In order to assist the Least Developed Countries in accessing funds under the LDCF, the following tools have been developed with the support of the GEF:

1. Step-by-Step Guide: This guide has been written to support least developed countries (LDCs) in designing the implementation of national adaptation programs of action (NAPAs), and to guide country teams in accessing existing funding from the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) for implementing their NAPAs. The guide has been written by the LDC expert group (LEG), under the coordination of UNFCCC and in collaboration with the GEF and its agencies. A significant portion of the guide is devoted to accessing the LDCF, which is managed by the GEF. Parties have communicated the difficulties they face in accessing the LDCF and the LEG has assembled this feedback through a stocktaking meeting in September 2007, surveys conducted on the margins of the Subsidiary Bodies meetings of the UNFCCC, and through interaction with Parties and agencies during its meetings in different regions of the world. The guide was developed to address all the obstacles identified through these consultations.

2. Regional Workshops: The COP by its decision 8/CP.13 extended the mandate of the LEG in supporting preparation and implementation strategy of NAPAs. Under its activities for 2008-2010, the LEG selected training workshops for implementing NAPAs as one of the priorities. A total of five training workshops have therefore be planned by the LEG in collaboration with the GEF and its agencies. The objective of the training is: 

• to provide technical support to LDC teams in the design of an implementation strategy for the NAPAs, and to build capacity of these teams in the preparation and submission of project documents (PIF, PPG and FSP document) to the GEF under the LDCF;
• to provide where needed technical support to those LDC Parties that are still preparing their NAPAs.

Three regional workshops have taken place, as of June 20th, 2010. This includes a workshop that was held from 19-23 October 2009 in Tanzania for Anglophone African LDCs comprising 12 Parties to the UNFCCC, from 8-12 February 2010 in Mali for African Francophone LDCs, comprising 16 countries, and from 4-8 May to in Lao PDR for Asian LDCs involving 10 countries. An additional workshop targeting Lusophone LDCs (5 countries) is set to take place in September 2010.

3. Accessing Financing under the Least Developed Countries Fund  (GEF/LDCF.SCCF.8/3): Additional simplified guidelines, prepared by the GEF Secretariat, on accessing financing under the LDCF were presented to the LDCF/SCCF Council in July 2010 (currently under revision.)

Funding Criteria

These are elaborated for the LDCF in the “Programming Paper for Funding the Implementation of NAPAs under the LDC Trust Fund ” (GEF/C.28/18).

This paper was drafted in response to COP guidance from COP7 (Decision7/CP.7), and was approved by the GEF Council. The criteria used to determine which programs and activities receive funds are therefore established by the guidance received from the COP and approved by the LDCF/SCCF Council. Such programs and activities, when submitted to the GEF under the LDCF, must adhere to those rules in order to receive funding.

In brief, the overarching criteria for granting funds under the LDCF is the extent to which the proposed project responds to (a) the eligibility criteria as spelled out under the Programming Paper for LDCF as mentioned above, and (b) priorities identified in the NAPAs.

The process for deriving NAPAs is highly consultative and the prioritization process relies on the following criteria (as per Decision 28/CP.7):“Criteria for selecting priority activities...15. A set of locally-driven criteria will be used to select priority adaptation activities. These criteria should include, inter alia: (a) Level or degree of adverse effects of climate change; (b) Poverty reduction to enhance adaptive capacity; (c) Synergy with other multilateral environmental agreements; (d) Cost-effectiveness....16.These criteria for prioritization will be applied to, inter alia: (a) Loss of life and livelihood; (b) Human health; (c) Food security and agriculture; (d) Water availability, quality and accessibility; (e) Essential infrastructure; (f) Cultural heritage; (g) Biological diversity; (h) Land-use management and forestry; (i) Other environmental amenities; (j) Coastal zones, and associated loss of land.”

The templates that are used for applying for LDCF funding reflect these in a compressed format for practical reasons, and the project proposals are judged according to the criteria explained in the relevant LDCF documents as previously discussed.

A full sized project is posted online for the Council review both during the PIF (project concept) stage, and CEO Endorsement (Full Project Document) review stage. The approval process for the projects constitutes approval of justifications stated within project documents. While the project review sheets for individual projects are internal documents, project documents are publicly available from the GEF Project Database. In addition, comments from countries, STAP, and/or the UNFCCC Secretariat are publicly available for LDCF PIF stage and CEO Endorsement Stage, if any, here.

The GEF utilizes its financing rules and procedures, structure, standards and project cycle to operate as a controlling mechanism to elicit compliance with Climate Convention guidance as well as the GEF financial fiduciary standards and those of the international organizations that are GEF’s Implementing Agencies (including country drivenness, replicability, ecological and financial sustainability, stakeholder participation, transparency, and accountability, among others).