World Bank 2009 Global Development Marketplace Award SATIIM

Despite the divergent view on development between SATIIM and Government that has ratcheted in the court and media, the indigenous people community organization has received a World Bank Development Marketplace award for their innovative community development idea.

The World Bank and partners  the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded $4.8 million in grant money to 26 innovative climate adaptation projects, through the 2009 Global Development Marketplace, a global competitive grant program to fund innovation in development.

This year’s contest, '100 Ideas to Save the Planet,’ set this challenge: come up with one idea from your own community to help save the planet and its people from the effects of climate change.

This year’s event, which ran from November 10-13, featured 100 finalists from 47 countries selected from over 1,700 project proposals. The winning concepts announced November 13 will be implemented in East Asia and the Pacific (5), Europe and Central Asia (2), Latin America (13), the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa (5) and South Asia (2).

On hand to receive the award in Washington DC was SATIIM Executive Director Gregory Ch’oc, Technical Coordinator Lynette Gomez and Development Officer, Jerry Dawson.   The award vindicates our model for community economic development in the region.  It further showcase that the world is watching and that the poorest and the most vulnerable are able to help mitigate and build their capacity to adapt to the inevitable negative impacts of climate change.  

 This year’s contest took place amid a wider pre-Copenhagen international discussion around climate change and its effects on developing countries. While SATIIM project idea is not reactive to any major negative impacts of climate change, the anticipatory nature of the project resonated with the judges as it seek to combine traditional knowledge with 21st-century technology taking cues from both the ancient and the modern to facilitate enterprise development through community-based management of communal forests.

The award which comes with a monetary value of USD 200,000.00 will be implemented over two years.

About the Development Marketplace

The Development Marketplace is a competitive grant program that identifies and funds innovative, early-stage development projects with high potential for impact and replication. The program is supported by a consortium of partners including the World Bank.

This year’s contest gathered ideas around climate adaptation in developing countries, placing special focus on indigenous communities dealing with climate risks, climate adaptation and disaster risk management, and managing climate risks in ways that provide multiple benefits - eliciting ideas to help people deal with the effects of climate change, especially those living in some of the earth’s most vulnerable ecosystems.

A rigorous assessment by 200 specialists from within and outside the World Bank Group narrowed the list of 1,700 proposals to 100 finalists who were invited to present their ideas in Washington, D.C. this week.  Since 1998, the Development Marketplace has awarded more than $61 million to initiatives identified through global, regional, and country competitions.

For more information about the Development Marketplace.org

Visit the Development Marketplace blog.