Grenada to receive German-funded Climate Change Projects

by Michael Bascombe

DURBAN, South Africa, December 6, 2011 – Grenada is one of two countries selected to benefit from a pilot programme being offered by Germany to cope with the effects of climate change.

Foreign Affairs Minister Karl Hood on Tuesday signed a €5 million (EC$18 million) joint ministerial declaration to fund natural resource management projects. Mali is the other country to benefit from the German-funded programme.

Also participating in the signing were Germany’s Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Nobert Roettgen and Minister for Environment and Water Sanitation of Mali, Tiemoko Sangare.

The four-year project will among other things improve planning, management and efficient use of water resources through the establishment of integrated water resource management approaches to meet the demand of reliable and sustainable freshwater supply in a changing climate.

It will also increase adaptive capacity of communities through the implementation of pilot community based adaptation activities on the mainland and in Carriacou and Petite Martinique and enable access to public and private funding for climate change measures.

The Grenadian Minister said that the project targets both government and the sectors and communities already being impacted by climate change. Communities will also benefit from improved services associated with stronger national institutions and service providers.

“It is within this context that this Pilot Programme on Integrated Adaptation Strategies, in Grenada, will address the gaps and contribute to improving climate resilience at the national and sectoral levels through an integrated strategic approach to adaptation to climate change,” he said.

He said the adaptation project seeks to promote an integrated approach to water resources and coastal zone management, mainstreaming climate change considerations into the water and coastal resource sector. 

“It is our hope that at the end of this programme, we would be able to incorporate climate change issues in the national planning process and investment decisions of key relevant ministries,” he added. 

“I am also convinced that the proposed pilot programme will have to be ‘country led and country driven’ and will create and excellent opportunity to share lessons learnt and best practice with other small island states.”

Tuesday’s signing came after the visit of a scoping mission to Grenada at the end of October where consultations were held with key stakeholders including Ministries, private sector and non-governmental organisations to agree on areas of intervention and adaptation.

Consideration was also given to the key areas identified by the climate change policy which included water resource management, coastal management and data management.