Connecting with GEF
Mission
Established in 1992, the year of the Rio Earth Summit, the GEF Small Grants Programme reflects the core principle of sustainable development: thinking globally and acting locally. By providing financial and technical support to projects that conserve and restore the environment while improving people’s well-being and livelihoods, the SGP shows that community action can help maintain the delicate balance between human needs and environmental priorities.
The SGP recognises that environmental degradation, including the destruction of ecosystems and the species that depend on them, rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, pollution of international waters, land degradation, and the spread of persistent organic pollutants, poses life-threatening challenges to all. However, poor and vulnerable communities, which are the programme’s primary stakeholders, are most at risk because they rely heavily on natural resources for their livelihoods and often live in fragile ecosystems.
The programme provides grants of up to US$50,000 directly to local communities, including Indigenous peoples, community-based organisations, and other non-governmental groups for projects in biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, land degradation and sustainable forest management, international waters, and chemicals management.
About the GEF
The Global Environment Facility was established on the eve of the Rio Earth Summit to address the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Since then, it has provided more than US$21.7 billion in grants and mobilised an additional US$119 billion in co-financing for more than 5,000 projects and programmes.
The GEF is the largest multilateral trust fund dedicated to helping developing countries invest in nature, and it supports the implementation of major international environmental conventions on biodiversity, climate change, chemicals, and desertification. It brings together 184 member governments, along with civil society, international organisations, and private sector partners.
About UNDP
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Guyana is driven by a shared vision to build a future where no one is left behind. Across more than 170 countries and territories, the UNDP is committed to eradicating poverty, reducing inequalities, and fostering a society where every individual can thrive. As the United Nations’ lead development agency, UNDP Guyana works alongside government, communities, and partners, providing the knowledge, resources, and tools needed to create lasting change. Through transformative policies, inclusive leadership, and resilient institutions, UNDP empowers people and ensures that development is sustainable, inclusive, and equitable for all.
Let’s Work Together
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