Results from a joint study between CIFOR and CATIE on tropical forests and climate change adaptation in Honduras were cited in a document describing one of the first projects ever approved by the UNFCCC’s Adaptation Fund Board. The citation is significant because it highlights the influence of our work in shaping climate adaptation initiatives.

‘In the CRP6 proposal, one of our impact pathways is to influence adaptation funding decisions so that they consider ecosystem services for vulnerable sectors that depend on them,’ Bruno Locatelli said. ‘I think that we are almost getting there before the CRP6 has even started.’

Though the goal of the adaptation project is to improve water management and decrease the threat of water shortages for the poor in the Honduras capital region of Tegucigalpa, it extensively considers the role of forests, including how they capture mist from the atmosphere and the negative impacts of deforestation in water catchment areas.

The citation in the project document was for results from the Tropical Forests and Climate Change Adaptation project (TroFCCA), a 4-year initiative to improve understanding of adaptation to climate change and forests. It worked in seven countries, including Honduras. The project document refers to future climate scenarios modeled by CIFOR and CATIE for the three main basins that supply water to the capital which will decrease considerably due to climate change. The Adaptation Fund gets its funding from a 2 percent share of proceeds of all Certified Emission Reductions issued under the Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism projects. The Fund is designed to finance concrete climate change adaptation projects and programs based on the needs, views and priorities of developing countries. Farrukh Khan, Chair of the Adaptation Fund Board, characterised the approval of the project funding as a ‘historic moment in international financing’. ‘I am confident that the Adaptation Fund will emerge as a key player in international financing for climate change,’ he said.

The press release by the Adaptation Fund on the above decision is here. All documentation of the Adaptation Fund Board’s 11th meeting, including projects approved and those under consideration, are here.