Global Environment Facility
THE Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a global partnership among 178 countries, international institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives.
The GEF is the designated financial mechanism for a number of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) or conventions; as such the GEF assists countries in meeting their obligations under the conventions that they have signed and ratified. These conventions and MEAs provide guidance to the two governing bodies of the GEF: the GEF Council and the GEF Assembly. Among the conventions recognised by GEF,are:
• The Convention on Biological Diversity
• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
• The UN Convention to Combat Desertification
The GEF is also associated with many MEAs that deal with international waters or trans-boundary water systems. The GEF is not a financial mechanism for the Montreal Protocol on Ozone-Depleting Substances; however, GEF activities do complement and enhance the work of the Montreal Protocol.
Today the GEF is the largest funder of projects to improve the global environment. Since 1991, GEF has achieved a strong track record with developing countries and countries with economies in transition, providing US$8.26 billion in grants and leveraging $33.7 billion in co-financing for over 2,200 projects in over 165 countries. (Search the GEF database for project information and documents.)
GEF provides grants for projects related to the following six focal areas:
- biodiversity
- climate change
- international waters
- land degradation
- the ozone layer
- persistent organic pollutants
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