Absalom Shigwedha Windhoek-The Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF) says the financial resources it is mobilising for climate finance and environmental protection will generate sustainable income, the fund’s CEO said. Benedict Libanda says EIF mobilises financial resources and allocate them to activities and projects which promotes the sustainable and efficient use as well as efficient management of natural resources for the benefit of Namibians. He made these remarks at a seminar on Enhanced Direct Access for Climate Financing, held on the side-lines of the 23rd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Bonn, Germany at the end of last year. The EIF is Namibia’s accredited entity to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), established under the UNFCCC in 2010 to give funding to projects aimed at adaptation and mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change to developing countries. He said, through hard work -they have now improved the fund’s public acceptance of the fund and they have actively participated in influencing policy formulation at country level and have raised the appetite of their funding from different entities to partner. He explained that EIF have three funding categories, which includes one grants only, micro loans and the category to enhance capacity for the environmental and social safeguards. Libanda said in 2016, EIF has attracted investment worth around US$ 70 million. “As a Designated Accredited Entity, we are attracting commitment from Government to sustain activities funded through the GCF,” he said. The EIF was established through an Act of Parliament, to promote sustainable economic development of Namibia through investment in and promotion of activities and projects that protect and maintain the natural and environmental resources of Namibia.
2018-01-16 10:05:34 8 months ago
