FROM THE CHAIR
The year 2009 was a milestone year in the history of the Nordic Development Fund.
the Mekong Region (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam). The approved projects
Over the past 20 years, NDF has provided concessional loans to developing
will support renewable energy solutions, access to modern energy, reforestation
countries. Starting in 2009, the Fund uses reflows from outstanding loans to
and sustainable forest management, flood protection and capacity-building in
provide grant financing solely for climate-related interventions in the poorest
these countries.
countries in the world. Under its new mandate operations, NDF will draw heavily
A particularly innovative project in the new grant portfolio is the Nordic
on its long-standing cooperation with development partners and major multilateral
Climate Facility (NCF) which is a small-grants facility that once a year launches
development banks.
a call for proposals on specific climate-related themes. The NCF allows innovative
The change of mission for NDF started out as a rather open-ended process
climate change approaches to be tested, following a screening procedure carried
several years ago. The shareholders decided to review the strategic orientation
out jointly with the Nordic Environmental Finance Corporation (NEFCO). The
of NDF and to look for opportunities for the Fund to take on a new and truly
facility will allow Nordic private sector entities, research organisations and
complementary role. The review process ended formally in May 2009, with the
NGOs to work with partners in low-income countries, exploring new ideas and
Nordic Council of Ministers agreeing on the new mandate for NDF.
modes of cooperation.
The new strategic direction is understandable, given the adamance of the
While supporting the implementation of the United Nations Framework Con-
Nordic countries in putting climate change high on the agenda in their develop-
vention on Climate Change, NDF also strives to integrate development objectives
ment assistance through both bilateral and multilateral channels. This commit-
into its climate activities. The Nordic shareholders of the Fund believe such an
ment as donors is supported by the advanced climate technologies developed in
integrated approach to be both possible and necessary, and we certainly hope
the Nordic enterprise sector as well as the early adoption of energy-efficient
that it will be proven successful under the new NDF mandate.
solutions across the Nordic societies. Under its new mandate, NDF capitalises on these achievements for the benefit of developing countries, many of which have been subjected to shocks stemming from climate change – in addition to crises related to other external factors such as the global economic downturn. During 2009 the NDF Board of Directors approved seven new grant projects on the order of EUR 18 million in total. These grants will support climate change initiatives in Benin, Uganda, Rwanda, Lao PDR and
Tomas Danestad Chair of the Board of Directors
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