Green Climate Fund Projects

Scaling up ecosystem-based approaches to managing climate intensified disaster risks in vulnerable regions of South Africa, or the Eco-DRR project

Since the beginning of 2022, SANBI has been working with National and Sub-National partners to design a project called the ‘Scaling up Ecosystem-based Approaches to managing climate-intensified disaster risks in vulnerable regions of South Africa’ project, or the Eco-DRR project as it is known.

Brief overview of the Eco-DRR project:

The Eco-DRR Project aims to strengthen and integrate Eco-Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) considerations into key public sector natural resource management and disaster risk reduction mandates, and to improve the knowledge base so as to unlock more efficient public sector investments and new private financing sources to enable replication and upscaling.

The overall goal of the project is to improve the resilience of communities who are vulnerable to climate change exacerbated floods, droughts and wildfires through the implementation of Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Eco-DRR measures that enhance the ability of ecosystems, catchments and landscapes to act as natural buffers and offer essential services that both protect built infrastructure and communities from these hazards.

This will be achieved through the rehabilitation of vulnerable catchments, supporting locally led adaptation and natural resource-based livelihoods; improving community level disaster preparedness and response; and mainstreaming Eco-DRR considerations into asset management and maintenance, and settlement policy and planning.

The project will simultaneously develop the evidence base for Eco-DRR interventions, and work with the South African government towards the implementation of effective Eco-DRR practices at scale. The development of pathways to enhance public sector spending and upscale private sector investments will then enable the expansive use of Eco-DRR measures through sustainable and scalable processes that integrate science and local and indigenous knowledge systems.

The project leads are the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and the South African Local Governance Association (SALGA). The project will be managed by SANBI. The project budget is a USD 40 million grant from the Green Climate Fund complemented by USD 9.4 million from South Africa (in kind co-finance). The project will be implemented over an 8 year period and aims to improve the resilience of ~366,000 direct and ~5.1 million indirect beneficiaries in the target landscapes.

Proposed project sites have been identified across four districts:

  • Eastern Cape Province: Alfred Nzo District, Umzimvubu and Ntabankulu Local Municipalities;
  • Limpopo Province: Sekhukune District, Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality;
  • Mpumalanga Province: Ehlanzeni District, Bushbuckridge Local Municipality; and
  • North West Province: Ngaka Modiri Molema District, Ramotshere Moiloa Municipality.

The exact location of the intervention sites will be determined through an Operationalisation Phase at the start of the project, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

Environmental and Social Management Framework of the Eco-DRR project:

The project is described in a Funding Proposal, which is supported by a number of annexures. One of those annexures is the project’s Environmental and Social Management Framework.

The Framework provides a systematic and structured approach to screen, assess, manage and mitigate the potential environmental and social risks and impacts associated with the Eco-DRR project and associated interventions. The Environmental and Social Management Framework helps ensure that projects interventions are carried out responsibly and sustainably, complying with legal requirements and international standards, and fostering positive relationships with affected communities. The Environmental and Social Management Framework promotes good governance, outlining necessary procedures associated with the project activities thus contributing to the overall success and acceptance of the programme.

  • The Environmental and Social Management Framework can be accessed here.
  • The Funding Proposal for the Eco-DRR project can be accessed here.

Public Disclosure of the Environmental and Social Management Framework

A requirement of the Green Climate Fund’s Information Disclosure Policy and of the Revised Environmental and Social Policy is that the Environmental and Social Management Framework must be made available online (on the Accredited Entity’s website, i.e. here on SANBI’s website) and in hardcopy (at the project’s implementation locations) at least 30 days prior to the Green Climate Fund Board meeting when the relevant proposal will be considered. It is anticipated that the Eco-DRR Funding Proposal will be presented to the GCF Board at their meeting taking place between 30 June and 3 July 2025.

The Environmental and Social Management Framework has been made available in hardcopy at each of the project intervention sites.

The Green Climate Fund’s Information Disclosure Policy is available here.

