Tripartite MoU signed on, Trust for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Maldives

The Government of Maldives, the European Union (EU), and the World Bank Group today signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding , establishing a new Trust Fund designed to build resilience to climate change in the Maldives.

The EU has contributed EUR 6.5 million (approximately US$8.8 million) to the multi-donor Maldives Climate Change Trust Fund, which the World Bank will administer over a period of three and a half years. The majority of the Trust Fund resources will be utilized by the Government of Maldives to carry out their priority projects relating to climate change adaptation and mitigation.

"The Maldives has been a champion of climate change discussions and an important factor in Copenhagen, making a unilateral commitment to become carbon neutral by 2020," stated Mr. Bernard Savage, Ambassador of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

"Climate change is a serious global challenge, and a major threat to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by reversing development progress made in the last decade. It demands urgent, cooperative and shared responsibility to act. Thus the EU welcomes the opportunity to assist the Government of Maldives in reaching out towards their stated goals on carbon neutrality through this initial contribution of EUR 6.5 million."

A low lying archipelago with more territorial sea than land, the Maldives is exposed to the risks of intensifying weather events such as damage caused by inundation, extreme winds and flooding from storms. Sea level rise represents an existential threat to the country. With future sea levels projected to increase in the range of 10 to 100 centimeters by the year 2100, the entire country could be submerged in the worst-case scenario.

Threatened with its very existence, the Government of Maldives has declared its intention to fight climate change over the next decade, including a vision to cut carbon emissions to become a carbon neutral nation.

It’s crucial for Maldives to build a climate resilient economy and society through adaptation, said Naoko Ishii, World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

The commitment and manner in which Maldives addresses the environmental challenges and builds a climate-friendly economy will not only have important demonstration effects for the country, but also the world.

The development objectives of the Trust Fund Program are to:

• Strengthen knowledge and leadership in the Government of Maldives to deal with climate change issues both domestically and internationally;

• Build adaptive capacity and climate resilience in key sectors through tangible pilot interventions;

• Promote energy efficiency and increase energy access through renewable energy generation and distribution through low carbon options and public-private partnerships; and

• Improve policy and institutional capacities in the public and private sectors to deal with adaptation and mitigation interventions that bring both developmental and climate change benefits.

The governance arrangements for the Program include a Climate Change Advisory Council in the Office of the President with representatives from the government to provide strategic direction to the climate change activities under the Trust Fund. In addition, a Technical Committee composed of technical experts of the Government of Maldives, private sector and leading civil society organizations is responsible for reviewing and recommending technically well-sound project proposals for financing and monitoring the overall progress of the program.

The Maldives stands at the frontline of the climate change battle. We are one of the most vulnerable countries on Earth and therefore need to adapt to climate change, said Dr. Mohammed Waheed Hassan, Honorable Vice President of Maldives. No amount of adaptation will save the Maldives if the world continues to burn carbon. We are therefore aiming for carbon neutrality, to show the world that you dont need to burn carbon to develop.

The interventions paid for from the trust fund are expected to be on strengthening ongoing efforts in areas such as coastal protection, biodiversity conservation, tourism, fisheries, livelihoods and water options, solid waste management, and energy solutions.

This multi-donor trust fund provides a significant opportunity for interested donors to support Maldives in addressing the climate challenges in a coordinated manner, said Priti Kumar, Senior Environment Specialist and World Banks Team Leader for the Trust Fund.

Source: http://www.asiantribune.com

Maldives signs US$13.7 mln credit agreement with World Bank

The government of the Maldives signed a credit agreement of US$13.7 million with the World Bank (WB) last week in order to accelerate economic growth by supporting key areas of the government’s macroeconomic programme.

A press release from the WB indicated that the financing includes approximately US$1.7 million from the International Development Association’s (IDA) Pilot Crisis Response programme. The WB stated that its programme for the Maldives supports the government’s credible set of reform measures to achieve upper-middle income status through economic diversification, more equitable access to services and opportunities and improved service delivery to sustain growth.

It said the focus of support will be public financial management, public enterprise reform and social protection. WB Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Naoko Ishii said the WB is pleased to support the government’s efforts to put in place important policy and institutional structures that will help regain and sustain inclusive economic growth.

The WB stated that the proposed programme is consistent with the Maldives Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for 2008 to 2012 which aims to support the government’s efforts to better manage the economy and public finances. The WB programme is part of a broader financing effort to the support the Maldivian government with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) also providing support to the government’s programme to help regain macroeconomic stability.
The IMF has approved approximately US$92.5 million over three years while the ADB has approved a US$35 million budget support operation with half expected to be disbursed in 2010 and the other half planned for mid-2011.

