Global Environment Facility

A new project in 🇸🇳 #Senegal will strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities and ecosystems through nature-based solutions in the Niayes area and the urban and peri-urban areas of #Dakar. Supported by $8.9 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and $49.6 million in co-financing, the project will improve management across 25,000 hectares of land, reduce flood risks, and directly benefit 362,882 people. The project is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). UNDP West and Central Africa #LDCF #SCCF #GEFCouncil71 #GEFassembly2026

🔔 The 8th #GEFAssembly in Samarkand concluded with a clear message: the chemicals and waste agenda has arrived at eye level with that of climate and biodiversity. 📌 The BRS Secretariat was very engaged throughout the week, and amongst others it co-hosted a side event with the #GEFSecretariat on financing a pollution free planet at scale, joined the panel on the GEF and its family of Conventions, and contributed to the high-level dialogue on COP guidance. Executive Secretary Rolph Payet spoke on behalf the MEAs for which the Global Environment Facility serves as financial mechanism at the Opening Ceremony and participated in the closing panel of the Assembly. 👏 The GEF Assembly also marked a milestone: May 2026 was the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the #StockholmConvention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, a commitment more relevant and urgent than ever. 📣 With the #GEF9 replenishment announced at USD 3.9 billion, Parties have a renewed operational basis to implement their treaty obligations. Looking ahead, the #BRSSecretariat is developing an initiative for consideration by the Stockholm Convention COP 13 in April 2027 to close the multibillion-dollar financing gap for eliminating #PCB containing transformers, pairing GEF grants with private and sovereign capital. Watch the full video message from the Executive Secretary here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eBxjN2xb #MakeVisibletheInvisible #ChemicalsandWaste #BRSConventions Minamata Convention on Mercury

Meet Rico Rau, an environmental policy advocate with the Save Soil Movement and Global Focal Point for the UNCCD Youth Caucus. In this #GEFVoices interview, he shares why building consensus across cultures and generations is essential to restoring land and protecting soil for the future. His story highlights the importance of focusing on the common goals that unite us in addressing global environmental challenges. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eXZCuqTs UN Convention to Combat Desertification  #SaveSoil #LandRestoration #UNCCD #YouthLeadership

The GEF welcomes the Kumamoto Declaration, adopted at the 2nd Global Nature-Positive Summit in Kumamoto, Japan. The Declaration calls for exactly the kind of whole-of-society action the world needs to deliver the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework's (KMGBF) 2030 Mission — and several of its core elements speak directly to how the GEF is already investing: 🔹 Mobilizing finance at scale: The Declaration calls on governments, regulators, companies and financial institutions to align around standardized, science-based metrics for nature-related risk and align markets around consistent reporting (KMGBF Target 15). This is central to why the GEF operates as a Family of Funds — the GEF Trust Fund, the GBFF, and our other specialized funds working together — with GEF-9 dedicating 10% of resources to blended finance and non-grant instruments, and an aspirational target of 25% of total programming to mobilize private capital alongside public finance. 🔹 The mitigation hierarchy and corporate action: The Declaration urges companies to first avoid and minimize ecosystem impacts, then restore degraded landscapes, before compensating for what remains. This mirrors how GEF-9 programming supports countries and the private sector in embedding nature-positive practice into real investment decisions, informed by evidence like the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment released this February. 🔹 A Just Transition, Satoyama-style: The Declaration highlights Japan's Satoyama model — conserving nature in harmony with human activity — as a pathway to a Just Transition that strengthens local livelihoods. That principle sits at the heart of GEF-9's Integrated Programs on Food Systems, which work to transform how landscapes are farmed, managed, and restored so that biodiversity and community wellbeing advance together. Biodiversity remains the GEF's largest focal area at 35% of resources, and the GBFF continues to channel dedicated finance to KMGBF implementation on the ground — together, over $1 billion a year in nature-related investment. We're proud to stand with everyone in Kumamoto. Onward to CBD COP17. https://lnkd.in/eWr5nwbg #KMGBF #NaturePositive #Biodiversity #Japan #GNPS2026

