By Rakiya A.Muhammad
With the lack of resources to respond to the devastating effects of climate change, many communities have continued to face threats to lives and livelihoods, with the most vulnerable communities bearing an enormous burden.
“Without clear financial instruments to boost resilience and fund needed adaptation initiatives for coastal communities, the valuable marines and coastal resources may be lost forever, leaving people with no choice but to leave,” noted Lucienne Noel, Thematic Expert for Coastal Resilience at Earth Journalism Network (EJN)⁹.
“Yet there are innovative financial instruments in development and already in use around the world to lighten the burden on coastal communities and provide a pathway forward towards resilience.”
At a webinar on ‘Reporting Financial Instruments to protect coastal communities’ organised by EJN, Noel underscored the need to build the capacity of journalists to cover the ‘complex topic’.
The current financing state, innovative instruments that could better support communities and tips for journalists covering it were significant areas covered by the webinar.
Yabanex Batista, Deputy Head at the UN Global Fund for Coral Reef, accentuated threats to the marine and coastal ecosystem and the need to protect them.
He noted the valuable ecosystem services provided by coral reefs- large underwater structures but described the current situation as critical for reef action.
“90 per cent of the world’s reefs are threatened by human impact,” he pointed out. “Without urgent action, reefs face extinction by 2050.”
He added that current conservation funding is seven times lower than needed.
Financing Climate Resilience
Batista, however, identified the Global Fund for Coral Reef (GFCR) launched during the 7th United Nations General Assembly in September 2020, which aims to eliminate the coral reef funding gap and support interventions for their best chance of survival.
“GFCR convenes a global coalition of public and private partners dedicated to closing the coral reef funding gap,” he explained.
“It facilitates an innovative Reef positive investment ecosystem with an array of financial tools designed to incubate, derisk, and attract private investment signed to conservation aims.”
The UN official added that the Fund offers a science-based implementation tool to scale marine biodiversity conservation and blue economic transition.
Batista outlined Reef-positive solutions to include marine protected areas, coral reef restoration, sustainable fisheries, sustainable mariculture, ecotourism, plastic waste management, Blue Carbon, Coastal agriculture, clean energy and transportation, and sewage and waste management.
The current Grant Fund Portfolio has 23 countries. Among them are five African countries: Egypt, Kenya, Mozambique, Seychelles and Tanzania.
Asia, Pacific Islands, Latin America and the Caribbean have five, six and seven countries, respectively, among the 23.
Lead Environmental Specialist at World Bank, Peter Kristensen, drew attention to the coastal challenges in West Africa, where he observed erosion and flooding severely threaten communities, livelihoods, safety and investments.
He highlighted the West African Coastal Areas (WACA) Management Program of the World Bank, which aims to strengthen the resilience of target coastal communities in the region.
“The program supports countries’ efforts to improve the management of their shared coastal resources and reduce the natural and manmade risks affecting coastal communities,” he stated.
Kristensen added WACA boosts knowledge transfer, fosters political dialogue among countries, and mobilises public and private finance to tackle coastal erosion, flooding, pollution and climate change adaptation.
WACA is engaged in nine countries with national resilience investment projects attracting World Bank finance of $563 million.
The Specialist catalogued financing options and instruments, including Investment Project Finance, Development Policy Finances, Project for Result, Private Sector Equity and Risk Guarantee.
On innovative instruments, he listed Blue Carbon, Endowment Funds, Debt Swaps and Blue/Green Bonds.
People, Nature First, Not Money
But how do journalists cover coastal climate finance?
“Put people and nature first, not money,” submitted Megan Rowling, Just Transition Editor at Thomas Reuters Foundation.
“The key thing in covering coastal climate finance is to focus on the human narratives.”
She tagged climate finance as a “newish subject” on the political agenda for government, business and civil society. Still, she said, it is rising fast in terms of importance, especially now after COP15 and the UN high seas agreements in recent months.
“Tens of billions of dollars due to be unlocked: donor money (bilateral and multilateral), business, insurance, redirected subsidies,” Rowling observed.
“Why does it matter? Coastal areas are now coming under greater protection and more appreciation of services provided by marine and coastal ecosystems. Work to put a value on those services and a price on blue carbon is advancing.”
She advised journalists to consider what’s new and different in an initiative, including the funding and methods, what’s working, what’s not, its significance and how it fits into the broader picture of climate and natural action.
“Don’t lose sight of the local- livelihoods, development and just transition,” she emphasised.
Madji Seck, Senior Partnership Specialist at World Bank, also harped on bringing the human narrative to trigger people into action.
She asked a rhetorical question: “We need accurate numbers to make decisions on development pathways, but how do we document the human narratives? How do we bring change? How do we trigger people into action?”
“We engage journalists to spark public accountability,” declared the partnership specialist.
“We promote fact-based reporting and create an enabling environment for reforms.”
