Climate vulnerability, adaptation, and building resilience were recurring themes as the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and Asian Development Bank (ADB) cohosted the first CIF Asia-Pacific Knowledge Exchange in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from April 1-4, 2024.
This four-day event included a high-level opening with Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister, H.E. Dr. Aun Pornmoniroth, the Minister of Finance from Samoa, Hon. Lautimuia Uelese Vaai, the ADB's Special Senior Advisor for Climate Change, Warren Evans, and new CIF Chief Executive Officer, Tariye Gbadegesin. In her first engagement since joining as CEO in March 2024, she closed the high-level session and captured why learning exchanges are foundational to CIF’s delivery:
“Learning is part of the CIF’s founding DNA; it is built into our mandate. We believe deeply in the importance of learning exchanges … We also believe that learning is core to our strategy, and we believe in using the evidence from the last 15 years of our experience to guide our decisions for the future.”
The forum brought together 12 countries from across the region including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao-PDR, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, and Tonga. Each country created “knowledge booths,” spaces where they could share more about their countries, illustrate highlights from CIF-funded projects in their countries, and impart lessons from their experiences in building resilience and managing sustainable forests. As the meeting began, many participants agreed that coming together to learn and share with their counterparts would deliver invaluable insights.
Over 200 participants joined the learning event including several CIF country partners, civil society groups, Indigenous people representatives, local community organizations, the private sector, as well as CIF’s multilateral development banks including the ADB, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the World Bank.
The meeting was an opportunity to take stock of the strides made in building resilience and managing sustainable forests with investments under CIF’s Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) and Forest Investment Program (FIP). The lessons learned from these investments, whether successes or setbacks, will inform the design and implementation of future CIF investments.
Orisi Naivalurua is a Project Implementation Officer at a Pacific Regional program that benefited from PPCR funding. As he explains, he is ready to work through the insights he gained during the sessions and turn the knowledge into action when he gets back to his native Fiji.
And this is why the Asia-Pacific Knowledge Exchange is of value, says Habiba Gitay. She is an Independent Climate Adaptation Consultant who has advised governments across the region on climate smart policies. For her, the value of bringing countries together in Cambodia is about workshopping novel approaches, sharing insights, and drawing on the collective knowledge to solve climate challenges.
During the forum, participants were able to learn, exchange, and engage with each other in 11 learning sessions to highlight the insights gained from CIF, implementing MDBs, and country experiences. Through various workshops, participants deepened their understanding of CIF’s investment programs and themes. This included learning about Nature-based solutions and how they can be applied in various contexts, as well as how CIF and ADB approach and support gender equality, women's climate leadership, and just transitions.
It was an opportunity to talk to stakeholders directly and share the findings and recommendations from an upcoming independent midterm evaluation of the FIP and DGM. These lessons will inform the trajectory of the NPC investment program and how access to grants can support communities at the intersection of nature and climate.
The Asia-Pacific Knowledge Exchange is an example of how CIF fulfills its mandate as a learning laboratory for climate finance. Through its Evaluation and Learning (E&L) Initiative, CIF holds South-South exchanges that bring people together, facilitate learning among partners, and, in the process, CIF gains real-life inputs and lessons to inform the direction of its climate finance. Those who attended the event reiterated their positive experiences of learning from peers, being in the room to hear about new approaches and innovations, and generally how enriching this week-long engagement was. All this is set to enhance their future efforts in climate action and why learning is, and always has been, "part of CIF's founding DNA".