EIF SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDES STAKEHOLDERS CONFERENCE AND EbA GRANTS HANDOVER CEREMONY

The Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia successfully hosted its Stakeholder Conference on  25th July 2023. The conference was held under the theme “Improving Climate Financing Scale Through Strategic Collaboration”. The hosting of the conference was to inform, engage and source inputs from its stakeholders, beneficiaries and partners with regards to its mandate, targeted interventions and new areas for possible engagement. The conference was drawn on the historical background of the Fund, what it had done up to date, impact at a glance, share lessons, opportunities and share outcome of its just ended 2018-2022 strategic plan in terms of interventions in ensuring sustainability.  

The conference also centred around the Sustainable Development Goal specifically (SDG 17), also known as "Partnerships for the Goals," is a fundamental Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) that plays a crucial role in achieving all the other 16 SDGs. SDG 17 recognizes the need for collaborative and multi-stakeholder partnerships at the global, regional, and national levels to mobilize resources, share knowledge, and implement sustainable solutions to the world's most pressing challenges.

The stakeholder engagement in climate finance is crucial for fostering cooperation, achieving meaningful impact, & accelerating progress towards a more sustainable and climate-resilient future. By involving stakeholders, climate finance strategies can be fine-tuned & better aligned with local needs & priorities. This leads to more targeted & impactful investments, as projects are designed with a deep understanding of the specific challenges & opportunities faced by communities. 

By further Involving stakeholders in climate finance initiatives fosters transparency, accountability & collaboration between different sectors & actors, encourages the exchange of ideas, expertise, & resources.  By working together with a wide range of stakeholders, we can create more robust, equitable, and effective climate finance strategies that address the urgent challenges of climate change.

Theme topics covered at the recently concluded conference include: Partnership and Opportunities in Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA’s) and Sustainable Development in line with Namibia Determined Contributions (NDC), Public-private partnerships: the role of public-private partnerships in climate finance, Collaboration for development in Making Namibia as Africa’s Energy Hub- with focus on Energy Global Market, Carbon Markets and Green Hydrogen and Global climate finance architecture: the design and effectiveness of the global climate finance architecture, including the role of international climate funds, multilateral development banks, and bilateral funding mechanisms. Focus on ways to enhance coordination, alignment, and collaboration among different finance actors.

The Conference brought together over 250 two hundred and fifty participants drawn from the institutions such as: international stakeholders that joined virtually, Non-Governmental Organizations, Developmental Financial Institutions (DFI’s), Namibian public and civic society organizations, donor community representatives, traditional Authorities, Embassies and consulates, line ministries, UN representatives from various entities such United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Institutions of higher learning, regional governors, regional councils, youth groups, community based organisations, woman organizations, commercial Banks, research institutions, State-Owned Enterprises amongst others.

In addition to the conference the Fund held a grant handover ceremony which saw the disbursing of grants to the tune of N$ 88 300 000 under the “Building resilience of communities across targeted 8 landscapes threatened under climate change through an ecosystems-based adaptation approach’ initiative, a project funded by the Green Climate Fund titled “Building Resilience of Communities Living in Eight Landscapes Threatened Under Climate Change Through an Ecosystem Based Adaptation Approach in Namibia. The community projects are aimed at addressing climate change through ecosystem-based adaptation. Ecosystem-based adaptation recognizes the inherent strength and resilience of our natural systems in adapting to changing climatic conditions. The Ecosystem based-Adaptation project grants were handed over to 34 community-based organizations. 

Figure 1Proud Recipients: Otjimbingwe Independent Development Association receives their grant valued at N$ 2.5 000 000.

Figure 2Denver Kisting ( Moderator)strikes a pose with panellists  James Mnyupe ( Green Hydrogen Commissioner), Jerome Namaseb, Robert Kahimise and Tendai Kasinganeti