The Global Environment Facility (GEF)

The Global Environment Facility (GEF),established in 1991, helps developing countries fund projects and programs that protect the global environment. GEF grants support projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants.

The GEF is fundamentally a partnership for mainstreaming global environmental concerns into national sustainable development agendas. Its governance structure is centered around a Council composed of 32 representatives from member states who meet biannually to review GEF projects, future business plans, work programmes, and policies.

The GEF Assembly, composed of all 176 GEF member states, meets every 3 or 4 years to review and approve general policies, operations, and amendments to the founding GEF Instrument. The Conventions provide guidance to the GEF, and the Science and Technology Advisory Panel (STAP) reviews every project and provides advice regarding GEF policies. The GEF Office of Monitoring and Evaluation (GEFME) reports on results and lessons from GEF programs and projects directly to the GEF Council.

GEF operations are coordinated by a Secretariat in Washington, D.C that is headed by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Operations are carried out by a tripartite partnership composed of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, and the United Nations Environment Programme, which are referred to as the three Implementing Agencies. Each Implementing Agency brings its own particular comparative advantage to the GEF. As stated in the GEF Instrument, UNDP will play the primary role in ensuring the development and management of capacity building programs and technical assistance projects. In 1999, the GEF Council expanded opportunities for seven organizations to contribute to the implementation of GEF projects. These organizations are known as Executing Agencies under the GEFÁs expanded opportunities policy, and comprise four regional development banks (AsDB, AfDB, EBRD, IDB) and three UN bodies (FAO, IFAD, UNIDO), some with full access to GEF funding.

The Implementing and Executing Agencies are responsible for project formulation, submission, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. Projects have to conform to the policies and decisions of the GEF Assembly and Council and are developed through consultation and dialogue with national governments and local stakeholders, the GEF Secretariat, and STAP. NGOs often play a key role in the project identification, formulation and implementation process.