Project Inception Meeting for Green Climate Fund  Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱  𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲

A project inception meeting was held today providing contextual background on the approved Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme, BTN-RS-006 project under Green Climate Fund (GCF). 

The meeting outlined the sequence of project implementation process assuring collective responsibility among various agencies identified to implement it.The meeting was participated by relevant stakeholders for the project that include government officials and Civil Society Organizations. 

RSPN Bhutan as a Delivery Partner to GCF coordinates the overall implementation of the project. RSPN is grateful to NDA and DAE for the necessary support. This project will end in 2026. We are grateful to NDA, DAE and other partners for utmost support for the kickstart of this project. We also extend our gratitude to GCF secretariat and UNOPS  for their continued support.

Today, our 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸-𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 in Phobjikha had the pleasure of hosting the Green Climate Fund delegates and national officials. We are thrilled to have shared our passion for environmental sustainability with the delegates and look forward to continuing our endeavor for a greener future together!

The center established in 2001 plays a crucial role in promoting our joint conservation efforts and enhance awareness and knowledge about the #Cranes, ecotourism programs, local flora, fauna, and the enrich culture of our community.

Today, RSPN turns over a new leaf for #ClimateAction as the Executive Director of the RSPN Bhutan signed a Grant Support Agreement worth USD One Million in support of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme (RPSP) : ‘𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗵𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲-𝘂𝗽 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀’.

The two-year Readiness project is aimed to increase Bhutan’s access to climate finance by improving the availability and access to robust and credible climate information and data through stakeholder coordination, and technical capacity building to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and National Adaptation Plan (NAP) commitments and needs.

We extend our appreciation to the National Designated Authority-Ministry of Finance, Royal Government of Bhutan, GCF and UNOPS for your continued support and guidance.

Bhutan is currently in the process of developing a new National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan(NBSAP) document in accordance with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and through an alignment with the national priorities. RSPN is representing as one of the Technical Working Group members collaborating with the National Biodiversity Centre and Department of Environment and Climate Change, and other organizations under the Royal Government of Bhutan in formulating this new NBSAP.

To build a holistic approach and set a shared understanding of new NBSAP Targets, RSPN organized consultation workshops with the relevant organizations today. The workshop is aimed for building the capacity of individual organizations towards national vision on biodiversity conservation and as well as to strengthen ownership over the NBSAP document. The workshop will also ease mainstreaming biodiversity into the organization’s plan.

The consultation workshop saw lengthy discussion among the stakeholders in taking the new NBSAP as an important national document to consider as a mechanism in balancing the conservation of biodiversity and the livelihood of communities. The discussion also observed the due importance in considering private partnership to implement some of the NBSAP targets, and respective organizations taking role to fulfill the targets.

Regarding Resource Mobilization, stakeholders present strongly feel the financing organization like Global Environmental Facility should give priority to fund the implementation of action plans of NBSAP.

With the hope to see this new NBSAP as transformative biodiversity governance, participants wish the formulation of new NBSAP a successful pathway.

A bilateral meeting between officials of RSPN and the Adaptation Fund was held during COP28. The meeting discussed the diverse areas of collaboration that RSPN and Adaptation Fund could engage in.

RSPN’s engagement with the Adaptation Fund will significantly benefit the country in accessing the climate funds and strengthen country’s stewardship for the climate action. There is huge demand of enhanced climate action in the country with climate change disproportionately effecting different sectors. For instance, according to the recently launched National Adaptation Plan of the country, there is an outline of fund mobilization requirements close to USD 13 billion for building climate resilience of different sectors.

The officials of Adaptation Fund acknowledged the aspiration, promptness and capacity of RSPN in tackling the climate issues in the country. The meeting observed both sides to keep the spirit of communicating more and work based on the country’s priorities.

RSPN acknowledges the support of Disignated Authority of the country in coordinating the meeting.

South Climate Conclave held in Sri Lanka

The Climate Action Champions Network (CACN) started with a dream. A dream that empowers mere individuals to take substantial climate action. A dream that is closer and closer to getting fulfilled every time climate experts unite. After all, one cannot find an innovative solution to this critical problem by themselves. We must join forces as a community. With that mission, the three-day event of South Climate Conclave: Sri Lanka Chapter was held in Sri Lanka.

