World Wildlife Fund-US to implement big cats project; U.S. becomes first country to join Minamata Convention on Mercury
WASHINGTON, DC, November 8, 2013—The Global Environment Facility’s governing Council approved a $238 million for global environmental projects, including funding for a ground-breaking project to protect Russia’s big cats.
The international gathering this week was highlighted by the news that the United States has joined the Minamata Convention on Mercury, becoming the first country committed to the newest environmental convention eligible to receive GEF funding. U.S. Delegate Judith Garber informed the Council as it approved a $238 million work program. The work program roster, supporting 41 projects in 69 recipient countries, includes a $12.7 million grant through World Wildlife Fund-US (WWF-US) to conserve unique landscapes and ecosystems in the Russian Far East, Altai-Sayan, and North Caucasus regions critical to the endangered Amur tiger, snow leopard, Far Eastern leopard, and Persian leopard.
The Council met in the wake of international environmental conferences that affirmed GEF’s role in financing land degradation projects and the new Minamata Convention, and on the eve of the international climate change conference in Poland, another of the international environmental conventions supported by the GEF.
“I believe all these events indicate the continued strong demand for GEF as an important player in the global environment, now and in the future,” GEF CEO and Chairperson Naoko Ishii told the Council. Noting GEF’s efforts to improve efficiency and speed the project cycle, and longer-term plans to focus on the drivers of global environmental degradation, Ishii said, “As GEF grows—with new agencies and new convention obligations—we need to constantly look out for ways to improve and strengthen our partnership for higher impacts.”
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Group picture of the participants to the GEF 45th Council Meeting
GEF grant funding approved by the Council this week will support projects addressing climate change, biodiversity, international waters, land degradation, chemical pollutants, and multiple focal areas benefiting countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. GEF support will be bolstered by $1.72 billion in cofinancing, which includes contributions to projects by recipient countries, non-governmental organizations and other parties. Every dollar in GEF grants provided by donor countries generates more than $7 in cofinancing, a ratio that continues to improve as cofinancing support for GEF projects increases.
The 69 countries that will benefit from GEF support in the work program include 13 Least-Developed countries and 19 Small-Island Developing states. The latest work program brings to $3.2 billion the total in GEF grants under the four-year GEF5 funding cycle, which ends next June 30. Deliberations on the GEF6 cycle beginning July 1, 2014, are continuing, with decisions by donors on the funding replenishment to be made next spring and put before the gathering of the GEF Assembly of member nations in Mexico for final endorsement.
The grant supporting Russia’s Conservation of Big Cats project is the first to be awarded by the GEF directly through a nongovernmental organization under the GEF accreditation program that has conferred GEF Project Agency status on WWF-US and Conservation International (CI). Previously, GEF grants went to recipient nations exclusively through international institutions such as the World Bank and United Nations Environment Programme., The Council this week formally welcomed WWF-US and CI as GEF Project Agencies.
The Council recognized the considerable progress made by the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), two GEF-managed trust funds that focus on helping vulnerable developing countries adapt to the impacts of climate change. Adding to the robust growth of the funds over the past six months—with total pledges reaching $1.1 billion—the Government of Finland announced additional contributions of $5 million to the LDCF and $2.7 million to the SCCF.
For more on the 45th GEF Council meeting visit: /gef/meetingdocs/97/1034
About the Global Environment Facility
The Global Environment Facility (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. 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, the 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. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP), the GEF has also made more than 16,030 small grants directly to civil society and community based organizations, totaling $653.2 million.
Contact: Christian Hofer, Senior Communications Officer, GEF,chofer@thegef.org, Tel. +1 202-4134185