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The World Bank on Wednesday approved a grant designed to enable targeted rural communities to cope with the impact of climate change.

In a statement, the Washington-based lender said the $ 4.97 million grant for Climate Change Adaptation Project aims to develop and demonstrate cost-effective adaptation strategies in agriculture and natural resources management and strengthen the country’s institutional framework for climate change adaptation.

Bert Hofman, World Bank country director, said the project will enhance rural communities’ capacity to adapt to climate change by improving farm management capability under conditions of climate risk, enhancing access to information on weather forecasting and climate patterns, and improving access to risk management options such as weather index insurance, among others.

“The primary beneficiaries of this grant include poor farmers who often suffer climate-related losses, and other vulnerable groups that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods,” Hofman said.

The grant for the CCAP will come from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund being implemented by the World Bank.

The project will also be supported with $ 40.45 million co-financing from the Participatory Irrigation Development Project (PIDP) and another $ 10 million from the Environment and Natural Resources Management Project (ENRMP), two ongoing government projects which are also financed by the World Bank.

The Philippines has one of the highest exposures to climate change risks — including typhoons, floods, landslides, and droughts—of any country in the world.

In late September and early October 2009, tropical storm Ondoy, followed closely by typhoon Pepeng, caused massive flooding, landslides, damage to infrastructure, loss of crops, and loss of human life in an area reaching from metropolitan Manila to northern Luzon.

These two weather disturbances — the worst on record — disrupted the lives of an estimated 7 million people, caused hundreds of deaths, and damaged crops and infrastructure.

The country is also periodically affected by the El Niño phenomenon, which creates strains on water resources due to low water inflows into major watersheds and reservoirs.

During severe El Niño-driven drought, water for agriculture has, at times, been totally cut in favor of domestic and industrial water supply, causing severe losses in agriculture and more hardships for the rural poor.

“This project is consistent with the government’s priorities with respect to poverty reduction and sustainable development, particularly given that the poorest segments of the Philippines’ population depend on agriculture and natural resources for their livelihoods,” Hofman said.

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