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The document examines the design, selection, implementation, and scaling of Challenge Funds (CFs) specifically for resilience building. It compares GRP's operational experience with a broader literature review of various international CFs, such as the African Enterprise Challenge Fund and the Global Innovation Fund. Key findings emphasize the need for clear definitions of resilience, the value of multi-stage application processes to support local innovators, and the necessity of long-term strategies to move innovations beyond the 'valley of death' toward sustainable scale. The report concludes with specific recommendations for future resilience-focused challenges, highlighting the importance of adaptive management and robust, long-term impact evaluations.

The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) Water Window Challenge supported over 500,000 people across eight countries through 12 projects focused on flood resilience. The synthesis identifies that success was driven by 'layering' interventions—combining livelihood support, early warning systems (EWS), and infrastructure—and by deep stakeholder engagement. Key achievements include the establishment of 347 women-led community-based organizations in Sri Lanka, the support of 265,000 individuals in Indonesia through transboundary coordination, and the deployment of EWS reaching over 84,000 households in the India-Nepal border region. The report emphasizes that flexible, adaptive management and strong partnerships are essential for innovating and scaling resilience efforts in volatile climatic contexts.

The document analyzes 44 resilience programs to determine which design elements contribute to success in helping vulnerable populations persist, adapt, and transform in the face of shocks. Key findings highlight the importance of community-led vulnerability assessments, the role of savings as a critical resilience buffer, and the necessity of integrating climate risk interventions into local governance and market systems.

The paper introduces a three-step framework—enabling environments, mobilization, and delivery of adaptation benefits—to analyze how the private sector can be engaged in climate adaptation. Testing the framework in Kenya and Rwanda reveals that while both countries have established broad policy and regulatory frameworks, actual mobilization of private finance for adaptation remains limited and difficult to track. The authors find that private investments often lack explicit adaptation labeling and that a lack of awareness among private actors, combined with weak enforcement of existing policies, hinders progress. The study highlights the risk of maladaptation and 'climate-washing' and recommends integrating adaptation criteria into environmental impact assessments (EIAs) to better monitor outcomes and prevent counterproductive investments.

The research analyzes 164 NDCs to determine their alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It finds that while NDCs often function as de facto sustainable development plans, there is significant institutional fragmentation and a lack of quantifiable targets. The analysis categorizes SDGs into tiers based on their connection to climate action, highlighting strong links in energy and land use, but critical gaps in social and political goals such as gender equality and poverty eradication.

Africa is identified as the region most vulnerable to climate change due to its reliance on rainfed agriculture and natural resources. This vulnerability is compounded by megatrends such as urbanization, technology, and a projected population increase to 2.4 billion by 2050, which will strain food, water, and energy supplies. The document proposes climate-smart agriculture as a mechanism for smallholder farmers to adapt to these stressors while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The We Mean Business coalition calls on G7 leaders to align national policies with the Paris Agreement by setting clear pathways to net-zero emissions by 2050, phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, and supporting a just transition. The statement highlights that over 980 global companies have already made climate commitments, including targets for renewable electricity (RE100) and electric vehicle deployment (EV100), but argues that private action must be reinforced by government leadership to achieve the necessary scale of transformation.

The document assesses the multifaceted threats climate change poses to global food security, highlighting that while some high-latitude regions may see productivity gains, the global South—especially sub-Saharan Africa—faces severe risks of yield losses and increased hunger. It argues for a systemic approach to adaptation, moving beyond autonomous adjustments to planned strategies. Key priorities include increasing public investment in agricultural research, adopting Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), expanding irrigation, and improving the resilience of food value chains. The authors emphasize that adaptation must be balanced with greenhouse gas mitigation and social equity, particularly regarding gender and youth in agriculture.

The paper examines the risks climate change poses to rural livelihoods in Asia, Africa, and Central America, noting that current adaptation efforts are insufficient. It advocates for a systemic transformation involving policy reform, digital agriculture, innovative finance, and the scaling of climate-resilient technologies. The authors propose five distinct pathways for adaptation—ranging from market integration and farming system shifts to exiting agriculture—tailored to different household types such as those 'stepping up', 'stepping out', 'hanging in', or those who are 'food insecure'.

The document argues that climate services—the production and use of climate knowledge for decision-making—are essential for adaptation but are currently underdeveloped and misaligned with user needs in the developing world. It identifies critical gaps in the use of long-term climate projections, which are often unsuitable for planning horizons of 10-30 years, and calls for a shift toward resilience-based approaches and improved national meteorological service (NMS) capacity. The authors propose ten recommendations focused on co-production between providers and users, filling observational data gaps, and reforming data policies to treat meteorological data as a public good.

