 

Component 1: Enhancing coordination and monitoring for land degradation neutrality and climate security.

Component 2: Enhancing resilience of degraded  production landscapes with communities vulnerable to climate change.

Component 3: Supporting family farms, youth and women to innovate and adopt resilient and sustainable  livelihoods.

Component 4: Monitoring and evaluation and knowledge management for upscaling.

Project Dates: 
2022 to 2028
Timeline: 
Month-Year: 
October 2020
Description: 
PIF Approval
Month-Year: 
May 2022
Description: 
CEO Endorsement
Month-Year: 
Nov 2022
Description: 
ProDoc signed
Proj_PIMS_id: 
6317
SDGs: 
SDG 13 - Climate Action
SDG 14 - Life Below Water
SDG 15 - Life On Land
SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Enhancing Whole of Islands Approach to Strengthen Community Resilience to Climate and Disaster Risks in Kiribati

The Republic of Kiribati is a small island state with 33 low-lying and narrow atolls dispersed over 3.5 million km² in the Central Pacific Ocean and a population of approximately 110,000 people. 

Climate change and climate-induced disasters are projected to exacerbate the vulnerability of Kiribati’s people by causing more frequent inundations leading to damage of coastal infrastructure and exacerbating already problematic access to clean water and food.

Despite an existing strong policy framework and previous efforts, several barriers exist that prevent Kiribati from achieving its adaptation goals. 

Implemented with the Office of the President (Te Beretitenti), this project aims to benefit 17,500 people (49% women) on the five pilot islands of Makin, North Tarawa, Kuria, Onotoa and Kiritimati.

It is expected to contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals: SDG5 Gender Equality, SDG6 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG12 Responsible Consumption and Production and SDG13 Climate Action.

 

 

 

English
Region/Country: 
Level of intervention: 
Coordinates: 
POINT (-157.34619142837 1.8735216654151)
Primary beneficiaries: 
17,500 people (49% women) on the islands of Makin, North Tarawa, Kuria, Onotoa and Kiritimati
Financing amount: 
GEF Least Developed Countries Fund project grant US$8,925,000
Co-financing total: 
Co-financing of US$769,667 from UNDP | $47,723,920 from the Government of Kiribati
Project Details: 

Background: Projected impacts of climate change on coastal infrastructure, water and food security in Kiribati

Climate change and climate-induced disasters are projected to cause more frequent inundations leading to damage of coastal infrastructure/ community assets and exacerbating the already problematic access to clean water and food.

Geographically, Kiribati’s narrow land masses and low-lying geography (in average 1-3 meters above mean sea level other than Banaba Island) results in almost the entire population being prone to flooding from storm surges and sea-level rise.

The low-lying atoll islands are already experiencing inundation leading to a loss of land, buildings and infrastructure. Mean sea level is projected to continue to rise (very high confidence) by approximately 5-15 cm by 2030 and 20-60 cm by 2090 under the higher emissions scenario.

Sea-level rise combined with natural year-to-year changes will increase the impact of storm surges and coastal flooding. This will lead to increased risks of damage to coastal homes, community infrastructure (community halls, schools, churches) and critical infrastructure, such as health clinics and roads. Further, increasing damage and interruption to roads, causeways and bridges, might lead to isolation of communities.

Sea-level rise also results in greater wave overtopping risk, and when marine flooding occurs, saltwater infiltrates down into the freshwater aquifer causing contamination. This risk will increase with sea-level rise and increased flooding and impact both water security and food security from agricultural production.

With limited groundwater reservoirs, access to clean water and sanitation is already a serious problem in Kiribati, impacting health and food security. Agricultural crop production can be expected to be increasingly affected by saltwater inundation, more extreme weather patterns, pests and diseases. This negative impact on food security is further exacerbated by the projected impact on coastal subsistence fisheries, affecting the main stable food source and livelihood. 

