Latest news with #climate resilience
Zawya
5 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
African Development Fund supports climate-resilient rice value chains across West Africa
The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) ( the concessional funding window of the African Development Bank Group ( on 17 July 2025 approved a $9.44 million grant for the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) to strengthen the climate resilience of rice value chains across West Africa. Funded through ADF's Climate Action Window ( the project will support rice producers and processors in 13 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The initiative, part of the Regional Resilient Rice Value Chains Development Project in West Africa (REWARD), and specifically its adaptation component (REWARD-Adaptation), aims to scale up the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices and technologies throughout the rice production and processing sectors. "The strategy for this project is to reduce the vulnerability and strengthen the resilience of rice value chains, from production to processing and marketing, while lowering greenhouse gas emissions through the dissemination and adoption of climate-smart practices and technologies," said Marwan Ladki, Senior Irrigation Engineer at the African Development Bank, who is responsible for the project. Key project interventions include the distribution of climate-resilient rice seeds to 11,000 farmers, including 4,950 women and 6,600 young farmers. It will train 12,600 farmers and processors, support 65 small and medium-sized enterprises with equipment and improved access to business networks, and facilitate the provision of climate services and early warning systems through digital platforms and radio broadcasts, reaching up to 2 million beneficiaries. The project will also deploy four automatic weather stations per country to improve spatial coverage and climate monitoring. It is projected to create 47,000 employment opportunities, including 8,000 permanent and 39,000 seasonal jobs. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB). Media contact: Alexis Adélé Department of Communication and External Relations media@ About AfricaRice: The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), based in Côte d'Ivoire, is a pan-African centre of excellence for rice research, development and capacity building. It contributes to reducing poverty, ensuring food and nutrition security, and improving the livelihoods of farmers and other actors in the rice value chain in Africa by increasing the productivity and profitability of rice-based agri-food systems, while ensuring the sustainability of natural resources. About the African Development Bank Group: The African Development Bank Group is Africa's leading development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). Represented in 41 African countries, with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and social progress of its 54 regional member countries. For more information:
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Science
- The Guardian
Britain's forests need help to adapt to the changing climate
Your article paints a bleak picture of the challenges facing reforestation in the UK (In some UK woodlands, every young tree has died. What's going wrong? 10 July). The failure of natural regeneration – driven by drought, heat, disease and deer grazing – is not just a crisis for ancient woodlands, it's a stark warning for the future of all UK forestry. This ecological breakdown reveals a fundamental flaw in our current approach: we are too focused on the number of saplings in the ground and not enough on their long-term resilience. Whether through natural regeneration or new planting schemes, tree survival must be the priority. With mortality rates increasing by 90%, as the article highlights, it's clear that traditional methods are no longer fit for purpose in a changing climate. To build forests that can withstand future conditions, we must invest in resilience from the outset. Research into techniques that improve sapling survivability is essential to protecting ancient woodlands and establishing new ones. Innovative approaches – such as vertical farming to produce climate-adapted saplings and biochar-enhanced substrates to improve soil health – are already showing promise. These methods can yield stronger, faster-growing trees with significantly higher survival rates. Our ancient woodlands are among the UK's most treasured natural assets. If we are to protect and restore them – while ensuring they continue to absorb carbon and support biodiversity – we need a new approach to UK forestry, one with resilience and survivability at its CollierChief research and development officer, A Healthier Earth I was really interested to read that saplings weren't thriving in ancient forests. It is quite the opposite in my garden. I'm not much of a gardener, but every time I am moved to tidy up, most of my efforts go into pulling up, if I can, and cutting back if I can't, little ash, sycamore, oak, yew, lime, holly and even the occasional chestnut tree. This is both from flowerpots and flowerbeds. When I cut them back they seem to grow back even stronger. What is happening that a south London garden seems desperate to become a forest and ancient forests are giving up?Martin CooperBromley, London
Zawya
6 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
African Development Bank and Partners Launch a $263.8 Million Infrastructure Project to Transform Urban Development in Abia State