The report identifies critical gender disparities in Ethiopia that affect climate vulnerability and adaptive capacity, specifically regarding roles in agriculture, access to natural resources, and participation in decision-making. It proposes 13 overarching recommendations to integrate gender considerations into the NAP-ETH, ranging from addressing social norms and improving access to information to institutionalizing gender-responsive resource allocation and monitoring systems.

The document outlines a USD 41.7 million programme designed to protect agriculture and fisheries in Fiji, Samoa, and the Solomon Islands from biosecurity threats exacerbated by climate change. It proposes three main outcomes: implementing climate-adapted farming systems, strengthening national and regional early warning systems, and enhancing the enabling environment through better data and policy coordination. The programme aims to benefit over 1.6 million people by reducing vulnerability to pests like the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle and Taro Leaf Blight, which have historically caused severe economic losses in the region.

The report assesses the gender-specific vulnerabilities and socioeconomic barriers facing rural communities in central and north Benin to ensure the 'Enhanced Climate Resilience' project is gender-responsive. It identifies significant gaps in land ownership, education, and decision-making power between men and women, noting that women are more susceptible to economic shocks and 'time poverty'. The assessment proposes a Gender Action Plan to mainstream gender equality into forest management and agricultural interventions, aiming to prevent the marginalization of women as EbA strategies are implemented.

The report examines adaptation activities across 18 developing countries' NDC Partnership Plans, identifying critical gaps in climate risk assessments, project design, and M&E systems. It argues that these short-term plans can be leveraged to align NDC pledges with the more detailed NAP processes to improve climate resilience planning and implementation.

The document outlines a request for USD 642,600 from the Green Climate Fund's Project Preparation Facility to prepare a larger investment project (estimated at USD 83 million) focused on climate-smart agriculture in Colombia. The proposed project aims to reduce economic losses from extreme weather events and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by scaling up technologies such as agro-climatic forecasting, site-specific agriculture, and low-carbon farming practices. It targets seven priority crops: rice, maize, banana, sugarcane, coffee, potato, and forage. The preparation phase, led by CAF and executed by CIAT, involves feasibility studies, impact assessments, and the development of a Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) mechanism for carbon footprints.

The project aims to transform the drought-degraded Eastern Province of Rwanda into climate-resilient ecosystems and communities. It focuses on restoring 98,000 hectares of rural landscapes to improve soil health, water retention, and food security for over 100,000 households. The initiative is structured around three components: implementing resilient agro-ecological practices, developing climate-resilient markets and supply chains, and strengthening institutional coordination for land management. With a total indicative cost of USD 50 million, the project seeks USD 33 million in GCF grants to address barriers such as the lack of technical knowledge and the absence of climate finance for smallholders.

The report details a workshop using the 3 Horizon approach with farmers from East and West Africa to identify future visions, promising initiatives, and challenges to resilience. Key findings emphasize the need for farmer self-organization, improved seed ownership, better infrastructure to bypass middlemen, and user-friendly climate and market information. The report notes a divergence in approaches: East African participants focused on increasing productivity through researcher-led inputs, while West African participants emphasized agro-ecological solutions and influencing consumer markets.

The Bio-CLIMA project aims to transform extensive cattle ranching and agriculture in Nicaragua's Caribbean Region into sustainable, deforestation-free production. The project targets the buffer zones of the BOSAWÁS and Rio San Juan Biosphere Reserves, focusing on 66,223 hectares and approximately 26,260 direct beneficiaries. It employs a three-pronged strategy: providing technical assistance and financial incentives for climate-smart production modules (silvo-pastural, agroforestry, and sustainable forest management), strengthening local governance and law enforcement, and developing adaptive capacity through training and early warning systems. The project is estimated to cost USD 110.4 million, with USD 79.8 million requested from the Green Climate Fund as a mix of grants and loans.

The report details a session from Africa Climate Week 2019 focused on integrating climate and conflict risk management in fragile African regions. It identifies key visions for resilient agriculture, such as community cohesion and ecological innovation, while highlighting barriers including top-down policy mismatches, corruption, and land tenure issues. The session emphasizes the need for locally-driven, peer-to-peer capacity building and innovative funding to scale resilience efforts.

The document examines the intersection of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and gender equality in agriculture. It analyzes five major standards—Fairtrade International, IFOAM Organic, Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Certified, and the 4Cs—across six thematic areas: household food security, rights to productive resources, education, unpaid domestic labour, decision-making/empowerment, and decent work. The guide finds that while VSSs can improve wages and working conditions, they risk exacerbating inequalities if they prioritize cash crops over women's subsistence farming or increase women's unpaid labour burdens without providing childcare or gender-transformative training.