Financing climate adaptation in Least Developed Countries: A story from Burundi
Burundi is one of the 46 countries included in the list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs); a category which refers to low-income states confronting severe structural challenges to sustainable development. These countries have low levels of human capital and are more vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks.
Although LDCs have contributed the least to global levels of carbon emissions, they find themselves on the frontlines of the climate crisis. As the UN General Assembly meets today to discuss progress on the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries 2022-2031, we explore how the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) are working together to help finance technological innovation to support communities in Burundi adapt to rising water levels and build resilience to climate induced flooding and drought.
In the Mpanda Commune in north-western Burundi, a long ribbon of rubber – about a metre high and two metres wide – snakes through a farmer’s field before disappearing into foliage.
A woman is sowing her crops alongside the structure, which is bulging with water and circles much of the commune.
The ribbon of rubber, called Slamdam, is designed to protect Mpanda and its 25,000 people from flooding while also acting as a warehouse for water during times of drought- weather extremes which are expected to become more common as Burundi’s climate changes.
“The project has been very well received by the local population,” said resident Gerard Bucumi. “The cost of installation was very cheap.”
Slamdam is part of a wave of cutting-edge technologies that experts hope will help the developing world adapt to the impacts of climate change, which includes floods, rising seas, scorching temperatures and more severe storms. Africa is especially vulnerable. It contributes only around 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and yet 6 of the 10 countries most threatened by climate change are located on the continent.
“Today, we are reeling from the impacts of climate change,” said Alvin Chandra, Head of the Global Adaptation Network at UNEP. “The reality, therefore, is that even if we suddenly halt all greenhouse gas emissions, there would still be an urgent need for the world to adapt to withstand extreme weather events. Technological innovation for adaptation opens the door to scale-up solutions.”
If the world does not start reducing greenhouse gas emissions immediately, the need for technological innovation to adapt to climate change will only increase, say experts.
Race to adapt
Through the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA), UNEP, the Climate Technology Centre and Network, and UNDP are administrating grants to innovative adaptation technologies, such as Slamdam. The hope is that these solutions can be scaled up to help Africa build resilience to flooding and drought. (The fund’s third call for proposals is open for applications until 30 September 2022.)
According to UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report 2021, there is an urgent need to scale-up climate adaptation measures and finance. Estimated adaptation costs in developing countries are five to 10 times greater than current public adaptation finance flows, and the gap is widening.
UNEP has a mandate to help member states scale up planning and action for adapting to climate change. Together with its implementing partners on the ground, UNEP has supported around 70 adaptation projects in over 50 countries. By 2020, its adaptation project portfolio had mobilized US$340 million on the strength of funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund.
Holding back the waters
Slamdam is a portable technology which was first invented in the Netherlands. According to Omar Saleh, the Managing Director of Zephyr Consulting, who helped deploy the Slamdam in Mpanda, two people can fill a 100-metre-section of the flood barrier in an hour by pumping water into it from a nearby lake or river. Building a traditional 100-metre flood barrier with sandbags would take 14 people at least 20 hours, he said.
Saleh explained that Mpanda is an area which is particularly prone to flooding which destroys crops and discourages the community from planting.
“Slamdam was able to harness the flood water enabling the community to plant and also to use the harnessed water for irrigation during the dry season, thus improving their food security.”
He added that the Mpanda Commune project was a pilot and that there were plans to scale up to reach a larger area and a larger population.
“With this technology and these kinds of projects, food production will increase, and the negative impacts of floods and other climate changes will be reduced,” he added.
UNEP has also joined forces with UNDP and several other partners to launch the Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES), an initiative aimed at accelerating the use of digital technology in addressing some of the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges.
UNEP, UNDP and other partners on the ground are continuing to work together to support communities across Burundi adapt to the effects of climate change.
The original version of this piece was produced and published by UNEP on 8 September 2022. It was adapted and edited by the United Nations Development Coordination Office (DCO).
To learn more about the UN's work in Burundi, please visit: Burundi.UN.org. To learn more about the results of our work on climate change adaptation and beyond, please read the 2022 UNSDG Chair Report on DCO.
