Adaptation Fund to Celebrate 10 Years of Pioneering Climate Innovation, Action and Learning  at Special Bonn Event

Bonn, Germany – The Adaptation Fund and City of Bonn will co-host a special event on November 16 to commemorate the 10^th Anniversary of the launching of the Fund’s operations.

To be held in the historic Old Town Hall in the Bonn Market Plaza from 7 pm – 9 pm, the event will feature speeches from prominent international climate leaders.

German Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, UNFCCC Chief of Staff Mr. Daniele Violetti, Ms. Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson, and UN Ambassador of Belize Janine Felson will speak, as well as Déthié Soumaré Ndiaye who is Coordinator of the Centre de Suivi Ecologiquein Senegal (which was the first national implementing entity accredited in 2010 under the Adaptation Fund’s pioneering Direct Access modality). Cityof Bonn Mayor Ashok Sridharan will open the celebratory event. They will highlight the global commitment to address climate change and the Adaptation Fund’s pioneering achievements across Innovation, Action and Learning in the adaptation field over the past 10 years.

Visit 10 Years of the Adaptation Fund

Adaptation Fund Board Chair Michael Kracht of Germany will moderate and Vice Chair Victor Viñas of the Dominican Republic will provide further remarks. The event will include a multimedia exhibit and release of a special print anniversary publication featuring more than 50 articles and rich imagery from the Adaptation Fund, its implementing partners, stakeholders and beneficiaries highlighting Fund projects in action, innovations and achievements over the years.

“We are very grateful and honored to be co-hosting such an important milestone for the Adaptation Fund with a smart sustainable city like Bonn, and with such distinguished and diverse guests who have all been valued supporters or collaborators of the Fund,” said Kracht. “We look forward to another 10 years and beyond in continuing to help the most vulnerable communities in developing countries find urgently needed solutions to adapt to climate change.”

“Over the past 10 years, the Adaptation Fund has been instrumental in advancing adaptation worldwide – in particular in the most vulnerable regions of the world. Knowing that 80 percent of climate adaptation costs will have to be invested in urban areas, cities and regions are standing ready to be part of strategies and implementation from the very beginning, “ said Sridharan, who serves as First Vice President of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.

The Fund was created through a decision by the 7^th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2001 and launched after its Board and structure were established at the 3rd Meeting of the Conference of the Parties Serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in 2007.

The Fund has since grown to commit US$ 462 million to 70 concrete, localized projects that help the most vulnerable communities in developing countries adapt to climate change, while serving nearly 5.5 million direct beneficiaries around the world. The Fund’s pioneering Direct Access modality continues to serve as a model in empowering developing countries to build their own capacities to adapt to climate change.

“It is very rewarding to share this achievement with all of our government counterparts, implementing partners, beneficiaries and stakeholders who collaborate to make the Fund so effective and relevant,” said Mikko Ollikainen, Manager of the Adaptation Fund Board Secretariat.

The special print publication, which includes a timeline of Fund achievements, will also be made available for download on the Adaptation Fund website on November 16. Excerpts include:

• The Adaptation Fund plays an essential role in generating and sharing vital knowledge that protects the wellbeing of the most vulnerable peoples. Over the last 10 years, the international community has greatly benefitted from this activity and is currently building on the wealth of experience amassed by the Adaptation Fund. – Patricia Espinosa, UNFCCC Executive Secretary
• The Fund has developed a business model focused on supporting vulnerable communities, adopted innovative financing approaches, and played a key role in building the national capacities of some of the world’s most vulnerable countries. – Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chair, Global Environment Facility
• The Adaptation Fund became a true climate finance idea accelerator and pioneered instruments and procedures such as Direct Access. It was the first finance mechanism exclusively dedicated to implementing concrete adaptation projects on the ground and has stayed as a powerful reminder of the necessity to engage with the most vulnerable. – Karsten Sach, Director General, Climate Policy, German Environment Ministry
• By enhancing vulnerable countries’ access to small-scale adaptation finance and spearheading the direct access modality, it has contributed to building resilience, institutional capacity and country ownership. The Adaptation Fund has [also] made systematic efforts to mainstream gender into project design and implementation. – Ms. Isabella Lövin, Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate, Sweden
• The Fund evolved into becoming a role model in terms of ensuring transparency of its processes and establishing mechanisms for active stakeholder engagement. – Christoph Bals, Policy Director, Germanwatch
• The lowlands had been affected by the erosion and could not be cultivated. Now we use a perennial pastures approach to maintain soil quality and ensure growth. – Roberto Miller, Adaptation Fund beneficiary in Argentina’s Northern Patagonia
• I want to be able to help my family and community. I want to show that a woman can do anything no matter what, as long as you are passionate about what you do. — Rouru Papatua, Mangaian farmer in the Cook Islands learning to plant sustainably through the Adaptation Fund
• The projects that have been supported by the Adaptation Fund have significantly increased country ownership of the climate change agenda in South Africa from national, district and local levels through its bottom up project identification, design and implementation approach. – Mandy Barnett and Mpfunzeni Tshindane, of the South African National Biodiversity Institute

The event will include sustainable food catering, fair trade snacks and live music.

ABOUT the ADAPTATION FUND

Since 2010, the Adaptation Fund has committed US$ 462 million to support 73 countries, with nearly 5.5 million direct beneficiaries.

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

Visit 10 Years of the Adaptation Fund website

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