GEF and Environmental

1
GEF and Environmental Conservation Funds

• Presentation for the Workshop on
• Management of Environmental Funds for the
  Financial Sustainability of Biodiversity
  Conservation
• Peru, 9-11 May 2007
• Yoko Watanabe
• Program Manager, Biodiversity
• GEF Secretariat

2
Topics

• History
• GEF Involvement in Conservation Funds.
• GEFs Approach on Conservation Funds What we do
  and dont fund.
• Future
• GEFs focus under GEF-4 Replenishment

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GEFs Involvement in Conservation Fund

• Largest supporter for Conservation Funds (most
  of them trust funds).
• More than 160M towards LAC funds.
• Invested in more than 60 trust funds. Many in
  LAC, and increasing in Africa.
• Over 340 PAs benefited (more than 1/3 of all PAs
  GEF supported).

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Accomplishments

• Supporting PA management (new and expansion) and
  provide resource security.
• Generating and managing financial resources.
• Enabling civil society participation.
• Increase the level of scientific research.
• Increase public awareness.

5
Evaluation on GEFs work on Conservation Fund

• Evaluation conducted in 1999 (GEF Evaluation
  Report 1-99 Experience with Conservation Trust
  Funds)
• May need for an updated study/review to compile
  lesson learned since then.

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Related Documents

• GEF materials on trust funds and sustainable
  financial arrangement
• GEF Evaluation Report 1-99 Experience with
  Conservation Trust Funds (1999)
• GEF Lesson Notes
• No.5 When is Conservation Best Served by a Trust
  Fund? (Jan 1999)
• No. 6 Building Strategic Focus in a Conservation
  Trust Fund (Feb 1999)
• No. 7 The Mexican Nature Conservation Fund
  (April 1999)
• GEF Monitoring and Evaluation Working Paper 11,
  Review of Financial Arrangements in GEF-supported
  Biodiversity Projects (June 2003)
• GEF Finance on Conservation Trust Funds A
  Checklist (July 2006)

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GEFs General Approach to Conservation Trust Fund

• The GEF provides finance to, subject to GEF
  strategies and policies
• All types of new and existing conservation trust
  funds (endowment funds, sinking funds, and
  revolving funds).
• All levels of conservation trust funds
• (global, regional, national, sub-national, and
  site specific trust funds)

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GEFs General Approach to Conservation Trust Fund
(cont)

• All types of cost associated to establish and
  manage a conservation trust fund (capitalization
  of trust fund, technical assistance and capacity
  building, and operating/administrative and
  maintenance costs)
• Projects which conservation trust fund is
• 1) one component of a larger GEF project or
  2) a stand-alone GEF project.

9
GEFs Practices for Capitalization of Endowment
Fund

• The GEF funds are used for
• Catalyzing Sustainability of Protected Area
  Systems (not for larger landscape)
• Development of national protected areas system
  (not for individual site).
• Global significance of the biodiversity in the
  protected areas (not for every PA).

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GEFs Practices for Capitalization of Endowment
Fund (cont)

• Program, capacity building, and
  operating/administrative costs (about 10-12 of
  the income)
• At least one to one match of cofinance (many
  require more)
• Appropriate scale and cost-effectiveness (utilize
  existing institution)

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GEF-4 (FY 2006-2010) New way of doing business

• Resource Allocation Framework
• Each country plans and identify priority GEF
  projects based on national and GEF strategic
  priorities.
• Focal Area Strategy and Programs
• More focused topics and issues agreed by the GEF
  Council.
• New Project Cycle
• Efficient project cycle that allows concept to
  implementation within average 22 months.

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GEFs Biodiversity Programs approach under
GEF-4 (Draft) - Strategic Objectives -

• To be finalized at the June 2007 GEF Council.
• Catalyzing Sustainability of Protected Area
  Systems
• Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Production
  Landscapes/Seascapes and Sectors
• Safeguarding Biodiversity (Biosafety and Invasive
  Alien Species)
• Capacity Building on Access and Benefit Sharing

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Objective 1 Catalyzing Sustainability of
Protected Area Systems

• Largest supporter for PAs globally.
• Invested in 1432 PAs, covering close to 300
  million hectares.
• Provided over 1.2 billion to fund PAs, with
  3.2 billion cofinance.

• Investment on PAs will continue to be the main
  focus for the GEF biodiversity program (50 of
  the GEF Biodiversity budget approx. 450M for
  the next 4 years)

14
Shift from supporting individual PAs to System of
PA

• Increased emphasis on
• Capacity building for long-term sustainability
• Representativeness within PA systems
• Establishment of comprehensive network of PAs

• Until 2003, GEF focused on building capacity and
  improving management of individual PAs.

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Focus of the PA Systems Program

• Sustainable financing of protected areas system.
• Increasing representation of effectively managing
  marine protected area networks in national PA
  system.
• Strengthening terrestrial PA networks.
• Cross-cutting capacity building support.

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Sustainable financing of protected areas system
(Draft)

• Appropriate policies and laws to enable PAs to
  manage the entire revenue stream.
• Business plan that include diverse funding
  sources.
• Capacity building of responsible agencies.
• Full recognition of the support to PA mgmt made
  by communities in and around the PA.

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Examples of Tools and Revenue Mechanisms

• Conservation Trust Fund
• Payment for Ecosystem Services
• Easement
• Debt-for-nature swap,
• Policy reform and incentives to engage private
  sector and other stakeholders.
• Other mechanisms.

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Objective 2 Mainstreaming Biodiversity in
Production Landscapes/Seascapes and Sectors

• Strengthening the policy and regulatory framework
  (e.g. agriculture, fisheries, forestry, etc),
• Fostering markets for ecosystem goods and
  services (e.g. PES, certification, etc) .

19
Conclusion

• GEF continues to work on environmental funds as a
  key focus of the biodiversity program.
• A more focused, strategic and results oriented
  approach.
• Emphasis on partnership, particularly private
  sector.

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Gracias!