Barriers and challenges

While Kiribati has a strong policy framework around climate adaptation – with adaptation and disaster risk management recognized as national priorities within the Kiribati Development Plan and Kiribati’s 20-year Vision (KV20), and a national Climate Change Policy and Joint Implementation Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management 2014-2023 –  several barriers exist that prevent Kiribati from achieving its objectives, including:

  • Limited integration of CCA&DRM in national and sub-national development plans and frameworks;
  • Insufficient institutional coordination at national, sectoral and sub-national levels;
  • Limited technical and institutional capacities at national and sub-national levels;
  • Weak data management, monitoring and knowledge management (due in part to challenges in gathering and analysing data from dispersed and remote island communities without effective communication and information management systems); and
  • Limited community knowledge and adaptive solutions for CCA&DRM at outer island level.

 

Project interventions

This project will address the exacerbation of climate change on coastal infrastructure, water security and food security by increasing community resilience to the impacts of climate change, climate variability and disasters and building capacities at island and national levels, with benefits extended to household level and in community institutions/facilities such as schools, health clinics, community halls, agricultural nurseries, and Islands Councils.

It is expected to deliver adaptation benefits to the entire population on the five islands of Makin, North Tarawa, Kuria, Onotoa and Kiritimati, estimated at approximately 17,500 people (49% women).

The Project will address key challenges and vulnerabilities to climate change through four interrelated components:

  • Component 1: National and sectoral policies strengthened through enhanced institutions and knowledge
  • Component 2: Island level climate change resilient planning and institutional capacity development in 5 pilot islands
  • Component 3: WoI-implementation of water, food security and infrastructure adaptation measures
  • Component 4: Enhanced knowledge management and communication strategies

 

It is expected to support progress towards the following Sustainable Development Goals:

  • SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts;
  • SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower women, by ensuring women’s equitable participation in Project planning and implementation and by actively monitoring gender equity and social inclusion outcomes.
  • SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all;
  • SDG 12: Achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

 

Key implementing partners

  • Office of Te Beretitenti (OB – Office of the President) - CC&DM division
  • Kiribati National Expert Group on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management 
  • Ministry of Internal Affairs 
  • Ministry of Finance and Economic Development 
  • Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agriculture Development 
  • Ministry for Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy 
  • Ministry for Women, Youth and Social Affairs 
  • Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development
  • Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives
  • Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands Development
  • Ministry of Justice 
  • Ministry of Information, Transport, Tourism and Communication Development (MITTCD)
  • Parliament Select Committee on Climate Change
  • Island Councils
  • Extension officers
  • Village Elders and Leaders  
  • Women and Youth
  • Community-based groups
  • KiLGA (Kiribati Local Government Association)
  • NGO’s
Expected Key Results and Outputs: 

Component 1: National and sectoral policies strengthened through enhanced institutions and knowledge

Outcome 1 Capacities of national government institutions and personnel is strengthened on mainstreaming climate and disaster risks, supporting the operationalization of the Kiribati Joint Implementation Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management 2014-2023 (KJIP)

Output 1.1.1 National and sectoral level policy, planning and legal frameworks revised or developed, integrating climate change and disaster risks

Output 1.1.2 National, sectoral and island level monitoring and evaluation (M&E) processes, related data-gathering and communication systems enhanced and adjusted to support KJIP implementation

Output 1.1.3 Coordination mechanism for the Kiribati Joint Implementation Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management 2014-2023 (KJIP) enhanced

Output 1.1.4 Tools and mechanisms to develop, stock, and share data, knowledge, and information on climate change and disaster risks enhanced at the national level

Component 2: Island level climate change resilient planning and institutional capacity development

Outcome 2 Capacity of island administrations enhanced to plan for and monitor climate change adaptation processes in a Whole of Islands (WoI) approach

Output 2.1.1 Island and community level vulnerability and adaptation (V&A) assessments revised and/or developed for 5 targeted islands

Output 2.1.2 Island Council Strategic Plans developed/reviewed and complemented with Whole of Islands (WoI)-implementation and investments plans in 5 targeted islands

