1. Perspectives on GEF-3 from Our Partners:
   1. UNDP (Frank Pinto)
   2. UNEP (Olivier Deleuze)
   3. World Bank (Steve Gorman)
   4. Pacific SIDS (Robert Aisi)
2. New CEO appointment
3. Curtain-Raiser on Assembly
4. Report on Events: IYDD
5. Prepping Countries for GEF-4: report on Sub-Regionals
6. Project Round up:
   1. Sustainable Energy Program in
       Europe and Russia
   2. Coral Reef Initiative
   3. Namibia
   4. NZAID
7. SGP and UNDP: An Update
8. Evaluation Office
9. STAP

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Taking a Long View:
Reflections on the UNDP-GEF Partnership

Frank Pinto
Executive Coordinator, UNDP-GEF

My association with UNDP-GEF began in 2002, so I have participated in the third phase of the GEF’s evolution and am pleased to be witnessing the dawning of the fourth cycle. Looking back with satisfaction, one can be proud of the transformation the GEF has undergone over the last four years, with the promise of more beneficial changes to come during the next four years.

Entering the GEF-3 phase (GEF-3), we found the GEF had become a victim of its own success: we always had more projects available for submission than resources available. It is healthy when projects have to compete on their merits—it helps ensure that the best mix of projects and programs gets approved. The GEF Council has to be given full credit for agreeing to utilize all available resources during GEF-3.

During the third replenishment, UNDP projects increasingly focused on removing market barriers, including policy, information, technology, business, and investment, which impede countries’ efforts at managing global environmental issues. This translated into a dramatic increase in cofinancing as UNDP has progressively entered into partnership with the private sector in many of its projects. For example, in 2005, UNDP received GEF grant approval for $285 million in projects, for which UNDP mobilized $1 billion in cofinancing from a variety of sources.

The UNDP is proud to be an implementing agency of the GEF. Through its global network of country offices, UNDP’s experience in capacity building, institutional strengthening, and nongovernmental organizations and community participation assists countries design and implement activities consistent with both the GEF mandate and national plans, thereby helping governments mainstream global environmental issues into broader sustainable development programs. We promote development of cross-cutting capacity—such as in the GEF Small Grants Programme and the GEF National Dialogue Initiative (NDI)—two highly successful GEF corporate programs implemented by UNDP. And UNDP is proud to champion knowledge management, focused on both the product (e.g., documentation of best practices) and the process (e.g., dissemination, communities of practices, networks).

With the introduction of the Resource Allocation Framework (RAF) in the biodiversity and climate change focal areas, we will witness a significant change in the way GEF does business. While time will tell how effective the RAF will be, there has been one immediate benefit: GEF developing country focal points have already become intimately involved in the RAF and the project selection process, much more than in the past, as evidenced by their active participation at GEF NDI subregional consultations held in the first-half of 2006. This bodes well for true country ownership of GEF national projects and programs in GEF-4, although we still likely will see demand outstripping supply, which would pose a challenge in project pipeline management. Additional voluntary contributions by donor countries could help us meet this challenge.