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Secondary Cities Environment Improvement Project (Dak Nong)

The project is aligned with the following impact: Livability of Gia Nghia city in Dak Nong province enhanced. The project will have the following outcome: access to urban environmental infrastructure and services in Gia Nghia improved. The project is expected to benefit approximately 68,215 residents through an improved environment and the establishment of public green spaces around the lakes, and approximately 20,810 residents additionally through access to networked sewer services by 2028.




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Climate Resilient Urban Services Project – Tham Luong Ben Cat

The project will support Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and their government to finance sound wastewater and drainage system in the remaining catchments, thereby strengthening its foundation as the socioeconomic growth pole of southern Viet Nam. The impact of the project will be improved surface water quality and drainage capacity in HCMC. The outcome will be increased wastewater and drainage collection and treatment capacity in key catchments in HCMC.




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Supporting Renewable Energy Development

The project will support increased contributions of clean energy in Mongolia's energy mix while also supporting energy security, efficiency, and resilience. The project will finance the construction of a new 220 kilovolt (kV) transmission line to connect to the 90-megawatt (MW) Erdeneburen hydropower plant (HPP) to the existing grid network, which will increase supply in the Western Energy System (WES), eliminate costly and high-emission imports from the Russian Federation, and facilitate maximized utilization of wind and solar generating capacity.




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Fanga'uta Lagoon Bridge Project

The proposed project will build a bridge across the Fanga'uta Lagoon in Nuku'alofa, the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga (Tonga). The crossing will consist of an approximately 720 m long bridge and 4.96 km of approach roads from Nuku'alofa to Vaini, southern Tongatapu.




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Climate-Resilient Water and Sanitation Services Project

Project objectives. The proposed project will assist the government in addressing climate vulnerabilities and enhancing public health and economic conditions by ensuring inclusive access to safe, reliable, climate-resilient, and sustainable WSS services for the residents of Andijan, Djizzak and Fergana provinces; and the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The project will help upgrade and expand the WSS infrastructure in the project regions and support regional suvtaminots in implementing transformational changes.




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Promoting Energy Exports Diversification Project

The TA is proposed to develop Bhutan's overall power dispatch options and strategies for domestic electricity consumption and international power trade. It will look into strategic views to maximize power export from various potential energy sources of hydropower, solar power, and wind power while meeting growing domestic electricity consumption.




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Northern China Agriculture and Food Ecosystem Low-Carbon and Climate Resilient Development Project

The proposed Northern China Agriculture and Food Ecosystem Net Zero Transformation Project (project) will support the PRC to achieve its climate commitment through catalyzing financing and strengthening institutional capacity for net zero transformation in agriculture and food ecosystem.




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GMS Cross-Border Livestock Health and Value Chains Improvement Project

The project will reduce trans-boundary animal diseases (TAD), food safety and zoonotic disease risks and strengthen livestock value chains and COVID-19 responses through investments in infrastructure, capacity building and policy support. The project will have the following outcome: health, value chains, and formal trade of livestock and livestock products improved. The project will be aligned with the following impact: GMS vision as a leading supplier of safe and environmentally friendly agriculture products realized.




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Sustainable Agrifood Systems Sector Project




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Resilient Amu Darya River Basin Sector Development Program

The proposed project will undertake a long-term and strategic approach to deliver climate adaptive solutions for water resources management in the Amu Darya River Basins in Uzbekistan. Predicted climate change impacts include increased temperatures, increased frequency and severity of extreme events such as floods and droughts, and a reduction of water availability and increased variability of water flows in the major river basins. Decreasing availability and increased water requirements by different sectors are leading to a growing seasonal and absolute supply-demand gap.




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Capacity Development for Portfolio Quality Improvement

The TA will provide implementation support to a series of ongoing and ensuing projects. It's objective will be to strengthen the quality of implementation of ongoing projects. The focus will be on procurement, contract management, DPP/TAPP approvals, project design and management.




