Institutionalization of CSO engagement in the Adaptation Fund

The Adaptation Fund (AF) is an important instrument that assists especially vulnerable population groups in coping with the adverse effects of climate change. The project aimed to strengthen the international adaptation finance landscape through enhanced and sustainable civil society engagement in climate finance generally and more specifically in the AF. The established AF NGO Network shall serve as a permanent legitimate and transparent mechanism through which civil society can have a voice and contribute to improving the AF and its policies, programs and projects. The activities in this project thus focused on raising Southern CSOs awareness on their opportunities to engage in the AF, creating a solid governance structure as well as a strategy to obtain financial sustainability. South-South learning effects were intensified through consolidated regional hubs which ensured effective communication with the broader CSO community, empowering their active engagement in the Network.

Project data

Countries: Benin, Ecuador, Georgia, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Jordan, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania
IKI funding: 1,288,384.55 €
Duration: 05/2017 till 08/2022
Status: completed
Implementing organisation: Germanwatch e.V.
Online: http://af-network.org/

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State of implementation/results

Project completed.
The project contributed to the debate on sufficient, sustainable and predictable financing for the AF. A blog article outlining the expectations in this regard at COP26 has been contribute to the website www.germanclimatefinance.de
The AF Civil Society Network successfully promoted the lifting of the Fund's country cap from 10 to 20 million US dollar.
The work of the AF Civil Society Network has been strengthened in the course of the project so far. The Network has further institutionalised itself during the project period and strengthened its governance structure. A small group of mainly Southern CSOs prepared a document with the Network's new governance arrangements. Those governance arrangements are currently consulted with a broader group of CSOs and other key stakeholders. Moreover, the Network changed its name from "AF NGO Network" to "AF Civil Society Network" to better reflect the new governance arrangements.-- With the support of this project, feedback and comments have been collected through the AF Civil Society Network on numerous projects submitted to the AF Board for consideration.
The AF Civil Society Network regularly published blog articles about local insights from civil society on AF processes and projects. The network also sent out a regular newsletter with relevant updates on the AF (Newsletter registration: www.af-network.org/…).
The AF Civil Society Network has published a study on "Further Strengthening Civil Society Engagement in the Work of the Adaptation Fund Board" (English: www.af-network.org/… ; French: www.af-network.org/…) and has successfully brought this topic on the meeting agenda of the AF Board. --* In October 2018, Germanwatch published the study "The future role of the AF in the international climate finance architecture" (www.germanwatch.org/…).
The AF Civil Society Network has organized the so-called "CSO Dialogue" for all the biannual AF Board meetings during the project period. During this dialogue, CSOs shared experiences and recommendations on AF projects and processes with the Fund's Board.
The AF Secretariat and much of the AF Board greatly appreciate the work and recommendations of the AF Civil Society Network developed with the support of this project. This is also reflected in the discussions and decisions of the AF Board.

Latest Update:
12/2025