The Green Climate Fund has come a step closer to helping Namibia’s Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) utilise the resilience of ecosystems to help communities withstand climate change.

GCF and EIF have signed a Funded Activity Agreement (FAA) which opens the way for the implementation of a project in Namibia which builds the resilience of communities living in landscapes threatened by climate change by using an ecosystems-based adaptation approach.

GCF Executive Director Yannick Glemarec said: “This project is emblematic of GCF’s support for nature-based adaptation initiatives. It takes a holistic approach to enhance natural and community resilience by upgrading ecosystem integrity while at the same time ensuring local people can continue to grow food and generate income.

“I am also pleased this signing shows the further implementation of GCF’s Simplified Approval Process, developed to ease access to GCF resources for smaller climate projects,” he added.

GCF’s Simplified Approval Process (SAP) applies to climate projects which require a GCF contribution of up to USD 10 million and have minimal environmental and social risks and impacts.

EIF Chief Executive Officer Benedict Libanda Chief Executive Officer pointed out the start of project implementation follows Namibian President Hage Geingob’s declaration of a state of emergency because of national drought in May, following five consecutive years of below average rainfall.

“Therefore, the timing could not have been any better than today,” Mr Libanda said. He also highlighted the convergence of benefits through the project’s “strong linkages to national priorities for adaptation, while also contributing towards the Sustainable Development Goals, including the fight against climate change, gender equality, poverty eradication and the fight against hunger.”

Seventy percent of Namibia’s population depends on natural resources to sustain their livelihoods, making them highly vulnerable to climate change. The use of an ecosystem-based approach in this project is designed as a cost-effective way of building climate resilience across eight targeted landscapes in Namibia. Scientific studies show that biodiversity and ecosystems provide valuable services that increase the climate resilience of local communities.