Source: http://www.sundaytimes.lk

WB approves four new projects for Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Maldives

The World Bank Wednesday approved four new projects to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, and Pakistan. World Bank will provide support to modernize transport services in Pakistan. A US$25 million IDA credit is aimed to help Pakistan improve its trade and transport logistics.

The Second Trade and Transport Facilitation Project will provide technical advisory services to help implement the National Trade Corridor Improvement Program (NTCIP), a comprehensive Government program designed to significantly cut the cost and time of exporting and importing goods. The program encompasses services, infrastructure, reforms and investments in highways, trucking, ports and maritime transport, air transport, railways, and trade facilitation. The WB will grant US$75 million to Afghanistan to help improve local governance at grassroots level and build rural infrastructure.

The additional grant will support the continuation of Afghanistan`s National Solidarity Program (NSP), which is part of the government’s broader effort to forge national unity and rebuild Afghanistan from the bottom up.

To Bangladesh, the WB will extend US$62.20 million IDA credit designed to improve urban air quality through measures that will cut emissions in key polluting sectors such as transport and brick making. The Clean Air and Sustainable Environment Project will provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Environment and Forest to improve air quality monitoring in Bangladesh and through implementation of initiatives in urban transport will provide safe and better mobility in Dhaka.

It will also introduce cleaner technologies, in the very polluting brick manufacturing sector. These energy efficient new technologies will reduce energy consumption and lower air pollution, hence improving overall environmental quality.

The WB will give US$3.8 million credit to Maldives to assist the government to revitalize its pension system and provide additional social protection programs under a new implementing authority.

The system to be introduced under the Pension and Social Protection Administration Project will strengthen the capacity for implementing the new pension program by: (a) strengthening capacity for policy analysis and legal framework; (b) institution and capacity building for project implementation; and (c) co-financing for the Public Accounting System (PAS)

Source: regionaltimes.com

President urges World Bank to prioritize Maldives private sector

President Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) has said that he had requested the World Bank officials to priorities the Maldives’ private sector over the Government in extending loan facilities. He made this statement at a press briefing held today, on establishing a transport network in the Maldives.

He also noted that the Government does not wish the transfer of people’s homes from one island to another and the Government’s long term plan was to open a national fund that would assist us in protecting ourselves form climate change calamities.

Source: miadhu.com.mv

SRI LANKA RANKED AS TOP ASIAN REFORMER IN 2008 BY WORLD BANK

Sri Lanka has been rated as the top South Asian reformer in an annual business regulation study by the World Bank group, with a new company law and credit information improvements boosting its scores.

'Doing Business 2009', a study by the World Bank's private sector financier, International Finance Corporation, said that Sri Lanka had strengthened the rights of creditors with a new company law.

"When a company goes into liquidation, the claims of its secured creditors are no longer Frozen," an IFC statement said.

"Secured creditors now have the right during liquidation to seize or attach their collateral or appoint a receiver."

Sri Lanka's Credit Information Bureau had also started an online system to upload credit information and eliminated minimum thresholds on loans recorded.

The 'Doing Business 2009' study covered the 12-month period ending June 2007.

It examined the ease of starting a business, paying taxes, getting construction permits, employing workers, getting credit, registering property, investor protection, cross-border trade, enforcing contracts and closing a business.

"South Asian countries are increasingly committed to agendas for business-friendly reforms," Sabine Hertveldt, a co-author of the report said.

"They are also getting inspiration from other economies that have made regulatory reforms and by benchmarking local best practices."

Singapore led the global rankings on the overall regulatory ease of doing business for a third consecutive year.

New Zealand was runner-up and the United States, third.

"Economies need rules that are efficient, easy to use, and accessible to all who use them," says Michael Klein, the World Bank and the IFC's vice president for financial and private sector development.

"Otherwise, businesses gets trapped in the unregulated, informal economy where they have less access to finance and hire fewer workers, and where workers lack the protection of labor law."

Among regions, Eastern Europe and Central Asia led in reforms of business regulation for a fifth consecutive year, with more than 90 per cent of its countries making improvements, the IFC said.

East Asia and the Pacific was second, with China leading the way, by making make it easier to access credit, pay taxes and enforce contracts; whereas the Middle East and North Africa tied at second.

Sri Lanka, however, scored badly in taxation, with a legitimate business having to make 62 payments, compared to one in the Maldives, South Asia's richest economy.

Sri Lanka's effective tax rate was found to be 63.7 per cent compared to 9.1 per cent for the Maldives, 28.9 per cent for Pakistan and only second to India.

The IFC study said that Bangladesh had slashed property registration by half and simplified business start-up. Bhutan has made contract enforcement through the courts easier.

India continued to make import and export procedures easier. No reforms were recorded in Pakistan this year.

The top 10 economies for reforms of business regulations were Azerbaijan, Albania, the Kyrgyz Republic, Belarus, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Egypt.

Source: www.tradingmarkets.com