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Deputy News Editor
Environment, Climate and Wildlife acting Permanent Secretary Mr Washington Zhakata has, with immediate effect, been appointed to the post of vice board chair of the Adaptation Fund of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), which is housed in the World Bank.
The Adaptation Fund was established to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are parties to the Kyoto Protocol and are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
Since 2010, the Adaptation Fund has committed over US$1,2 billion for climate change adaptation and resilience projects and programmes, including more than 176 concrete, localised projects in the most vulnerable communities of developing countries around the world, with a total of 45 million people assisted.
It also pioneered Direct Access, empowering countries to access funding and develop projects directly through accredited national implementing entities.
During Mr Zhakata’s tenure as a board member representing Africa, two projects have been approved for Zimbabwe.
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) of Zimbabwe has been accredited as a National Implementing Entity to handle climate funds on behalf of the Adaptation Fund in Zimbabwe.
A project worth US$5 million has been approved and is being implemented through EMA on “enhancing resilience of communities and ecosystems in the face of a changing climate in arid and semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe”.
The other US$5 million project on “increasing local communities adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change through increased groundwater exploitation in Zimbabwe” was also approved and is being implemented through UNESCO.
Another US$10 million window is still available for Zimbabwe.
With Mr Zhakata on the Adaptation Fund’s board, Zimbabwe will be guided appropriately to access climate funds.
Mr Zhakata is also Director for the Climate Change Management Department and vice chair of the Radiation Protection Authority of Zimbabwe in the Office of the President and Cabinet.
The Radiation Protection Authority of Zimbabwe deals with nuclear security.
He holds a Master of Science Degree in Atmospheric Physics, among other postgraduate qualifications.
Mr Zhakata has also worked for the Meteorological Services Department before joining the academia as a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe in the Geography and Environmental Science Department where he taught for almost 15 years.
After that, Mr Zhakata worked for UNDP as National Programme Coordinator for Climate Change.
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