A few months after the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Africa expects to experience better results as far as funding for development and access to finance is concerned.
The need to increase national resources across the spectrum of developmental needs to fight the effects of decades of ineffective waste management such as ill managed mining debris; resources to manage natural environmental issues involving conservation of both fauna and flora; and even resources to ensure the access to necessary developmental projects that seek to open up the continent to commercial and trade facilities will depend on the developed nations response to the UNFCC current mandate.
The developed nations of the West have pledged to assist poorer countries with both funding and expertise meant to build up resilience to the combined effects of climate change and immediate human induced pressures such as land degradation.
The African Union New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) recently launched the African Resilient Landscapes Initiative (ARLI). This initiative will be implemented through forest and ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation, climate smart agriculture, and rangeland management.
As main partners, the World Bank and the World Resources Institute will support the mobilization of financial and technical resources from multiple sources to design and implement country-specific strategies.
“The ARLI will mobilize African countries and partners to leverage sectorial interventions and collectively ensure the integrity, resilience, restoration and sustainable management of landscapes across regions,” said Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki, Executive Secretary of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency.
It will work with the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) which aims to bring 100 million hectares of degraded and deforested land under restoration by 2030.
“Restoration is one pathway to help improve the resilience of landscapes. The AFR100 platform seeks to help bring together government leaders to impact investors, development banks, bilateral donors, technical support providers and others to restore degraded and deforested landscapes,” stated Sean DeWitt, Director of the Global Restoration Initiative of theWorld Resources Institute in a latest world bank report.
In a joint statement at the recent Convention, the world’s multilateral development banks (MDBs) pledged to “consider climate change across our strategies, programs, and operations to deliver more sustainable results, with a particular focus on the poor and most vulnerable”. The statement revealed that the six banking institutions had already delivered US$100 billion for climate action in developing and emerging countries in the four years since starting to track climate finance in 2011.
It followed on commitments in recent weeks by the MDBs to increased financing for climate change mitigation and adaptation over the next few years. They pledged to increase Africa’s climate financing initiatives and to support the outcomes of the Paris conference through 2020.
“Each of our organizations has set goals for increasing its climate finance and for leveraging finance from other sources. These pledges support the US$100 billion a year commitment by 2020 for climate action in developing countries.”
About 180 countries of the world have now submitted their national plans through the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the UNFCCC, laying out plans to tackle climate change and to reduce emissions.
“On climate change, the development banks are shifting into high gear,” said Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group. “We have the resources, we have the collective will, and we have a clear roadmap in the national plans that our clients have submitted ahead of Paris,” he said in the November 2015 statement.
By CG Mwondela
That sounds very promising
The issue of climate change & environmental degradation will soon be our Armageddon. Chingola is one big pit, we are doing the same to Solwezi. Malasha is decimating our forests. Our water sources are being clogged by unplanned urbanisation. Underground water is being polluted by sewer tanks. We are failing to harmonise these necessary economic activities with prudent environmental management.
Just to point out that WRI is not “Nations of the West.” Is there any cause that WRI does not brand? I think that aid recipients needs to be more cautious about what logos start listing them as a cause.
It fell because of unexpected a strong rains?
LT counted the drops of rains and unfortunately – one rain drops – ended up confusing the writer!