Deal boosts funding for climate change activities

The United States government believes that every country should be given the opportunity to carve its own path to self-reliance and sustainable development, says ambassador Catherine Ebert-Gray.
She said during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the US government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Port Moresby on Friday the most effective way to achieve their development goal was to encourage locals to participate in the development.
“We believe that the most effective way to achieve our shared development goals is to enable local people to lead and manage their own development”, she said.
The agreement will provide access to funding for civil society organisations to assist in the longer term environmental resilience of PNG.
USAID, through its Ready project, will be working with UNDP to deliver small-scale climate change adaptation activities initiated by local community groups and non-government organisations.
Activities would be focused on addressing priority environmental threats related to global warming, pollution of international waters, destruction or loss of biodiversity, land degradation and depletion of the ozone layer.
USAID Ready is a five-year project that supports Pacific Island countries become more resilient to extreme weather events and natural disasters, as well as to protect the lives and livelihoods of Pacific communities.