Output 2.1.3 Tools and mechanisms to develop, stock and share data, knowledge, and information on climate change and disaster risk enhanced at island level to strengthen information, communication and early warning mechanisms

Output 2.1.4 I-Kiribati population on 5 targeted islands receives awareness and technical training on climate change adaptation and disaster risk management

Component 3: Whole of Island implementation of water, food security and infrastructure adaptation measures

Outcome 3 Community capacities enhanced to adapt to climate induced risks to food and water security and community assets

Output 3.1.1 Climate-resilient agriculture and livestock practices (including supply, production and processing/storage aspects) are introduced in 5 outer islands

Output 3.1.2 Water security improved in 5 targeted project islands

Output 3.1.3 Shoreline protection and climate proofing of infrastructure measures implemented at 5 additional islands and communities

Component 4: Knowledge management and communication strategies

Outcome 4 Whole of Islands (WoI)-approach promoted through effective knowledge management and communication strategies

4.1.1 Whole of Islands (WoI)-communication, engagement and coordination strengthened at national, island and community levels

4.1.2 Whole of Islands (WoI)-lessons learned captured and shared with national and regional stakeholders

Monitoring & Evaluation: 

The project results, corresponding indicators and mid-term and end-of-project targets in the project results framework will be monitored annually and evaluated periodically during project implementation.

Monitoring and evaluation will be undertaken in compliance with UNDP requirements as outlined in UNDP’s Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (POPP) and UNDP Evaluation Policy, with the UNDP Country Office responsible for ensuring full compliance with all UNDP project monitoring, quality assurance, risk management, and evaluation requirements.

Additional mandatory GEF-specific M&E requirements will be undertaken in accordance with the GEF Monitoring Policy and the GEF Evaluation Policy and other relevant GEF policies.

The project will complete an inception workshop report (within 60 days of project CEO endorsement); annual project implementation reports; and ongoing monitoring of core indicators.

An independent mid-term review will be conducted and made publicly available in English and will be posted on UNDP’s Evaulation Resource Centre ERC.

An independent terminal evaluation will take place upon completion of all major project outputs and activities, to be made publicly available in English.

The project will use the Global Environment Facility’s LDCF/SCCF Adaptation Monitoring and Assessment Tool to monitor global environmental benefits. The results will be submitted to the GEF along with the completed mid-term review and terminal evaluation.

The UNDP Country Office will retain all M&E records for this project for up to seven years after project financial closure to support ex-post evaluations undertaken by the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office and/or the GEF Independent Evaluation Office. 

Results and learnings from the project will be disseminated within and beyond the project through existing information sharing networks and forums.

M&E Oversight and Monitoring Responsibilities

The Project Manager is responsible for day-to-day project management and regular monitoring of project results and risks.

The Project Board will take corrective action as needed to ensure the project achieves the desired results. The Project Board will hold project reviews to assess the performance of the project and appraise the Annual Work Plan for the following year. In the project’s final year, the Project Board will hold an end-of-project review to capture lessons learned and discuss opportunities for scaling up and to highlight project results and lessons learned with relevant audiences.

The Implementing Partner is responsible for providing all required information and data necessary for timely, comprehensive and evidence-based project reporting, including results and financial data, as necessary. The Implementing Partner will strive to ensure project-level M&E is undertaken by national institutes and is aligned with national systems so that the data used and generated by the project supports national systems.

The UNDP Country Office will support the Project Manager as needed, including through annual supervision missions.

