Resilience in AcƟon: Lessons from Public‐Private CollaboraƟons Around the World

This document presents nine case studies of public-private collaborations (PPCs) designed to enhance resilience through disaster risk management and climate change adaptation. The projects span various sectors, including transport, agriculture, water, housing, and energy, across multiple countries in Asia, Africa, and Central America.

• The 'Get Airports Ready for Disaster (GARD)' programme, a collaboration between Deutsche Post DHL and UNDP, has trained over 150 airport personnel across 14 airports in 6 countries since 2010 to manage logistical challenges during natural disasters. The programme's methodology has been integrated into the National Disaster Preparedness Plan of the Nepali government and is standard practice for annual airport-security trainings and disaster risk management plans in Bangladesh.
• AfricaFertilizer.Org (AFO), launched in 2010, uses ICT tools such as SMS and mobile applications to improve farmers' access to fertilizer markets and policy information in Sub-Saharan Africa. The project has reached an estimated 10,000 agro-dealers and millions of farmers across Eastern and Western Africa, contributing to an increase in fertilizer use from 8 kg per hectare per year in 2004 to 10-12 kg per hectare per year in 2010.
• In Zambia, the 'Devolution Trust Fund' (DTF) Water Kiosk project has provided over 500,000 people with access to safe and affordable drinking water through more than 300 decentralized kiosks since 2008. The model utilizes commercial utilities for construction and maintenance while employing village-level entrepreneurs for daily sales, with approximately 50 per cent of these operators being women.
• The Lake Chilwa Basin Climate Change Adaptation Programme (LCBCCAP) in southern Malawi has trained 973 people across 53 stakeholder groups in climate change adaptation since 2010. Key interventions include the construction of solar fish dryers, which helped women-operated fish processing micro-enterprises increase revenue by 125 per cent, and the provision of on-site banking services by Malawi Savings Bank.
• In Rwanda, the 'Responding to Climate Change, Building Community-Based Resilience' partnership, led by Thanksgiving Coffee Company, implemented sustainable agriculture techniques to protect coffee production. Between 2010 and 2011, 567 farmers planted over 89,000 trees (averaging 157 per farmer) to reduce farm temperatures, prevent soil erosion, and protect blossoms from heavy rains.
• The Mwanza Rural Housing Programme (MRHP) in Tanzania has established over 60 brick-making enterprises since 1994, producing over 400 million bricks using agricultural waste as kiln fuel. This initiative has saved 110,000 m3 of fuel wood and avoided 75,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions while providing more flood-resilient housing materials.
• PepsiCo India's DirectSeeding machine, developed in collaboration with IARI and IRI, has been used in over 13,000 acres of rice fields, benefiting over 1,500 smallholder farmers. The technology reduces water usage by 900 kilolitres per acre compared to traditional methods and lowers cultivation costs by approximately US$30 per acre.
• Between 1997 and 2011, two long-term programmes (ESD and RERED) in Sri Lanka established off-grid micro-hydro capacity of 2 megawatts, providing electricity to over 7,700 villagers. The projects were financed through a mix of villager contributions (30%), Participating Credit Institutions (50%), and co-financing/grants (20%).
• The Maowusu Biomass Thermoelectric Company (MBTC) in China has treated over 24,000 hectares of the Maowusu Desert since 2008 by planting sand willows. The company generates biomass power from shrub trimmings and has produced over 240 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, while also creating a side business producing spirulina with an expected annual revenue of approximately US$47.6 million.

APA

Becker-Birck, C., Crowe, J., Lee, J., & Jackson, S. (2013). Resilience in AcƟon: Lessons from Public‐Private CollaboraƟons Around the World. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/MCG-Resilience-in-Action-Case-Studies-web.pdf

Chicago

Becker-Birck, Christina, Jon Crowe, Joanne Lee, and Summer Jackson. Resilience in AcƟon: Lessons from Public‐Private CollaboraƟons Around the World. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2013. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/MCG-Resilience-in-Action-Case-Studies-web.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Becker-Birck |first1=Christina |last2=Crowe |first2=Jon |last3=Lee |first3=Joanne |last4=Jackson |first4=Summer |title=Resilience in AcƟon: Lessons from Public‐Private CollaboraƟons Around the World |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=2013 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/MCG-Resilience-in-Action-Case-Studies-web.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{beckerbirck2013resilience, author = {Becker-Birck, Christina and Crowe, Jon and Lee, Joanne and Jackson, Summer}, title = {{Resilience in AcƟon: Lessons from Public‐Private CollaboraƟons Around the World}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2013}, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/MCG-Resilience-in-Action-Case-Studies-web.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }