It was agreed that all contributing participants that indicated an intention to contribute the equivalent of at least SDR 4 million for that replenishment would participate in the replenishment discussions. Potential donors who did not intend to provide the agreed minimum contribution were invited to attend replenishment meetings as observers.
A key innovation for the negotiations was that for the first time in the history of GEF Replenishments, representatives from non-donor recipient countries participated, with one representative each from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Caribbean. NGO representatives also participated in the discussions for the first time. Another important change was that NGO/CSO representatives also participated for the first time, with one representative from a donor country-based NGO/CSO and another from a recipient country-based NGO/CSO.
Negotiations on the Fifth Replenishment started in March 2009 and continued until May 2010. Thirty four countries participated in the negotiations and made pledges. Most donors made substantial increases from past replenishments. As of November 2010, the level of new donor pledges amounted to $3.54 Billion (SDR $2.3 Billion). The percentage increase over GEF-4 was 53.4%. This enabled a total replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund of $4.34 billion (SDR 2.832 billion) for the GEF-5 period.


Summary of the GEF Fifth Replenishment Meeting.