South Sudan Secures $50 Million Climate Adaptation Grant For Aweil And Warrap

By Debora Akur Chol, South Sudan

South Sudan has obtained a $50 million climate adaptation grant from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), marking the country’s first-ever single-nation project financed by the global climate funding mechanism. The Government of Japan will contribute an additional $2.5 million in co-financing.

The announcement was made on Wednesday by the Minister of Environment and Forestry, Mabior Garang de Mabior, during a press briefing in Juba.

According to the minister, the project will support resilience-building efforts in the flood-affected areas of Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Warrap States, where years of recurring floods have destroyed homes, agricultural land, and critical infrastructure. He noted that the investment reflects a decade-long effort to integrate South Sudan into global climate financing systems.

“Through this project, we are committed to building resilient communities capable of withstanding environmental adversities,” Mabior said. “This milestone represents the culmination of a decade-long partnership between South Sudan and the Green Climate Fund, following the country’s accession to the Paris Agreement in 2016 and its ratification in 2021.”

The project, scheduled to begin in early 2026, will be jointly implemented by the Government of South Sudan, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). It will focus on water management, climate-smart agriculture, disaster risk reduction, and climate information services, with a particular emphasis on displaced populations and host communities.

Approval of the grant follows a visit by the GCF Executive Director to South Sudan in March 2025 and represents the first GCF project exclusively dedicated to the country.

The initiative is expected to directly benefit more than 500,000 people and indirectly support over one million others within five years. It aims to shift affected communities from reliance on short-term humanitarian assistance to long-term resilience.

Key components of the project include environmental monitoring, community-based flood early warning systems, construction of 500 climate-resilient shelters, rehabilitation of water and sanitation facilities, installation of solar-powered water pumps, promotion of climate-smart agricultural practices, introduction of flood-tolerant crops and permaculture gardens, and the planting of 100,000 fruit and medicinal trees.

Comprehensive project details and implementation plans are expected to be released in early 2026.

Although this funding targets Aweil and Warrap, other climate-related initiatives including a $215 million World Bank–funded water management program and forthcoming forestry and adaptation fund projects are set to benefit additional regions.

The project aligns with South Sudan’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and its National Adaptation Plan, responding to severe flooding that has displaced more than 1.4 million people in recent years.