Designed to encourage collective action, the Sri Lanka Chapter of the South Climate Conclave focused on the most critical metric of climate change that we are feeling right now: Rising Temperature. The overarching theme of the conclave was World of Change: The Impact of Rising Global Temperature. The thematic area was expanded with a subtheme where climate champions delved deeper into the impact of rising global temperatures on agriculture and water, in the context of South Asia.

The current climatic trend of rising temperatures all across the South Asian region has compelled climate champions to engage in dialogues that will drive concrete policymaking initiatives in its wake.

Moreover, this conclave helped to assemble the experts and learners from multidisciplinary fields whose knowledge and experiences will help the ideas materialize into action.

The three days of the South Climate Conclave: Sri Lanka Chapter have further strengthened the network while engaging in an array of fun activities all within the backdrop of gorgeous Negombo, Sri Lanka.

The representative from RSPN along with other Bhutanese youth climate experts and champions participated in the conclave and shared the means of taking collaborative climate actions.

Meeting between Green Climate and RSPN

A meeting between the officials of RSPN Bhutan and Green Climate Fund Secretariat was held at the sideline of #COP28UAE event in Dubai. The officials from both sides updated the developments in the respective organization and delved to seek more future engagement and collaboration on the climate front.

With the RSPN’s enriched experiences in project coordination and implementation, strong safeguard systems established, and a wealth of human resource capacity guided by the organisation’s charter, GCF has identified RSPN as a Delivery Partner for the implementation of Readiness grant.

The representatives from RSPN acknowledged the support received from National Designated Authority (NDA) and GCF Secretariat during the entire process of conducting the Financial Management Capacity Assessment and other fiduciary responsibilities.

As a Delivery Partner to GCF, RSPN through the support of NDA has also secured Readiness grant for the country and will be implementing climate projects from next year.

Meeting Green Climate and RSPN at COP28UAE event in Dubai

The first “Bhutan Pavilion” at COP 28 will be a major milestone for Bhutan. The primary objective of the Bhutan Pavilion at COP 28 “Sustaining Carbon Neutrality” is to demonstrate Bhutan’s unique journey as a carbon neutral country, its opportunities and challenges, by highlighting our climate priorities, adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Since our historic commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992, Bhutan has been a beacon of environmental stewardship and climate action. In 2006, Bhutan enshrined a groundbreaking pledge into its Constitution, vowing to keep 60% of its land covered in lush forests. At COP 15 in 2009, Bhutan declared our unwavering commitment to Carbon Neutrality, a promise reiterated in our Nationally Determined Contribution in 2015.

Now, as we gather at the COP28 in Dubai, UAE, we are here to unveil the captivating narrative of Bhutan’s enduring Carbon Neutrality journey.

Join us as we navigate the delicate balance between sustainable development and our unyielding commitment to Carbon Neutrality.

As part of the GCF’s Readiness Programme, a writeshop was organized at the Black-necked Crane Education Center in Gangtey-Phobjikha from July 17-19, 2023. The writeshop was primarily intended to conceptualize and develop a Readiness Proposal to GCF. It is one of the processes for accessing funding under the Readiness Programme. The three-day writeshop was extensively engaged by relevant stakeholders (Tarayana Foundation, Bhutan Ecological Society, The Bhutan Youth Development Fund, National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology, Office of the Attorney General)

Stakeholder Consultantion for the Readiness Programme

To envision the activities for Readiness Proposal development, a stakeholder consultation workshop was organized by RSPN in consultation with the National Designated Authority, the Ministry of Finance earlier today.

The workshop was attended by relevant stakeholders in the county that have priorities aligned with Green Climate Fund (#GCF).We would like to thank all the participants for their active participation and continued support.

Bank of Bhutan Bhutan Development Bank Limited – BDB Bhutan Ecological SocietyTarayana FoundationThe Bhutan Youth Development FundOffice of the Attorney GeneralNational Centre for Hydrology and MeteorologyMinistry of Finance, Royal Government of Bhutan #cabinetsecretary