Funding for climate adaption projects in South Africa
The Government of Flanders recently approved funding for two projects in South Africa. Flanders has allocated Euro 2, 64 million to the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) for their project "Unlocking climate finance for climate change adaptation". SANBI is an accredited direct access entity of the Green Climate Fund and this project aims to strengthen institutional capacity via a team focused on identifying projects for funding through this channel. It will furthermore raise awareness around the vulnerability of women to climate change as well as ensure participation of women in these aforementioned projects.
The Government of Flanders further approved a subsidy of Euro 1,5 million towards the UNESCO project entitled "Addressing climate risk and building adaptive capacity in South Africa’s Biosphere Reserves: towards sustainable water and ecosystem management". This project addresses the challenges faced by South Africa due to longterm drought and vulnerability to water scarcity by supporting policy makers in their medium to longterm approach to climate change.
Both projects fall under the Country Strategy Paper 2017-2021 on development cooperation between the Governments of Flanders and South Africa.