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Add to Preferred SourcesThe Green Climate Fund (GCF), the main global fund to finance actions to address climate change, will allocate more than $25 million to an FAO-designed project in Paraguay aimed at combating deforestation, hunger and poverty, and building the climate-change resilience of local populations.
The funding agreement was signed by FAO Assistant Director-General for Programme Support and Technical Cooperation, Roberto Ridolfi, and the Deputy Director of GCF’s Division of Mitigation and Adaptation, Andreas Biermann, at FAO headquarters in Rome.
“This is a very important step in the growing partnership between FAO and the GCF. PROEZA is the first fully-fledged Project funded by GCF. FAO will work with the Government of Paraguay and GCF to respond to adverse effects of climate change by investing in low-emission and climate-resilient development,” said Ridolfi. “The project targets the most vulnerable households through addressing poverty, deforestation and energy access promoting a holistic landscape approach to ensure climate change resilience in target areas.”
The five-year $90 million project “Poverty, Reforestation, Energy and Climate Change (Pobreza, Reforestación, Energía y Cambio Climático – PROEZA)” aims to benefit 17 000 vulnerable families, including those from indigenous communities, who depend on forests for their livelihoods, energy and income, by supporting the government’s efforts to safeguard Paraguay’s forests.
Funding will stem from the GCF grant and $65 million of co-financing from the Government of Paraguay.
The project seeks to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change in the country while reducing rural poverty, deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. It will also provide technical support and incentives to establish sustainable agroforestry and silvopastoral practices, strengthen land tenure and improve the efficiency of household biomass use in the targeted areas of Eastern Paraguay.
Climate change is a cornerstone of FAO’s work. FAO believes that agriculture adaptation must be promoted through the implementation of climate-smart approaches, practices and techniques that also preserve the environment and biodiversity, and adaptation must help build the resilience of millions of poor family farmers.
Original source: FAO
Published on 12 April 2019