Elections for Caribbean and Mesoamerica Resumed... The Elections for the Caribbean and Mesoamerica RFP's have resumed after Nominations closed on 27 May 2010. Regional members can now view the profiles of the Nominees and vote for your new RFP. View the Election Pages for the Caribbean and Mesoamerica regions. Updated Funding Opportunities! The Funding Opportunities page has been updated with a list of grants available identified by Terra Viva Grants. There are over 25 grants available for various projects ranging from environmental awareness to rainwater harvesting, social entrepreneurship and biodiversity conservation. You may also download the full listing to ensure you don't miss out on any opportunities! 38th GEF Council Meeting The 38th GEF Council Meeting was held in Washington DC from 29 June - 2 July 2010. This meeting was important as it discussed some of the key reforms for the new phase of GEF funding (GEF5). One of the key elements of the GEF 5 reforms is an agreement to review jointly with the GEF NGO Network the experience with the effectiveness of GEFs policies and procedures to engage civil society. Download the Highlights and Joint Summary. You can also view all the documents related to the meeting on the GEF website. New Online Membership Form! We've developed an easier and more efficient way of registering new members! We now have an online Membership Form which interested organisations can use to apply for Membership to the GEF NGO Network. We're also updating our current membership database so we do encourage all existing members to check their contact and organisation details on the website by going to our Members page and searching for your organisation. Please contact us to make any updates to your organisation's details!   Civil Society Forum, 24 May 2010 at the GEF Assembly in Uruguay a great success! A CSO Forum was held on 24 May as part of the GEF Assembly. The forum took place at the Conrad Hotel and Convention Center. The CSO forum was open to all CSOs accredited to the Assembly as well as to all other Assembly participants and media. Download the Forum Agenda here. Also take a look at the Opening Statement by Faizal Parish for the CSO Forum. For more information, download the Final Workshop Statement (English) or (Spanish version) as well as the Summary Report and Compilation Report of the 4th GEF Assembly. GEF-5 Replenishment Meetings Concluded   During the final meeting on 12 May 2010 in Paris on the GEF5 (2010-2014) replenishment, an overall replenishment was agreed at $4.2 billion.compared to $3.1 billion pledged and $2.9 billion programmed in GEF 4 (2006-2010). This represents a 52% increase in New donor funds and 355 increase in total resources. In addition most proposed policy recommendations were approved including those related to civil society. One of the key decisions (based on lobbying by the GEF NGO Network) is to undertake a review and make recommendations to enhance engagement of CSOs in GEF 5. This will be prepared and submitted for consideration by the GEF Council in November 2010. After the meeting, the GEF CEO endorsed in principle a proposal by the Network to undertake a series of consultations/studies starting at the time of the GEF Assembly until the November 2010 Council to help prepare the paper and support other reforms related to Civil society. We need active feedback and input from all Network members in this work. Respective Network Regional focal points may be in further contact on this matter. Download the summary report here, prepared by Faizal Parish, GEF NGO Network Central Focal Point. Documents from all 6 meetings can be found on the GEF website here. Revised Draft Rules and Procedures for the Operation and Management of the GEF-NGO Network Adopted version 19th May 2010 New Rules and Procedures for the GEF NGO Network were adopted by the Coordination Committee on 19th May and can be downloaded here. These rules replace the guidelines adopted in April 2008. Key elements of the rules are new procedures for membership and financial management and elaborated procedures for elections. The rules were developed over a one year period of workshops and consultations and follow on feedback from members earlier this year. With the new rules we will be able to more effectively run the network and encourage more members.  Any comments or requests for clarification on the Rules are welcome and should be addressed to cfp@gefngo.org  The new rules will be reviewed periodically by the Network coordination Committee and minor clarifications or adjustments may be made from time to time to improve understanding or effectiveness. Climate financing must be effectively disbursed and benefit biodiversity and communities  by Faizal Parish, Director, Central Focal Point of the GEF-NGO Network, Forum on GEF, 20 January 2010, Berlin, Germany. It is now universally recognized that addressing climate change is one of the most important considerations in securing the future welfare of the world’s people and maintenance of natural ecosystems and associated services and species. It is also recognized that developing countries especially least developed countries, SIDS and fragile countries are going to be increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and at the same time have the lowest ability to adapt. At the same time the degradation of natural ecosystems is leading to loss of biodiversity and reducing the options for biodiversity and people to adapt to climate change.   Although progress at UNFCCC COP 15 in Copenhagen in December 2009 was mixed - some advance was made when developed countries committed US$30 billion in additional funds between 2010-2013 in so-called “fast-track” finance to support immediate action on climate adaptation and mitigation by developing countries. It was also agreed that this would be scaled up to $100 billion per year by 2020.    