The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Country Programmes are key strategic instruments that enable nations to define and implement their long-term climate ambitions. In Cape Verde, a small island developing state highly vulnerable to climate change and heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels, strengthening climate resilience has become both an environmental and economic priority.
The Government of Cape Verde has demonstrated strong commitment to a low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathway through its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and national frameworks such as the Strategic Plan for Sustainable Development 2017–2021 (PEDS) and the Grand Strategic Plan Options for Sustainable Tourism Development 2018–2030 (GOPEDS).
In February 2023, the Ministry of Tourism and Transport requested technical assistance for the preparation of a GCF Country Programme and a programmatic framework for sustainable tourism planning, with the goal of strengthening institutional capacity to access climate finance and advancing a sustainable and circular development model within the tourism sector.
An international and multidisciplinary team of 15 consultants from Cape Verde, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Cameroon contributed to the successful completion of:
- The Cape Verde National Programme for the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
- A comprehensive policy and regulatory framework for sustainable and circular tourism.
- Four GCF Project Concept Notes, aligned with the priorities of the Country Programme:
- Integrated Sustainable Waste Management for Tourism (ISWMT).
- Integrating Smart Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries Production into the Tourism Value Chain (SAAFP-TVC).
- Climate-resilient low-emission water security for Brava.
- Climate Resilient Food Systems and Communities in Cabo Verde (SETIN did a review and made some contributions).
Final Workshop
In August 2025, the final workshop held in Cape Verde marked the successful completion of the project “Country Programming Support and Sustainable Tourism Planning for Cape Verde.”
The session brought together representatives from the Government of Cape Verde, UNIDO, and project partners to present the main outputs and discuss the next steps for implementing the Country Programme and sustainable tourism framework.
SETIN Srl, represented by Giacomo Cozzolino (Team Leader), Daniel Bazzucchi, and Paula Guillaumet, worked in close collaboration with PD Consult (Cape Verde) and the University of Surrey (United Kingdom) to finalise the initiative. The project was implemented by UNIDO, in partnership with the Government of Cape Verde, and financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
This milestone represents a significant step in Cape Verde’s transition toward a sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient future, reinforcing national capacity to mobilise climate finance and paving the way for long-term green investment and transformation in the tourism sector and beyond.
