The Green Climate Fund (GCF), the main international funding body for climate action, has approved USD 38.1 million for Sri Lanka for its proposal titled ‘Strengthening the Resilience of Smallholder Famers in the Dry Zone to Climate Variability and Extreme Events through an Integrated Approach to Water Management’.
The proposal prepared by the Mahaweli Development and Environment Ministry with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was approved at the 13th Board Meeting of GCF in Korea recently.
The UNDP issuing a press release stated the project aims to achieve higher levels of food, livelihood and water security for communities in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka.
This is the first time that Sri Lanka has received funding from the GCF. UNDP Resident Representative of Sri Lanka Peter Batchelor said this is “the largest ever proposal to be approved”.
The seven-year project is to commence in December 2016 and is to be completed by the end of 2023. The project will benefit about 1.5 million people.
“GCF resources will be invested in improving the community irrigation water infrastructure and associated agricultural practices, scaling-up decentralized drinking water systems and strengthening Early Warning, forecasting and water management systems to enhance the livelihood and resilience of smallholder farmers, particularly women, from climate related impacts. The resources will allow assistance to be provided to 910,000 people in three river basins – Malwatu Oya, Yan Oya and Mi Oya – who are vulnerable to climate change. Moreover, around 712,000 people living in the same areas will indirectly benefit from the project,” the release stated.
Further to the grant from the GCF, the Sri Lankan government will leverage government co-financing amounting to USD 14 million for this project to address several financial, technical, and institutional barriers related to achieving integrated water management to improve agriculture-based livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the Dry Zone.
In addition to Sri Lanka’s proposal, the Board approved eight other proposals. Among these are proposals from El Salvador, Armenia, Gambia, Mali, Vietnam, Tajikistan/Uzbekistan, Tuvalu and Chile.
(Source :20/07/2016 Daily News http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=2016/07/20/local/87989)
