Financing and Enabling Community Ecosystem-based Adaptation for Water and Energy Security

About

This project and the governments of Colombia and Costa Rica introduce a new financing approach for EbA that capitalises on how hydropower companies rely on healthy ecosystems for clean and ample water supply. Articulating the benefits of EbA for hydropower justifies payments to upstream communities, compels investors to cover the costs of implementing EbA, and incentivises hydropower companies to repay investments based on improved revenues or reduced costs. Simultaneously, the project strengthens resilience for water and energy security, while providing pathways to sustainable livelihoods for forest-dependent communities, creating a case for replication through establishing national programs and global dissemination of lessons learned. The proposal works towards proof of concept of the hydropower EbA scheme, recruiting new financial sources to support communities to implement EbA and achieve better climate resilience – with high potential for replication in other countries that rely on hydropower.

Project start date: January 2022

Duration: 24 months

Cohort: 1st (April 2021 cutoff)

Award: US$250,000

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Project Status

So far, the team has successfully engaged with the key stakeholders in each country to create the steering committee that will allow for the exchange of best practices and lessons learned in the establishment of the national EbA programs. Initial stakeholder consultations have been conducted in Colombia and Costa Rica and local communities have expressed their interest in participating in the project. The Costa Rican national government, through its Ministry of Environment and Energy has endorsed the project for it to be submitted as a concept note to the Adaptation Fund. WRI has started collaborating with IISD on the spatial, economic, and financial analysis for the Reventazón basin and results from the analysis will inform both the business case and Adaptation Fund proposal.