Summary:

16 December 2011: The Government of Tunisia and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have launched a national programme on drinking water access in rural Tunisia. The financing agreement of the programme for 183 million Tunisian dinars (€95 million) was signed in Tunis in October 2011.

The programme aims at enhancing strategic access to drinking water in rural areas, one of Tunisia's priotities. The programme, which is set to conclude in 2016, is expected to provide access to water to over 350 000 people.

Summary:

Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the European Commission have launched a €5.3 million, three-year project in Malawi, Viet Nam and Zambia to identify challenges and opportunities for climate-smart agriculture and produce strategic plans for each country. Continued.

Summary:

December 2011: In Zimbabwe’s rural District of Chiredzi, the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) of the Global Environment facility (GEF) has supported a project to enhance the capacity of farmers to adapt to climate variability and change through the adoption of gender-sensitive approaches.

The project, which is implemented by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), focuses on improving climate change knowledge base of local populations to facilitate adaptation choices; piloting demonstration of policy oriented adaptation practices; and promoting the use of climate early warning systems.

Summary:

December 2011: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has reported on a project in Rwanda titled “Reducing Vulnerability to Climate Change by Establishing Early Warning and Disaster Preparedness Systems and Support for Integrated Watershed Management in Flood Prone Areas,” which is financed through its Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF).  

Focused on the Gishwati ecosystem in Western Rwanda and the associated Nile-Congo crest watersheds, the project aims to decrease the vulnerability of the people living and deriving their livelihoods from these areas.

Summary:

20 December 2011: The World Bank has approved a $16.9 million grant to assist with implementation of the Integrated Disaster and Land Management Project in Togo. The project is funded by several trust funds, including the Least Developed Countries Fund for Adaptation to Climate Change, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, and TerrAfrica.

Summary:

Pastoralists from Marsabit, in Kenya’s remote northern drylands, play a game crafted by ILRI scientists to simulate livestock losses that could occur due to drought, in which the local herding communities are educated about how index-based livestock insurance works.

Summary: The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has completed a four-year project across 15 West African countries that carried out 146 roving seminars to increase the interactions between national meteorological and hydrological institutes and rural farms.