BANGKOK, August 22, 2017 – From 2011-2017, the U.S. Agency for International Development Climate Change Adaptation Project Preparation Facility for Asia and the Pacific (USAID Adapt Asia-Pacific) assisted countries across the Asia-Pacific region develop 36 adaptation projects that successfully leveraged $576 million in investments.

The project benefitted almost one million people in 14 countries; trained more than 1,000 officials and practitioners across 27 countries; and delivered more than 25,000 person hours of training. The project also trained 40 key government agencies in the region to address disaster risk management and develop bankable adaptation projects.

The Asia-Pacific region is exposed to weather-related impacts given that large concentrations of the population reside in coastal, low-lying areas. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, globally, the financing requirement for adaptation will range between $250 to $500 billion per year by 2050, even with current emissions reductions in place.   

To meet this demand the international community has set up a number of funds, such as the Adaptation Fund, which provides grant funding for countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and develop adaptation projects. Many countries have difficulty accessing these funds given the lack of expertise and trained personnel required to meet the proposal requirements. The USAID Adapt Asia-Pacific project supported partners and governments in Asia and Pacific countries to access these funds.  

The USAID Adapt Asia-Pacific project, implemented by AECOM, provided a combination of technical assistance and training to achieve its results. Governments in the 27 target countries are now better prepared to access domestic and international finance to support their adaptation projects. The project also assisted government agencies better integrate gender into the design of adaptation projects with nine out of the 36 bankable projects focused on gender.

USAID Adapt Asia-Pacific produced a series of publications to capture the significant lessons and knowledge from project activities.  Some of the key knowledge products include the Adaptation Finance Knowledge Series—a series of six quick guides to adaptation financing; the Urban Resilience Roadmap—a tool to help decision-makers bridge the gap between policy and implementation in urban resilience; the Project Preparation Guidebook—a handbook providing step-by-step guidance and key considerations in developing adaptation project proposals.  Partners, beneficiaries, and supporters of the USAID Adapt Asia-Pacific can continue accessing tools, training materials, knowledge products, and various publications by visiting http://www.adaptasiapacific.org/.