Signature of APICA agreement with GCF support, August 30th, 2023

Signature of APICA agreement with GCF support

Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) signed on Wednesday, August 30th, 2023, a 10Million USD Grant Agreement with Ajuda de Desenvolvimento de Povo para Povo Guinea Bissau (ADPP-GB) under the auspice of the State Secretariat for the Environment and Biodiversity. This signing reflects the joint efforts of the two institutions to commence their first ever Climate Change adaptation project funded by the Green Climate Fund in Guinea Bissau for a five-year period.

Improving the climate resilience and food security among the most vulnerable populations, through the dissemination of more adaptive agricultural production systems, constitute the center stage of this project, known as “Adaptation of Agricultural Production Systems in Coastal Areas of Northwest Guinea-Bissau” dubbed APICA GNB. Implemented by OSS the Direct Access Entity to GCF and executed by ADPP-GB, the project will target the communities within the coastal areas of Oio and Cacheu in Guinea-Bissau, in order to improve their resilience toward Climate change impacts.

During the ceremony, the Executive Secretary of OSS, Mr. Nabil Ben Khatra, who expressed his appreciation to the support of the key project partners, namely the State Secretariat for the Environment and Biodiversity and ADPP-GB in its capacity as the executing entity. Mr. Ben Khatra expressed his particular satisfaction with the consultative process carried out on the ground, which will enable implementation while keeping the beneficiaries of Oio and Cacheu regions at the centre as well as by involving them as the main end users. 

Mr Asger Nyrup, Chairman Board ADPP GB had a brief introduction on the project with highlight of its impacts and emphasizing the importance of the results expected and he pointed out that this was the outcome of a broad consultation with the local populations and using a bottom-up approach.

Ms. Grace Eunhye Lee, Economic and Financial Specialist, Division of Mitigation and Adaptation, GCF representative congratulated all the partners attending the ceremony for their dedication and perseverance throughout the formulation phase of this project up to this ceremony. She further underlined that APICA GNB will enable the GCF, through OSS which is the accredited entity, to have one of the most important interventions in the region with a direct impact in terms of adaptation to climate change. She also highlighted that this is the first GCF project in Guinea Bissau.

Mr. Lourenco Antonio Vaz, Representative for Secretary of state for the environment (Secretaria de Estado do Ambiante e biodiversidade) thanked the partners for their efforts and OSS for its leadership. He added that the challenges facing Guinea Bissau today do not leave us much time to reflect, and that we must act to assist the most vulnerable communities.

Mr. Vaz also expressed the Ministry's appreciation on the choice of the project intervention areas, as it will target the most vulnerable communities and empower their resilience to combat CC impacts. Finally, the Permanent Secretary renewed the commitment of the Guinee Bissau Government towards supporting the project implementation.

Held remotely, the ceremony was moderated by Ms. Victoria Maia, Programme Coordinator Humana People to People (HPP)

APICA GNB will support 82,450 direct beneficiaries, 70% of which are women, (i.e., 4.6% of the country's population). It will also put special focus on ecosystem adaptation through the restoration of coastal mangrove forests as well as ensure food security through the rice growing intervention.

Various national partners will support the project implementation on the ground, including: The Ministry of Agriculture, the General Directorate of Water Resources, the Instituto Nacional do Ambiente, the Instituto da Biodiversidade.

OSS through its 2030 strategy continues to support African countries through its various axes and specifically in regard to APICA GNB, accessing climate finance in its endeavour to combat Climate change.