Malé, Maldives – Today, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched its $10.5 million, 5-year Climate Change Adaptation project for Maldives. This grant is in line with the Government of Maldives’ Strategic Action Plan to create resilient communities by strengthening adaptation actions and opportunities and building climate-resilient communities to address current and future vulnerabilities.
“The Climate Change Adaptation project directly responds to U.S. and Maldivian calls to action to address the climate crisis,” said Reed Aeschliman, USAID/Maldives Mission Director. “Through this program, we will support government, private sector, and community efforts to adapt to climate change in ways that contribute to sustained, inclusive, and market-based growth in Maldives.”
USAID will help identify and scale up innovative solutions to climate-related challenges and engage the private sector to invest in adaptation activities. Through local partners, the project will strengthen governance to address climate-related risks and improve access to information to shape decisions related to climate change. It will also work with key island community stakeholders to prioritize specific adaptation actions to address climate risks. The project will focus on increasing adaptive capacities in fisheries, agriculture, and tourism – sectors that are especially sensitive to the effects of climate change.
According to H.E. Aminath Shauna, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, “It is important that a multi-sectoral, holistic approach is used to address climate change in a vulnerable country such as the Maldives. The critical work being done by the government and international partners must be supplemented by the private sector so that local communities can experience such benefits and better adapt to and increase resilience to adverse climate change impacts.”
To find out more about USAID’s work, please visit usaid.gov/maldives and follow us on Twitter @USAIDMaldives.
