Staff Reporter
The Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate, and Wildlife, Washington Zhakata, has been appointed as the Vice Chairperson of the Adaptation Fund Board under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The appointment, effective immediately, places Zhakata in a key leadership role within the global climate finance body, which is housed at the World Bank.
The Adaptation Fund was established to support developing countries that are vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change.
It finances tangible adaptation projects and programs in countries that are parties to the Kyoto Protocol. Since 2010, the Fund has committed over US$1.2 billion toward climate resilience projects, benefiting more than 45 million people across the world.
To date, the Fund has implemented 176 localized projects aimed at enhancing community resilience in the most climate-vulnerable regions.
One of the Fund’s pioneering features is its Direct Access modality, which enables accredited national entities to directly access and manage climate funds, ensuring countries take ownership of their climate resilience strategies.
Zimbabwe has been a significant beneficiary of this initiative through the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), which was accredited as a National Implementing Entity (NIE) to handle the country’s climate funds on behalf of the Adaptation Fund.
Prior to his new appointment, Zhakata served as a Board Member representing Africa. During his tenure, Zimbabwe secured two major climate adaptation projects worth US$10 million.
One of these, a US$5 million project, is being implemented by EMA to enhance the resilience of communities and ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions of the country.
Another US$5 million project, implemented through UNESCO, aims to increase the adaptive capacity of local communities by improving groundwater exploitation in Zimbabwe.
Zhakata’s new leadership position is expected to further bolster Zimbabwe’s access to climate adaptation financing.
Currently, another US$10 million funding window is available to Zimbabwe, and with Zhakata at the helm, the country will be well-positioned to navigate and access these critical climate funds.
Zhakata’s appointment underscores Zimbabwe’s growing influence in global climate policy and its commitment to building climate resilience in vulnerable communities.
