JOHANNESBURG--Throughout
the world, coordinated efforts spearheaded by local
heroes and supported by the Global Environment
Facility's Small Grants Programme are helping to
conserve biodiversity,
reduce the risks of climate change, stop land degradation,
and reduce water pollution.
The
GEF Small Grants Programme touches the lives
of thousands and thousands of people. Since
1991, GEF has committed US $117.35 million,
leveraging $65.6 million from other partners,
to national NGOs and community groups, directly
involving them in addressing global environmental
problems. Ably administered by the U.N. Development
Programme (UNDP) , the Small Grants Programme
has disbursed more than 3,000 small grants,
up to $50,000 each, for projects that reconcile
global environmental benefits with sustainable
livelihoods for local people. NGOs have been
ardent advocates for and participants in the
programme from the beginning. Certainly, the
Small Grants Programme is one of the most widely
appreciated of all GEF efforts.
The GEF Small Grants Programme recognizes
the essential role that households and
communities, applying locally appropriate
solutions, can play in protecting the
global environment. For example, GEF
small grants are:
- Supporting conservation and restoration
of wild apple forests at the foothills
of the Alatau Mountains in Kazakhstan
and creating jobs through the manufacture
of high-quality apple vinegar.
- Underwriting low-impact aquaculture
in Mexico's Bay of Celestun, a protected
area and noted bird habitat.
- Addressing over-fishing and promoting
alternative occupations in Thailand's
Mekong River valley.
- Supporting local community management
of the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, which has
resulted in the doubling of the population
of white rhinoceros in Botswana.
GEF's mission is to make the connection
between local and global environmental
challenges and between national and international
resources. The GEF Small Grants Programme
is an integral part of this mission.
(Note: Mohamed T. El-Ashry CEO and Chairman
Global Environment Facility) |