Contacts: 
UNDP
Azza Aishath
Regional Technical Specialist - Climate Change Adaptation
Location: 
Programme Meetings and Workshops: 

Local Project Appraisal Committee (LPAC) Meeting TBC

Inception workshop TBC

Display Photo: 
Expected Key Results and Outputs (Summary): 
  • Component 1: National and sectoral policies strengthened through enhanced institutions and knowledge
  • Component 2: Island level climate change resilient planning and institutional capacity development in 5 pilot islands
  • Component 3: Whole-of-Islands (WoI)-implementation of water, food security and infrastructure adaptation measures
  • Component 4: Enhanced knowledge management and communication strategies
Project Dates: 
2021 to 2026
Timeline: 
Month-Year: 
Nov 2020
Description: 
GEF CEO endorsement /approval
Proj_PIMS_id: 
5447
SDGs: 
SDG 5 - Gender Equality
SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
SDG 13 - Climate Action

Community-Based Climate-Responsive Livelihoods and Forestry in Afghanistan

Around 71 percent of Afghans live in rural areas, with nearly 90 percent of this population generating the majority of their household income from agriculture-related activities.

In addition to crop and livestock supported livelihoods, many rural households depend on other ecosystem goods and services for their daily needs, for example water, food, timber, firewood and medicinal plants.

The availability of these resources is challenged by unsustainable use and growing demand related to rapid population growth. Climate change is compounding the challenges: more frequent and prolonged droughts, erratic precipitation (including snowfall and rainfall), and inconsistent temperatures are directly affecting the lives and livelihoods of households, with poorer families particularly vulnerable.

Focused on Ghazni, Samangan, Kunar and Paktia provinces, the proposed project will take a multi-faceted approach addressing sustainable land management and restoration while strengthening the capacities of government and communities to respond to climate change.

English
Region/Country: 
Level of intervention: 
Primary beneficiaries: 
The project will target a total of 80,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries (20,000 per each province), of which 50% are women.
Financing amount: 
GEF-Least Developed Countries Fund: US$8,982,420
Co-financing total: 
Co-financing of $14 million (In-Kind) from the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock – Afghanistan | US$5 million (In-Kind) from ADB | + $1 million (grant) from UNDP
Project Details: 

Climate change scenarios for Afghanistan (Landell Mills, 2016) suggest temperature increases of 1.4-4.0°C by the 2060s (from 1970-1999 averages), and a corresponding decrease in rainfall and more irregular precipitation patterns.

According to Afghanistan’s National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), the worsening climatic conditions in Afghanistan will continue to impact negatively upon socio-economic development, creating multiple impacts for given sectors. Sectors such as agriculture and water resources are likely to be severely impacted by changes in climate.

Increasing temperatures and warmer winters have begun to accelerate the natural melting cycle of snow and ice that accumulate on mountains – a major source of water in Afghanistan.

Elevated temperatures are causing earlier than normal seasonal melt, resulting in an increased flow of water to river basins before it is needed. The temperature change is also reducing the water holding capacity of frozen reservoirs. Furthermore, higher rates of evaporation and evapotranspiration are not allowing the already scant rainfall to fully compensate the water cycle. This has further exacerbated water scarcity.

Seasonal precipitation patterns are also changing, with drier conditions predicted for most of Afghanistan. Southern provinces will be especially affected (Savage et al. 2009).  

Timing of the rainfall is also causing a problem. Rainfall events starting earlier than normal in the winter season are causing faster snowmelt and reduced snowfall.

Together, these factors reduce the amount of accumulated snow and ice lying on the mountains.

Furthermore, shorter bursts of intensified rainfall have increased incidence of flooding with overflowing riverbanks and sheet flow damaging crops and the overall resilience of agricultural sector. On the other end of the spectrum, Afghanistan is also likely to experience worsening droughts. These climate related challenges have and will continue to impact precipitation, water storage and flow.

Floods and other extreme weather events are causing damage to economic assets as well as homes and community buildings.

Droughts are resulting in losses suffered by farmers through reduced crop yields as well as to pastoralists through livestock deaths from insufficient supplies of water, forage on pastures and supplementary fodder.

