BANGKOK—Leaders from The Rockefeller Foundation, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today announced the launch of a new trust fund designed to scale up urban climate change resilience in 25 Asian cities.
The Urban Climate Change Resilience Partnership (UCCRP) will be used to fund planning, projects and knowledge sharing to help cities in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam mitigate the risks of increasing urbanization and climate change on their population, particularly the urban poor.
“Every year the global urban population grows as cities increasingly become hubs for economic activity. However, high-density cities are often in hazard-prone locations and it is expected that 900 million urban dwellers living in low and middle income countries will face risks related to the impacts of climate change over the next 5-10 years,” said Ashvin Dayal, associate vice president and managing director, The Rockefeller Foundation, Asia regional office. “This fund is designed to leverage financing, including an additional $1 billion in public and private investment, to scale up climate change resilience for Asia.”
Planning and projects supported by UCCRP will focus on physical investments—drainage, housing and flood protection, and wastewater systems—as well as systematic improvements such as enhanced surveillance and early warning systems, updated building codes, reformed regulations and resilience-focused water and land-use planning. This approach is designed to develop comprehensive and systematic resilience throughout urban communities.
UCCRP planning and projects will have a particular focus on poor and vulnerable urban groups. The ability of projects to build resilience for vulnerable populations is a key selection criterion for participating cities, projects and organizational partners.
The ADB will leverage their experience in urban infrastructure development to manage the UCCRP element of the program while DFID and The Rockefeller Foundation will provide the initial financing totaling $140 million. The U.S. Agency for International Development has also expressed an interest in supporting the UCCRP. Other donor agencies are invited to align their resilience investments using the UCCRP framework.
“The region’s cities are going through an unprecedented population boom and their poorest citizens are in the front line of an increase in extreme floods, sea level rises and other climate change-linked events,” said Gil-Hong Kim, director of the sustainable infrastructure division in the Department of Regional and Sustainable Development at ADB. “This innovative partnership brings together a private foundation, bilateral organizations, and ADB—a multilateral development bank—to leverage and scale up solutions to protect some of the world’s most vulnerable urban communities.”
Additionally, this program seeks to build urban planning capacities and coordination functions in each participating city, develop community-led solutions and infrastructure projects, and influence government and financial partners to incorporate climate change resilience into future urban investments.
“The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to be a founding partner for this innovative new fund,” said Dr. Judith Rodin, president of The Rockefeller Foundation in a statement. “Through our experiences with related work such as the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network and 100 Resilient Cities, we have already begun to see the tremendous positive impact of comprehensive and equitable resilience planning, as well as the immense demand for it among cities. UCCRP represents a landmark effort to help meet this demand, bringing together local governments, community leaders, donors, and private enterprise to counter the threats that cities face.”
About The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation aims to achieve equitable growth by expanding opportunity for more people in more places worldwide, and to build resilience by helping them prepare for, withstand, and emerge stronger from acute shocks and chronic stresses. Throughout its 100 year history, The Rockefeller Foundation has enhanced the impact of innovative thinkers and actors working to change the world by providing the resources, networks, convening power, and technologies to move them from idea to impact. In today’s dynamic and interconnected world, The Rockefeller Foundation has a unique ability to address the emerging challenges facing humankind through innovation, intervention and influence in order to shape agendas and inform decision making. For more information, please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org
About the Department for International Development (DFID)
The Department for International Development leads the UK’s work to end extreme poverty. We’re ending the need for aid by creating jobs, unlocking the potential of girls and women and helping to save lives when humanitarian emergencies hit. Find out more at www.gov.uk/dfid
About the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2012, ADB assistance totaled $21.6 billion, including cofinancing of $8.3 billion.
Media Enquiries
Kanitha Kongrukgreatiyos, Communications Officer, The Rockefeller Foundation, kanitha@rockfound.org, +668-1846-1246