PRESS RELEASE
Major partnership to help manage local resources in the Pacific
On World Environment Day, June 5, NZAID, the New Zealand Government's
aid and development agency, and the Global Environment Facility Small
Grants Programme (GEF SGP), are jointly announcing a major environment
and development funding programme to help Pacific communities manage
environmental resources.
"Helping Pacific Island communities to manage local resources, such
as coral reefs, local fisheries and native forests, is an important
way New Zealand can help the Pacific towards a prosperous future," NZAID
executive director, Peter Adams said today.
Over the next three years, NZAID will be contributing NZ$6 million
to the GEF SGP, a corporate programme of the Global Environment Facility,
implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
"The fund works by encouraging communities to apply for funding support
up to US$50,000 per project. Typical projects would involve enabling
communities to access information and new technologies, sustainably
develop natural resources, rehabilitate local ecosystems, improve livelihoods,
and reduce vulnerability to natural disasters," said Frank Pinto, executive
coordinator, UNDP/GEF.
"We want to help Pacific communities conserve and draw lasting benefits
from their local resources, which are so crucial for day to day livelihoods.
Our partnership with NZAID is a great opportunity to do this," said
Delfin Ganapin, global manager of the programme, who represented Mr
Pinto in New Zealand.
The agreement was signed at the start of a 6-day workshop for Pacific
grant managers in Auckland, New Zealand, jointly hosted by GEF SGP
and NZAID.
The grant programme operates in Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Fiji, the
Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and Marshall Islands. Programmes
are expected to be established in Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Vanuatu,
Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tonga, Nauru, and Solomon Islands over the coming
year.
ENDS
For more information contact:
Catrina McDiarmid, NZAID: + 64 4 439 8314 or +64 21 588 827
Marie
Khan, GEF SGP: +1
212 906 5842
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