TRY Oyster Women’s Association Celebrates Receiving the UNDP Equator Prize 2012

Banjul, The Gambia

Date: 17 October 2012

 

 

The ‘TRY Oyster Women’s Association’, a community based organization (CBO) from the Gambia, was awarded the Equator Prize 2012 at the Equator Initiative’s award ceremony held at the Rio+20 Summit. A grant recipient of the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP), implemented by UNDP, the Association received the Equator Prize for its project ‘Conservation and sustainable management of the mangrove ecosystem of the TANBI National park and periphery communities’.

 

To celebrate the award and the achievements of the TRY Oyster Women’s Association, the UNDP Country Office in The Gambia organized a commemorative event in Banjul on September 1^st, 2012. At this event, the Coordinator of the Association, Mrs. Fatou Janha Mboob, gave a brief history of this local CBO with over 500 women members drawn from 15 different communities living in one of The Gambia’s main wetland reserves. She highlighted the efforts undertaken by the CBO to protect the mangroves within this wetland and to introduce alternative oyster harvesting techniques as well as the establishment of micro credit facilities.

 

GEF SGP provided technical support to the grantee as well as financing of US$ 20,000 under the biodiversity focal area. In addition, the grantee organization raised co-financing of US$ 15,733 in cash and in kind. As a result of this project, the CBO planted over 25,000 mangrove seedlings covering about seven hectares in 2011. Between January and September 2012, the CBO already reported the planting of 27,000 mangrove seedlings covering an area of about nine hectares.

 

Among the specific objectives of the GEF SGP supported TRY Oyster Women’s Association project are the sustainable management of mangroves; strengthening active community participation in planning, implementation and decision-making in the rational and sustainable use and management of the mangrove ecosystem; and maintaining the health and functioning of the mangrove ecology, thereby protecting important habitats of oysters and other shellfish, finfish and marine mammals including the West African Manatee. The project also facilitated the production of a documentary on the activities of the association for advocacy, sensitization and resource mobilization purposes with the support of UNDP. This video was shown during the Equator Initiative’s Awards Ceremony at the Rio+ 20 Summit.

 

The Coordinator expressed the association’s gratitude to the GEF Small Grants Programme, UNDP, the Office of The Vice President and Women’s Affairs, the Board members of the association, the WWF Country Office, the National Association of Credit Unions of The Gambia (NACUG), the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management, and the Fisheries Department, all of which participated in this ceremony, for their invaluable support.

 

The UNDP Deputy Resident Representative (DRR) in The Gambia, Ms. Izumi Morota, highlighted the GEF Small Grants Programme’s commitment to providing support to grassroots organizations to undertake community-based initiatives that protect the global environment and improve livelihoods.  She also noted that the Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizations to recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient communities. Ms. Morota assured the TRY Oyster Women’s Association of UNDP’s continuing commitment to working with TRY and other partners to improve local livelihoods while further protecting the important mangrove ecosystem on which human sustenance and resilience depends.

 

 

Background for editors

About the GEF

The GEF unites 182 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 $10 billion in grants and leveraging $47 billion in co-financing for over 2,800 projects in over 168 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 persistent organic pollutants and prevention of land degradation while generating sustainable livelihoods.

Since its creation, GEF SGP has provided over 14,500 grants to communities in over 125 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:

• Tamara Tschentscher, KM and Communications Consultant, GEF SGP,
  tamara.tschentscher@undp.org, 646-781-4353
• John Diamond, Senior Communication Officer& Spokesperson, Global Environment Facility
  jdiamond@TheGEF.org, (202) 458-7953

www.TheGEF.org