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Guinea-Bissau is both a least developed country (LDC) and a small island developing state (SIDS), highly vulnerable to climate hazards, and facing significant development challenges. Low-lying coastal areas – home to 70 percent of the population, including the capital Bissau – are increasingly threatened by climate change impacts from sea-level rise to extreme heat and rainfall variability.
Poor urban planning, inadequate infrastructure and encroachment into flood-prone zones exacerbate exposure and risk. Coastal livelihoods, especially for women, are highly exposed to climate shocks, with limited capacity to adapt. Degraded ecosystems, such as mangroves, once natural buffers, are also in decline, compounding vulnerabilities.
Climate change adaptation in the coastal zone is a national priority embedded in Guinea-Bissau’s UNFCCC commitments. With funding from the Least Developed Countries Fund, this project aims to strengthen climate resilience by implementing risk-informed spatial planning, building climate-proof infrastructure, and enhancing disaster risk management.
The project targets urban sites (Bissau) and rural/coastal areas (Varela, and the island of Bubaque), covering approximately 32,400 hectares and 13 km of erosion-prone coastline. It will directly benefit 120,000 people through a gender-transformative and inclusive approach to spatial planning, disaster risk management and access to resources.
Expected adaptation benefits include climate-resilient livelihoods, particularly for vulnerable coastal and urban communities; ecosystem restoration, including mangrove rehabilitation for coastal protection; protection of critical infrastructure and people against flooding and erosion; and reduced public health risks through the climate-proofing of local health infrastructure and improved access to clean water.
The project will promote financial sustainability through strengthening private sector engagement in the blue economy and innovative finance solutions.
- Community
- Municipality
- District
- National
- Local Governments
- National Governments
- Non-Governmental Organizations
- Private Sector Partners
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
120,000 direct beneficiaries (53% women)
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- Guinea Bissau Ministry of Environment and Biodiversity,
Expected outcomes
Outcome 1: Strengthened governance mechanisms for climate-responsive spatial planning and improved institutional capacity for effective implementation.
Outcome 2: Enhanced climate resilience in urban and peri-urban areas through practical adaptation measures, community-led initiatives and strategic infrastructure, ensuring long-term, inclusive and gender-responsive support for vulnerable populations.
Outcome 3: Enhanced community resilience to climate-related disasters through strengthened local disaster risk management and institutional capacity building of civil protection services.
Outcome 4: Enhanced institutional capacity and private sector engagement for sustainable coastal zone development and climate adaptation in Guinea-Bissau.
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Guinea-Bissau is a highly climate-vulnerable country, combining the characteristics of both a least developed country (LDC) and a Small Island Developing State (SIDS). Approximately 70 percent of the population lives in the coastal zone, including the capital, Bissau, where sea-level rise, coastal erosion, flooding, saline intrusion, extreme weather events and increasing temperatures are placing growing pressure on communities, infrastructure and ecosystems. Climate change is exacerbating existing development challenges, including poverty, food insecurity, weak infrastructure, limited access to basic services and constrained institutional capacity. Coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, which provide natural protection against storms and erosion while supporting livelihoods and fisheries, are also under increasing pressure. Women are particularly vulnerable due to unequal access to resources, land, finance and decision-making processes.
Despite the urgency of these risks, several barriers continue to constrain effective adaptation. These include fragmented coordination among government institutions, local authorities and economic actors; limited technical and institutional capacity for climate risk assessment, spatial planning and coastal adaptation; weak disaster risk management systems and localized early warning capacities; insufficient financing for coastal adaptation investments; and limited private sector engagement in climate-resilient development. Existing planning frameworks do not yet adequately account for climate risks, while the lack of fully operational integrated coastal zone management, climate-resilient urban planning and investment strategies leaves communities, ecosystems and critical infrastructure increasingly exposed to climate impacts.
This proposed project is based on the premise that strengthening climate-risk-informed planning, climate-resilient infrastructure, ecosystem restoration, disaster risk management and institutional coordination will enable vulnerable coastal and urban communities to better adapt to climate change while creating the conditions for long-term, sustainable resilience.
