The Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism (FLRM) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) unit of FAO partnered with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit  (GIZ) GmbH to organize a capacity-building e-training course on green and climate finance from 7 to 11 December 2020, with key support from the International Climate Initiative (IKI) from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). This capacity-building e-training course built on the results of the workshop held in Nadi, Fiji from 28 May to 31 May 2019, where the need for support on the mobilization of financial resources was highlighted as one of the region’s key needs in terms of FLR support.

The focus countries for this training were the Pacific Island countries with significant forest resources: Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Samoa. The training, which was initially scheduled to take place in Vanuatu, was transformed into an e-training course due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The e-training took place over one week, with one four-hour session in a defined location of each country’s capital city each day to allow for in-country interactions. In each country, a designated coordinator facilitated interactions and led the group. Over 55 people in the five countries received training.

By blending online presentations with in-person group work, this e-training helped reinforce stakeholders’ capacity in accessing green and climate finance within the framework of transformative projects and programmes on the forest sector in the Pacific region.  It helped Pacific countries better understand the context of international cooperation and take part in the development of financial project proposals tailored to the needs and urgencies of their own country and region.
The main body of the workshop focused on accessing Green Climate Fund (GCF) funding through projects that are embedded in a strong climate change rationale and that meet the GCF’s investment criteria while crowding-in solid sources of co-finance. The GCF readiness window and the Project Preparation Facility were also discussed. Participants had the opportunity to engage in practical exercises to immediately apply their newly gained knowledge. They were also made aware of other possible funding streams such as the Adaptation Fund, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the KIWA initiative.

The training was extremely successful and left all the participants feeling more comfortable with applying for green financing.  Nevertheless, they also stressed the importance of having more sessions on this topic, so as to feel guided throughout the whole process.

For more information contact us at: [email protected].

Mathilde Iweins (FAO) and Anika Seggel (FAO)