Bangkok, Thailand ‐‐ The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded a five‐year contract to AECOM to help Asian countries obtain international climate change funds more quickly.

Obtaining funds from the existing pool of climate change and adaptation resources is often slow due to their complex requirements and the inability of some countries to prepare proposals that meet international fund requirements. USAID’s new program – called the Climate Change Adaptation Project Preparation Facility for Asia (ADAPT‐Asia) – will bring Asian governments and fund managers together to clarify the procedures for different adaptation funds and provide a marketplace for investment project proposals.

At the same time, ADAPT‐Asia will train government agencies to prepare sound investment projects, and in some cases help them formulate project proposals for climate change adaptation funds. ADAPT‐Asia will also share information on best practices, climate fund eligibility requirements, and application procedures throughout the region. The program is expected to include Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor‐Leste, and Vietnam.

“Worldwide resource requirements for climate change funding, as discussed last year under the Cancun Agreements, are expected to rise to $100 billion per year by 2020,” said Michael Yates, Mission Director for USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia. “

Asian countries are considered the most vulnerable to the impacts of global climate change, and ADAPT‐Asia will help unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in international funds for projects to reduce the risks associated with extreme weather events, such as better management of ecosystems as critical buffers and refined land‐use plans and building codes.

” AECOM and its sub‐contractor, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, will work with the Adaptation Knowledge Platform, the Asia‐Pacific Adaptation Network, the International Rice Research Institute, the International Water Management Institute, the World Resources Institute, Conservation International, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, and the Consortium for Capacity Building at the University of Colorado.

About USAID The United States Agency for International Development has been the principal U.S. Government agency extending foreign assistance since 1961. In Asia, USAID programs address many problems that cross national boundaries, such as human and wildlife trafficking, HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases, global climate change, natural resources conservation, food security, trade, and political and economic conflict.