27 February 2018, Rome (FAO): The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved a $90 million climate change adaptation and mitigation project jointly developed by FAO and the Government of Paraguay.
The decision, the first involving a funding proposal by FAO to the GCF, was formalized during the 19th meetingof the Green Climate Fund Board which is being held from 27 February to 2 March 2018.
The project, “Poverty, Reforestation, Energy and Climate Change (Pobreza, Reforestación, Energía y Cambio Climático – PROEZA)” consists of three components to be implemented over five years.
Funding will stem from a $25 million GCF grant and $ 65.2 million of co-financing from the Government of Paraguay.
“PROEZA is a clear example of the innovative transformational project required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the commitments of the Paris Agreement. We cannot achieve Zero Hunger without creating resilient, food secure and sustainable livelihoods,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.
The project aims to decrease the adverse effects of climate change in the country, while reducing rural poverty, combating deforestation, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
It will support the transition to sustainable forest management to reduce the country’s loss of forest cover and improve the quality of life of around 17 000 vulnerable families, in 64 municipal districts located in eight departamentos of Eastern Paraguay. Many of the beneficiaries are from indigenous communities.
Innovative and transformational
The innovative and transformational aspect of PROEZA is the promotion of a holistic landscape approach to ensure climate change resilience in target areas.
In this context, PROEZA’s will ensure a paradigm shift from individual sector-based decisions/actions to a cohesive and coordinated inter-institutional decision-making framework.
The project will provide technical support and incentives to establish sustainable agroforestry practices, strengthen land tenure and improve the efficiency of household biomass use.
A key element of the project is to enable the poorest households to produce food while adopting low emission and climate resilient methods through the Government’s social protection scheme.
The project is part of Paraguay’s efforts to deliver its National Determined Contributions (NDC), a roadmap to achieve the Paris Agreement.
Globally, agriculture is the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and it features prominently in climate action commitments of many countries.
Collaboration with the Green Climate Fund
The Green Climate Fund is the main fund for global climate change finance, based on country pledges to mobilize $100 billion by 2020. It finances projects that focus on low-emission and climate-resilient development.
