The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved a project worth $47.7 million for transforming the Indus Basin with climate resilient agriculture and water management.
The CDWP meeting held under Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, approved the project. The CDWP is a key committee of the Planning Commission to approve projects.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) had already agreed in 2019 to provide a grant of $34.99 million, through the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, for this project.
The total cost of transforming the Indus Basin with climate resilient agriculture and water management project is estimated at $47.6 million, and it will be jointly implemented by the FAO with the provincial governments of Punjab and Sindh, according to official documents available with ProPakistani. The project will be based in the Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan and completed in 66 months (5.5 years).
Green Climate Fund (GCF) has agreed to provide $34.99 million through Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the projects, the documents maintained. The total amount of grant from GCF is $34.99 million, while $12.7 million will be contributed by the co-financer, i.e., Punjab and Sindh governments from their respective ADPs.
The share of the Punjab Government envisaged in the GCF funding proposal is $8.0 million, while the remaining will be funded by the government of Sindh. The funds will be provided from the provincial ADPs with yearly allocations spread over the life of the project, which is six years.
The Punjab Government will transfer funds (Rs. 1,392 million) to FAO through the mechanism called Unilateral Trust Funds (UTF) Agreement to be signed between FAO and Punjab Government.
Being the Accredited Agency of the project, the funds will be managed by the FAO, along with the GCF funds. Out of the total GCF grant of $34.99 million, about $22 million (Rs. 3,551.984 million) will be spent to support activities in Punjab, in addition to its co-finance share of $8 million.
The project objectives include:
- Strengthen institutional and regulatory systems of agriculture and irrigation for climate responsive planning and development.
- Increase the generation of climate information and its effective use in quick response to climate disasters and decision-making.
- Enhance the adaptive capacity of the farming community through reduced exposure to on-farm climate threats.
- Create awareness of climate change threats and risk reduction amongst stakeholders and develop their capacity in these aspects.
