Financial Mechanism and Resources

Terrestrial ecosystems and protected areas projects financed by GEF

GEF Report: UNEP/CBD/COP/13/14/Add.1, 2016
Country Agency Project Name GEF Total Cofinance Total Project Cost
Mexico CI Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity in Priority Landscapes of Oaxaca and Chiapas 7,339,450 47,340,000 54,679,450
South Africa DBSA Unlocking Biodiversity Benefits through Development Finance in Critical Catchments 7,339,450 30,500,000 37,839,450
Albania UNDP Enhancing Financial Sustainability of the Protected Area System 1,420,000 7,020,000 8,440,000
Bosnia-Herzegovina UNEP Achieving Biodiversity Conservation through Creation, Effective Management and Spatial Designation of Protected Areas and Capacity Building 1,442,922 7,190,000 8,632,922


Country Project Name BD Total GEF Cofinance Total Project Cost
Brazil Realizing the Biodiversity Conservation Potential of Private Lands 4.53 9.14 38.80 47.94
Timor Leste Securing the Long-term Conservation of Timor Leste Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services through the Establishment of a functioning National Protected Area Network and the Improvement of Natural Resource Management in Priority Catchment Corridor 0.89 3.44 14.10 17.54

COP12: UNEP/CBD/COP/12/14/ADD1, 16 July 2014 (Report of the Global Environment Facility)
Country Agency Title GEF Grant ($) Cofinance ($) Total ($)
China UNEP Expansion and Improvement of Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in the Greater Shennongjia Area, Hubei Province 2,739,726 15,000,000 17,739,726
Colombia IADB Consolidation of the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP) at National and Regional Levels. 4,157,000 15,650,000 19,807,000
Comoros UNDP Development of a National Network of Terrestrial and Marine Protected Areas Representative of the Comoros Unique Natural Heritage and Co-managed With Local Village Communities 4,345,440 19,985,000 24,330,440
Congo UNEP Creation of Conkouati Dimonika PA Complex and Development of Community Private Sector Participation Model to Enhance PA Management Effectiveness CDC&CPSPM 2,889,434 15,000,000 17,889,434
Congo DR World Bank Democratic Republic of Congo Conservation Trust Fund (AF for National Parks Network Rehabilitation Project) 11,636,363 49,500,000 61,136,363
Global CI Effectively Mainstreaming Biodiversity Conservation into Government Policy and Private Sector Practice Piloting Sustainability Models to Take the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) to Scale 9,800,000 84,500,000 94,300,000
Guinea-Bissau UNDP Strengthening the Financial and Operational Framework of the National PA System in Guinea-Bissau 2,374,429 11,610,000 13,984,429
Macedonia UNEP Achieving Biodiversity Conservation through Creation and Effective Management of Protected Areas and Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Land Use Planning 3,360,731 14,720,000 18,080,731
Madagascar UNEP Strengthening the Network of New Protected Areas 3,905,265 12,200,000 16,105,265
Mexico UNDP Strengthening Management of the PA System to Better Conserve Endangered Species and their Habitats 5,625,043 30,700,000 36,325,043
Myanmar UNDP Strengthening Sustainability of Protected Area Management 6,127,854 17,896,300 24,024,154
Panama World Bank Sustainable Production Systems and Conservation of Biodiversity 9,589,000 27,380,000 36,969,000
Seychelles UNDP Seychelles' Protected Areas Finance Project 2,776,900 12,050,000 14,826,900
South Africa UNDP Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Land Use Regulation and Management at the Municipal Scale 8,277,730 41,957,000 50,234,730
Sri Lanka UNDP Enhancing Biodiversity Conservation and Sustenance of Ecosystem Services in Environmentally Sensitive Areas 2,626,690 11,500,000 14,126,690
St. Kitts and Nevis UNDP Conserving Biodiversity and Reducing Habitat Degradation in Protected Areas and their Buffer Zones 3,436,355 14,199,101 17,635,456
Swaziland UNDP Strengthening the National Protected Areas System of Swaziland 5,540,000 25,000,000 30,540,000
Turkey FAO Conservation and Sustainable Management of Turkey's Steppe Ecosystems 2,420,091 8,730,000 11,150,091
Cameroon UNEP Sustainable Farming and Critical Habitat Conservation to Achieve Biodiversity Mainstreaming and Protected Areas Management Effectiveness in Western Cameroon SUFACHAC 1,789,954 7,000,000 8,789,954
Dominica UNDP Supporting Sustainable Ecosystems by Strengthening the Effectiveness of Dominica’s Protected Areas System 1,707,306 9,170,000 10,877,306
Gambia UNDP Gambia Protected Areas Network and Community Livelihood Project 1,324,310 4,820,000 6,144,310
Global UNDP Parks, People, Planet: Protected Areas as Solutions to Global Challenges 1,826,484 4,500,000 6,326,484
Global CI Mainstreaming Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management in Priority Socio Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes 1,909,000 5,800,000 7,709,000
Global WWFUS Protected Areas Planning in the Era of Climate Change (PAPEC) 1,804,862 2,467,000 4,271,862
Iraq UNEP Initial Steps for the Establishment of the National Protected Areas Network 1,230,365 3,450,000 4,680,365
Moldova UNDP Mainstreaming Biodiversity Conservation into Territorial Planning Policies and Land-Use Practices 958,904 4,850,000 5,808,904
Philippines UNDP Strengthening National Systems to Improve Governance and Management of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Conserved Areas and Territories 1,826,484 5,016,540 6,843,024

