As the impacts of climate change deepen, communities in fragile regions like Uganda and Sudan are showing remarkable resilience. Despite environmental and socioeconomic challenges, innovative approaches are enabling transformational change. The Resilience for Peace and Stability, Food and Water Security Innovation Grant Program was one of the nine winners of the GEF Challenge Fund in 2019. Implemented by UNDP and the Global Resilience Partnership, the program aimed to invest in and scale up early-stage innovations that strengthen resilience while fostering peace and stability in fragile, conflict-prone regions vulnerable to climate change. The project was implemented in Uganda by Mountain Harvest through Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and in Sudan by the Near East Foundation.
Both Uganda and Sudan are on the frontlines of climate vulnerability. In Uganda, extreme weather events—floods, hailstorms, and droughts—threaten agricultural productivity and food security. While Uganda has seen economic improvements, subsistence agriculture remains the dominant livelihood, limiting progress in addressing systemic vulnerabilities. In Sudan, the challenges are compounded by climate variability and conflict. Shifts in rainfall patterns and rising temperatures exceed the adaptive capacity of agro-pastoralist communities. Armed conflicts, disrupt livelihoods, deepen economic fragility, and heighten perceived risks for investment and lending.
Jjumba Martin
From ideas to impact
The programme adopted a dual strategy combining credit financing and technical support to promote community-based production of agro-forestry commodities. The program worked to:
- Assess potential innovations: The program evaluated innovative enterprise-based models aimed at strengthening resilience in fragile and conflict-prone regions highly vulnerable to climate change, identifying key areas for investment and financing to support enterprise development for climate adaptation in these contexts.
- Support local innovators: Through a competitive global process, local organisations were provided with acceleration grants, customised training, and investment matchmaking.
- Capture and share learnings: Lessons, tools, and insights were documented and shared at global events to influence future adaptation efforts.
Near East Foundation (NEF) has supported over 3,000 members, 75% of whom are women, across 13 cooperatives in Sudan, enabling them to produce vital non-timber forest products like gum arabic, honey, and desert dates, while offering community-based credit systems for microfinance solutions. This support has provided access to finance for 2,509 entrepreneurs and improved productivity on 8,500 hectares of land while benefiting 17,000 individuals.
Meanwhile, Mountain Harvest has worked with 1,042 smallholder coffee farmers, promoting regenerative agricultural practices to boost productivity and profitability. By helping farmers access the specialty coffee market, Mountain Harvest has paid US$2.1 million for coffee purchases and provided US$100,000 in micro-loans. These efforts have increased coffee productivity and empowered women, enhancing their economic power and decision-making roles.
Near East Foundation
Key lessons learned
The report highlight critical insights for driving resilience in fragile regions:
- Building on partnerships: Projects can achieve meaningful outcomes in a short timeframe by leveraging established relationships and local knowledge. Engaging local communities and aligning with government priorities is pivotal. Both Uganda and Sudan benefited from tailored interventions that built on local knowledge and needs.
- Empowering women: Women, in male-dominated societies, can lead entrepreneurial initiatives and financial management processes, proving to be powerful agents of change.
- Financial literacy matters: Training in financial management is key to well-managed small and micro enterprises.
- Sustaining local benefits: A sustainable business model that keeps financial benefits within local communities can ensure long-term resilience.
- Flexibility and adaptive management: In Sudan, the program adapted to civil unrest by relocating its coordination hub and transitioning to remote management. Such adaptability ensured progress despite significant challenges.
Breaking barriers to development
Fragile contexts like Sudan face distinct challenges that hinder development and resilience-building. Access to finance is a significant barrier, as high perceived risks result in prohibitive costs of capital and collateral requirements, effectively excluding small-scale farmers and micro-enterprises from funding opportunities. Additionally, knowledge gaps in climate data, market trends, and pricing information limit the ability of communities to adapt to shifting conditions. Local businesses and supporting partners often lack the necessary skills in innovation, organisational management, and creating societal impact, making capacity building a critical area of focus. Addressing these barriers called for inclusion of all stakeholders in the regions including the communities themselves, allowing the communities to lead the ideation of targeted support
Jjumba Martin
Resilience in fragile ecosystems
Despite the odds, these two projects demonstrate that sustainable development is possible even in the most fragile settings. By fostering better decision-making on investments and creating pathways for funding to flow, transformative change is within reach.
The lessons from Uganda and Sudan not only highlight the resilience of these communities but also serve as a blueprint for addressing similar challenges worldwide. With the right support, innovative solutions, and strategic partnerships, even the most vulnerable regions can rise above adversity.
Explore the full report
Dive deeper into these insights and learn how innovative development efforts in Uganda and Sudan are shaping resilient futures. Download the full report here