The African Development Bank ( in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank, Nigeria's Federal Government and the Abia State, has launched the Abia State Integrated Infrastructure Development Project, a transformative $263.8 million initiative to modernize urban infrastructure, enhance mobility, and promote inclusive, climate-resilient development over the next five years. The project addresses critical infrastructure gaps in urban transport, erosion control and waste management which have long constrained mobility, public health and economic productivity in the cities of Umuahia and Aba in Abia State. The African Development Bank is contributing $115 million to the project, including $100 million from its ADB window and $15 million from the Canada-AfDB Climate Fund (CACF). The Islamic Development Bank is co-financing with $125 million, while the Federal Government of Nigeria is providing $23.8 million in counterpart funding. The project will rehabilitate more than 248 kilometers of roads in the cities of Umuahia and Aba, restore two erosion sites, and catalyze private sector investment in solid waste management through public-private partnerships. Abia State, like many rapidly growing regions, has faced mounting infrastructure challenges driven by urban expansion, environmental pressures and limited investment over time. Cities such as Umuahia and Aba are contending with aging roads, erosion threats, and strained waste systems. This project signals a decisive shift toward integrated, climate-resilient urban development that supports inclusive growth and long-term sustainability. Speaking at the launch, Dr. Alex C. Otti, Governor of Abia State, said the initiative marked a defining moment in the State's infrastructure renewal agenda: "The fruits of development are richer when supported by partners who believe in your vision. We are focused on raising living standards, expanding access to education and healthcare, and driving economic productivity. Investor confidence is growing, public optimism is rising, and Abia is emerging as a destination of choice for opportunity and impact.' The project is expected to generate over 3,000 temporary jobs during the construction phase, with 30 percent reserved for women, and approximately 1,000 permanent jobs during the operational phase. A key feature of the project is its focus on youth employment and skills development: 50 percent of the permanent roles will go to young people, who will be trained through the State Youth Road Maintenance Corps—a cadre of local engineers drawn from all 17 Local Government Areas of Abia State. Dr. Akande Oyebola, Assistant Director at the International Economic Relations Department of the Federal Ministry of Finance, reaffirmed the Government's support: 'This initiative represents a significant milestone in our collective effort to drive economic growth, strengthen infrastructure, and improve the quality of life for the people of Abia State.' Dr. Abdul Kamara, Director General of the African Development Bank's Nigeria Country Department, commended the leadership of the federal and state governments. 'This project is rooted in partnership, ambition and long-term impact,' he said. 'At its core, this project is about lives, it is about reducing travel time by half, increasing incomes, improving access to schools and hospitals, and creating space for entrepreneurs, particularly women and youth, to thrive.' Beyond the physical infrastructure, the project incorporates comprehensive social and environmental safeguards. These include training for women and youth entrepreneurs, resettlement support, HIV/AIDS and STI awareness campaigns, and strengthened systems for procurement and financial management. Otumchere Oti, Abia State Commissioner for Works, reaffirmed the State's commitment to accountable delivery. 'Today we reassure all stakeholders, our development partners, contractors, communities, and government institutions, that implementation will be guided by diligence, transparency, and accountability. Our monitoring mechanisms are robust, and our resolve is strong. This is a defining moment for Abia State, and we shall rise to it with determination and unity,' he said. The African Development Bank will provide technical support, capacity building, and close implementation supervision through its Nigeria Country Department and sector teams. The launch of the Abia State Integrated Infrastructure Development Project marks a key milestone in the Bank's commitment to advancing Nigeria's development priorities through inclusive, sustainable infrastructure investment. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB). Contact: Nkiruka Henrietta Ugoh Nigeria Country Department media@ About the African Development Bank Group: The African Development Bank Group is Africa's premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information:
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
High water bills, filthy rivers – and now drought. This is England's great artificial water crisis of 2025
For a rich and fairly stable country, we are staggeringly ill-prepared for climate shocks. We respond to predictable crises as if we had had no warning. Lessons from previous disasters go unlearned, mistakes are recycled, failures lodged so deeply that they come to define the system. This is not because of a deficiency in the national character, but because of a deficiency in the ideology of government: an elite belief, shared by scarcely any citizens, that public intervention should be used only when all other measures have failed. Until that point, our problems should be addressed by the private sector. As drought rolls across the country once again, England's privatised water system guarantees an irrational response. Nothing undermines climate resilience in this country as much as the private ownership of our water system, and nothing reveals the drought of political ambition like the refusal to renationalise it. Once again we find ourselves confronting simultaneously both the climate crisis and the political crisis. Climate breakdown is the result of a global failure to address the power of private capital. Labour's response to its impacts reflects the same timidity. As successive governments have stood and watched, we have been comprehensively rinsed by the water companies. The current administration seems prepared to go to any lengths not to break this pattern. Margaret Thatcher promised that water privatisation would deliver higher investment. But a detailed analysis by the public service union Unison found that, between 1990 and 2023, there was no net investment at all. 