UNDP

Project Overview

The "Scaling up Climate Resilient Water Management Practices for Vulnerable Communities in La Mojana, Colombia" aims to benefit more than 400,000 people, who will participate in strengthening water management, early warning systems and creating livelihoods resilient to climate change. The US$117 million project will be implemented by the Colombia’s Adaptation Fund, among other national organizations, with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The effects of climate change on La Mojana are severe. The income of its inhabitants is being affected by the loss of crops as well as by large-scale changes to their ecosystems, which translate into increased flood risks and prolonged periods of drought that are putting the lives and livelihoods of smallholder farmers at risk. These pressures induced by climate change are weakening the already threatened water sources in the region, according to the Government of Colombia, affecting both the supply and quality of water that communities need to drink and water crops.

The project puts sustainable ecosystem management at the leading edge of disaster risk reduction by promoting healthier watersheds, protecting communities from floods and supporting poor rural populations to overcome water scarcity during the prolonged dry seasons. This ecosystem-based approach will also work towards achieving Colombia's Nationally Determined Contributions and a low-emission future, and will serve as a model to implement the first comprehensive climate-adaptive regional development plan. This includes the adoption of a long-term risk reduction strategy based not only on infrastructure but also on restoring ecosystem services for regional water management and the direct empowerment of vulnerable communities and regional authorities to manage projected climate risks.

The project will also share new tools and technologies, such as the use of solar power and rain-water harvesting to address long-term water supply problems. This project was built with the support of local institutions, in particular from the Governor of Sucre, the municipalities of Guaranda, Majagual, Caimito, San Marcos, San Benito and Sucre-Sucre in the department of Sucre; Achí in the department of Bolivar, and Ayapel in the department of Cordoba. The universities of Cordoba and Sucre and the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the valleys of Sinú and San Jorge, CVS and Corpomojana, also participated. The most vulnerable communities in La Mojana also participated actively in the formulation of the project, including consultations with peasant and women associations, as well as the Zenues councils and the community councils of Afro-descendants.

The project scales up results that have been achieved in Colombia through other initiatives of the National Environmental System supported by UNDP, such as the Reducing risk and vulnerability to climate change in Colombia project.

Expected Outcomes

Output 1: Systemizing knowledge management of the impacts of climate change on water management for planning purposes

Output 2: Promoting climate resilient water resource infrastructure and ecosystem restoration

Output 3: Improving Early Warning Systems for Climate Resiliency

Output 4: Enhancing rural livelihoods through climate resilient agro-ecosystems