CLIMADAPT, the green financing facility for Tajikistan, has awarded its first prizes for environmental journalism in the country.

According to the EBRD Resident Office in Dushanbe, the award ceremony took place on February 19 and prizes were awarded in the following categories:

•           Best newspaper article: Awarded to Saifiddin Sunnati, for an article published in Sadoi Mardum, a popular national paper in Tajikistan

•           Best online article: Nomvar Kurbonov, for a piece published in Ravshanfikr, a famous local website among young scientists and those interested in science

•           Best TV coverage: Dilbar Khojayeva, for “We are from Sogdiana”, shown on TV Sughd, a leading broadcaster in the Sughd province TV channel.

Four other participants received certificates of excellence for their contribution to the public debate about climate change.

The awards, which were presented for the first time, were organized under the auspices of CLIMADAPT, a facility helping businesses in Tajikistan to adapt to the consequences of climate change.

Launched in 2016 by the EBRD, together with the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the US$ 10 million program facilitates access to climate resilience technologies, in particular, improving the use of water, energy and land resources. Technical assistance under the program is financed by donor funds from the government of the United Kingdom and from the multi-donor EBRD Early Transition Countries Fund.

Tajikistan is among the countries that are most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. It depends on hydropower for over 90 per cent of its electricity production. The country’s economy is deeply dependent on the use of highly climate-sensitive resources: water, energy and land. This means that farmers often lack access to water, and farms suffer soil erosion, while businesses and manufacturing companies are badly affected by severe power shortages.

For the CLIMADAPT prize, over 60 entries were received from across the country.  Stories described the challenges that Tajikistan faces in mitigating – and becoming resilient to – the effects of climate change, through the use of water and energy-efficient technologies supported by CLIMADAPT. 

To date, the EBRD’s program of financing facilities, dedicated to sustainable energy, has been expanded to 127 partner financial institutions in 25 countries.

The Early Transition Countries Fund is a multi-donor vehicle whose contributors include: Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taipei China and the United Kingdom.