In its design and implementation, the project addresses the following key barriers to climate change adaptation:

Barrier 1: Existing development plans and actions at community level do not sufficiently take into consideration and address impacts of climate change on current and future livelihood needs. This is caused by a lack of specific capacity at national and subnational level to support communities with specific advice on how to assess climate change risk and vulnerabilities and address these at local level planning. Communities and their representative bodies also lack awareness about ongoing and projected climate change and its impact on their particular livelihoods. Also risks and resource limitations, which are not related to climate change, are not always understood at all levels; and subsequently they cannot be addressed. This is connected with an insufficient understanding within the communities of the risks affecting their current and future livelihoods, including gender- and age-specific risks. As a result, climate change-related risks and issues are not sufficiently addressed by area-specific solutions for adaptation and risk mitigation in community as well as sub-national and national planning.

Barrier 2: Limited knowledge of climate-resilient water infrastructure design and climate-related livelihood support (technical capacity barrier): Entities at national and sub-national levels have insufficient institutional and human resource capacities related to water infrastructure design and climate-related livelihoods support. Given that the main adverse impact of climate change in Afghanistan is increased rainfall variability and overall aridity, the inability to master climate-resilient water harvest techniques and manage infrastructure contributes significantly to Afghanistan’s vulnerability.

Barrier 3: Limited availability and use of information on adaptation options (Information and coordination barrier): At the community level, there are a limited number of adaptation examples to provide demonstrable evidence of the benefits of improving climate resilience. At the same time, there is limited information about alternative livelihood options, rights and entitlements, new agricultural methods, and credit programs that have worked to reduce the vulnerability to climate change.

Barrier 4: Limited capacity in the forest department, lack of forest inventories, geo-spatial data and mapping are preventing adequate management of forest ecosystems. The predicted impact of projected climate change on forests and rangelands as well as the adaptation potential of these ecosystems are insufficiently assessed. This causes a lack of climate smart forest management, an unregulated and unsustainable exploitation of forests by local people and outsiders, leading to forest and rangeland degradation, which is accelerated by climate change and therefore limits their ecosystem services for vulnerable local communities.

Expected Key Results and Outputs: 

Component 1:  Capacities of national and sub-national governments and communities are strengthened to address climate change impacts.

Output 1.1 Gender-sensitive climate change risk and vulnerability assessments introduced to identify and integrate gender responsive risk reduction solutions into community and sub-national climate change adaptation planning and budgeting

Output 1.2 All targeted communities are trained to assess climate risks, plan for and implement adaptation measures

Component 2: Restoration of degraded land and climate-resilient livelihood interventions

Output 2.1 Scalable approaches for restoration of lands affected by climate change driven desertification and/ or erosion introduced in pilot areas.

Output 2.2 Small-scale rural water infrastructure and new water technologies introduced at community level.

Output 2.3 Climate resilient and diverse livelihoods established through introduction of technologies, training of local women and men and assistance in understanding of and access to markets and payment instruments.

Component 3: Natural forests sustainably managed and new forest areas established by reforestation

Output 3.1 Provincial forest maps and information management system established and maintained

Output 3.2 Provincial climate-smart forest management plans developed

Output 3.3 Community based forestry established and contributing to climate change resilient forest management

Component 4: Knowledge management and M&E

Output 4.1 A local level participatory M&E System for monitoring of community-based interventions on the ground designed.

Output 4.2. Improved adaptive management through enhanced information and knowledge sharing and effective M&E System

Monitoring & Evaluation: 

Under Component 4, the project will establish a local-level participatory M&E system for monitoring community-based interventions on the ground, while improving adaptive management through enhanced information and knowledge-sharing.

A national resource center for Sustainable Land Management and Sustainable Forest Management will be established.

A local-level, participatory M&E system for monitoring of Sustainable Land Management and Sustainable Forest Management will be designed.

Participatory M&E of rangeland and forest conditions – including biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration – will be undertaken.

Best-practice guidelines on rangeland and forest restoration and management will be developed and disseminated.

Lessons learned on Sustainable Land Management and Sustainable Forest Management practices in Nuristan, Kunar, Badghis, Uruzgan, Ghazni and Bamyan provinces will be collated and disseminated nationwide.

