The Pacific Community (SPC) recently initiated the “Climate change adaptation solutions for Local Authorities in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)” Program with a national inception workshop held in Pohnpei on 9–10 February 2023. This event enabled representatives from both the national and State levels to gain a better understanding of the Program's critical objectives, identify potential collaborations, and ratify its governance structure. This is a vital step in furthering the FSM's ambitions for long-term climate adaptation.
Following the Enhancing Direct Access (EDA) approach, the project is supported by grant finance from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and will allow municipalities and State governments to directly access funding to implement their adaptation priorities. The EDA Program focuses on three thematic areas: food security, water security and disaster risk reduction.
During the workshop, FSM’s Secretary for Finance and Administration, Honorable Eugene Amor – who is also the National Designated Authority (NDA) for the GCF – highlighted that local communities are amongst the most vulnerable because they “lack the technical and financial capacity to address their climate risks”. He expressed Government’s appreciation to SPC for supporting the project development and implementation. Amor further added “this project is timely because climate change is hitting FSM harder and more frequently”.
Lara Studzinski, SPC Director for the Micronesia region, congratulated the Government of FSM in successfully securing USD 16.6 million from the GCF. According to her “this is a testimony of Government’s commitment to building the resilience of its people. Vulnerable communities in the FSM will have improved access to climate finance”. Studzinski further noted that this represents a major milestone as the first GCF-funded EDA Program in the Pacific region, and is also SPC’s first full-sized GCF project to go move into implementation.
Following the inception workshop, the 1st meeting of the EDA Program Board was convened. The Program Board is chaired by the NDA and comprises representatives from the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Emergency Management, Department of Resources and Development, GCF focal points from all four states and the FSM National Women’s Council. The Program Board approved the 2023 annual workplan and budget for the EDA Program, marking the official start of implementation.
SPC will implement the EDA Program in collaboration with the FSM’s NDA office and the state GCF focal points. Over the next seven years, it will directly contribute to increasing the adaptive capacity of local communities and will deliver several economic, social, environmental and gender co-benefits. The Program is anticipated to directly benefit 54,301 people and an additional 80% of the population as indirect beneficiaries.
Find out more details about the “Climate change adaptation solutions for Local Authorities” Program.
For more information, please contact Floyd Robinson, SPC's EDA Program Coordinator at [email protected]
