Thundi, L. Gan, 23 November 2017.Low-Emission Climate Resilient Development (LECReD) programme held its official closing ceremony in Thundi, LaamuGan on 23 November. Funded by the Government of Denmark, 3-year 9.3 million USD programme assisted the government authorities in the Maldives to build national and local capacities to promote low-carbon life-style, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk reduction, in partnership with the Government of Maldives. The programme drew upon a wealth of development oriented expertise from participating UN organizations to mitigate and adapt to the challenges posed by climate change. 7 UN Agencies, including UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UN Women, WHO, FAO and UNOPS, were part of this joint effort.
The official closing ceremony was held in attendance of Minister of State of Environment and Energy H.E.Abdullahi Majeed,WHO Representative Dr. Arvind Mathur, UNICEF Representative Mr. M. Munir A. Safieldin, Atoll and Island council members of the Laamu Atoll, participating UN Agencies, andcommunity members involved in the programme.
"Climate change is a cross-cutting development issue as it affects every aspect of Maldivian way of life and livelihoods. The LECReDprogramme carried out in Laamu Atoll created an effective blue print and methodology for low-emission planning, development and scaling up to other Atolls in Maldives” said H.E. Abdullahi Majeed.
Highlighting the importance of sustaining the programme results, Dr. Arvind Mathur said, “As we come close to the end of the programme, it is now a time look for ways on how the benefits and knowledge can be sustained. Today, we witness the change in the mindsets of people of this community. They are advocating and making a shift towards sustainable lifestyles.I can proudly say that many ground-breaking initiatives began with LECReD, which will now be replicated to other Atolls and islands in the Maldives and beyond.”
All programme activities are expected to be completed by early 2018 with the completion of construction and rehabilitation of island-level waste management centres.
LECReD programme conducted in partnership between the Government and the UN, concludes in Laamu Atoll