Annual monitoring and reporting, as well as independent mid-term review of the project and terminal evaluation, will be conducted in line with UNDP and Global Environment Facility requirements.

Contacts: 
UNDP
Karma Lodey Rapten
Regional Technical Specialist, Climate Change Adaptation
Climate-related hazards addressed: 
Location: 
Project status: 
Display Photo: 
Expected Key Results and Outputs (Summary): 

Component 1:  Capacities of national and sub-national governments and communities are strengthened to address climate change impacts.

Component 2: Restoration of degraded land and climate-resilient livelihood interventions

Component 3: Natural forests sustainably managed and new forest areas established by reforestation

Component 4: Knowledge management and M&E

 

Project Dates: 
2021 to 2026
Timeline: 
Month-Year: 
Nov 2020
Description: 
PIF and Project Preparation Grant approved by GEF
Proj_PIMS_id: 
6406
SDGs: 
SDG 1 - No Poverty
SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 13 - Climate Action
SDG 15 - Life On Land

Improving Adaptive Capacity and Risk Management of Rural Communities in Mongolia

With an observed temperature increase of 2.1°C over the past 70 years , Mongolia is among the countries most impacted by climate change. Increased temperatures, coupled with decreased precipitation, have resulted in a drying trend impacting pastures and water sources, and shifting natural zones. Changes have also been observed related to the frequency and intensity of extreme events, including disasters brought about by dzud (summer drought followed by harsh winters), drought, snow and dust storms, flash floods and both cold and heat waves.

Responses to climate impacts by herders have not been informed by climate information or by the potential impact of those responses on land and water resources. Unsustainable herding practices and livestock numbers are further stressing increasingly fragile ecosystems and related ecosystem services.

Livestock productivity and quality has been declining in the changing landscape due to drought conditions, heat stress, harsh winters and unsustainable practices, resulting also in reductions in outputs for subsistence and important income sources. Studies indicate that livestock sector production decreased by 26 percent compared to that of the 1980s, along with its contribution to the country’s economy.

Herder households make up one third of the population in Mongolia, approximately 160,000 households or 90 percent of the agriculture sector. Around 85 percent of all provincial economies in are agriculture-based.  While herder households are the most exposed to climate risks, their scale and thus potential impact also means that tailored interventions can support transformational change towards more climate-informed and sustainable herder practices, benefitting the sector, the economy and the environment.

Led by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Light Industry as a key partner, this 7-year project project, seeks to strengthen the resilience of resource-dependent herder communities in four aimags (provinces) vulnerable to climate change: Khovd, Zavkhan, Dornod and Sukhbaatar, thus covering steppe, desert steppe, mountain, mountain steppe and forest steppe zones. 

With funding from the Green Climate Fund, the UNDP-supported project focuses on three complementary outputs:

  • Integrating climate information into land and water use planning at the national and sub-national levels
  • Scaling up climate-resilient water and soil management practices for enhanced small scale herder resource management
  • Building herder capacity to access markets for sustainably sourced, climate-resilient livestock products

 

It is expected to contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals: SDG1 No Poverty, SDG12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG13 Climate Action, SDG15 Life on Land and SDG17 Partnerships for the Goals.

English
Photos: 
Region/Country: 
Level of intervention: 
Coordinates: 
POINT (105.11718747398 46.867702730128)
Primary beneficiaries: 
The direct beneficiaries of the project will be 26,000 herder households (130,000 people) in the four target aimags. As Output 1 national policy, indirect beneficiaries include all 160,000 herder households (800,000 people). The project will directly benefit 4.5% of the Mongolian population and indirectly 26%.
Funding source: 
Financing amount: 
US$23,101,276 GCF grant

Improving Adaptive Capacity and Risk Management of Rural communities in Mongolia - Project Overview

Herder households make up one third of the population in Mongolia, approximately 160,000 households or 90 percent of the agriculture sector. Around 85 percent of all provincial economies in are agriculture-based. While herder households are the most exposed to climate risks, their scale and thus potential impact also means that tailored interventions can support transformational change towards more climate-informed and sustainable herder practices, benefitting the sector, the economy and the environment.  

