Number Fourteen
April 1995
GEF Council meeting
The third meeting of the Council of the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) met February 22-24, 1995, in Washington, D.C. The
meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Mohamed T. El-Ashry, Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) and Chairman of the GEF, and by Mr. Mathias Benedict-Keah
(Kenya). The Council meeting was preceded by a non-governmental
organization (NGO) consultation on February 21.
The Council agenda included: a work program consisting of
11 projects for Council approval (totalling US$30.76 million);
policies on eligibility for, and use of, resources from the Project
Preparation and Development Facility (PDF); criteria for the selection
of NGOs to attend/observe Council meetings, and the modalities
for NGO consultations; scope and preliminary operational strategies
for international waters and land degradation; accountability
of GEF's three implementing agencies for the activities of executing
agencies; report by the GEF to the first Conference of the Parties
(COP) to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC); and
the administrative budget of the GEF for the fiscal year 1995.
The Council reviewed GEF arrangements for funding enabling activities
and national communications concerning the FCCC, as well as the
policy, strategy, program priorities, and eligibility criteria
approved by the COP to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Copies of the Council decisions are available from the GEF Secretariat
(attention Information Officer) or via the Econet (go to GEF.Report
conference).
Statements were made to the Council on behalf of the biodiversity
and climate change conventions, and on behalf of NGOs participating
in the NGO consultation. A statement was also made on behalf of
the desertification convention.
GEF Operations Committee (GEFOP)
The GEF Operations Committee was established in November 1994
to consider, among other things, project proposals prepared by
the implementing agencies and to recommend to the CEO/Chairman
a work program to be submitted to the Council for approval. It
is chaired by Mr. Ian Johnson, Assistant CEO of the GEF. The committee
meets on a monthly basis and is composed of representatives from
the GEF Secretariat, the implementing agencies, the Scientific
and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP), and, when appropriate, the
convention secretariats. The first GEFOP meeting took place on
December 14, 1994. Conducted through a combination of video- and
teleconferencing, the meeting focused on project proposals concerning
enabling activities for climate change, as well as other projects
related to climate change and ozone depletion. On the basis of
GEFOP's recommendations, the CEO submitted for Council approval
8 projects totaling US$9.29 million.
The second GEFOP meeting took place on January 19, 1995, and
focused on biodiversity project proposals. Three projects, totaling
US$21.47 million, were submitted for Council approval.
GEF Trust Fund becomes effective
On March 16, 1995, the commitments received for the restructured
GEF surpassed the level of US$1.4 billion, or 70 percent of the
US$2.0 billion pledged last year in Geneva by GEF's donor countries.
Consequently, the GEF Trust Fund has become effective.
Consultations on GEF operational strategy
The GEF has held a series of regional consultations to contribute
to the development of an operational strategy. The consultations,
involving thinkers and practitioners in the environment and development
fields, have provided input on such issues as: links between projects
and national sustainable development plans; NGO and community
participation in the project cycle; and strategic relations between
the GEF and other processes, especially the conventions. Some
focal area issues, such as the development and implementation
of projects related to biodiversity, climate change, and land
degradation, have also been addressed by the consultations. Four
consultations have been held so far in Geneva (Europe), Washington,
D.C. (North America), Harare (Africa), and Rio de Janeiro (Latin
America and the Caribbean). The last regional consultation is
taking place in Bangkok (Asia) on April 6-7, 1995.
GEF information seminars in Kenya and Ghana
Following the successful information seminar in Warsaw, Poland,
the GEF held a workshop on February 10, 1995, in Nairobi. The
meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Mathias Benedict-Keah, Assistant
Minister, Ministry of Finance and GEF Council member, and Mr.
Reuben Olembo, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations
Environment Programme. NGOs, journalists, members of the scientific
community, representatives from locally-based international organizations,
the Kenyan government, and the private sector participated in
the seminar. The seminar provided an overall orientation on the
GEF and examined the East African Biodiversity project and the
preparations for the Lake Victoria Basin and Ecosystem Management
project.
A similar seminar was held in Accra, Ghana, on February 27,
1995. It involved the participation of Dr. Edward Ayensu, the
Vice-Chairman of GEF's STAP during the Pilot Phase.
Other meetings
The first COP of the Convention on Biological Diversity met
from November 28 to December 9, 1994, in Nassau, Bahamas. Mr.
El-Ashry, the CEO/Chairman of the GEF, made a presentation and
answered questions about operations of the Facility and its relationship
to the convention. The COP called on the GEF to continue "as
the institutional structure to operate the financial mechanism
under the convention on an interim basis." A final decision
on the financial mechanism is to be made at the next COP meeting.
The Eleventh Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating
Committee (INC) for the FCCC met in New York from February 6 -17,
1995. Mr. El-Ashry addressed the meeting and answered questions
about the role and operations of the Facility. The INC recommended
to the first COP (which is taking place in Berlin, March 28-April
7, 1995) that " the restructured GEF shall continue, on an
interim basis, to be the international entity entrusted with the
operation of the financial mechanism." The committee also
recommended that the COP "decide...to review the financial
mechanism within four years and take appropriate measures, including
a determination of the definitive status of the GEF in the context
of the Convention."
Project update
The GEF project portfolio for the Pilot Phase consists of
115 projects with a total allocation of US$736.35 million from
the Core Fund. Ninety-one projects worth US$574.45 million have
been approved and cleared for implementation by GEF's implementing
agencies: World Bank 39 projects; United Nations Development Programme
46 projects; and United Nations Environment Programme 6 projects.
Council calendar, membership
Council meetings in 1995 are scheduled for May 3-5, July 18-20,
and October 24-26. As of late March, 142 countries were Participants
in the Facility.
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