Climate resilience project in Namibia and Angola secures US$24.55 million with Commonwealth support

In a major step towards strengthening support for semi-nomadic agro-pastoral communities in the transboundary Kunene River Basin of Angola and Namibia, the global Adaptation Fund awarded US$24.55 million to a regional climate resilience project. The Commonwealth supported the project through its Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CCFAH).

The five-year initiative was approved by the Adaptation Fund Board at its 46th meeting in Bonn, Germany. It will be implemented by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) through the Ministry of Environment of Angola, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism of Namibia, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at regional level. Namibia is a Commonwealth member country.

In acknowledging CCFAH's contribution to the project, Petrus Muteyauli, Head of Multilateral Environmental Agreements in Namibia, thanked the Commonwealth team for valuable guidance in finalising the project proposal. He said:

“Namibia will continue to demonstrate leadership and commitment in the global climate arena.”

The project is intended to help communities facing growing climate pressures in the Kunene River Basin, where recurrent droughts, erratic rainfall and environmental degradation continue to affect livelihoods, food security and resilience. It also reflects the importance of regional cooperation in addressing shared climate risks that cross borders and affect interconnected ecosystems and communities.

Successive CCFAH national advisers in Namibia contributed to the development of the project in Namibia through targeted in-country technical assistance and sustained support to strengthen institutional capacity. This included coordinating and leading meetings involving IFAD and the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, reviewing the project document and providing technical inputs, and supporting completion of the capacity assessment required by IFAD for the flow of funds into the ministry.

Through CCFAH, the Commonwealth Secretariat continues to help member countries strengthen climate finance readiness, build national capacity and develop bankable proposals that unlock resources for adaptation and resilience. Uzoamaka Nwamarah, Head of Climate Change at the Commonwealth Secretariat, said that CCFAH support to Namibia has already delivered tangible results. She said:

“This milestone reflects the importance of sustained climate finance readiness support and institutional capacity building. We have supported Namibia since 2021 to strengthen the enabling environment for climate finance access, including accreditation support, technical capacity development, and the establishment of national coordination mechanisms that help build long-term in-country capability to access and effectively utilise climate finance.”

The approval of this project formed part of a broader package of adaptation financing endorsed by the Adaptation Fund Board in response to rising demand from climate-vulnerable countries. Among the projects approved during the meeting, the Angola–Namibia initiative was the largest regional project.