DHAKA, Feb 21, 2021 (BSS) – The Adaptation Fund Board has announced its
decision to accredit the International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD) as a Regional Implementing Entity (RIE) of the
Adaptation Fund (AF).
ICIMOD is one of the seven organisations in the world which have recently
received RIE accreditation and the only one in the Asia and the Pacific, an
ICIMOD press release said.
ICIMOD Director General Dr Pema Gyamtsho expressed the institution’s
encouragement at the accreditation, saying “We are deeply encouraged by the
news of our AF accreditation. This will allow us to support our eight member
countries across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) in their concrete adaptation
projects and to strengthen regional cooperation on the climate action that is
required to address our shared climate crisis.”
Since the HKH is particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, this is
an achievement for our region, not just for ICIMOD as an institution, he
said.
“We are very pleased with the accreditation of ICIMOD. It will help
further the work of the Adaptation Fund, particularly in mountain regions
that are vulnerable to glacial melt, floods and water insecurity,” said
Adaptation Fund Board Chair Ibila Djibril.
“The Adaptation Fund has several projects in this region, and the
accreditation of ICIMOD will help build upon that work and expand it into
additional vulnerable areas that are in urgent need of adaptation solutions.
Climate impacts on floods and water security are often transboundary, and one
of the advantages of ICIMOD is its ability to implement regional projects, in
addition to ones focused on individual countries,” said Mikko Ollikainen,
Manager of the Adaptation Fund.
The AF finances projects and programmes that help vulnerable communities
in developing countries to adapt to climate change.
Priority activities of the AF aim at producing visible and tangible
results on the ground by reducing vulnerability and increasing the adaptive
capacity of human and natural systems to respond to the impacts of climate
change, including climate variability. These adaptation projects and
programmes can be implemented at the community, national, regional and
transboundary levels.
ICIMOD Director of Strategic Cooperation Basanta Shrestha said: “ICIMOD’s
AF accreditation helps the entire region since so many of the impacts of
climate change are not bound by country borders but are transboundary in
nature, requiring a regional approach. Particularly vulnerable mountain
communities are at the front line of climate impacts and we are eager to
further our work on adaptation and building resilience to ensure that these
communities are not left behind.”