Green Climate Fund’s Revised Environmental and Social Policy is available here.

Should you have any questions on the Eco-DRR project’s Environmental and Social Management Framework, or on the Eco-DRR project in general, or should you wish to access any of the other supporting annexures to the Funding Proposal, please contact SANBI at: climatefunds@sanbi.org.za

SANBI’s Green Climate Fund project development processes

In October 2016 SANBI was accredited as a Direct Access Entity of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). As an Accredited Entity, SANBI is responsible for presenting funding applications to the GCF, and then overseeing, supervising, managing and monitoring the overall GCF-approved projects and programmes. This accreditation opens up opportunities to build on experiences that SANBI has gained as South Africa’s National Implementing Entity of the Adaptation Fund and to further support South Africa’s Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation ambitions. 

SANBI’s GCF Accreditation Profile

The GCF has a tiered accreditation system which classifies applicant entities based on the nature of their organizations and the intended scale, nature and risks of their proposed climate finance activities.

SANBI’s GCF Accreditation Profile is as follows:

  • Entity Type: Direct (national).
  • Size: Micro (maximum total projected costs, including the GCF contribution and co-financing, of up to USD 10 million), and Small (maximum total projected costs, including the GCF contribution and co-financing, of above USD 10 million and up to and including USD 50 million)
  • Fiduciary Standard: SANBI may manage, supervise and oversee the overall project or programme, either directly or indirectly through Executing Entities. SANBI may also disburse GCF funds as an intermediary through a competitive and transparent grant award process. SANBI is not accredited to carry out intermediate funding by providing loans, blending different instruments and resources, undertaking equity and/or providing guarantees.
  • Environmental and Social Risk Category: SANBI is accredited to manage projects with environmental and social risk levels that fall into Categories C (Activities with minimal or no adverse environmental and/or social risks and/or impacts) and B (Activities with potential mild adverse environmental and/or social risks and/or impacts that are few in number, generally site-specific, largely reversible, and readily addressed through mitigation measures). SANBI may not manage projects with potential significant adverse environmental and/or social risks and/or impacts that are diverse, irreversible, or unprecedented (Category A).

Green Climate Fund project proposal development

In 2018 SANBI issued a national call for Expressions of Interest that could form the basis of proposals that align with SANBI’s mandate, as well as the Green Climate Fund’s project criteria. Since then, SANBI has been working with stakeholders to develop a national pipeline of project proposals for submission to the GCF. To date, three first stage proposals (Concept Notes) have been submitted to and approved by the GCF for development into full Funding Proposals. These development processes are currently underway for the following projects:

  • The first project is entitled ‘Scaling up ecosystem-based approaches to managing climate intensified disaster risks in vulnerable regions of South Africa’, or the Eco-DRR project. It has a grant request value of USD 40 million, and will benefit an estimated 366,000 community members directly and ~5.1 million indirectly. The proposed project will scale-up ecosystem-based approaches to buffer the impacts of climate-intensified extreme events and enhance the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities.
  • The second project is entitled ‘Ecosystem-based Approaches for transforming smallholder farming systems that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in South Africa’, or the EbA-Farm project. It has a grant request value of USD 25 million, and will benefit 60,000 smallholder and household producers directly, and ~865,000 community members indirectly. The proposed project will adopt a participatory, action learning approach using ecosystem-based approaches to enhance the resilience of farmers in vulnerable catchments in the provinces of KwaZulu- Natal, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and possibly Limpopo in South Africa.
  • The third project is entitled ‘Ecosystem-based Adaptation for Water Security in South Africa’, or the EbA-Water project. It has a grant request value of USD 25 million, and will have an estimated 17.1 million beneficiaries. The proposed project aims to secure and safeguard the resource base and strengthen water security in 11 of South Africa’s priority Strategic Water Source Areas.

Several additional projects are under discussion and development with other national and provincial partners.

Should you have any queries regarding SANBI’s GCF process, please direct them to: climatefunds@sanbi.org.za and we will do all that we can to assist. 

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