Armenia ensured appropriate conditions and contributed to COP17’s success: Ibrahima Cheikh Diong

Armenia’s diverse ecosystems have drawn strong interest from the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), whose Executive Director, Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, says the Fund is keen to understand the situation on the ground and the challenges facing the country.

Below is the interview with Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, Executive Director of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), conducted by reporters from Armenpress and Public Television. 

— How is the mandate of the Fund you lead interconnected with the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and what opportunities for cooperation do you see?

— First and foremost, let me take this opportunity to congratulate Armenia on successfully hosting COP17. This says a lot about the country’s leadership, which has ensured appropriate conditions and contributed to the successful holding of COP. Within the framework of this COP, I am particularly interested in the link between biodiversity conservation and addressing loss and damage caused by climate change. Clearly, that link exists. For example, when coral reefs are destroyed in different parts of the world, this undoubtedly affects fishermen and the communities that survive thanks to these resources. The same applies to floods, as happened recently in Nepal. They always have an impact on both the ecosystem and people.

Therefore, coming here, I have the understanding that the entire ecosystem related to climate change is interconnected. And ultimately, it must be understood that any challenge that emerges affects communities, particularly the most vulnerable ones. That is why our presence here demonstrates that we are ready to join forces with the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to ensure the protection of the most vulnerable countries. And that is precisely why our presence here is extremely important.

— Armenia is a mountainous country and often faces environmental and climate-related problems. How does the Fund support countries like Armenia in overcoming these problems?

— Armenia is represented on the Fund’s Board. This is an excellent opportunity not only to help us understand the situation in Armenia but also, more importantly, to be part of our leadership when decisions are made by the Board. We are deeply grateful that Armenia is represented on our Board. And that is precisely why we want to demonstrate the role you play on the Board.

At this point, Armenia has submitted a funding application related to our initiative, which we launched at COP30 and which is aimed at early intervention. That application is still being processed. We are reviewing it and have already responded to the Government, hoping that a decision will be made at the Board’s next meeting regarding not only Armenia’s application but also the 176 applications received from 119 countries. Our Board is eager to begin providing practical support to countries to demonstrate that our mandate is truly operational. Therefore, we are grateful that Armenia has mobilized and submitted this application.

Within the scope of our activities, there are countries that are extremely vulnerable. In Armenia’s case, we are talking about a country with different ecosystems. As a fund, we essentially focus on the most vulnerable states. We always strive to gain a deeper understanding of the realities in different parts of the world. Armenia is also one of the countries in whose case we have a strong interest in understanding the situation on the ground and the challenges the country faces.

— The Fund you lead is quite well known for implementing large-scale programs. What progress have you made in recent years, and what achievements have you recorded?

— The process of establishing our Fund took 30 years. In other words, many countries, beneficiaries and civil society representatives had been calling for the establishment of a fund dedicated to loss and damage. Therefore, the fact that we now have this Fund, in my view, demonstrates the power of global solidarity in response to the global climate crisis. I believe we should all be extremely grateful that we succeeded in establishing a fund dedicated to loss and damage.

Three years ago, at COP28 in Dubai, a decision was made to operationalize the Fund as quickly as possible. Since then, many important milestones have been reached, starting with the establishment of the Fund’s governance system. We now have a fully operational Board authorized to make decisions.

The process of organizing the work of the Board’s Secretariat has already begun. The World Bank provides the hosting platform, while the Philippines serves as the host country for the Board. The 820 million dollars pledged by countries has been converted into actual funding. The Secretariat, which I have the honor of leading, is already operational and providing support to the Board.

At this point, our main priority is to deliver practical results through concrete actions and their implementation. We must demonstrate that our mandate is functional and relevant. We are now awaiting the Board’s next meeting in December, during which a decision will be made on which country to provide support to. This will give us an opportunity to demonstrate that we are actively working. At the Fund, this is what we think about every day: how to deliver concrete results and benefits for the countries we work with.

— Another important event will take place in November this year. What are your expectations for COP31?

— The COP31 Presidency presents it as a conference focused on implementation and practical delivery. In other words, if previous conferences mainly involved making commitments related to funding or various initiatives, we have now reached a stage where everyone is going to COP31 with the aim of focusing on delivering tangible results and practical implementation. This is fully in line with the current activities of our Fund, which, as I mentioned earlier, are specifically aimed at delivering concrete results for countries.

Therefore, it is extremely important that we be able to demonstrate practical results on the ground. Second, it is clear that funding needs are reaching billions. Therefore, we must significantly accelerate resource mobilization to ensure that funds are substantially capitalized so that we can truly meet countries’ needs.

You may have heard me say this before: it is not just about having access to billions of dollars, but about ensuring that these funds are genuinely accessible to countries. Therefore, we must simplify procedures and make them sufficiently flexible so that countries can focus on obtaining the resources they need and, as a result, delivering practical outcomes.

That is why COP31 is an important platform for demonstrating progress in implementation, simplifying processes, and promoting complementarity among different funds. This will allow us to join forces to collectively address loss and damage and demonstrate the global solidarity that has brought us to this milestone. It is precisely this same global solidarity that we can rely on to provide countries with the support they need and ensure that no one is left behind.