WASHINGTON, May 9, 2016 — The World Bank Groups’ Board of Executive Directors today approved a Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) Grants totaling US$8.73 million for the West Balkans Drina River Basin Management Project for Bosnia and Herzegovina (US$3.37 million), Montenegro (US$2.72 million), and Serbia (US$2.63 million).
The project aims to ensure a rational and equitable management of the Drina River basin supporting the significant socio-economic development opportunities offered by its abundant natural resources, while at the same time protecting the environment. The project will strengthen the mechanisms for cooperation among Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia regarding this shared resource. The project will also help deal with climate change-related disasters, notably floods and droughts.
“This is a regional project that fosters cooperation among three countries on transboundary water management”, said Anna Cestari, World Bank Senior Water Resources Specialist and Task Team Leader for this project. “This project will support the countries in optimizing management of the shared river basin. It will also support their preparedness related to extreme weather events, given that in recent years, disastrous floods and seasonal droughts have become more frequent and have caused severe damage.”
The project will complement ongoing activities financed by the World Bank, the European Union and other international institutions which aim at improving integrated planning and cooperation for water in the region.
About the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. Since then, the GEF has provided $14.5 billion in grants and mobilized $75.4 billion in additional financing for almost 4,000 projects. The GEF has become an international partnership of 183 countries, international institutions, civil society organizations, and private sector to address global environmental issues.
About the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF)
The Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) was established in 2001 to support adaptation and technology transfer in all developing country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It is designed to finance activities, programs and measures related to climate change that are complementary to those funded through the climate change focal area of the GEF, under the following four financing windows: 1. Adaptation to climate change; 2. Technology transfer; 3. Mitigation in selected sectors including: energy, transport, industry, agriculture, forestry and waste management; and 4. Economic diversification.
