March 7, 2012 No. 17/12-BD COMMUNITY LEVEL CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PROJECT APPROVED BY CDB BOARD A $20 million Canadian Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund is to be established with funds from the Government of Canada. The Fund is designed to help the Caribbean reduce risks associated with natural hazards and climate change for vulnerable populations at the community level. The Board of Directors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has given approval for the Bank to enter into an agreement with the Canadian Government, acting through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to accept this financing. This project will assist borrowing member countries of the Bank, with the exception of Haiti, to implement sub-projects designed to reduce natural hazard risk, and for climate change adaptation measures. It will also enable communities to develop experience-based knowledge from pursuing demonstration sub-projects to fill national and regional knowledge gaps; to develop disaster risk management and climate change adaptation enhanced guidelines for country poverty assessments; and to undertake a targeted strategy for dissemination of the knowledge generated. CDB will act as trustee and administrator of the fund, and will contribute the equivalent of USD2 million to the programme.