Country Title Bio-focal area GEF Grant ($) Cofinance ($) Total ($)
Antigua & Barbuda Sustainable Pathways Protected Areas and Renewable Energy 1,369,863 2,739,726 5,360,000 8,099,726
Armenia Mainstreaming Sustainable Land and Forest Management in Dry Mountain Landscapes 456,621 3,068,493 13,950,000 17,018,493
Mozambique Mozambique Conservation Areas for Biodiversity and Development Project 3,196,347 6,319,635 94,800,000 101,119,635
Nicaragua Strengthening the Resilience of Multiple-use Protected Areas to Deliver Multiple Global Environmental Benefits 1,925,873 6,272,512 20,149,000 26,421,512
Peru Transforming Management of Protected Area/Landscape Complexes to Strengthen Ecosystem Resilience 4,545,453 9,090,909 50,024,504 59,115,413
Bahamas UNEP - Implementing Land, Water and Ecosystem Management 431,621 913,242 997,000 1,910,242


The Land Degradation (LD) focal area is the window through which the Global Environment Facility, as a financial mechanism, supports the implementation of the UNCCD. For the period under review, 18 stand-alone Land Degradation projects contributed to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. A total of $39.87 million have been programmed in these projects, leveraging a total of $172.75 million in cofinance.
These projects will generate global environmental benefits and bring about socioeconomic benefits to communities. As LD projects, they are implemented in agricultural, pastoral, forest or mixed production landscapes also addressing conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity by: 1) reducing pressure on natural habitats by improving SLM in existing production systems; 2) improving management of crop and livestock diversity and associated practices (agro-biodiversity) in the production systems; and 3) improving soil health (microbes, organic matter) and water resource use in the production systems.

Land Degradation Projects Funded During the Reporting Period that Contribute to the Objectives of the CBD
Agency Country Title GEF Grant ($) Cofinance ($)
UNDP Argentina Sustainable Land Use Management in the Drylands of North-west Argentina 3,515,091 19,730,000
World Bank Armenia Community Agricultural Resource Management and Competitiveness (CARMAC) 900,000 18,300,000
UNEP Bangladesh Establishing National Land Use and Land Degradation Profile toward Mainstreaming SLM Practices in Sector Policies 730,594 3,280,000
UNDP Brazil Sustainable Land Use Management in the Semi-arid Region of North-east Brazil (Sergipe) 3,815,192 16,955,200
ADB China Sustainable and Climate Resilient Land Management in Western PRC 3,652,603 12,400,000
FAO Global Participatory Assessment of Land Degradation and Sustainable Land Management in Grassland and Pastoral Systems 2,639,726 6,000,000
UNEP Global Building the Foundation for Forest Landscape Restoration at Scale 1,900,000 9,300,000
FAO Global Securing Tenure Rights for Forest Landscape Dependent Communities: Linking Science with Policy to Advance Tenure Security, Sustainable Forest Management and People's Livelihoods 2,000,000 4,545,852
UNDP Kazakhstan Supporting Sustainable Land Management in Steppe and Semi-arid Zones through Integrated Territorial Planning and Agroenvironmental Incentives 1,900,000 8,050,000
FAO Libya Sustainable Land Management and Conservation of Oases Ecosystems in Libya 3,972,603 13,850,000
UNEP Madagascar Participatory Sustainable Land Management in the Grassland Plateaus of Western Madagascar 1,584,931 5,345,500
UNDP Mongolia SLM Offset in Western Mongolia 1,289,863 5,200,000
WWFUS Nepal Sustainable Land Management in the Churia Range 917,431 4,398,864
UNDP Philippines Implementation of SLM Practices to Address Land Degradation and Mitigate Effects of Drought 870,900 4,159,240
World Bank Regional MENA: Desert Ecosystems and Livelihoods Knowledge Sharing and Coordination Project 1,000,000 487,500
UNDP South Africa Securing Multiple Ecosystems Benefit Through SLM in the Productive But Degraded Landscapes of South Africa 4,237,900 20,500,000
UNDP Tanzania Securing Watershed Services Through SLM in the Ruvu and Zigi Catchments Eastern Arc Region 3,648,858 15,000,000
UNEP Tanzania Sustainable Land Management of Lake Nyasa Catchment in Tanzania 1,298,980 5,250,000