The workshop will take place on September 3rd – 5th, 2019 in Panama City, Panama. It will include technical inputs from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
The GCF is the only body among the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC’s) financing mechanisms, that is dedicated solely to addressing the climate crisis. The GCF is specifically mandated to promote country-driven, climate-resilient, and low-carbon development.
To access support from the GCF for climate resilience water projects, countries need to present projects designed for impact – reflected through prioritised project ideas, clear climate rationale, compelling concept notes, and comprehensive funding proposals. However, capacity limitations constrain countries in identifying and preparing catalytic water-related adaptation interventions. Limited understanding of the GCF’s funding modalities and proposal requirements, poses further barriers for countries wishing to access GCF resources for adaptation planning and projects.
It is against this backdrop, that the Latin America and Caribbean Workshop in Panama is being held. The workshop responds to country needs and expressed demand for support to strengthen capacity ofNational Designated Authorities (NDAs), Direct Access Entities (DAEs) and water ministries, to prepare climate resilient water security projects that can access GCF financing.
The workshop specifically aims to:
- Present the GCF, its mandate, investment criteria, and its operational modalities and procedures for delivering climate finance to water initiatives through different windows.
- Discuss GCF financing instruments, along with fit-for-purpose examples of climate rationale, project design, and financing instrument selection in the Latin America and Caribbean context.
- Discuss approaches for articulating incremental costs of climate-proofing water projects.
- Review challenges and constraints, and explore solutions for DAEs to coordinate with NDAs, and Water Ministries in charge of water/water-related sectors in GCF project preparation.
- Identify opportunities and follow-up activities for GCF Concept Note preparation.
GWP’s Regional Water Partnerships – GWP Central America, GWP South America and GWP Caribbean, have all provided support to the planning of the workshop. Workshop participants will include representatives from the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region from: NDAs, DAEs, and water ministries/agencies. As well as, project preparation and finance experts from collaborating partners, representatives from the GCF, IDB, CCCCC, WMO, GWP, GWP Central America, GWP South America, GWP Caribbean, technical advisors, as well as water and climate specialists.
Caribbean representatives at the workshop, will include participants from the following countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
The GWP-C in partnership with the CCCCC convened a regional project development workshop in Grenada from May 27th – 29th, 2019. The three-day workshop aimed to strengthening the capacity of Caribbean Water Utilities and Government Ministries with responsibility for Water Resources Management, in developing climate resilient water proposals, with the objective of preparing a Regional Water Sector Programme for the submission to the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The outputs of that workshop, will feed into the LAC GCF Workshop in Panama.
Related Workshop Article and Video:
Read Article: GWP-C and CCCCC Partner with Caribbean Water Sector Stakeholders to Develop Green Climate Fund Projects