🌏 Speaking this week at the Nature Positive Summit in Kumamoto, Japan, GEF Interim CEO Claude Gascon reaffirmed the Global Environment Facility's commitment to turning "nature positive" from aspiration into measurable progress. With the successful conclusion of the 9th GEF replenishment — including a generous contribution from host country Japan — GEF-9 entered into force on July 1 with a clear mandate: help the world meet its 2030 commitment to halt and reverse nature loss. Nature positive is not a slogan. It means measurable gains in the health, abundance, diversity, and resilience of species and ecosystems, moving beyond fragmented action toward systemic change at scale. And that is precisely where the GEF has a unique role to play. 🔹 Integration — over a third of resources channeled through Integrated Programs that tackle environment and nature together 🔹 Biodiversity at the center — remaining the largest focal area at 35% of resources 🔹 Mobilizing private finance — with an aspirational target of 25% of programming leveraging blended finance 🔹 Country-led, whole-of-government delivery 🔹 Local ownership — including an aspirational target of 20% of financing reaching Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, alongside strong support for SIDS and LDCs Together with the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund #GBFF, which advances the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the GEF now invests over $1 billion a year in nature-positive action. This is what collective action looks like — nature and development, reinforcing each other, at scale. https://lnkd.in/erag3j2G #NaturePositive #GEF9 #KunmingMontreal #Biodiversity #NaturePositiveSummit #GNPS2026

Meet Joshua Laizer, a Maasai pastoralist, entrepreneur, and advocate who is combining Indigenous knowledge with modern technology to help build more resilient rangelands. In this #GEFVoices interview, he shares how satellite mapping, sustainable livestock management, and generations of pastoralist knowledge are helping communities adapt to drought while restoring grasslands. His story reminds us that the future of land restoration is rooted in both innovation and tradition. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e4VNRuNT Fiona Flintan AfriScout: A GC Social Enterprise Pastoralist Youth Alliance-Africa (PYAA)

Proud to share that Inter-American Development Bank is officially continuing its collaboration with the Natural Capital Alliance —building on more than 15 years of joint work. From early efforts in The Bahamas to today’s work mainstreaming natural capital approaches across five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, this partnership has evolved from pilots to system-level impact. Indeed, I just told the hosts that I feel at home here in the partnership - which has provided technical rigor to my work for over a decade, expanded my horizons, and resulted in making good friends. Across the region, this collaboration is helping countries move beyond analysis—ensuring natural capital insights are embedded in real policy, planning, and investment decisions. It is also strengthening country's capacity and creating practical tools that make these approaches scalable and replicable. At its core, this partnership demonstrates what happens when strong technical expertise is combined with the convening power and policy impact of a Multilateral Development Bank. By bringing together governments, academia, and practitioners, and by linking knowledge to finance and decision-making systems, we are helping translate science into action at a scale. The result is a shift from isolated pilots toward systemic approaches that inform how countries plan, invest, and manage their natural assets—turning #NaturalCapital into a driver of #SustainableDevelopment. https://lnkd.in/er2Jz5SF #NaturalCapital #SustainableFinance Natural Capital Alliance: https://lnkd.in/egvv_x8v IDB: https://lnkd.in/eTxJCj4N Lisa Mandle Mary Ruckelshaus Anne Guerry @gretchen daily Duval Llaguno Vanessa Callau Kim Bonine

🛣️ In #SãoTomé and #Príncipe, coastal roads are vital for mobility and play a central role in supporting local jobs and economic activity. 🛣️ Yet these roads have sections that sit just 1.5 to 2 meters above sea level, lack sidewalks, and flood frequently. 🛣️ When flooding or erosion cuts access, entire communities can lose income overnight. In a country where most economic activity sits along the shoreline, keeping these roads open is key to driving economic growth and unlocking job opportunities. 🛣️ Learn how The World Bank Group and Global Environment Facility are working with the government to keep the roads open while preserving nature. https://lnkd.in/eYgCMc6N