The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $195 million financing package for a project that will develop climate-resilient and market-oriented infrastructure and livelihoods in 2,942 villages in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady, Chin, Sagaing, and Tanintharyi regions. This will help reduce rural poverty and strengthen the villages’ climate and disaster resilience, benefiting around 1.8 million people.
The project will help identify, develop, and fund 3,000 climate- and disaster-resilient community infrastructure subprojects, which include village access or farm roads, small bridges, water supply, electric grid connection, and multipurpose centers. These infrastructure subprojects, which will be selected based on their contribution to the village’s resilience as well as public and economic benefits, will have a strong gender component, with women comprising 40% of the labor requirements in their construction and operations.
Myanmar is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate and disaster risk, and people living in the country’s rural areas face the greatest threat, given the lack of development and climate resilience there, said ADB Natural Resources and Agriculture Specialist for Southeast Asia Ms. Stefania Dina. ADB’s project will help ensure that people in the rural areas of Myanmar have the necessary capacity, support, and know-how to deal with the effects of climate change, while helping them get out of poverty through livelihood support.
The ADB project will identify, develop, and fund at least 15,000 resilient livelihood subprojects, which include new or improved climate-smart agriculture, livestock, fisheries, value addition to farm and nonfarm products, marketing, and the acquisition for new skills and employment. This project also aims to boost female participation, with over 50,000 villagers, 30% of whom are women, expected to become better aware of climate change effects, while learning advanced livelihood management skills.