Nicolette Dirk
THE communities of Nama-kwa and Mopani will be given up to R16 million by South South North to run 12 climate change mitigation projects.
South South North works on projects to reduce the vulnerability of areas most affected by climate change.
Project manager Zuki Jakavula said scientific projections indicated that district municipalities Mopani, Limpopo, and Namakwa, Northern Cape, would be subject to increasing temperatures and changing rainfall patterns in the coming years because of climate change.
Jakavula said the Community Adaptation Small Grants Facility for climate change adaptation would fund non-government and community-based projects.
Small grant projects would be selected through a call for proposals, specifically for climate-smart agriculture, climate-resilient livelihoods and climate-proof infrastructure Jakavula said.
The project was started in 2014 when the Adaptation Fund’s board approved the SA National Biodiversity Institute’s (Sanbi) proposal for a small grant facility to address climate change in South Africa. Sanbi appointed South South North to oversee the project.
Jakavula said safeguarding South Africa’s developmental progress in the face of a changing climate required local action by communities.
“The objective is to incorporate climate adaptation response strategies into local practices so that assets, livelihoods and ecosystem services are protected from climate-induced risks associated with expected droughts, seasonal shifts and storm-related disaster events.”