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Evaluation of Wind Potential for Renewable Energy Development

The TA will focus on evaluating the wind potential of various site/s for government investment in wind energy. A feasibility analysis of viable wind sites will be carried out, which will inform the government on the scale of wind projects and how best to develop this potential. The TA will also fund the equipment for measuring wind speeds and directions to confirm site selection and build capacity for wind energy development in the EA.




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Sustainable Urban Transport Project

The Sustainable Urban Transport Project aims to support Perum DAMRI (DAMRI), the state-owned bus operator, in replacing its aging fleet of internal combustion engine (ICE) buses with battery electric buses (BEBs), and in improving the quality and resilience of its public transport facilities and services. The project is aligned with the following impact: Acceleration of electric vehicle deployment to increase energy conservation in the transportation sector, improve air quality, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (Presidential Regulation No.




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Geothermal Power Expansion Project

The project will support an expansion of Indonesia's geothermal generating capacity to contribute to the sustainability, resiliency, and sufficiency of the electricity system. The project will support PT Geo Dipa Energi (GDE), a state-owned geothermal company, to commission an additional 110 megawatts (MW) of geothermal electricity generating capacity at the Dieng geothermal field in Central Java.




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MFF: Green and Resilience Financing Facility Investment Program

The proposed program is a large-scale transformative and integrated initiative addressing the constraints. It aims to bridge the financing, capacity, institutional, and technical gaps in implementing the NAP and adaptation measures mentioned in the NDC and GRID while promoting mitigation, biodiversity, air pollution, and food security as co-benefits.




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Preparing the Babeldaob Island Urban Resilience Project (formerly Strengthening Urban Planning and Management)

For approval in 2023.




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Oldest rocks on Earth may contain strange and ancient life forms

Fossils in rocks that are 3.8 billion years old have puzzled biologists as they look nothing like modern cells, but now it seems they may be an ancient precursor life form that was unable to control its structure




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The inside story of heroic efforts to save three bird species

The graft involved in trying to bring the peregrine falcon, Hawaiian crow and California condor back from the brink in the US makes for compelling reading in Feather Trails by Sophie Osborn




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Charles Darwin’s frogs turn mating upside down

Turning around and backing up out of pools found in tree hollows may help mating Charles Darwin’s frogs find a safe place to lay their eggs while fending off competitive males




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Are horses in equestrian sports being harmed by bending their necks?

Horses experience hyperflexion, or rollkur, when their necks bend far towards their chests – it could place the animal at a greater risk of physical discomfort and stress




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Sea lion cameras record amazing predator's view of the ocean

Eight Australian sea lions were fitted with cameras and trackers to capture unprecedented insights into their behaviour and the marine habitats where they hunt




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Racehorse success may depend on their gut microbiome in early life

Horses that are bred to race seem to perform better on the course if they had a diverse gut microbiome as foals




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Bird deaths from building strikes may be double past estimates

An estimate of annual bird fatalities due to building collisions in the US brings the figure to more than 1 billion – it is the first to include deaths from injuries after the strike




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Leeches use their whole bodies to entomb and eat ultra-fast worms

Blackworms are ultra-fast swimmers, and they tangle up into worm balls to protect themselves from predators – but leeches have an ingenious method of catching them called “spiral entombment”




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A surprisingly wide range of bacteria live inside microwaves

Microwaves in homes, offices and laboratories have been found to host diverse microbiomes, highlighting the importance of regular cleaning




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The science is clear: repeatedly whipping a horse won't help it learn

After the release of a shocking video showing Olympic rider Charlotte Dujardin whipping a horse, it is time for equestrians to educate themselves on the science of horse training, says Christa Lesté-Lasserre




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The best livestream so far this year? A corpse flower slowly blooming

Forget videos by gamers or influencers. For a real online thrill, watch the world's biggest flower emerging in a former web designer's greenhouse, says Annalee Newitz




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Intimate nature documentary is an ode to an oak

Lush and vibrant cinematography plus a "cast" of real animals make Heart of an Oak an enthralling celebration of the natural world




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We now know how kestrels stay perfectly still while hovering

