Environment and Energy

UNDP Biodiversity Projects and Programmes

UNDP contributes its expertise on biodiversity policy and knowledge management through efforts at the community, national, regional and global levels.

The Biodiversity Global Programme

UNDP's Biodiversity Global Programme assists developing countries and communities to influence national and global policies, benefit from knowledge on biodiversity, and advance their sustainable development and poverty reduction goals.

UNDP works to help integrate biodiversity, ecosystem services, protected areas and other commitments under the CBD into national policies and programs, including in such key sectors as agriculture, forestry, fisheries and energy. These efforts address social, economic and policy frameworks such as the MDGs, Human Development Reports, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, and National Sustainable Development Strategies. Specific activities include: empowering local communities and indigenous peoples to protect their traditional knowledge and ensure equitable access and sharing of benefits from biodiversity; and achieving synergies with other multilateral environmental agreements related to biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The Biodiversity Global Programme works through strategic partnerships to provide cutting-edge knowledge on policies that work for people and biodiversity, ‘ecoagriculture' approaches, gender and biodiversity, greening the coffee, cacao and tourism industries, and biodiversity and its importance to human health (a partnership with the Center for Health & the Global Environment of Harvard Medical School (CHGE), UNEP and WHO). To learn more, visit www.undp.org/biodiversity

UNDP's Drylands Development Centre (DDC) works with people to fight poverty in the dry areas of the world through the practice of sustainable land management. DDC focuses attention on the unique and valuable biodiversity in dryland ecosystems worldwide and promotes the sustainable use of this biodiversity through: policy action and advocacy, programming for biodiversity-friendly development at the country level, and knowledge sharing and outreach. To learn more, visit www.undp.org/drylands/vul-biodiversity.htm.

Equator Initiative

The Equator Initiative is a partnership that promotes greater recognition of the critical role of local communities in reducing poverty and conserving biodiversity. Launched in January 2002, the work undertaken by Equator Initiative partners champions and supports sustainable communities in the Earth's equatorial region.

Key activities of the Equator Initiative include: the biennial Equator Prize, sponsoring innovation in sustainable tropical communities through research networks and learning exchanges between communities; helping communities and eco-entrepreneurs to find ways to balance livelihoods with biodiversity conservation; and raising global public awareness of sustainable tropical communities worldwide.

The Equator Initiative is a partnership of UNDP with BrasilConnects, Conservation International, the government of Canada, the government of Germany, the International Development Research Centre, IUCN – The World Conservation Union, The Nature Conservancy, Television Trust for the Environment, and the United Nations Foundation. To learn more, visit www.undp.org/equatorinitiative.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Established in 1991, the GEF is a financial mechanism operating through UNDP and other implementing agencies to help developing countries fund projects and programs that protect the global environment.
To date, UNDP GEF has directed over $1.9 billion through grants and cost-sharing arrangements to developing countries for biodiversity-related projects. This support also encompasses enabling activities to help countries respond to CBD obligations as well as funding for project preparation. The UNDP GEF supports some 250 full-size projects (for which GEF support amounts to more than $1 million) and 30 medium-size projects (less than $1 million) in 141 countries. To learn more, visit www.undp.org/gef.

GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP)

Funded by the GEF and implemented by UNDP, the SGP supports community-based approaches through smaller scale grants of up to $50,000. The SGP works through National Steering Committees composed of representatives from government, academia, civil society, indigenous peoples, donor agencies and UNDP. To date, more than 3,000 biodiversity-related projects of local NGOs and community-based organizations in 73 countries have been funded, totaling over $58 million. To learn more, visit www.undp.org/sgp

Regional Bureaus and Country Offices

UNDP's Regional Bureaus and Country Offices undertake biodiversity projects that complement the programmes described above and respond to region and country-specific needs. UNDP has Country Offices in 166 countries in five global regions (Africa, Arab States, Asia & the Pacific, Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Latin America & the Caribbean).