New Climate Project Launched for Solomon Islands

The World Bank and Solomon Islands Government launched (external link) early this month a new project to help protect communities against growing risks from climate change and natural disasters.

Approved (external link) in March by World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, the project aims to address natural hazards and climate change risks by strengthening climate and disaster risk information and early warning systems, and direct community investments in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

It will also help integrate climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in government policies and operations.

Beneficiaries will be in up to four provinces, primarily in rural areas, and will total approximately 79,000 people over the five year implementation period.

CRISP is funded through a US$7.3 grant from the Global Environment Facility for Least Developing Countries, with a further US$1.8 million from the Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery Grant through the European Union Asian, Caribbean and Pacific Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program.

The project is to be implemented over six years by the Solomon Islands Government, through the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Risk Management and Meteorology. It complements the existing Increasing Resilience to Climate Change and Natural Hazards Project, which is funded through a US$2.7 million grant from the Japan Pacific Human Resource Development Trust Fund.