Co-financing total: 
Co-financing of US$56,200,000 from the Government of Mongolia including $20,000,000 from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism | $3,000,000 from the National Emergency Management Agency | + $33,200,000 Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry
Project Details: 

With the objective of strengthening the resilience of resource-dependent herder communities in four aimags vulnerable to climate change, this project seeks an integrated approach to address climate change impacts on herder livelihoods and on the natural resources on which they rely. 

This requires strengthening capacity to generate climate models for longer term climate resilient planning, while reconciling the ambitious economic development goals of livestock sector with the limits of increasingly fragile land and water sources due to climate change.

To do this, the project complements significant investment from the Government of Mongolia related to the livestock sector and natural resources management, while addressing key barriers through strengthening the computing and capacity needs for long term climate-informed planning, investments in water access points, and support to the policy transformations needed to remove incentives for maladaptive herder practices.  

The project will strengthen capacity of the National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring (NAMEM) to collect and analyze the data necessary for climate-informed planning. 

This will include investments to computing equipment and data storage, as well as technical training to enable climate-informed and risk-informed livestock planning.  Support will also be provided to integrate climate change into aimag and soum level development plans to ensure that local planning considers climate change in regards to carrying capacity of land resources and guidance to herders on Integration of climate change and climate-informed carrying capacity into aimag and soum level development plans

The project will apply Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) measures to protect land and natural water resources, while also establishing or rehabilitating water wells for livestock.

Using community-based resources management, herders will coordinate on rotational pastures and sustainable use of water resources, as well as establishing means of maintaining EbA results and water well investments.  This will relieve pressure on rivers, streams and ponds as well as on over-utilized pastures which are increasingly fragile due to climate change.

Support to haymaking and pasture reserves, and related storage, will ensure livestock are better able to survive increasingly harsh winters, and losses to subsistence herders are reduced. Stronger and healthier animals are not only able to survive the harsh climatic events (i.e. dzud) but also are less likely to be affected by outbreak of infectious diseases. 

The project will also support the planned policy transformations under the National Mongolian Livestock Programme, by ensuring that changes are informed by climate risk. 

Analytical products will be developed to inform related programmes, such as government investments in livestock commodities development and dzud relief programmes to ensure that support does not inadvertently incentivize growing livestock numbers against land and water resources which are increasingly drying due to climate change. 

The project will also identify public-private-community partnerships for sustainably-sourced, climate-resilient livestock products; and in association with this, support the establishment and training of Herder Producer Organizations (or cooperatives) with support to include general business and market specific training in production, post-harvest processing, post-harvest value addition and on-site storage specific to the commodity value chain.

For more project details, please refer to the project Funding Proposal.

Expected Key Results and Outputs: 

Output 1: Integrate climate information into land and water use planning at the national and sub-national levels

Activity 1.1. Enhance technical capacity for long-term climate resilient development planning, and medium-term response planning capacity

Activity 1.2. Integration of climate change and climate-informed carrying capacity into aimag and soum level development plans (incl. Integrated River Basin Management Plans (IRBMP))

Activity 1.3. Analytical products to support policy and regulatory transformation promoting sustainable land and water management and resilient herder livelihoods

Output 2: Scaling up climate-resilient water and soil management practices for enhanced small scale herder resource management

Activity 2.1. Enhance cooperation among herders on sustainable use and stewardship of shared land and water resources (formalized through Resource User Agreements)

Activity 2.2. Reforestation of critical catchment areas to protect water resources and ecosystem services

Activity 2.3. Establish haymaking and pasture reserve areas, and emergency fodder storage facilities to reduce volatility to livelihoods related to climate change induced extreme events

Activity 2.4. Improve water access through protection of natural springs, construction of new water wells, rehabilitation of existing wells and water harvesting measures