To achieve this, the project combines four mutually reinforcing components: climate risk assessment and climate-responsive planning; implementation of climate-resilient infrastructure and community adaptation measures; community-based disaster risk management and early warning systems; and strengthened coordination mechanisms, knowledge management and private sector engagement.
Component 1: Climate risk assessment for policy effectiveness and planning
Outcome 1: Strengthened governance mechanisms are leading to enhanced climate-responsive spatial planning and improved institutional capacity for effective implementation
Output 1.1: Urban vulnerability and risk assessments conducted in project intervention sites to inform the selection and design of adaptation measures, such as coastal protection, urban drainage infrastructure, and improved water management practices in rice-growing areas.
Output 1.2: Design and implementation of a gender-responsive spatial planning framework for adaptation to identify and select adaptation measures at both urban and community levels, ensuring inclusivity and sustainability.
Output 1.3: Training provided to enhance the technical and institutional capacity of stakeholders, among them women, to effectively use hydro-meteorological risk information and apply the gender-responsive spatial planning framework for adaptation.
Component 2: Resilience to climate risks in urban and coastal communities
Outcome 2: Enhancing climate resilience in urban and peri-urban areas through practical adaptation measures, community-led initiatives, and strategic infrastructure, ensuring long-term, inclusive, and gender-responsive support for vulnerable populations.
Output 2.1: Implementation of no-regret adaptation measures such as climate-proofing of key public infrastructure (e.g., health centers, schools, market areas, public sanitation facilities, piers) and implementation of small-scale, low-cost interventions with adaptation benefits.
Output 2.2: Implementation of selected adaptation measures through a gender-responsive low value grant-making scheme, enabling local communities and stakeholders to carry out actions on climate resilience community-based identified in the spatial planning framework (component 1).
Output 2.3: Implementation of identified adaptation measures from the spatial planning process (component 1), focusing on the most urgent infrastructural/hard adaptation interventions or strategic actions in priority areas for enhancing resilience to climate impact
Component 3: Community-based disaster risk management (DRM) in project affected areas
Outcome 3: Enhanced community resilience to climate-related disasters through strengthened local disaster risk management and institutional capacity building of civil protection services.
Output 3.1: The National Service of Civil Protection is supported to develop and implement national and regional disaster preparedness plans, and to provide technical assistance to local committees, and empowering local women to participate.
Output 3.2: Establishment and strengthening of local disaster risk management committees in collaboration with the National Service of Civil Protection, ensuring the active engagement and full participation of women and marginalized groups in decision-making and implementation.
Output 3.3: Community-based urban and peri-urban early warning systems for sudden-onset climate-driven disasters (flooding, storms, wave surge) and climate-sensitive diseases (vector- and water-borne, heat related, etc.) are setup and incorporated into the existing early warning systems managed by the National Service of Civil Protection, meteorology, and health sectors . Women’s special needs and vulnerabilities are prioritized in the design and implementation of these systems.
Component 4: Coordination mechanisms, knowledge management, and innovative finance solutions
Outcome 4: Enhanced institutional capacity and private sector engagement for sustainable coastal zone development and climate adaptation in Guinea-Bissau
Output 4.1: Institutional coordination mechanisms strengthened to effectively implement climate-resilient, gender-responsive integrated coastal zone management policy and plans, ensuring collaboration across relevant sectors and stakeholders.
Output 4.2: Establishment of Blue Economy Incubators, among them women, and Innovation Labs to foster private sector investment and entrepreneurship in Guinea-Bissau to sustain implementation of coastal adaptation measures.
Output 4.3: Enhanced access to climate finance for coastal and urban resilience through public-private partnerships, including female-led businesses, blended finance mechanisms and engagement in African Risk Capacity (ARC).
Output 4.4: Establish knowledge management systems to support climate action initiatives in Guinea-Bissau, facilitating the collection, sharing, and dissemination of climate-related data, best practices, and lessons learned to enhance policy development and decision-making.
Julien Simery, Regional Technical Specialist, Climate Change Adaptation, UNDP julien.simery@undp.org
Radhika Dave, Principal Technical Advisor, Climate Change Adaptation, UNDP, radhika.dave@undp.org