The Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA) is partnering with the Building Approaches to fund local Solutions with climate Evidence (BASE) initiative, an initiative driven by ARA member Fundación Avina.
The BASE initiative was established with an approach that recognises the “climate rationale of proposals can be developed in a way that is simple, quick and accessible for local communities”.
The initiative is aligned with the ARA in acknowledging the numerous challenges faced by local communities in accessing climate finance need to be addressed to achieve a just climate transition. BASE also supports the Alliance's aims to ensure better evidence-based decision making, as demonstrated in the ARA’s Consultative Processes.
“With this new partnership, the ARA will formally support BASE in its goal of ensuring that sufficient adaptation financing reaches the local level using approaches that ensure climate rationale, simplicity and speed,” says ARA Head of Secretariat Jesse DeMaria-Kinney.
As part of BASE’s task force, the ARA aims to work collaboratively with partners and other initiatives to support BASE. This means that the ARA will join other BASE partners, such as Brainforest, Forest Trends, GFLAC, Hivos, Pawanka Fund, Reos Partners, and United Nations University-ViE, to promote more and better access to climate finance for local communities and will support associated initiatives such as Voices for Climate Action and Impulsouth.
By endorsing this initiative, the ARA will endeavour to work collaboratively with BASE and its members, and to strengthen grant making schemes that fund locally-led climate solutions.
“We are confident that this alliance will bring meaningful opportunities for both ARA and BASE to work collaboratively,” says BASE Head of Secretariat Victoria Matusevich, from Fundación Avina.
Supporting shared goals
“We hope that together we can generate evidence of innovative approaches to develop the climate rationale of proposals and promote advocacy in the climate finance system so that more funds reach the communities.”
The ARA is a global coalition seeking to increase investment and opportunities for action research around effective climate adaptation. Its membership includes research and action funders, researchers, and practitioners who co-create, innovate and identify solutions that have tangible effects on people’s everyday lives.
The Alliance is committed to work which builds capacity and empowers actors for the long term, and which addresses structural inequities that lead to increased vulnerability and reduced adaptive capacity of those at risk.
Linking climate evidence and funding accessibility is a key aspect of the ARA’s and BASE’s agenda for ensuring climate finance reaches the local level and contributes positively towards reaching these goals.
Building on a Consultative Process
ARA’s partnership with BASE will build on the consultative process on financing climate resilience at the local level, which was organised by BASE and the ARA and carried out in August 2022.
The process sought to unpack different perspectives on how to link climate evidence and funding accessibility, to identify solutions that ensure adaptation finance can reach local organisations and help generate resilience.
The consultative process provided valuable feedback for the design of small-scale grants to ensure that they are effective at meeting local needs and in building a better understanding of climate risks, and its findings were presented at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.
Ensuring effective impact
BASE works to ensure evidence is collected that climate adaptation projects respond to problems related to climate change. This ensures funding is effective in terms of impact on enhancing resilience to climate change and appropriate in terms of the speed and way it reaches the communities.
“We will build upon existing work in the field, particularly existing initiatives focused on strengthening organisational capacity for climate action, as we are convinced that this is part of the solution,” says Matusevich.
DeMaria-Kinney says the ARA is well placed to support this. "With over 170 members spanning the global climate adaptation community, the ARA can mobilise resources and support knowledge-exchange that enables these goals to be met.”
Read the full Statement of Intent here.
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