JUBA — The government of South Sudan, in partnership with the United Nations agencies, on Tuesday launched a $50 million flood resilience project aimed at strengthening the country’s capacity to survive and recover from recurrent flooding.
The Enhancing Climate Resilience in Flood-Prone Areas (ECRF) is a five-year project aimed at strengthening community resilience through improved water management, climate-resilient agriculture, sustainable livelihoods, enhanced climate information services, and effective disaster risk management systems.
The initiative aims to boost climate resilience in flood-prone areas of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State and Warrap State.
The initiative, designed to support 1.7 million vulnerable people affected by recurrent floods, drought, and food insecurity, will be jointly implemented by the Ministry of Environment, the World Food Programme (WFP), and UNHCR.
Funded by the Green Climate Fund, with an additional $2.5 million in co-financing from Japan and $2.8 million from WFP, the project will run from 2025 to 2030.
Addressing the media after the launch in Juba on Tuesday, Mabior Garang De Mabior, minister of environment, said the initiative will help the country address climate shocks and build resilient communities capable of withstanding environmental challenges.
“Floods have destroyed crops, destroyed families, and destroyed already limited resources. Today, we begin to change that story. We move from fear to preparedness, collective resilience. We are launching a project, Enhancing Climate Resilience in Flood-Borne Areas in Northwestern South Sudan (PRF). This is a historic milestone,” Garang said.
He said the project will focus on improving water and land management, promoting climate-resilient agriculture, and investing in infrastructure designed to reduce flood risks.
Garnag said it will also enhance early warning systems and disaster preparedness to better equip communities to respond to extreme weather events.
“One, strengthening institutional capacity. We will improve our business and manage climate risks. Knowledge is our first line of defence. Two, climate and natural risk services. We will ensure early warning systems in which people will die and a simple, practical plan,” he said.
“Three, community-led adaptation. We will equip communities with skills in climate, smart agriculture, and high-risk diversification and support nature-based solutions and resilient infrastructure.”
For his part, Adham Effendi, acting WFP country director in South Sudan, said the project will strengthen the climate resilience of institutions, communities, and ecosystems.
“Basically, what this project will bring is institutional building where, at the national level and at the state level, the institutions will benefit, strengthen systems and processes, and also interlink it with the services,” said Adham.
Mathew Brook, UHCR Country Representative in South Sudan, said, “Everybody living in that area can benefit from this, from early warning systems for flooding to climate-resistant infrastructure and climate-friendly livelihoods. So I think this initiative has a lot of very practical benefits that are going to be very important in this context, changing the context of climate change.”
