FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 2, 2009

Contact: Caitlin Carlson, 503.896.5700, ccarlson@mercycorps.org

Na Eng, 971.623.8749, neng@nyc.mercycorps.org

Mercy Corps and Rockefeller Foundation Combat the Effects of

Climate Change in Indonesian Slums

As world leaders meet in Copenhagen, Mercy Corps helps those hardest hit by the
current effects of climate change

Jakarta, Indonesia – As world leaders gather in Copenhagen to wrestle with climate

change policies, a new partnership in Indonesia is already helping some of the poorest
people – urban slum dwellers – to withstand, prepare for and recover from the impacts of
global warming. Mercy Corps, with a $525,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation
and the support of the Urban and Regional Development Institute (URDI), is
implementing the twelve-month Indonesian Cities Project, part of the Rockefeller
Foundation’s Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN).

Mercy Corps is working in two cities – Semarang and Bandar Lampung – that struggle
with climate change-related impacts such as flooding, lack of clean water, and the spread
of diseases like Dengue fever. The agency is working with government entities, including
the Indonesian Ministry of the Environment, university and research institutions, local
non-governmental organizations and others to assess the vulnerability of these cities to
climate change, and test innovative adaption and risk reduction strategies.

While attendees of the Copenhagen conference will be discussing climate change

mitigation and reduction efforts, Mercy Corps' work with the Rockefeller Foundation
strives to help people adapt to the changes that are already affecting their daily lives.

“Even if carbon emissions cease immediately, most climate experts agree that
accumulated carbon in the atmosphere will warm the world to dangerous levels. This hits
impoverished people the hardest,” says Mercy Corps Indonesia Country Director Sean
Granville-Ross. “With the funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and our expertise in
disaster preparation and response, Mercy Corps will help Indonesians living in slums
anticipate and tackle the effects of climate change they are already experiencing.”

According to the United Nations, the global urban population is predicted to skyrocket
from 3.2 billion to 4.9 billion in the next 30 years, placing great strain on under-resourced
cities and exacerbating the negative impacts of global warming.

“Communities around the world need better tools, techniques, and strategies to address
the risks of climate change,” said Ashvin Dayal, Managing Director of the Rockefeller
Foundation in Asia. “We may not be able to reverse all of the impacts that global
warming has already had, but we hope this partnership with Mercy Corps and URDI will
play a catalytic role in building the capacity of the institutions and communities in
Indonesian cities in order to cope with and successfully adapt to these impacts.”

Mercy Corps is consulting with its city partners about climate hazards such as flooding,
drought and coastal abrasions, as well as existing plans to help slum dwellers cope. The
agency is also conducting focus groups and discussions with poor communities to hear
directly how climate change impacts them. Mercy Corps expects that this process will
give rise to new, robust models to help people prepare for, withstand and recover from
the predicted impacts of climate change. The partners plan to replicate these models in
additional cities in Indonesia and beyond through the ACCCRN network by 2012.

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps helps people in the world's toughest places turn the crises of natural
disaster, poverty and conflict into opportunities for progress. Driven by local needs and
market conditions, our programs provide communities with the tools and support they
need to transform their own lives. Our worldwide team of 3,700 professionals is
improving the lives of 14.5 million people in more than 40 countries. For more
information, visit www.mercycorps.org.

About the Rockefeller Foundation

Since its establishment in 1913, the Rockefeller Foundation has sought to identify and
attack at their source the underlying causes of human suffering. The Foundation attempts
to harness the creative forces of globalization, supporting breakthrough solutions to 21st
century challenges. This is smart globalization: ensuring that the opportunities unleashed
by globalization are accessible to more people, more fully, in more places — and that
poor and vulnerable people are equipped to seize them. For more information, visit
www.rockfound.org
About URDI
The Urban and Regional Development Institute (URDI), established in 1995 is an independent not-for-
profit organization aimed at promoting sustainable urban and regional development in Indonesia. For
more information, visit www.urdi.org.