FAO Secures USD 70 Million from GEF to Boost Global Environmental Sustainability

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has successfully facilitated the allocation of USD 70 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to 28 countries. This funding aims to tackle critical issues such as urban sustainability, groundwater management, biodiversity loss, climate change, and land degradation.

“These initiatives will strengthen the resilience of those at the forefront of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation,” stated Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General, following the approval of these projects by the GEF Trust Fund and the Least Developed Countries Fund in Washington D.C. Semedo highlighted that these integrated agrifood system solutions are crucial for addressing complex environmental challenges, enhancing lives, livelihoods and safeguarding the planet. The projects will support key FAO strategies in climate change, biodiversity, and integrated land and water resources management.

Three major projects in Algeria, Chile, and Zimbabwe will drive FAO's urban agrifood systems initiatives, aligning with the FAO Green Cities Initiative. These projects are part of GEF’s Sustainable Cities Integrated Program, which collaborates with 20 countries and nine agencies, including FAO, to promote nature-positive, climate-resilient, and carbon-neutral urban development.

In Algeria, FAO will aid in integrating ecosystem-based solutions, such as green spaces and circular waste management, into the New Cities Presidential Initiative. The project aims to restore 17,500 hectares of green spaces and urban forests, improve practices on 21,000 hectares of landscapes, mitigate 715,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and benefit 1,090,000 people.

Chile will receive support to enhance ecosystem-based solutions and green infrastructure in four cities, aiming to improve practices on 1,325,000 hectares of landscapes, mitigate 14,900 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and benefit nearly 732,000 people.

In Zimbabwe, the focus will be on combating ecosystem degradation and pollution in its two largest cities through urban agroforestry, ecosystem restoration, and public-private partnerships. The project targets the restoration of 300 hectares of forests and wetlands, improved practices on 136 hectares of landscapes, mitigation of 24,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and direct benefits to 6,000 people.

In Central America, seven countries—Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama—will collaborate on a source-to-sea management approach to enhance biodiversity, water security, and the Blue Economy across 12 large watersheds and adjacent marine ecosystems. The project aims to manage 1.8 million hectares of protected areas, restore 300 hectares of wetlands, improve practices on 353,000 hectares of landscapes, and benefit 350,000 people.

The Caribbean will see 14 countries—Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago—advance sustainable soil management in the SOILCARE initiative's second phase. This project aims to restore 28,000 hectares of agricultural land, improve management of 70,000 hectares, and directly benefit 6,900 farmers.

In Mauritania, a project will restore landscapes for agriculture, livestock, and forestry to combat desertification, enhance climate change mitigation, and promote biodiversity in the Gum Arabic belt. It aims to restore 80,000 hectares of forest land, mitigate 313,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and benefit 60,000 people.

Bosnia and Herzegovina will work with FAO and the UNDP to achieve land degradation neutrality and enhance biodiversity conservation by managing 193,000 hectares of conservation spaces, restoring 1,500 hectares of agricultural land, mitigating 2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and benefiting 100,000 people.

Through the GEF’s Least Developed Countries Fund, FAO will assist Angola and Tanzania in adapting to climate change via community-based approaches. Angola's project will improve land management for climate resilience over 250,000 hectares, benefiting 180,000 people and training 100,000. Tanzania's project will address livestock sector expansion and land degradation by improving management over 20,000 hectares, benefiting 1.5 million people, and raising climate change adaptation awareness among 175,000 individuals.

FAO’s global GEF portfolio, valued at over $1.4 billion, assists more than 120 countries in projects that align with local priorities, deliver global environmental benefits, and advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

(Source: FAO)