In order to ensure that these funds are allocated in a strategic manner and reach the targeted developing countries as soon as possible – they should be channeled through existing mechanisms to support immediate action, rather than await the establishment of new mechanisms. Furthermore developing countries called for the funds to be channeled via the formal UNFCCC approved funding mechanisms.  Read more . . .   At the COP15 Exhibition, the GEF Secretariat is at  stand H021B and the GEF-NGO Network is at stand H009B.    Why No Money for UNFCCC Funds?  GEF-NGO Statement at COP-15, 10-December-2009 It is widely accepted that the needs for financing to meet key actions under the UNFCCC such as capacity building, technology transfer, mitigation and adaptation requires funding flows of hundreds of billions of dollars per year. In contrast, the formal funds related to the UNFCCC notably the SCCF, LDCF and GEF Trust Fund have virtually run out of money and the new Adaptation Fund is not yet operational. The next few years are critical to build adequate capacity in the LDCs and other developing countries for the full post 2012 financial mechanism. Despite the claims by many donor countries that they will make significant allocation of funds for convention implementation – the reality with regard to the convention-related funds is different. For the past 10 years the GEF Trust Fund has been replenished at a level of about only $200 million per year for climate change or $1.6 million per recipient country on average. Funding for the LDCF and SSCF are much worse with only about $300 million total or $60 million per year contributed since the first years of operationalization of the funds in 2004/ 5. In addition - at the end of November 2009, the Adaptation Fund only had received $33 million. Currently all GEF4 Trust fund resources have been allocated and new funds will not be available till after July 2010 subject to the 5th Replenishment. Civil society organizations through the GEF NGO Network are calling for sufficient and predictable resources for all these funds. While the real needs are higher it is essential that a minimum allocation is made of $1 billion/year for climate change mitigation, technology transfer and capacity building through the GEF Trust Fund and $1 billion/ year for the SCCF/LDCF to support adaptation. With regard to the Adaptation Fund – it needs to become operational as soon as possible – and subsequently the resources need to be scaled-up. In order to secure easy access of these sources for the recipient countries as well as transparency, fast track finance should be mainly channeled through the existing UNFCCC related funds rather than through other bilateral or ad-hoc mechanisms not answerable to the Convention.  Read more & PDF download here.                 The development of the website of the GEF NGO Network has been supported by the Swiss Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN) The GEF-NGO Network or NGO Network of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established in May 1995 following the GEF Council’s decision to enhance relationships between Non-Governmental Organizationst (NGOs) and the GEF Secretariat, Council, Assembly and partner agencies. The decision tasked the Network with the responsibility of disseminating information on the GEF to the NGO community and other stakeholders at the national, regional and international levels. The GEF NGO Network was subsequently launched as a partnership structure of GEF-accredited organizations. Read more . . .   The GEF NGO  Network:  Since 1996, the Network has organised consultations twice a year immediately prior to the GEF Council meetings and has also played a prominent role in the Regular GEF Assemblies.  The network has played a key role in contributiong to policy formulation by GEF and in advocating for strong public participation in all stages of GEF programme implementation.  The network has also been a conduit for feedback on both positive and negative aspects of GEF implementaion and has compiled case studies of practical experiences and best practices in implementing GEF activities at the country and local level. The network currently links more than 400 members from around the world.  It has a global organisational structure with Regional Focal Points based in 12 different regions overseen by a global Coordination committe and a  Central Focal Point . The network is expanding its role from focussing mainly on input to GEF planning and policy-making to one of empowering the engagement of civil society in the implementation of GEF programmes. As informed and effective advocates, NGOs have a role in shaping the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and its agenda from the beginning. Today, participation by NGOs, both local and international, is crucial, not only at the project level but also in GEF policy dimensions. Village organizations and other community-based groups, academic institutions, and foundations are among the NGO partners integral to GEF's efforts.  About the Global Environment Facility (GEF) GEF is the world’s largest funder of projects to improve the global environment. The GEF unites 179 countries in partnership with international institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. Today the GEF is the largest funder of projects to improve the global environment. An independent 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 $8.8 billion in grants and leveraging $38.7 billion in co-financing for over 2,000 projects in over 165 countries. . Read more . . .   Language Translation - For every webpage on this site, you can choose a language to translate to:

 Print Friendly