BUILDING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE THROUGH TRANSPARENT COUNTY CLIMATE FINANCE (BCORT) PROJECT (DECEMBER 2023-JUNE 2024)

The BCORT project, spanning seven months from December 2023-June 2024, is supported by Christian Aid Kenya. The BCORT Project aims to ensure effectiveness of climate finance within Kisumu County in shaping locally led climate actions to reduce vulnerability to climate change and enhance community resilience.

This is achieved through empowering the local communities through the ward climate change planning committees (WCCPC) to identify initiatives that best fit the needs of the wards as well as oversee the implementation of proposed projects. This contributes to strong community members involvement of youth, women and men in the planning and prioritization of climate funds, design and implementation of interventions. Ultimately, the communities are able to create, access and use climate finance from varied sources in order to reduce their vulnerability and build their resilience to climate change.


The project also strengthens capacity of right holders as well as hold multistakeholder policy dialogue workshops between CSOs and county government officials over the formulation and implementation of county level climate change policy frameworks to deliver climate finance noting  possible gaps and overlaps for consideration. In addition, the project rallies Kisumu County CSOs to work closely together with the Kisumu County government to ensure transparency and accountability of climate funds. This is done through media engagement, CSOs convenings, trainings, conducting social audits using community/ward Climate Finance scorecard, holding strategic dialogues with relevant government institutions.

The project also enhances knowledge and experience sharing on locally led climate adaptation and climate risk management practices and community climate adaptation planning in selected wards.

Project Goal: To enhance the effectiveness of climate finance in Kisumu County so as to reduce climate vulnerability and strengthen community resilience to climate change.

BCORT Project Specific Objectives

To strengthen the capacity of local communities through the operating CBOs and established Ward Climate Change Planning Committees (WCCPC) to contribute to effective planning, programming, implementation and monitoring of climate change finance mechanisms and county level policy frameworks.

To develop Ward Climate Adaptation Plans (WCAPs) for Kolwa East to enhance locally led adaptation actions

To enhance knowledge and understanding of CSOs on climate finance, locally led  climate adaptation and resilience building

Project Beneficiaries

  1. The Primary target groups for the project are the local or affected community groups that benefit from the climate finance by developing local climate adaptation actions that meet the criteria of Financing Locally Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) funds and other available climate finances.
  2. The secondary beneficiaries are Community Based Organisations (CBOs) participating in the project, they represent people from the wider community at the wards where the Locally Led Climate Actions take place.
  3. Ward climate change planning committees in Railways, Kondele, Nyalenda B, Kajulu, Kolwa East wards. The project enhances their capacity to ensure they play their critical role of ensuring transparency and accountability in the administration of the climate finance of delivering climate change services.
  4. The duty bearer target groups constituting of key decision makers from the County levels charged with e.g., County policy development and general county budget allocations and issuing of by-laws. At the county level, the project targets the relevant county government ministries including the Min of Environment and Natural Resources, Directorate of climate change, Department of Finance, Economic Planning, Energy among others.
  5. Christian Aid as a Partner benefits through enhanced lobbying and Advocacy through increased climate action for Climate Adaptation and Resilience

Media Resource

Climate change has become one of the main challenges hindering the achievement of Kenya’s Vision 2030, Sustainable Development Goals, and county-specific Integrated Development Plans. Kenya has six eco-climatic zones, classified based on climatic, vegetative, and soil characteristics. These include  Zone I, Afro-Alpine moorland, and grassland, found at high altitudes (2350 m.a.s.l) above the forest line; Zone II, humid to dry-humid climate; Zone III, dry sub humid to semi-arid climate; Zone IV, semi-arid climate; Zone V, arid climate; and Zone VI, very arid climate. Zones IV to VI account for 72 percent of Kenya’s total ….Read more 

Suswatch Kenya BCORT E-Buletin June 2024 Issue 1

Radio and television have long been trusted sources of information  for many communities in Kisumu County. Recognizing their wide reach and influence, BCORT used these media to educate the public about climate finance and the specific provisions of the current climate change policy.
Radio Campaigns: BCORT partnered with local radio station (Dala Fm) to broadcast programs on climate finance. These programs featured expert discussions, interviews….Read more

Suswatch Kenya BCORT E-Buletin March 2024 Issue 1

On Wednesday, December 20th, 2023, SusWatch Kenya launched the Building Community Resilience through Transparent County Climate Finance (BCORT) project, a seven-month initiative (December 2023-June 2024) in Kisumu County, supported by Christian Aid Kenya (CAK). The project builds upon a previous CAK-supported project dubbed County Platform for Climate Finance Dialogue (CPCFD) that facilitated….Read more 

 

Terms of reference for a Consultancy to Document Innovative cases

Sustainable Environmental Development Watch (Suswatch Kenya) is a registered Non-Governmental Organization in Kenya since March 2011. It is a network composed of Civil Society Organizations engaged in varied thematic issues contributing towards sustainable development. Prior to its official registration, Suswatch has been operating since 2002 as a loose network of civil society organizations. It draws its membership from various institutions spread across…Read More.

Radio talk shows to share lessons from the BCORT project, disseminate information, and enhance citizen dialogue and experience sharing on climate change finance mechanisms, including the implementation of county-level allocation of FLLoCA and the level of citizen involvement in accessing climate finance

SusWatch Kenya BCORT Talk Show 1: May 2nd 2024 Radio Station: Dala FM, 98.8

Climate change in general including what climate change is, causes, effects, climate change adaptation and mitigation mechanisms in relation relate to the current flooding experienced in the country.…Radio Link 

SusWatch Kenya BCORT Talk Show 2: May 3rd 2024 Radio Station: Dala FM, 98.8

Climate Finance-including the 2% county climate finance and FLLoCA Funds, how citizens can be engaged in the implementation of these funds, benefits of public participation, how communities can work closely with the Ward Climate Change Planning Committtess (WCCPCs ) at the ward levels to ensure these funds help in building their climate resilience.

How CSOs want the Kisumu County government to enhance accountability and transparency in the implementation and management of Climate finance– Based on the 4 action points including:

  1. Enhancing consistent CSOs and local community engagement in climate change decision-making processes.
  2. Availing relevant information, including publishing critical budget documents on the official county website, such as implementation reports and final supplementary budgets.
  • Implementing prioritized projects as outlined in the Participatory Climate Risk Assessment (PCRA) and Kisumu County Climate Action Plan (CCAP) documents, which highlight the community’s climate change adaptation priorities.
  1. All the county government departments to prioritize and implement mainstreamed climate actions as outlined in the third generation Kisumu County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP III)…Radio Link