The project “Building adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change in the water sector in Cape Verde” is a national execution project of the government of Cape Verde and is implemented by the National Institute for Water Resource Management (INGRH) through its Project Management Unit in Praia as well as its Project Site Units in Santiago (Santa Cruz) and Santo Antao (Porto Novo). The project is funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and has the following objective:
“To increase resilience and enhance key adaptive capacity to address the additional risks posed by climate change to the water sector."
The project is divided into three components (based on outcomes) for implementation as follows:
Outcome 1: Climate change risks and adaptation measures integrated into key national policies, plans and programs for water resource management.
- Outcome 1 deals with the ‘governance framework’ for adaptation. The fact that climate risk, vulnerability and adaptation measures are only superficially integrated (or mainstreamed) in policies, plans and programs is a symptom of incipient and limited capacity of key national stakeholders to plan in response to climate change.
Outcome 2: Small and medium scale climate change adaptation practices for water resource management are demonstrated and implemented in selected hydrographical basins.
- Outcome 2 shows how pilot demonstration investment at the site level can make a difference in terms of improving resilience locally.
Outcome 3: Lessons learned and best practices from pilot activities, capacity development initiatives and policy changes are disseminated.
- The lessons learnt and experiences acquired under Outcomes 1 and 2 will be disseminated across and to other countries through actions foreseen under Outcome 3.
The activities are concentrated on two islands; Santiago with the intervention sites in Tarrafal and Santa Cruz and Santo Antao with the intervention sites in Planalto Leste, Rib. Grande, Rib. das Garcas, Rib. das Patas and Rib. Cruz.
At field level the activities in the two watersheds of Santo Antao island and Santiago island focus on the following areas:
- Capacity reinforcement of the project’s objectives in general and by intervention zone as well as the knowledge of socio-economic realities in these areas.
- The identification of capacity building needs at local and central institutional level for the integration of climate change risks as well as resulting adaptation measures into the policy framework and development programmes.
- The organisation and realisation of trainings on climate change risks as well as technical adaptation measures for staff of partner institutions as well as target agricultural producers.
- The promotion of a participatory approach for strengthening of the partnership with institutions and beneficiaries for implementation in the intervention zones and watersheds. This is mainly oriented towards management and valorisation of water management infrastructures;
- The implementation of soil and water conservation measures with the introduction of pilot techniques and practices like drip irrigation among beneficiaries in order to reinforce their resilience towards climate changes.