NEW: Governance Arrangements for the Adaptation Fund Civil Society Network

Adaption Fund NGO Network
Final document launched after consultation process
The Adaptation Fund Civil Society Network (AF CSO Network), formerly the AF NGO Network, began its work in 2010. It served as an informal coalition of several civil society organisations (CSO), engaging in discussions and debate on Adaptation Fund policies and closely following Adaptation Fund projects’ planning and implementation. This previously quite informal initiative of a few Southern CSOs gradually became institutionalised, resulting in formulation of the AF CSO Network’s governance structure as outlined in this document.

How civil society organisations can engage in the Adaptation Fund and access its funding

Last minute application until 1st of June 2022

 The Adaptation Fund (AF) Civil Society Network invites you to participate in this free online course for civil society organisations (CSOs). The objective of the course is to provide CSOs globally with a better understanding of the AF and its related processes in their countries and regions.

First Steps for Women's Organizations to engage with the Adaptation Fund

Climate Finance Webinar July 8 2020
Webinar on July 8th at 13:00 PM GMT.

The Women's Environment & Development Organisation (WEDO) is inviting you to a webinar to explore a new brief, which WEDO will launch that day: Engaging with the Adaptation Fund: First Steps for Women’s Organizations.

Climate finance should flow to women’s organizations, gender-related groups, and feminist organizations working at the intersection of gender equality and climate change. Building on WEDO's work with Prospera, the International Network of Women’s Funds, last year, on engagement across the four primary climate funds, WEDO has been working on a new brief to update the information and opportunities for engaging with the Adaptation Fund.

In addition to presenting these pathways, the webinar will feature the Adaptation Fund's Young Hee Lee, Governance Specialist, and Cristina Dengel, Knowledge Management Officer, to share information on how the Fund works and ways to better understand the Fund, as well as answer your questions.

Gender Equality in Adaptation Fund Projects: What more can be done? – Insights from India

Woman creates seed banks for sustaining their own nutrition gardens resulting in more self-reliance.
Blog post by Kavya Arora, Development Alternatives, India
Across the world, there is an evident and growing global push to promote gender equity in developmental initiatives, which is also reflected in the Adaptation Fund’s (AF’s) Gender Policy. This stance has found support in global policy forums, international funds and multilateral organisations working on climate change adaptation. Slowly but steadily, this perspective is trickling down to implementing organisations, executing entities and the community institutions that connect the global funds to these vulnerable communities. This article shares some best practices from an AF project in India and provides concrete recommendations to India's implementing entity, NABARD, to strengthen gender considerations in existing and future adaptation projects.

First Adaptation Fund project in Georgia: its success and challenges

The riverbanks of the Rioni River were reinforced as part of the Adaptaiton Fund project in Georgia (Zarati village).
Blog post by Mariam Devidze, Green Alternative
In Georgia, the Adaptation Fund (AF) provided a grant to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to implement a project on climate-resilient flood management. Green Alternative, a Georgian NGO and member of the AF NGO Network, talked to various stakeholders and visited the project site to assess the project. The AF intervention is generally considered a success, which resulted in the project recently being scaled up with the financial support of the Green Climate Fund. This article reviews some of the project's positive practices as well as its drawbacks and gaps to generate important lessons learnt. Those lessons learnt should be carefully taken into consideration when implementing future adaptation projects in Georgia funded by the AF or other international climate funds.

Advancing the Adaptation Fund's agenda in the face of COVID-19

COVID-19
Blog post by Elin Lorimer, Indigo development & change, South Africa
While global attention rightly focuses on how we cope with the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak at present, we should not take our eye off the ball on the issue of climate change adaptation. If anything, this current health disaster shows us how important it is to speed up support for those communities most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. The Adaptation Fund Board must continue with their important work in the current challenging circumstances, and improve their mechanisms for working remotely, while at the same time ensuring transparency and the participation of stakeholders.

Renforcer l'engagement de la société civile dans les travaux du Conseil d´Administration du Fonds d'Adaptation

Renforcer l'engagement de la société civile dans le FA
Recommandations du Réseau des ONG du Fonds d'Adaptation

Cette publication formule un certain nombre de recommandations pour renforcer l'engagement et la participation de la société civile afin d'améliorer la prise de décision du Conseil d´Administration du Fonds d'Adaptation (FA).

Further strengthening civil society engagement in the work of the Adaptation Fund Board

Cover: AF NGO NETWORK RECOMMENDATIONS
AF NGO Network recommendations

This publication articulates a number of recommendations for further strengthening civil society engagement and participation to enhance decision-making of the Adaptation Fund (AF) Board. The recommendations in this paper also draw on the experiences of civil society participation policies and practices of other climate funds to ensure that the AF is informed by the highest internationally accepted standards, while at the same time acknowledging that there is no one-size-fits-all model for all climate funds. The three main needs identified that are crucial for further strengthening civil society engagement in the AF are: 1. The introduction of active CSO observers; 2. Amendments to the AF's Open Information Policy; and 3. Adequate resourcing of the AF Secretariat to ensure transparency and effective CSO engagement.

Join our COP25 side event in Madrid: "How to effectively channel adaptation finance to those most vulnerable to climate change?"

AFN Side Event at COP25 in Madrid on 06 Dec 2019
Friday, 06 Dec 2019, 16:45—18:15, Room 1

The side-event promotes solutions for effectively channelling international adaptation finance to local stakeholders and for ensuring that those most vulnerable benefit from international adaptation finance flows. The event showcases best practice initiatives that effectively channel adaptation finance to the local level. 

Learning from each other in the Community Adaptation Small Grants Facility project (South Africa)

Sheep farming is an important livelihood for small-scale farmers in the Namakwa region in South Africa
Blog post by Elin Lorimer, Indigo development & change

South Africa’s Community Adaptation Small Grants Facility Project, funded under the Adaptation Fund, is drawing to a close, and has surfaced valuable lessons about implementing “enhanced direct access” mechanisms and making adaptation funding available at the local level.