FAO and Adaptation Fund
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our time, hitting worst the most vulnerable countries and depriving the poorest people of their basic needs. It jeopardizes food security, limits water availability and affects human health. Adapting to climate change requires resources, often unreachable for the most vulnerable countries and communities.
To help vulnerable countries to access funding vehicles that finance climate change adaptation, FAO secured accreditation status in June 2020 as 13th Multilateral Implementing Entity (MIE) of the Adaptation Fund (AF).
The AF is an international climate funding mechanism established in 2001 and officially launched in 2007 to finance concrete climate change adaptation projects and programmes in developing country Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The AF aims at “enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change” at national and regional scale through country- and community-driven initiatives. Since 2010, the AF has committed over 850 million USD to projects and programmes, and its increasingly expanding portfolio currently includes more than 120 concrete projects. In principle, the AF finances projects promoting: Concrete ADAPTATION outcomes, Visible and Tangible results, Benefits delivered to COMMUNITIES, and INNOVATION solutions.
Agricultural production and food security are severely affected by and are becoming more susceptible to climate change; on the other hand, it contributes to about one third of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of the world. However, sustainable agriculture could help strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate related hazards and natural disasters in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
For combating climate change and support adaptation measures, FAO follows a broader and programmatic approach, which strongly links and enhances the positive effects of corporate main initiatives and programmes in agriculture. The countries mostly vulnerable to climate change, such as Small Island Developing States and drought-prone areas, are specifically targeted for funding adaptation grants. Keeping up the momentum of FAO’s work on climate change is fundamental for delivering FAO Strategic Framework that aims to transform into more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems in the near future. Alignment with the objectives of the AF, thus, has become of substantial importance to help countries confront the challenges of climate change through the intensification of climate finance flows.
The FAO-Adaptation Fund Unit (AF Unit)
The FAO Land and Water Division manages the partnership with the AF, provides technical support to its members during the entire project cycle of AF projects, including coordinating submissions to the AF, implementation, monitoring and reporting of approved projects. The FAO-AF Unit was established in August 2020 with the following mandates:
- Liaise with FAO technical divisions and regional/national offices, and the AF Secretariat to ensure alignment between the FAO’ strategic programmes and the Fund’s objectives;
- Plan the organizational programming of project submissions to the AF and advise FAO technical divisions and regional/national accordingly, also on the Fund’s requirements and project eligibility;
- Support countries’ offices in undertaking the National Implementing Entity (NIE) accreditation process and follow up actions;
- Act as technical focal point to the AF and liaise with the Secretariat to provide clarifications as needed to technical divisions and regional/national offices;
- Support FAO technical divisions and regional/national offices throughout the submission process, from the definition of the “skeleton note” to the development of concept notes and fully-fledged project proposals, and across the different steps and actions required (e.g. documents’ stock-taking, consultations, definition of executing entity);
- Promote capacity development for FAO technical divisions and regional/national offices to foster the elaboration of highly valuable proposals, in line with corporate quality standards;
- Undertake technical revision of skeleton notes, concept notes and full project documentations, as developed by FAO technical divisions and regional/national offices;
- Oversee and support the review process of the submitted proposals;
- Oversee and advise on the implementation of the approved projects and ensure adherence to the FAO’s and the AF’s operation policies and requirements;
- Generate best practices of project implementation and support the communication and dissemination activities of implementation;
- Upon request, provide overview and technical support to project proposals addressing issues related to land and water management.
Alignment of FAO and the Adaptation Fund thematic areas
The AF Unit of the FAO Land and Water Division supports technical divisions and regional/national offices in financing projects that are in line with country priorities as defined in national plans (inter alia National Adaptation Plan and Nationally Determined Contribution), the AF results framework and FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31, project submissions are categorized under any of the eleven AF project sectors: Agriculture, Ecosystem-based Adaptation, Rural Development, Coastal Zone Management, Food Security, Urban Development, Disaster Risk Reduction, Forests, Water Management, Disaster Risk Reduction and Early Warning Systems, and Multisector Project.
Project map
Regional Projects
CHAD/SUDAN: Concept Note approved, March 2021 – Full proposal approved April 2022
- USD 14 000 000
- Multiple use of water
CUBA/PANAMA: Concept Note approved, October 2021
- USD 14 000 000
- Coastal management
Country projects
CAPE VERDE: Concept Note approved, April 2022
- USD 9 997 651
- Watershed management and land restoration
EGYPT: Concept Note approved, April 2022
- USD 4 873 400
- Innovations in Irrigation, Agriculture, and Livelihood
LEBANON: Concept Note approved, March 2021
- USD 3 825 553
- Nature based solutions
NICARAGUA: Concept Note approved, April 2022
- USD 10 000 000
- Climate Resilience and Livelihoods
NORTH-MACEDONIA: Concept Note approved, October 2021
- USD 9 991 711
- Water management and farm landscape adaptation
VANUATU: Concept Note approved, October 2021
- USD 7 128 450
- Landscape restoration
VIETNAM: Concept Note approved, March 2021
- USD 3 580 000
- Drought and Flood management