Number 13
November 1994
GEF Council meeting
The Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) met for
its second session in Washington, D.C., November 1 - 3, 1994.
Highlights of the meeting included agreement on NGO observer status
at Council meetings, approval for the programming of $280 - $340
million in 1995, and approval of a $15 million Project Development
Facility.
Mr Lennart Bage, the Council member representing Estonia,
Finland, and Sweden, was the elected chair for the session alongside
Mr. Mohamed El-Ashry, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
the GEF. Statements were made by Ms. Angela Cropper, Executive
Secretary of the Interim Secretariat for the Convention on Biological
Diversity; Mr. Michael Zammit Cutajar, Executive Secretary of
the Interim Secretariat for the Framework Convention on Climate
Change; Mr. Jurgen Holst, Senior Economic Affairs Officer of the
Commission on Sustainable Development; and Mr. Hama A. Diallo,
Executive Secretary of the Interim Secretariat of the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification.
Programming guidelines for 1995
The Council approved a paper on the programming of resources
for 1995, and an interim project cycle to guide implementation.
Together these will provide the basis for the programming of some
$80 million for a work program to be presented to the Council
in January. The projects proposed will be confined to: enabling
activities and selected preferential projects in climate change,
and ozone phase-out in countries that are not eligible for funds
under the Montreal Protocol. No biodiversity projects will be
included in the work program pending the November meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity,
which is expected to discuss guidance for GEF on policies and
program priorities. International waters and land degradation
projects will be included after the Council approves operational
strategies in the two areas.
Project cycle
The Council approved an interim project cycle that charts
the passage of a project from inception to monitoring and evaluation,
until the adoption of a final project cycle next year. The interim
project cycle includes criteria that call for projects to be country-driven,
to incorporate consultation with local communities, and, where
appropriate, to involve NGOs in project implementation. The GEF
will establish a Project Development Facility with an initial
allocation of $15 million to finance the preparation of promising
GEF project concepts.
NGOs to attend Council meetings
As part of a broader agreement on rules of procedure for Council
meetings, ten NGOs will henceforth be invited to attend or observe
Council meetings; five will be seated in the main meeting room,
while the others will view proceedings via closed-circuit TV from
an observers' room. The cost of travel and accommodation for four
NGOs from recipient countries (developing countries and economies
in transition) will be covered by the GEF. The Secretariat, in
consultation with NGOs, will develop draft criteria for the selection
of NGO representation at Council meetings, taking into account
the goal of broad-based representation.
Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP)
The Council approved the re-establishment of STAP to provide
strategic advice and selective project review. Once STAP is operational
with the selection of its members, it will be requested to prepare
a technical note for Council review and approval on criteria to
guide its selective project review. UNEP will report on progress
to the next Council meeting.
Follow-up to the Independent Evaluation
The Council noted the implementation of several key recommendations
made by the Independent Evaluation of the GEF Pilot Phase on issues
such as governance, program objectives, and NGO relations. The
GEF Secretariat was requested to report regularly on progress
in implementing the recommendations of the evaluation.
Consultations on GEF operational strategy
The GEF is supporting a series of regional consultations prior
to the Council's adoption of its operational strategy, which is
slated for July 1995. These will provide a forum to discuss issues
such as: links between GEF projects and national sustainable development
plans; NGO and community participation in the project cycle; and
strategic relations between the GEF and other processes. The first
consultation, held in Geneva, November 17 - 18, 1994, was jointly
organized by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the International
Academy of the Environment, with assistance from the South Centre.
A North American consultation, organized by the World Resources
Institute and Conservation International, will take place in Washington
on January 17 - 18, 1995. Other consultations are scheduled to
take place in Africa, Asia, and Latin America in early 1995.
GEF information seminar in Warsaw
The GEF has created an information package to communicate
the nature and objectives of the Facility. This kit was tested
at a workshop in Warsaw on November 15, 1994, organized by the
Bank Ochrony Srodowiska SA (Bank for Environmental Protection).
NGOs, journalists, and representatives from government and the
private sector participated in the seminar. The presentation provided
an overall orientation on the GEF and examined three projects
in Poland: the Coal-to-Gas Conversion Project, the Forest Biodiversity
Conservation Project, and the Small Grants Programme.
Project update
The GEF project portfolio for the Pilot Phase consists of
117 projects with a total allocation of $742.1 million from the
Core Fund. Ninety-nine projects worth $663 million have been approved
and cleared for implementation by GEF's three implementing agencies:
World Bank: 51 projects; UNDP: 43 projects; and UNEP: 5 projects.
Council calendar, membership
Council meetings in 1995 are scheduled for January 30 - February
1, May 3 - 5, July 18 - 20, and October 24 - 26. As of mid-November,
137 countries were participants in the Facility.
THE GEF BULLETIN IS PUBLISHED BY THE SECRETARIAT OF THE GLOBAL
ENVIRONMENT FACILITY, 1818 H STREET NW WASHINGTON DC 20433
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