Donors offer Gambia 1.5 mln USD to combat climate change

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has granted 1.5 million dollars to the Gambia government in a bid to fight climate change in the country, AfDB officials told Xinhua on Monday.

The support is under the Climate Investment Funds' Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (CIF PPCR) to prepare a national Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (SPCR).

"Through the SPCR, the country will develop a double-edged set of solutions for its climate vulnerability, identifying programs to implement resilience actions while at the same time reducing barriers that exacerbate climate vulnerability."

The plan will be developed with support from two Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), the AfDB as lead agency and the World Bank, Olagoke Oladapo, AfDB's Task Team Leader for The Gambia's program said.

One of Africa's five most densely populated countries, the principally rural Gambia faces increasing negative environmental and economic impacts from climate change, with serious damage from windstorms and flooding, and sea level rise increasingly creating threats.

The country is also prone to regular drought, which impinges on its agricultural productivity. In response, Gambia has embedded mainstreaming climate resilience as one of the key pillars of its ambitious Vision 2020. Endit