Africa-Press – Angola. The World Bank (WB) approved financing of US$300 million, which will allow the Angolan government to improve water supply and strengthen water resources management, for greater climate resilience in selected areas of the country.
Climate change threatens Angola’s water security and livelihoods, but the country’s high degree of exposure to extreme weather events further threatens its economic stability and the security and well-being of its population, he noted, in a statement, the WB, admitting that “the most recent drought, which hit the country between November 2020 and January 2021, was recorded as the worst drought in the last 40 years”.
The Climate Resilience and Water Security Project in Angola (RECLIMA) will finance physical investments in urban and rural areas, as well as institutional development activities to increase water security and help manage extreme weather effects, from the national and from the basin to the municipal level.
The project will be implemented in the provinces of Zaire, Benguela, Huíla, Cuanza-Sul, Cuando Cubango, Cunene, Namibe and Luanda, to benefit around 1.2 million people.
“Climate change is a reality that can no longer be ignored and Angola is one of the countries in the region that most suffers from its consequences”, said Jean-Christophe Carret, WB director for Angola, for whom the World Bank is pleased to support Angola by putting in place sustainable adaptation measures that mitigate the impact of climate change on people and their livelihoods”.
The RECLIMA project has three components and the first includes the rehabilitation and expansion of water supply services in urban and peri-urban areas, as well as the maintenance and repair of rural water supply systems. The third component is to support project management and inter-institutional coordination.
The second will support selected provinces and their municipalities with investments in the development of water resources that include investments in infrastructure at the community level, to increase reliable access to water resources through the rehabilitation and construction of sand dams, cisterns, small reservoirs, piped water supply, boreholes, protected wells and soil and water conservation measures in selected river basins.
RECLIMA will be co-financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), through a loan denominated in euros, equivalent to 150 million dollars.
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