'Investors' spent £3.6bn buying shares in 1989 and 1990, but by March 2023 total shareholder equity across the water sector amounted to £3.4bn. In real terms (taking inflation into account), that means a 60% reduction in shareholder capital. Over that period, shareholders managed to extract £77.6bn (in 2023 prices) in dividends from the water companies. Add this to the withdrawal of equity, and you discover that they have squeezed £82.4bn out of public assets. Much of this money was obtained through loading the companies with debt. Instead of borrowing to pay for infrastructure improvement, water companies borrowed to pay for dividends. They knew that if the enterprise one day became insolvent as a result, it would be someone else's problem. Ultimately, as we now discover in the case of Thames Water, it becomes our problem. Just as the water companies dump their sewage in the rivers, they have also dumped their liabilities on the public. The country becomes their dustbin. For 36 years, these companies have acted as dispensers of free money to their owners, most of which are foreign, some of which are foreign states. In fact, the only government not permitted to own England's water supply is the UK's. They must see us as total suckers, giving away our national infrastructure, land and assets … for less than nothing. Any investments have been funded not by shareholders but by their customers, through our water bills. These rose in the same period by 360%, more than twice the general rate of inflation. The rise has since accelerated. Every year, we pay £2.3bn more for our water and sewerage bills than we would if the suppliers were publicly owned, according to research by the University of Greenwich. High bills, impossible debts, filthy rivers, minimal investment and no resilience: that is the gift of privatisation. One of the results of this asset-stripping model is that leakage rates remain disgracefully high. While the hosepipe bans now being introduced around the nation are likely to save between 3% and 7% of the water we would otherwise use, 19% of the water piped through the network is lost through leakage. Compare this with the publicly owned Dutch system, which loses 4%. For the same reason, no major reservoir has been completed here since 1992. Demand management has been just as hopeless, with the result that, without further action, water demand will exceed supply by 2034. Given that their profits from metered customers depend on the amount we use, the water companies have a powerful incentive not to address the problem. Instead, as supplies become critically low, they insist that they must be allowed to extract even more from our rivers and aquifers, with dire impacts on wildlife and water quality. For similar reasons, they resist imposing hosepipe bans until the last possible moment. It seems crazy that this decision should be left to the water companies, with their perverse incentives and conflicts of interest, rather than being taken by public bodies; but this is yet another outcome of the public-bad, private-good elite ideology. Even senior Tory MPs expressed frustration that government could not simply decide what needed to be done; but that's the system they built, working as designed. As for the regulators, they too are useless by design. Ofwat, which is meant to protect the public interest, has succumbed to full-scale regulatory capture, as senior staff circulate between the water companies and the agency supposed to hold them to account. The Environment Agency, chronically underfunded and demotivated, almost halved its water use inspections in the five years to 2023: a classic example of deregulation by stealth. The rules might remain on the statute book, but without monitoring and enforcement they might as well have been deleted. Throughout its history, water privatisation in the UK has been deeply unpopular. In 1986, a year after Thatcher proposed the policy, a poll showed 71% opposed and only 21% in favour. Since then, opposition has only hardened: a poll a year ago revealed that only 8% of people believed water should still be run by the private sector, while 82% wanted to see it renationalised. But two months later, the government ruled this out. Why? Because, according to the environment secretary, Steve Reed, it would cost too much. Really? A series of analyses show that the government could renationalise these companies for next to nothing, not least because their real value is less than zero. There would be some administrative costs, but these are likely to be far smaller than the annual expense of sustaining the current system. It's a simple test: does the government operate in the interests of the country, or in the interests of private capital? This shouldn't be a difficult choice for Labour to make, yet, as with so many such tests, it flunks it. Why? Because it is terrified of any measure that might alienate even the most parasitic and extractive forms of capital. Strangely, however, it seems to have no qualms about alienating the rest of us. George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist On Tuesday 16 September, join George Monbiot, Mikaela Loach and other special guests discussing the forces driving climate denialism, live at the Barbican in London and livestreamed globally. Book tickets here or at
Bloomberg
16-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Insurance & Energy Leaders on Redefining Resilience
Patty Kuderer, Insurance Commissioner, Washington State; Fraser McLachlan, Chairman, Tokio Marine GX; and Michelle Vargo, Senior Vice President, Energy Operations, Puget Sound Energy discuss climate resilience and adaptation through the lens of disaster response and lessons learned from previous extreme weather events with Bloomberg's Leslie Kaufman at Bloomberg Green Seattle 2025. (Source: Bloomberg)
