Adaptation Fund Welcomes MFEM of the Cook Islands as Fund’s 24^th National Implementing Entity

MFEM Accredited through New Streamlined Accreditation Process; Two New Adaptation Fund Projects in Niger and Uganda also Approved

Washington, D.C. (July 14, 2016) — The Adaptation Fund welcomed its 24^th National Implementing Entity (NIE) today with the accreditation of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM) for the Cook Islands.

Cook Islands marks the 5^th new NIE to join the Fund in less than a year, as it joins the Fund’s other newest NIEs from the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Antigua and Barbuda. The Adaptation Fund Board accredited MFEM on July 14 in an intersessional decision after considering the recommendation of the Fund’s Accreditation Panel and following a two-week review period. It joins a growing number of Adaptation Fund NIEs in climate-vulnerable developing countries around the world that are benefitting from the Fund’s pioneering Direct Access modality, which provides countries the opportunity to build their own capacity to adapt and strengthen resilience to climate change by receiving finance and developing projects directly.

MFEM is further the second NIE accredited through the Fund’s new streamlined accreditation process for smaller implementing entities, which was adopted in 2014 and was also used to accredit the Micronesia Conservation Trust in April of 2015.

“Our alternative and individualized streamlined accreditation process opens doors for smaller NIEs with limited capacity to access Fund resources by simplifying and allowing flexibility through the process while maintaining fiduciary standards,” said Adaptation Fund Board Chair Naresh Sharma. “It’s critically important that we continue to reach Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which have the least capacity to adapt to climate change, with urgently needed solutions.”

The Fund’s streamlined accreditation process for smaller entities also aligns well with international standards that have risen out of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness in 2005, Accra Agenda for Action in 2008, and the Paris Climate Agreement just last December. The Paris Agreement included language that aims to ensure efficient access to climate finance through simplified approval procedures and enhanced readiness support for developing countries, particularly LDCs and SIDS.

MFEM is the 6^th NIE to be accredited by the Adaptation Fund from SIDS, following Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Micronesia. There are four additional NIE applicants from SIDS in the Fund’s accreditation pipeline.

The Fund has also accredited four NIEs from LDCs including Benin, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Senegal, and has an additional 17 NIE applicants from LDCs in its accreditation pipeline.

Earlier in the intersessional period on July 5, the Adaptation Fund Board, upon reviewing the recommendations of the Fund’s Project and Program Review Committee, approved two new projects in Niger and Uganda and endorsed a project concept in Antigua and Barbuda:

• The project in Niger, Enhancing Resilience of Agriculture to Climate Change to Support Food Security in Niger through Modern Irrigation Techniques, was approved with US$9.9 million in funding from the Adaptation Fund. It will be implemented by the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which is one of six Regional Implementing Entities (RIEs) accredited by the Fund.

• The Uganda project, Enhancing Resilience of Communities to Climate Change through Catchment-Based Integrated Management of Water and Related Resources in Uganda, was approved with US$7.75 million from the Fund. It will be implemented by the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS), which is another RIE accredited by the Fund.

• The Antigua and Barbuda project concept, An Integrated Approach to Physical Adaptation and Community Resilience in Antigua and Barbuda’s Northwest McKinnon’s Watershed, was endorsed by the board as a concept brought forward by the Fund’s accredited NIE, the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Environment. The board also approved a US$ 30,000 project formulation grant for the Department of Environment to further develop the proposal.

“It was a very productive intersessional period, and in addition to seeing our 24th NIE get accredited in the Cook Islands, we were also pleased to see these two concrete projects approved to help vulnerable communities in Niger and Uganda adapt to climate change, as well as the Antigua and Barbuda project concept take a step forward and continue to progress,” said Adaptation Fund Manager Marcia Levaggi.

ABOUT the ADAPTATION FUND

Since 2010, the Adaptation Fund has committed US $354.89 million to support 54 concrete, localized climate adaptation and resilience projects in 48 countries, with more than 3.5 million direct beneficiaries.

Communications Contact: Matt Pueschel, mpueschel@adaptation-fund.org or +1-202-473-6743

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