Two nankeen kestrels have been filmed flying in a wind tunnel to learn how the raptors keep their heads in a fixed position under turbulent conditions




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How crocodiles were taught to stop eating deadly toxic cane toads

Invasive cane toads have decimated native freshwater crocodile populations in northern Australia, as the predators don't know they should avoid the toxic amphibians




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Consumer insecticides are useless for fighting cockroach infestations

Lab-reared German cockroaches are susceptible to consumer insecticide sprays, allowing manufacturers to pass US regulatory tests, but insects taken from real-world infestations are able to shrug off the products




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Largest genome sequenced so far is 30 times bigger than a human's

The South American lungfish has a whopping 180 gigabases of DNA in each cell, compared with 6 gigabases in human cells




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Top astrobiologist explores the possibilities of alien life

It's time to expect the unexpected, says Natalie Cabrol, one of the world's top astrobiologists and author of an authoritative book on the hunt for life's origins – and ET




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Endangered skates saved from extinction by hatching in captivity

The Maugean skate (Zearaja maugeana) is only found in one habitat in Australia, which is under threat from human activity. Now the species has been saved from extinction by hatching in captivity




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If we could talk to whales, what might they say?

This week, we journey to the early 2030s, when machine learning first allowed us to communicate with sperm whales. Rowan Hooper tells us what they have to say




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The surprising way sunflowers work together to get enough light

Scientists have known for centuries that sunflowers wobble in seemingly random ways as they grow – but it seems that those movements actually optimise how much light each plant gets




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Has the mystery of life’s 'handedness' finally been cracked?

All living creatures use only the left or right-handed forms of certain molecules, and now we might understand why




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Listening to worms wriggle can help us monitor ecosystem health

The noises made by organisms like ants and worms as they move around in the soil can be used to assess whether an ecosystem is in good shape




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An engrossing history of teeth shows their complex role in evolution

From birds and bats to horses and great apes, Bill Schutt's seriously fun history of teeth, Bite, explains their role in both shaping evolution and our understanding of it




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Stunning photos of life above and below water

See the incredible shots that have won this year's BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology Image Competition




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A cheaper alternative to activated charcoal for your terrarium

Is it worth including activated charcoal in your terrarium’s potting mix? James Wong isn’t convinced by this pricey product




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Spiders use fireflies as flashing lures to catch more prey

Male fireflies caught in an orb-weaver spider’s web start flashing in an unusual pattern, a deadly deception that seems to attract additional victims for the spider




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Why the underground home of the world’s weirdest wildlife is in danger

Up to 100,000 extraordinary species, from spiders and beetles to salamanders and fish, live in subterranean caves and cracks. They aren’t as safe down there as we thought




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We now know that life began on Earth much earlier than we thought

A big rethink of our planet’s early years adds to growing fossil, chemical and DNA evidence that Earth was only a few hundred million years old when life began




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David Attenborough's latest explores the lives of an orangutan family

The veteran presenter adds authority to Secret Lives of Orangutans, a film about a family of endangered orangutans in Sumatra. File this new entry in his vast oeuvre under lovable but lightweight




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Inside NASA's lab exploring conditions for life on other worlds

The Origins and Habitability Lab at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a testbed exploring how geological conditions could impact life in environments such as early Earth, Mars or the icy moons of Jupiter




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Backflipping springtails are the fastest spinners known in nature

High-speed camera recordings show that springtails spin at up to 368 rotations per second when they jump away from danger




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A selection of elaborate birds' nests from around the world

These photos showcase some of the intricately created birds' nests found in the Natural History Museum in Tring, UK, home to one of the world's largest ornithological collections




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Wild bees have found a surprising place to nest in cities

A survey found 66 species of insects making their homes in cobbled pavements on the streets of Berlin, and greater biodiversity near insect-friendly flower gardens




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Pregnant shark that disappeared may have been eaten by another shark

Tracking data from a pregnant porbeagle shark near Bermuda suggest it was eaten by a great white shark – a kind of predation that has never been seen before