Output 3:  Build herder capacity to access markets for sustainably sourced, climate-resilient livestock products

Activity 3.1. Identify public-private-community partnership for sustainably sourced climate resilient livestock products

Activity 3.2. Establishment and training of Herder Producer Organizations (or cooperatives)   

Activity 3.3. Improve traceability for sustainably sourced, climate resilient livestock products

Activity 3.4. Generation and dissemination of knowledge products to support private-sector engagement and herder enfranchisement in climate-resilient and sustainable production in Mongolia

 

Monitoring & Evaluation: 

UNDP will perform monitoring, evaluation and reporting throughout the reporting period, in compliance with the UNDP POPP, the UNDP Evaluation Policy.

The primary responsibility for day-today project monitoring and implementation rests with the Project Manager.  UNDP’s Country Office will support the Project Manager as needed, including through annual supervision missions.

Key reports include annual performance reports (APR) for each year of project implementation; an independent mid-term review (MTR); and an independent terminal evaluation (TE) no later than three months prior to operational closure of the project.

An impact evaluation (within the project duration) will also be designed and conducted under Output 3, to assess project interventions. Results will be documented and used to inform implementation, as well as further programming. The evaluation will also contribute to the evidence base related to interventions to address climate challenges on land and water resources and climate-sensitive herder households. 

The final project APR along with the terminal evaluation report and corresponding management response will serve as the final project report package and will be made available to the public on UNDP’s Evaluation Resource Centre.

The UNDP Country Office will retain all M&E records for this project for up to seven years after project financial closure in order to support ex-post evaluations.

Contacts: 
UNDP
Yusuke Taishi
Regional Technical Specialist, Climate Change Adaptation
UNDP
Bunchingiv Bazartseren
Programme Analyst, Climate Change, UNDP Mongolia
Climate-related hazards addressed: 
Location: 
Project status: 
Programme Meetings and Workshops: 

Inception workshop 2021, TBC

News and Updates: 
Display Photo: 
Expected Key Results and Outputs (Summary): 

Output 1: Integrate climate information into land and water use planning at the national and sub-national levels

Activity 1.1. Enhance technical capacity for long-term climate resilient development planning, and medium-term response planning capacity

Activity 1.2. Integration of climate change and climate-informed carrying capacity into aimag and soum level development plans (incl. Integrated River Basin Management Plans (IRBMP))

Activity 1.3. Analytical products to support policy and regulatory transformation promoting sustainable land and water management and resilient herder livelihoods

Output 2: Scaling up climate-resilient water and soil management practices for enhanced small scale herder resource management

Activity 2.1. Enhance cooperation among herders on sustainable use and stewardship of shared land and water resources (formalized through Resource User Agreements)

Activity 2.2. Reforestation of critical catchment areas to protect water resources and ecosystem services

Activity 2.3. Establish haymaking and pasture reserve areas, and emergency fodder storage facilities to reduce volatility to livelihoods related to climate change induced extreme events

Activity 2.4. Improve water access through protection of natural springs, construction of new water wells, rehabilitation of existing wells and water harvesting measures

Output 3:  Build herder capacity to access markets for sustainably sourced, climate-resilient livestock products

Activity 3.1. Identify public-private-community partnership for sustainably sourced climate resilient livestock products

Activity 3.2. Establishment and training of Herder Producer Organizations (or cooperatives)   

Activity 3.3. Improve traceability for sustainably sourced, climate resilient livestock products

Activity 3.4. Generation and dissemination of knowledge products to support private-sector engagement and herder enfranchisement in climate-resilient and sustainable production in Mongolia

Project Dates: 
2021 to 2028
Timeline: 
Month-Year: 
November 2020
Description: 
GCF Board approval
Month-Year: 
Jul 2021
Description: 
Inception workshop
Proj_PIMS_id: 
5873
SDGs: 
SDG 1 - No Poverty
SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
SDG 13 - Climate Action
SDG 15 - Life On Land
SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals
Photo Caption: 
UNDP Mongolia