Partnership to boost climate change resilience in PNG

The U.S. government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have formalised a mutual commitment to advance a more resilient future for the people of Papua New Guinea.

Ambassador Catherine Ebert-Gray signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) alongside UNDP’s Resident Representative, Dirk Wagener, to manage and deliver UNDP’s Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) through the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Ready project. 

“The U.S. government believes that every country must be given the opportunity to carve their own path to self-reliance and sustainable development,” said Ambassador Ebert-Gray.

“We believe that the most effective way to achieve our shared development goals is to enable local people to lead and manage their own development.”  

The agreement will provide access to funding for civil society organisations to assist in building the longer-term environmental resilience of Papua New Guinea.

USAID, through its Ready project, will be working with UNDP to deliver small-scale, climate change adaptation activities, initiated by local community groups and non-governmental organisations.

Activities will be focused on addressing priority environmental threats related to global warming, pollution of international waters, destruction and/or loss of biodiversity, land degradation and depletion of the ozone layer.

USAID Ready is a five-year project that supports Pacific Island countries become more resilient to extreme weather events and natural disasters, as well as to protect the lives and livelihoods of Pacific communities.

The project works in 11 Pacific Island Nations: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Author: 
Press release