The Global Environment Facility (GEF), created in 1991 to support environmental management worldwide, is investing approximately USD 44.9 million in conservation and sustainability projects in Mozambique.
According to the Mozambican News Agency, the information was revealed on Thursday (4), in Macaneta, Marracuene district, Maputo province, in southern Mozambique, during the first day of a two-day seminar held under the theme “Strengthening Monitoring Capacity in GEF Projects for Greater Impact.”
For better fund management, Eduardo Baixo, GEF’s operational focal point in Mozambique, stated that it is essential to “create an advisory and evaluation committee composed of relevant partners, namely the Government, academia, the private sector and civil society working in this field.” He stressed that the goal of the advisory body is to support the evaluation of proposals submitted to GEF, one of the world’s largest financiers of environmental projects.
During his presentation, Baixo revealed that the international organisation funds 183 developing countries and economies in transition. The fund has 18 implementing agencies responsible for project design—three national, six regional and nine global. It functions as a financial mechanism for five conventions: the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
The event also aimed to engage the private sector through tax and regulatory incentives and to create dialogue and collaboration platforms among all stakeholders involved in the process.
On Friday, the seminar discussed issues related to monitoring practices in GEF and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) projects in Mozambique.
Source: Diário Económico
