By Kidanua Abera Gizaw, Senior Climate Finance Officer and CIF-SCF Coordinator, African Development Bank
Africa is responsible for only a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, but the continent is suffering disproportionately from climate change. Temperature increase is accelerating; extreme weather is worsening food insecurity, displacement, and conflict; agricultural productivity is falling; and adaptation financing is insufficient.
To help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change through Nature-based Solutions, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) launched the $370 million Nature, People and Climate (NPC) investment program and, earlier this year, selected seven countries and one region to participate, with a large contingent from Africa: Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda, and Africa’s Zambezi River Basin Region (Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zambia). For these African programs, implementing partners include the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Financial Corporation (IFC), and the World Bank (WB).
Starting in May 2023, seven African countries have launched the development of investment plans, with scoping missions in Kigali, Rwanda (May 2-4); Lusaka, Zambia (May 8-12); Nairobi, Kenya (May 29-31); Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (June 5-9); Harare, Zimbabwe (July 24-27); Windhoek, Namibia (September 18-22); and Cairo, Egypt (October 2-4). All the investment plans will be presented for approval by CIF’s Trust Fund Committee before implementation.
These missions helped identify multiple drivers of climate change and impacts resulting from human activities on land resources and ecosystem services, and map out integrated solutions through the development of investment plans. To achieve this, scoping missions included high-level government officials, private sector representatives, multilateral development banks (MDBs), non-governmental organizations, and civil society organizations, including youth and women representatives.
Respective countries will lead the development of comprehensive investment plans, mapping out a programmatic approach and identifying projects that multilateral development banks and other partners, including the private sector, can co-finance, with support from CIF’s highly concessional resources. Together with other multilateral development banks, AfDB provides consistent guidance to countries in the investment plan process and assists them in developing activities that are appropriate for the process. The multilateral development banks, including AfDB, also provide services as requested by governments for preparatory work during the investment plan development process.
In Ethiopia, the mission decided to focus the investment plan on halting deforestation and biodiversity degradation, developing integrated landscapes, restoring ecosystem services, and supporting resilient communities and livelihoods. Forestry Development Director General Kebede Yimam underscored that the country prioritizes addressing the impacts of climate change due to their effects on attaining national sustainable development goals. Minister of Agriculture Girma Amente recognized the urgency of developing the investment plan to complement the Government’s efforts, especially the Prime Minister-led Green Legacy Initiative, Ethiopia’s sustainable land management and climate-smart agriculture agenda. He stressed that sustainable land management and landscape approaches should be at the core of Ethiopia’s Nature, People and Climate investment program. AfDB’s Dr. Laouali Garba, Agricultural Production, Sustainability and Research Division Manager, served as mission team leader. He said: “We continue to support Ethiopia, especially in agriculture/agroforestry and natural resources management. This investment plan will comprehensively address climate change through Nature-based Solutions, promote sustainable and profitable value chains for income and food security, and build resilient systems at local, district and national levels.”
For the Zambezi River Basin regional program, partners will lean on the Strategic Plan for the Zambezi Watercourse for harmonization and rationalization, enabling the pooling of resources to achieve collective self-reliance and improve local people’s living standards. the Government of Zimbabwe and the Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM) welcomed the mission with remarks from ZAMCOM Executive Secretary Felix Ngamlagosi stressing their readiness and recognizing the importance of CIF’s and MDBs’ support for success. Dr. Garba stressed that “The NPC investment plan should represent the whole basin, be comprehensive and developed based on extensive consultation of all stakeholders.” The program, selected by CIF’s Trust Funds Committee, includes five riparian states - Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zambia – which partner to develop a regional investment plan for approval. MDBs are committed to supporting the Government of Zambia, lead country for the regional program, and ZAMCOM. Partners will identify existing technical, economic, socio-environmental, and institutional information gaps, define consultancies required, and work to reach consensus on focus areas harmonized with national interventions.
Zambia is leading the Zambezi River Basin regional program and, in addition, benefitted from an investment plan preparation grant for a potential national program. There, the mission identified a tentative list of targeted geographical areas with 20 districts in North-Western, Copperbelt, and Central provinces. In these hotspot areas, considered the most vulnerable to climate change, climate investment activities are lacking. The Government expressed their commitment to the preparation process and mobilization of co-financing.
Namibia also received an investment plan preparation grant for a potential national program. The country will focus on strengthening ecosystem services through restoration, sustainable management and protection, establishment and strengthening of sustainable enterprises, and improved market linkages. In the discussion, the government stressed the need for innovative Nature-based Solutions business models that attract co-financing and impact livelihoods. In Namibia, Dr. Garba said: “The Bank is ready to support the Government in its plans to develop an integrated and multi-year approach to promote sustainable agricultural development with priority interventions in the livestock sector, the Green Schemes and the Neckertal Dam areas, among others.”
Rwanda, Kenya, and Egypt are equally committed to the Nature, People and Climate program, working hard with multilateral development banks partners to present groundbreaking investment plans in 2024, with ambitious climate adaptation and mitigation objectives. In each participating country and region, the Dedicated Grant Mechanism will also provide direct funding to empower Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.
African Development Bank