This year, Edith Ofwona Adera, Coordinator of the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) and the African Development Bank’s Regional Principal Officer for Climate Change and Green Growth, marked International Women’s Day in a special way.

Adera took part in a panel discussion organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat, reflecting this year’s theme: Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.

The panel, hosted by Jennifer Namgyal of the Commonwealth Secretariat, brought together experts who shared their experiences and lessons learned on integrating gender equality in Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, across their respective regions and institutions. NDCs are national plans highlighting climate actions, including targets, policies and measures that governments aim to implement.

Hannah Girardeau, of the NDC Partnership Support Unit, kicked off the session with a presentation on the findings of an analysis of gender considerations in revised NDCs of the partnership’s member countries. The assessment revealed that more countries had now included the fundamental building blocks of gender-responsive climate action in their policies and plans.  Girardeau noted that there is a need to invest in other critical elements such as conducting gender analyses, developing indicators, and establishing gender-responsive budgets to complement progress achieved.

Adera agreed with her. “As climate change impacts affect people differently, the responses need to be differentiated, based on identified unique needs, informed by disaggregated data,” Adera added.

To address this challenge, the African Development Bank is supporting national statistical systems in five countries through a Capacity Building for Gender Statistics and Monitoring Systems project. The project aims to produce quality, comparable and regular gender statistics to address national data gaps, strengthen monitoring systems, and integrate gender indicators across sectors.

Bertha Chiudza of the Green Climate Fund said a key requirement for all its financed activities is to ensure gender considerations are included in the development of action plans and assessments. “For its support on Nationally Determined Contributions, the Green Climate Fund ensures that gender considerations are brought in from planning and design, implementation and reporting across the sectors prioritized by countries, while ensuring inclusive stakeholder consultations,” Chiudza stated.

Sasha Jattansingh, the Commonwealth Climate Finance Adviser, gave insights into Antigua and Barbuda’s actions to mainstream gender equality into Nationally Determined Contributions. The country recognized equity issues and committed to a just energy transition with a strong focus on gender, Jattansingh noted. Antigua and Barbuda is an example of a country that has made progress in developing an inclusive renewable energy strategy that promotes socially inclusive, gender-responsive, and accessible investment opportunities.

Anna Rojas of the International Union for Conservation of Nature also shared her experiences and lessons in integrating gender into Nationally Determined Contributions, pointing out that biodiversity issues are now being integrated more consistently in these plans. She called for local-level conversations with women to tap into their strengths and rich knowledge. “Engagement with women will avoid dismal adaptation because, the more we identify needs, strengths, and solutions, the better we will be prepared,” she emphasized.

The African Development Bank is rolling out a detailed analysis of climate-gender hotspots in Rwanda. Adera said it would highlight real gender gaps and deep vulnerabilities, and how best climate interventions can address these gender issues.

Finance also emerged as one of the vital tools to promote gender equality in Nationally Determined Contributions. Innovative financial instruments and solutions must come into play when addressing gender inequalities for climate change interventions, noted Unnikrishnan Nair of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group, on Thursday approved grants worth $20.56 million to finance the fourth expansion of Banjul Port in The Gambia.

The funding comprises an ADF grant of $13.71 million and another $6.85 million grant from the Transition Support Facility window. The project will also receive a $450,000 grant from the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP) a joint initiative of the African Development Bank and the Global Centre on Adaptation, for technical assistance to mainstream climate resilience into the expansion. AAAP will use cutting-edge climate analytics to identify and quantify the impacts of physical climate risk on the port infrastructure and provide adaptation investment options to climate-proof it.

The expansion will be financed in parallel with a private investor who will be selected competitively by the Gambian government.  The World Bank and the African Development Bank supported the Banjul Port’s previous expansions.

The fourth expansion program entails an extension of the port jetty by 345 meters to accommodate up to three ships simultaneously instead of one currently. It also provides for the expansion of the container terminal area by 22,000 m2 to create space for unloading ships, replacement of a non-functioning ferry plying the Banjul and Bara crossing and widening port access roads by 3km to ease congestion. Information and communication processing systems will also be procured for efficient linkages between customs and the terminal operating system.

Upgrading the port will significantly reduce ship turnaround time and cut costly congestion and surcharges, enabling reductions in sea freight costs and demurrage payments. The works will boost the facility’s capacity to meet growing traffic and improve efficiency in operations and management as it digitizes its procedures. The introduction of green and low-carbon emission ferries will make the port infrastructure more climate-friendly and climate-resilient. The project is also expected to empower women's groups through gender-sensitive procurement and provide jobs, especially for the youth.

At the end of November 2022, the Bank Group had 12 active operations in The Gambia, valued at $166.6 million.  Eighty percent (80%) of these are financed through its ADF window. The transport sector represents 55.6% of the portfolio, the largest share, followed by agriculture and rural development with 24%. Energy sector projects constitute 12% of the portfolio.

Contact: 

Kwasi Kpodo, Communication and External Relations Department, African Development Bank, email: media@afdb.org(link sends e-mail)

The African Development Bank and the Global Center on Adaptation hosted a virtual dialogue on Monday last week to discuss climate adaptation related to the Port of Banjul Fourth Expansion Project in Gambia.

The proposed project will increase cargo handling and storage capacity of the terminal in order to cope with increasing cargo volumes and trade.

The dialogue was attended by officials from Gambia’s Port Authority, the National Environment Agency, the National Roads Authority, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management, the Department of Water Resources, Maersk Line Gambia, clearing and forwarding agency HM Trading, the Great Institute and civil society. The discussions centered on the climate hazards the Port of Banjul is exposed to, and the impact of these hazards on the Port’s assets, operations, and services.

The African Development Bank and European Investment Bank are considering financing the proposed expansion of the Port of Banjul, estimated at $114 million. To this end, the African Development Bank has committed $531,275 to the Gambia Port Authority to finance a feasibility assessment and investment preparation studies to lay the groundwork for the project.

Within the framework of the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) – a partnership between the African Development Bank and the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), GCA is providing technical
assistance worth around €200,000 to mainstream climate resilience into the Expansion Project, utilizing cutting-edge climate analytics to identify and quantify the impacts of physical climate risk on the investment and provide adaptation investment options to climate-proof the investment.

The findings from the climate analytics revealed that climate hazards could lead to cumulative economic damage to the Port of Banjul estimated at $27 million over the next 30 years. This is about 23% of the estimated investment required to upgrade the Port of Banjul. It also emerged that the Port could lose up to 3% of its revenue annually due to the impacts of physical climate risks.