Abbey Abramson

  Social funds and relief for climate change Social Funds, Relief, and the Politics of Disaster Why this chapter matters When a cyclone hits or monsoon floods surge , the need for immediate aid is critical. Picture a mother, clutching her child, waiting on a flooded rooftop for tarps, safe water, and cash for food or transport. Her resilience demonstrates why speed and integrity in disaster relief are crucial. Governments and aid agencies must act quickly. However, speed without safeguards can lead to favoritism, kickbacks, and 'ghost' beneficiaries. Help gets diverted, trust erodes, and next time, fewer heed the siren's call (IFRC, 2025). Relief leakage and procurement abuse are not victimless. They lead to hunger, untreated illness, polluted wells, and unsafe shelter. Audits and watchdog research from the Philippines and Bangladesh, along with open contracting reforms, demonstrate both the failures of relief and how social funds and rapid contracting can maintain integri...

  nature-based solutions and greenwashing Quick guides for citizens: “follow the trees” Before planting: Is tenure resolved? Is the species list adapted to site conditions? Are there 12- and 36-month survival milestones in the contract? (Primavera manual; UNDP corruption-risk mapping). (Primavera et al., 2012; UNDP, 2010/2015). During planting: Are the seedlings healthy and locally sourced? Are nurse plots established? Is community labor paid fairly? (Forest Foundation PH training) (Forest Foundation PH, 2017). After planting: Are survival audits publicly accessible? Do they use independent sampling and remote sensing tools? Are replacements documented? (Implement the best practices across CBMR and open-data standards). (Primavera et al., 2012; FAO). For carbon projects: Is the baseline explained and peer-reviewed? Are the benefits outlined in the contract for the communities? What is the grievance mechanism ? (West et al., 2024; CIFOR-ICRAF, 2023). Putting integrity into “natu...

  Mangroves and forest ongoing maintenance What to put in contracts so trees live Pay for survival, not planting Milestone payments at 12 and 36 months are tied to independent survival audits (with methods published). Species-site rules based on ecological zoning (e.g., pioneers on seaward edge, higher-salinity-tolerant species in exposed sites; no planting on historic seagrass beds). Remote verification requires geotagged plot maps and publishes drone- and satellite-based checks, allowing the public to verify canopy growth (Primavera manual; CBMR) (Primavera et al., 2012). Build tenure and benefit-sharing into the design Consent and rights : where indigenous or customary rights exist, secure Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) ; define who owns wood and non-wood products. Benefit-sharing contracts : publish the percentages and timing; let communities track payments—lessons echo REDD+ research on transparent BSMs (CIFOR-ICRAF, 2023).  O&M for forests (yes, really) F...

  Operation and maintenance budgets for flood controls O&M Budgets: the new corruption frontier Well-built assets still fail without operation & maintenance. In drainage systems, annual desilting, trash rack cleaning, weed control, lubricant changes, and electrical checks keep systems alive. When O&M lines are neglected or never maintained, risk accumulates quietly until the first major storm. Global practice recognizes O&M as a distinct contract type (e.g., management/O&M/O&M PPP contracts), with specific deliverables and service-level agreements; however, many adaptation projects celebrate commissioning and overlook the decade that follows (World Bank PPP/O&M notes) (PPP Knowledge Lab). Corruption risks migrate into O&M in three ways: Chronic under-budgeting so emergency direct awards become the norm (see Chapter 4). Ghost maintenance: invoices for pump servicing with no actual work; dredging measured in paperwork, not in cubic meters removed. Co...

  Procurement pitfalls and corruption Procurement Pitfalls: From Bid-Rigging to Ghost Deliveries Why this Chapter Matters As dawn broke over the coastal village , the family of four awoke to an ominous rumble. Sleepily rising from their makeshift beds, they stepped outside only to find the embankment designed to protect them from surging tides was crumbling into the sea. Their home, like many others, stood defenseless. If climate adaptation is only as strong as the infrastructure we build, then procurement is the hinge on which safety swings. When the rules governing public works purchases are bent by cartels, kickbacks, front companies, and "creative" change orders, lives are put at risk. That is not rhetoric. Where collusion raises prices and slashes quality, embankments slump, culverts choke, mangroves die, and shelters fail the night they’re needed most (World Bank, 2014; OECD, 2025). By the end of this chapter, you'll be equipped to identify five common scams in proc...