PRESS RELEASE
Community-based Farming Organizations Showcase the Synergies of Resilient Eco-systems and Sustainable Livelihoods at COP20 Fair
Lima, Peru, December 9, 2014. Visiting a Peruvian Farming and Crafts Fair, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark and Global Environment Facility Head of External Affairs William Ehlers saw how grantee partners from the GEF Small Grants Programme managed to create sustainable livelihoods from local resources. The Fair, which was organized as a side event for the COP20, brought together 40 community-based organizations from various regions in Peru. Visitors found a wide variety of artisanal and food products, including organic honey and Tara-fruit based delicacies; indigenous crops and plants; and alpaca-based apparel.
Emphasizing the special role that community-based projects and women empowerment play in sustainable development, Helen Clark noted that "[t]hese initiatives show how to conserve biodiversity, improve income and empower women while often boosting climate resilience".
Joining Helen Clark in her welcome address for the fair visitors, William Ehlers of the GEF further supported her argument, noting that "[t]he SGP is important because the communities learn to change their behaviour and use their creativity so as to contribute to protecting the global environment while improving their families' standards of living. This is a worthy example for the rest of society."
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Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator and William Ehlers, GEF Head of External Affairs, while visiting the fair
Touring the stands, visitors learned about the producers’ experiences of creating resilient ecosystems that also support sustainable livelihoods. In addition, the CBOs Suri Paq´ocha, Choba Choba, Red de Acción de Agricultura Alternativa (RAAA), Fundación para el Desarrollo Agrario (FDA), and Asociación de Protección del Bosque Seco del Caserío el Choloque, how they improved their incomes with conserving alpaca, native beans, dry forests, and agrobiodiversity. The presentations were enriched with two art shows performed by the SGP grantee partners Native Cotton Project and Caylloma, Arequipa.
Acknowledging her tremendous support for the GEF Small Grants Programme, Paola Bustamante, Minister of Development and Social Inclusion of Peru stated that "[o]ne key aspect of the GEF SGP projects is that they increase crop diversification, fortify nutrition and help women invest in their children, [thus] improving their education and quality of life”.
The community-based organizations were supported by grants of up to USD $50,000 from the UNDP implemented GEF Small Grants Programme. The Peru SGP portfolio is one of the most diverse in the world, addressing critical issues that respond to the unique circumstances posed by Peru’s rich biodiversity, development trajectory and vulnerability to climate impacts. Since 1998, SGP Peru has worked with over 270 community-based organizations helping them to build ecosystem resilience, recover ancestral knowledge and build sustainable practices. These initiatives have been sustained through linkages to sustainable livelihoods and human development.
Background for editors
About the GEF
The GEF unites 183 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. Today the GEF is the largest public funder of projects to improve the global environment. An independently operating financial organization, the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants.
Since 1991, GEF has achieved a strong track record with developing countries and countries with economies in transition, providing $11.5 billion in grants and leveraging $57 billion in co-financing for over 3,215 projects in over 165 countries. For more information, visit www.thegef.org.
About the GEF Small Grants Programme
Launched in 1992, GEF SGP supports activities of nongovernmental and community-based organizations in developing countries towards climate change abatement, conservation of biodiversity, protection of international waters, reduction of the impact of chemical pollutants and prevention of land degradation while generating sustainable livelihoods.
Since its creation, GEF SGP has provided over 19,000 grants to communities in over 131 developing countries. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) as a corporate programme, GEF SGP is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on behalf of the GEF partnership, and is executed by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
Media contacts:
- Katharina Davis, Knowledge Management and Communications Consultant, GEF Small Grants Programme, katharina.davis@undp.org, +1 (646) 781-4386 www.sgp.undp.org
- Patrizia Cocca, Communication & KM Officer, GEF, pcocca@TheGEF.org, +1 202-458-0234 www.TheGEF.org